Trump escalates the US's own war on Yemen
Dear Doha Diary
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3y ago
It was a quiet, star filled January night in 2017 and 8 year old Nawar Al Awlaki was asleep with her mother in her Uncle's house in Yakla, a rural village in the mountains of Al Bayda, a region of South Yemen.  Suddenly she was woken by the sound of gunfire and she instinctively went to hide. Her neighbours were under attack and were being killed as they fled their homes, including the Ameri family with three children -  Aisha, 4, Hussein, 5 and Khadija, 7.   Nawar's home then came under attack and she was shot in the neck by a bullet that came through ..read more
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Narcissists and psychopaths rule the world
Dear Doha Diary
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3y ago
I will make the assumption that most of you reading this are also regular social media users and that somewhere among the videos of tennis-playing dogs and cute little kittens, you’ll be familiar with the often posted stories of human rights issues and abuses around the world, whether in Myanmar, Syria, Yemen or elsewhere. I am more guilty than most for constantly posting on social media about such humanitarian issues, including the oppression of the Palestinian people, the killing and imprisoning of journalists and activists, the attack on freedom of the press in the USA and particularly ..read more
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Eating like a Bedouin
Dear Doha Diary
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3y ago
As the end of Ramadan approached, with only 5 days to go until Eid, I decided to step up my fasting regime to see what it would feel like to echo the diet of the desert nomad, the Bedouin, who famously could survive for months on only dates and camels milk.    Sadly, unable to easily get hold of camels milk, I decided to swap it out for labeneh.... a thick strained yoghurt.  But of course, dates are available aplenty so no issue there. As is the custom during Ramadan, I'm fasting completely throughout daylight hours, having only 3 dates and a couple of table spoons of labeneh ..read more
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Gulf Crisis One year on
Dear Doha Diary
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3y ago
One year ago, on 5th June 2017, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Qatar, closing land borders, shipping routes and air space, effectively cutting the country off from established supplies of goods and services.  Families were split apart, businesses destroyed and the Gulf Co-operation Council (formed in 1981), once a beacon of stability for the region, plunged into crisis. Despite the fact that Qatar suffered a 40% drop in imports immediately following the blockade, it quickly secured new supplies from countries such as Turkey, Iran and India and new shipping routes via ..read more
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Qatar Cycling Adventures: Return to Doha
Dear Doha Diary
by
3y ago
cont....... Having spent some relaxation time on the beach beneath a rather lovely palm tree, it was time to leave when the local youth started ripping up the beach with their beach buggies.  I'd cycled that morning from Doha to Al Ruwais - 125km - and I was planning to spend some time in an isolated spot to watch the sunset and stargaze for a while before cycling back to Doha. So I set off on the road between Al Ruwais and Al Zubara - an old fishing settlement with a Fort which was built in the 1930s to look out for various invaders from the Turks and Omanis to the Bahrainis and the Br ..read more
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Qatar Cycling Adventures: Doha to AlRuwais
Dear Doha Diary
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3y ago
Since bringing my bike to Qatar 3.5 years ago, I've had an ambition to one day cycle all the way to the Northern tip of the country, at Al Ruwais.  18 months ago, I got just over half way when I made a trip to Al Khor on the East Coast and spent the night before Eid Al Adha 2016 under the stars.  You would think the endless sunshine in Qatar would make it perfect for long distance cycling.  However, the searing heat from May to September, the freezing desert nights during winter and the crazy winds that whip up sudden sand and dust storms at a moment's notice all mean that ..read more
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Qatar goes farming
Dear Doha Diary
by
3y ago
Last week I had the opportunity to visit AgriteQ, an International Agriculture Exhibition, at the Doha Exhibition and Conference Centre. Held in Doha each year, it brings together agricultural specialists from around the world to share expertise, showcase innovation in farming and do business in Qatar, which has a rapidly expanding food production sector, as it seeks to become much more self sustainable and food secure. Since the blockade by Qatar's neighbours, which started some 10 months ago, this nation found itself cut off from the mainland when Saudi Arabia closed the only land bor ..read more
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What would Gertrude make of the Kurdish referendum?
Dear Doha Diary
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3y ago
With the current situation in Northern Iraq simmering since the Kurdish referendum, its perhaps a moment to reflect on a much forgotten and neglected historical figure and her role in this important moment. It is a little known fact that Iraq's existing borders, including within it Iraqi Kurdistan, were drawn up by an Oxford educated British woman adventurer.  Gertrude Bell was one of the most extraordinary and influential women of the time.  Described by some as a female Lawrence of Arabia and by him as a "wonderful person, not very like a woman", she was by all accounts considere ..read more
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Has the smartphone stolen the beauty of delayed gratification?
Dear Doha Diary
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3y ago
Qatar's recent Guinness World record for the longest selfie stick is another very small notch in the belt of this 'bantamweight' of a Gulf State.  It was a record set by a Qatar youth program called 'Sky Climbers' during their graduation ceremony on 19th September. Although not averse to taking the odd selfie here and there (a necessity for a solo traveller), I do however, shudder at the scourge of the selfie stick.  Lets put it this way..... you may be a narcissist, but why advertise it?  When you see a grown man puckering up to his digital camera on a stick, while his wife ..read more
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Qataris enjoy Eid despite the crisis
Dear Doha Diary
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3y ago
There has been a quiet resilience to the Qatari response to the unprecedented actions of their neighbours over the last two months,  and the Eid holiday saw many Qataris staying at home and enjoying the celebrations with friends and family. Certainly, the hotel that I call home was fully booked, despite no holiday makers from Saudi, UAE or Bahrain who usually flock to Doha for their Eid vacation.  Most of those staying were Qataris or expats coming to stay in a hotel with a pool and a beach for a 'holiday at home' ! This made for a few crazy days of kids running up and down the ..read more
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