On the light of Qatar hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup Football or for those of you who call it soccer.... i just thought i would let out what i really felt like..............
It's a funny thing that some people in and around Qatar...as in neighbouring countries and also expats and citizens in the country... are such blind ardent supporters of the World Cup bid without weighing in the cons and pros!! Those sweet words and songs abt them saying that hosting a WORLD CUP is a much deserved RIGHT and an attainable ABILITY filled my ears and my threshold of patience!!! This does not mean that I am against the country for God knows it that I love it and I solemnly from the bottom of my heart wish the country excels and develops to become a more developed and advanced nation .
The reasons both pros and cons, (I will not bore you out!) have already been discussed many a time and they are copious in a bazillion forums, blogs, websites and even channels. Be it in logistics or weather conditions or even the scale and strain on the economy. I am only pointing out to only ONE ISSUE! And I am not the one to judge whether the bid should go or not go, or if it is right or not! Through this, I will try to be as objective as possible! I am not a professional analyst in any discipline, yet from the vantage point of the common man it is not hard to fathom the task at hand. Positive attitude and optimism alone doesn’t deliver but it is careful and sure steps and watching over others mistakes and your seniors’ advice that might give you that wanted boost in which any individual would want to achieve in order to succeed.
I will try here to converse about a much ignored and lightly mentioned aspect about the ability to host the Football WORLD CUP vis-à-vis the attitude of the people towards it. I am pleased to mention that I am honored with actually befriending and making acquaintances with some of the “people”. But then there is that, umm what’s the word, yes…. “Bunch” who are in some way, preoccupied in their heaven of “Air-Headedness” and “Virtual Superiority” sadly the later one is almost made real!
There had been chaos and irregularity problems in various exhibition matches that lead up to the vote and trust me they were anything but fun and cake walk....I had not been to some of these matches for instance the Brazil versus Argentina match. It is natural to expect such a scenario with the world’s two biggest national teams playing. And again I am not surprised! I am fully aware of what goes on and the fiasco of "crowd management" techniques that is usually employed by the authorities on the assumption that a “certain type of people” are uneducated and uncivilized and not of a “certain type of people”, thereby they constitute a lesser class of people. Funny it is that those same type of people that are the ones who have a pivotal role in the country. SADLY I fall into that category of “certain type of people” and as such I had to be assumed that I could be prodded like cattle and talked to quite rudely by the “men in charge”. The following is an account of a situation that I have faced not too long ago.
It was the final of the Emir Cup and anticipating a large crowd I had already bought my tickets in one of the malls and went early to the stadium. I went to the gate nearest to my seat after struggling for about 2 hours to find a parking and also not to mention getting into a heated argument with a “guy” in a huge SUV (NOTE He was behind me!) about the fact he first “eye-balled” the vacant parking spot before me even though I was before him (and yes I won the argument!). I was welcomed by a large gathering of people on the premises gate. And of course the riot horse that nearly ran down my friend! I joined the crowd in the hope that it was a queue waiting for the check-in. I noticed the line or rather the cluster of people was not getting any smaller on the contrary it was actually getting bigger....I went to the front of the line (of course by politely asking the people around me if they could excuse me!) and spoke to the one in charge of the gate. I asked him in English what the problem was and all he could respond me back in his limited English words was "Wait ya rafiiki!", I went back to my position and waited maybe thinking this was some kind of a small setback, and then all of a sudden I see this "bunch of guys" cutting the line, landing a few kisses to the cheeks of the one in charge and then with all ease let them in, I ignored and then moments later the scene was repeated with another "bunch of guys". I couldn’t take it anymore, so I went to the front again and asked what that was that all about to the man in charge, when he responded me in the same response I had spoken to him in Arabic and let him have a piece of my mind (of course I wasn’t being offensive and even spoke softly without shouting at him!) and I asked if I could be provided with a reason as to why I am being held back for no reason. I believe because of my almost perfect Qatari accent I and my friend were let in, and I felt sad for those who were standing with me and wouldn’t able to converse in Arabic or just wait for an opportunity to enter.
Things got worse inside, a certain “bunch of guys” who had been sitting above us were spitting sunflower seeds and placing their feet on our seats. I politely asked them if they could remove their “lovely and honorable” feet off the seats so I and my friend could sit. But because we were of a certain “color” type we were hurled with insults and even bad mouthed with several “beautiful” phrases and terms thinking we never understood what they were saying. I spoke to the elder one of these “Guys” and told him to have a little dignity and respect and summoned the event police present in the stand. His reaction was almost priceless when he told me with the utmost ease to look for another seat!
I am fully aware of the apparent “special treatment” and also the societal attitude of the environs here, and I am sorry to say, that is never conducive for a multi-cultural setup that is the WORLD CUP! Yes, a meaningful debater might add by saying that, there are good and bad people everywhere, but it is not about good or bad, it’s about pushing your comfort zone in order to accommodate and compromise the exceptional hospitality norms here in the beautiful Middle Eastern culture. Mind you my topic ONLY elaborated on the attitudes and perception that is prevalent here and that many like me and others have to endure. I believe and know that it takes a lot of hard work in order to be honored with hosting such events, but despondently it seems like here the case is that it should encompass a divine miracle for the extravaganza that is the WORLD CUP to be executed smoothly here!
