Qatar قطر

I first arrived in Qatar in the year before the turn of the new millenium. It was for me the first time that I'd lived in a new place and was, for three years, my home. After the initial settling in period, I grew to love the place as did my young family and we have fond memories of our time living in Al Khor in the north and discovering a new and exciting region. In the interim, I have lived and worked in other places, and passed through Qatar, staying in Doha en route to the UAE where I also made my home. Today I return to the country that was once home, with an older family, and to a much changed country. I am here this time for a family event, but amongst the most exciting aspects I hope to experience, will be to return to those places that were familiar, when, fifteen years ago, this was a fledgling country with a mere population of 600,000. The Gulf isn't quite out of my system, I confess. For example, when I send an email, I edit the signature tag that still carries my old cell number.  Also, when I write this blog, whilst the dates are accurate, the times that are published by each posting actually reflect Gulf Standard Time. Memories perhaps?

Qatar. I am home. Enjoy the film.

اختر مو مبارک شه

اختر مو مبارک شه

روژی مو قبولې شه

Eid Mubarak

May your fasting be accepted

Tor_Khan تور خان

The Human Cost of War

... Or more specificially, the title should perhaps be The Human Cost of Someone Else's War ...

There must be a first rule - humanity, above all else. No other ideology - religious, political, economic, fashion or tradtion is equal to that first rule.

The downing of the the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 still has me in a state of shock. It seems to come admist a number of human tragedy/gloom stories making the news of late (including the current conflicts in Syria/Iraq/Palestine/Waziristan). At times like this I am forced to pause and return to that 'first rule' - humanity - the most sacred thing worth 'fighting' for. All else is second.

In the current Israeli-Palestinian bombardment, the major news-networks are cautiously selective and present a somewhat sanitised view; not quite able to be fully critical of Israeli aggression, despite a track record and a revealing body of evidence. Hamas is also responsible for aggression, so deaths and injury must not be sugar-coated but here is a clear case of imbalanced response. Considering that Jewish suffering during the Second World War is still within living memory of some, I can never understand how the Israeli state can have complete disregard for the most basic of human compassion.

The Pakistan army operation in Waziristan (Zarb-e-Azb) - again is illustrative of another human tragedy where the rights and wrongs of the conflict have disregarded basic humanity towards ordinary people who are caught in the cross-fire. Most Pashtuns in the tribal belt wish only to protect their land and possesions. Collective punishment, seemingly deemed legitimate in both the Israeli and the Pakistani case treats the innocent as expendable.

The same could be said for the non-combatant civilians caught in Iraq and Syria, and of course between the Russian-backed rebels in the Ukraine and the Ukranian government. The recent downing of the aeroplane is  exactly that - innocents caught up in someone else's war. A real human tragedy and one that has shaken my faith in others. I always expect humans to show humanity, but am fast adapting to the reality that this isn't always so. Pessimism perhaps. Somehow I must hang on to hope, as I fully endorse those genuine fights for autonomy, self-determination and rule of law. But this cannot be justified by mindless acts of violence where innocent humans have to pay for the costs of someone else's war.

 Source: Patheos.com