Hasib Moukarim (right) and skyline of Doha (left)I would like to express my candid opinion on the escalating crisis in the Middle East, the starving of millions of people and the incomprehensible and harsh sanctions meted on the tiny but wealthy nation of Qatar by some Arab nations spearheaded by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The Arab nations are accusing the emirate of financing extremist groups and of meddling in the internal affairs of its neighbours, charges that Qatar has vehemently denied.
On June 5, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in sudden and surprising statements cut ties with Qatar, and gave Qatari citizens 14 days to depart their respective countries. They also shockingly banned their citizens from visiting Qatar.
As if that was not enough, Egypt also severed relations on the same day, but with tens of thousands of Egyptians living in Qatar, the North African country didn’t impose similar restrictions on citizens’ movements.
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The U.A.E.-owned Etihad and Emirates airlines said expatriates residing in Qatar will not be eligible for an Emirati visa on arrival.
Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E., Egypt and Bahrain also banned sea and air travel to and from Qatar. The country’s only land border with Saudi Arabia was also shut, depriving it of a main food imports channel.
Hasib Moukarim (right) and skyline of Doha (left)
Worse, Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E., Egypt and Bahrain said Qatari carriers can’t even fly over their territories. The U.A.E. has closed its airspace to all traffic to and from Qatar.
The port access has also been affected. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain closed their berths to all vessels flying the Qatari flag.
The U.A.E.’s Abu Dhabi Petroleum Ports Authority last Thursday expanded its ban to include “all vessels arriving from, or destined to Qatar, regardless of its flag.”
The same restrictions were imposed at Fujairah, another of the U.A.E’s seven emirates.
My intention is not to defend the government of Qatar or actions it is alleged to have taken against anyone or nation.
The types of sanctions meted on Qatar, to my recollection, have never happened before between Arab countries in history. If they have, I cannot remember it was during my lifetime.
With these sanctions, especially airports and seaports closures, the supermarkets in Qatar have run out of food, as citizens and expatriates living there scrambled to stock foodstuff at home for fear of an uncertain future.
As a result of that crisis, there has been a depreciation of the national currency of Qatar, the Riyal, which is now not exchanged at all in many countries in the area including Pakistan.
To my recollection, the Arabs never ever witnessed in their common history such a brutal and severe punishment meted on one of them, not in Yemen, Syria or Iraq.
This all leads us to think that regardless of any political allegation and nations policies against terrorism or any other cause, the starvation of millions of people and the breaking of a successful state such as Qatar is beyond reason.
The the actions taken so far are oversized and not done in normal international relations.
Below are some data about the state of Qatar. As you can see below, these latest sanction would greatly affect this rising nation.
1- Highest income per capita in the world , ($146,000 per annum) .
2- Under ground oil reserve is 15 billion drums .
3- liquid gas reserve is 900 trillions cubic feet . Biggest producers of LG in the world .
4- All banks assets in Qatar are worth 1.1 trillions Qatari Riyals (QR)
5- National Bank of Qatar is worth alone 520 billion QR
6- Qatar National Fund is worth 300 billion dollars ($) .
7- Qatar is a small country of 30,000 millionaires citizens .
8- Qatar is a major shareholder of many European banks such as Barclays Bank and Credit Swiss Bank .
9- Qatar owns Harrods of London .
10- Qatar owns 28% of all London city towers and sky scrappers.
11- Qatar Telecom works in 17 countries and has 107 million subscribers.
12- Qatar Airways are fastest growing airlines with 170 aeroplanes in service .
13- Qatar owns the second biggest fleet of ships to transport liquid gas in the world.
14- Qatar is among top countries in the world to have petrochemicals industries.
15- Hamad International Airport in Doha is one of the best in the world .
16- Qatar spend $6 billion annually on scientific research .
17- Qatar is the first Arab country and among the top in the world that have highest standards of education , health services , trade competition transparency, security and terrorism fighting , telecommunications and internet coverage and speed , infrastructure , safety from natural disasters, food security , financial markets security and human development.
18- All Qatari citizens are covered for free against medication and health matters .
19- Electricity and water supplies are free in Qatar .
20- There is no tax system applied in Qatar .
Mr. Hasib Moukarim, a businessman, wrote in from Lebanon