It's a funny thing that some people in and around Qatar...as in neighbouring countries and also expats and citizens in the country... are such blind ardent supporters of the World Cup bid without weighing in the cons and pros!! Those sweet words and songs abt them saying that hosting a WORLD CUP is a much deserved RIGHT and an attainable ABILITY filled my ears and my threshold of patience!!! This does not mean that I am against the country for God knows it that I love it and I solemnly from the bottom of my heart wish the country excels and develops to become a more developed and advanced nation .
The reasons both pros and cons, (I will not bore you out!) have already been discussed many a time and they are copious in a bazillion forums, blogs, websites and even channels. Be it in logistics or weather conditions or even the scale and strain on the economy. I am only pointing out to only ONE ISSUE! And I am not the one to judge whether the bid should go or not go, or if it is right or not! Through this, I will try to be as objective as possible! I am not a professional analyst in any discipline, yet from the vantage point of the common man it is not hard to fathom the task at hand. Positive attitude and optimism alone doesn’t deliver but it is careful and sure steps and watching over others mistakes and your seniors’ advice that might give you that wanted boost in which any individual would want to achieve in order to succeed.
I will try here to converse about a much ignored and lightly mentioned aspect about the ability to host the Football WORLD CUP vis-à-vis the attitude of the people towards it. I am pleased to mention that I am honored with actually befriending and making acquaintances with some of the “people”. But then there is that, umm what’s the word, yes…. “Bunch” who are in some way, preoccupied in their heaven of “Air-Headedness” and “Virtual Superiority” sadly the later one is almost made real!
There had been chaos and irregularity problems in various exhibition matches that lead up to the vote and trust me they were anything but fun and cake walk....I had not been to some of these matches for instance the Brazil versus Argentina match. It is natural to expect such a scenario with the world’s two biggest national teams playing. And again I am not surprised! I am fully aware of what goes on and the fiasco of "crowd management" techniques that is usually employed by the authorities on the assumption that a “certain type of people” are uneducated and uncivilized and not of a “certain type of people”, thereby they constitute a lesser class of people. Funny it is that those same type of people that are the ones who have a pivotal role in the country. SADLY I fall into that category of “certain type of people” and as such I had to be assumed that I could be prodded like cattle and talked to quite rudely by the “men in charge”. The following is an account of a situation that I have faced not too long ago.
It was the final of the Emir Cup and anticipating a large crowd I had already bought my tickets in one of the malls and went early to the stadium. I went to the gate nearest to my seat after struggling for about 2 hours to find a parking and also not to mention getting into a heated argument with a “guy” in a huge SUV (NOTE He was behind me!) about the fact he first “eye-balled” the vacant parking spot before me even though I was before him (and yes I won the argument!). I was welcomed by a large gathering of people on the premises gate. And of course the riot horse that nearly ran down my friend! I joined the crowd in the hope that it was a queue waiting for the check-in. I noticed the line or rather the cluster of people was not getting any smaller on the contrary it was actually getting bigger....I went to the front of the line (of course by politely asking the people around me if they could excuse me!) and spoke to the one in charge of the gate. I asked him in English what the problem was and all he could respond me back in his limited English words was "Wait ya rafiiki!", I went back to my position and waited maybe thinking this was some kind of a small setback, and then all of a sudden I see this "bunch of guys" cutting the line, landing a few kisses to the cheeks of the one in charge and then with all ease let them in, I ignored and then moments later the scene was repeated with another "bunch of guys". I couldn’t take it anymore, so I went to the front again and asked what that was that all about to the man in charge, when he responded me in the same response I had spoken to him in Arabic and let him have a piece of my mind (of course I wasn’t being offensive and even spoke softly without shouting at him!) and I asked if I could be provided with a reason as to why I am being held back for no reason. I believe because of my almost perfect Qatari accent I and my friend were let in, and I felt sad for those who were standing with me and wouldn’t able to converse in Arabic or just wait for an opportunity to enter.
Things got worse inside, a certain “bunch of guys” who had been sitting above us were spitting sunflower seeds and placing their feet on our seats. I politely asked them if they could remove their “lovely and honorable” feet off the seats so I and my friend could sit. But because we were of a certain “color” type we were hurled with insults and even bad mouthed with several “beautiful” phrases and terms thinking we never understood what they were saying. I spoke to the elder one of these “Guys” and told him to have a little dignity and respect and summoned the event police present in the stand. His reaction was almost priceless when he told me with the utmost ease to look for another seat!
I am fully aware of the apparent “special treatment” and also the societal attitude of the environs here, and I am sorry to say, that is never conducive for a multi-cultural setup that is the WORLD CUP! Yes, a meaningful debater might add by saying that, there are good and bad people everywhere, but it is not about good or bad, it’s about pushing your comfort zone in order to accommodate and compromise the exceptional hospitality norms here in the beautiful Middle Eastern culture. Mind you my topic ONLY elaborated on the attitudes and perception that is prevalent here and that many like me and others have to endure. I believe and know that it takes a lot of hard work in order to be honored with hosting such events, but despondently it seems like here the case is that it should encompass a divine miracle for the extravaganza that is the WORLD CUP to be executed smoothly here!
No comments:
Post a Comment