|
|
עמוד:*59
59 * The beginning of the second decade of the 21 st century witnessed a population surge, made possible by the arrival of expats to Qatar in staggering numbers . More than eighty percent of the country's residents were considered by some calculations to be foreigners, and this demographic shift caused various socioeconomic and cultural dilemmas . These dilemmas included, among others, issues of religious practice, rules on alcohol consumption, and fostering ties between communities of different races . 104 These dilemmas led the government to support the conservative campaigns that arose from the public itself . 105 Another method for Doha to cope with alcoholic culture among the foreigners was an indirect one . The Qatari leadership considered solutions to separate between the foreign population and the indigenous one . Similarly to the 1950 s, Qatari leadership sought to limit the exposure to foreign norms . Qatari authorities made the decision to transfer bachelors from residential areas . This decision came after Qatari nationals repeatedly complained about "lack of respect from expatriate bachelors for local values and traditions and menaces to the Qatari way of life" and called for their relocation to designated areas . 106 Qatar’s Emir ratified Law No . 15 of 2010, which prohibited workers' camps within residential areas . However, the law did not come into effect until 1 November 2011 . 107 The law made it illegal for Qatari sponsors to house groups of workers within central areas, pushing them to labor camps in the Industrial Area and other districts out of town . Although often referred to as “bachelors,” many of the workers who had been banned from living in residential areas were married with families in their home countries, but lived and worked in Qatar for years without them . 108 Following the November ban, Qatar’s Ministry of Municipality issued in January 2012 an ultimatum to companies whose workers still lived in residential areas, ordering them Victoria Scott, "Qatar Aims to Unify Residents with ‘One Love’ Theme on National Day", Doha News , 104 December 2013 https : / / www . dohanews . co / this - national - day - qatar - aims - to - unify - residents - with - one - 5 love - theme / ( Accessed on 23 August 2021 ) . Freer, Rentier Islamism , pp . 152 - 153 . 105 Habib Toumi, "Qatar Foreign State Employees Seek Solution for Relocation Dilemma", Gulf News , 106 December 2011 https : / / gulfnews . com / world / gulf / qatar / qatar - foreign - state - employees - seek - solution - 28 for - relocation - dilemma - 1 . 958077 ( Accessed on 23 August 2021 ) . "Law No . 15 of 2010 Prohibition of Workers Camps within Family Residential Areas", Al Meezan, 28 107 September 2010 https : / / www . almeezan . qa / LawArticles . aspx ? LawTreeSectionID = 8328 & lawId = 2510 & language = en Accessed on 23 August 2021 ) . ( The delay in the law implementation is an example to Qatari attitude to allow foreign norms . The reason in this case was the country's need of workers for the continuance development . Lesley Walker, "Qatar Ministry Publishes Maps with ‘No Go’ Housing Zones for Workers", Doha 108 News , 5 October 2015 https : / / www . dohanews . co / qatar - ministry - publishes - maps - with - no - go - housing - zones - for - workers / ( Accessed on 23 August 2021 ) .
|
אדמוני, אריאל
|