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Santhosh Chandran
Doha
THE depth of solidarity, affection and loyalty among the low-income workers for the State of Qatar and the wise leadership can be felt if you visit the Asian Town and read some of the messages on the 'Tamim Al Majd' mural which was recently installed on its premises.
The large mural at Asian Town has become an ideal public platform for low-income expatriate workers to share their feelings for their second home.
The mural board, unveiled by Asian Town management, is filled with solidarity messages in English and various South Asian and South East Asian languages with messages such as 'I am with Qatar', 'I love Qatar', 'Support Qatar', 'Qatar-Nepal friendship', 'India is with Qatar', 'Sri Lanka is with Qatar', 'Bangladesh is with Qatar' and 'Ensure Justice', among others.
Even though such murals with messages of solidarity are a common sight in Qatar nowadays, opportunities to show their support on a public platform is rare for the large number of low-income expatriate workers in the country of course, other than the social media.
An Indian expatriate driver expressed his happiness after getting an opportunity to write a solidarity message on the mural. He said the mural offered an opportunity for low-income workers to show their solidarity with the government of Qatar publicly and create a strong feeling among them"to contribute more and stand with their host country" during this hour of the worst GCC crisis in years.
A Nepalese expatriate who has been working with an engineering company for more than 14 years as a welder wrote 'I Love Qatar' on the mural. He said:"I am supporting Qatar not only because it provides the daily bread for my family but also I think Qatar deserves fairness and justice. Every country should respect the sovereignty of others."
Another worker, who wrote 'India and Qatar stand together', said:"As an Indian, I always respect others' freedom and space, whether an individual or a country, and especially the sovereignty of another nation. Qatar deserves the ultimate victory and I will stand with Qatar as long as I am alive."
A Bangladeshi worker at a textile shop said:"The isolation of Qatar will not help anybody in this region instead it will lead to more pain and misery for other Muslim countries. Qatar is a sovereign country. How can others dictate terms to a sovereign nation and try to impose their guardianship."
A Sri Lankan expatriate who failed to find a space to pen down his feelings on the first mural board, emphatically said:"Even though I rushed from my accommodation in the Industrial Area, by the time I reached here, the entire board was covered with solidarity messages. But, I am glad to see my opinion shared [on the mural] by others. I am sure the blockade countries will bow their heads in guilt and shame when Qatar achieves the final victory!"
