‘Sorry’ finally comes.

The 13th February 2008 is a big day for Australia. The Australian Government is apologising for their treatment of Aboriginal Australians, particularly for the fact that throughout the early and middle parts of the 20^th Century the government removed aboriginal children from their parents and either put them in orphanages or sent them to live with white families. They were the ‘Stolen Generation’. If this were to happen today, it would be deemed barbaric and almost genocidal. While these actions were seen as ‘helping the children’ and ‘doing the right thing’ by these governments, they have caused a massive gap in aboriginal culture and learnings that can never be rectified. It is atrocious and a blight on our history. As an Australian I am immensely proud that our new government and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, has finally found the moral courage to apologise to the native people of my country, something that previous governments have been too scared or unwilling to do. It’s a shame that I won’t be there for it, but along with thousands of other Australians I will be changing my facebook status to ‘Dan A’Vard is sorry’ to mark the big day.

The Aboriginal population has been part of Australia for at least 60,000 years and is the oldest continual culture on earth. They managed this land in ways that modern science is only now (220 years after arriving) beginning to understand. I personally have profound respect for the aboriginals and believe that more than token actions need take place. This apology needs to be followed up with real action to assist and encourage the aboriginal population to take their rightful place in Australian society, wherever that may be.

For my part, I’m sorry for every injustice that immigrant Australians have inflicted upon the native inhabitants of this land. I’m sorry for the near annihilation of their population and culture. I’m sorry for the lack of respect for their intelligence and tradition.

I’m Sorry.

To read the apology text, please have a look at this article from ‘The Australian’ newspaper:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23202424-601,00.html

M.I.C.E

Saturday night my MICE found a mouse. In her kitchen cupboard, in a bag of rice. She jumped back shreiking – something I never thought I’d see from her, least of all in response to a mouse. Let me explain.

A is an engineer, a civil engineer. As a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers she is a MICE. We came home after playing golf, shopping, trying to figure out how mundane tasks take hours in Doha and watching US Marines trying to comprehend rugby and proceeded to put our shopping bags away. On the top shelf of the cupboard, there were literally hundreds of little black mouse droppings. We started inspecting packets and almost every one had a nibble in the corner. We started throwing those away (I think we should have thrown the others away too – if it wasn’t fit enough for a mouse….). Then A found the rice bag. Something moved in the rice bag. Something brown. Something with eyes. The shreiking started.

To be honest, I found the little, terrified mouse in the bag kind of cute.  I reached in and rolled the top of the bag down to prevent escape.  I took the bag out of the flat, leaving A panting in the lounge room. The mouse came downstairs and went into the rubbish bins out the front. This, sadly is where the problems for mr mouse may have suddenly begun. Cats live around bins in Doha. Lots of cats. I have no idea whether my little friend managed to get a little feast in before escaping, or had a last supper. I’m kind of hoping for the former. I always root for the little guy.

inclusive for all?

riding into the dust, originally uploaded by desert_dan.

Doha is currently an applicant city for the 2016 Olympic Games, the world’s premier multisport event. To win this bid (at its first attempt) and to host these games would be an unprecedented coup for Qatar and firmly place the country on the world map.

Currently a number of elite sporting events happen in Qatar, including two world championship motorbike events (SuperBike and MotoGP), a cycling race (tour of Qatar), three international tennis tournaments, an European Tour Golf Tournament, a squash tournament, power boat racing, wakeboarding and probably many others that aren’t really well publicised. It also recently hosted the 2006 Asian Games. However, Qatar seems rather selective about the sports that they are willing to support.

As mentioned in the previous post, the Doha Rugby Club is being closed down. This club is home to more than 15 expatriate sporting clubs, 1 local sporting team and provides a sports field to a neighbouring school.

If Qatar is serious about being a sports loving country, and serious about hosting the Olympics, it has to be inclusive of all sports, especially sports enjoyed by the resident community.

The end of an era?

Today it was reported in the ‘Gulf Times’ (www.gulf-times.com) that the Doha Rugby Club was being evicted from its current premises adjacent to the Doha College school and the American School of Doha. Apparently, the land owner has demanded the return of his land by May to be used for other purposes.

Aside from offering a venue for over 1500 members to play sport (including Rugby, Badminton, Gaelic Football, Australian Football and Touch) the Doha Rugby Club is a centre where many other expatriates feel at home and can relax. The clubhouse regularly shows major sporting events and hosts community events such as live music performances, festivals and quiz nights. There is nowhere else quite like this venue in Doha and its loss will have a big impact on the expatriate community.

In addition to the members and guests using the centre, the Rugby Club also provides a grass playing field for Doha College, as well as the emergency assembly area for that same school. This loss will be felt by more than the expat community as the school will not have access to these facilities for the last month of the current school year and future years.

A friend of mine told me today, in response to the news, that the Rugby Club has battled to maintain use of the land due to the fact that it serves alcohol and is close to the schools. Between these reasons, and what may be a developer’s greed, it seems a shame to close down a Doha icon. This was one place I was told to go in my first week in Doha, and it has proved a valuable refuge when Qatari life has got a little too much for me. I hope that this is not the end of an era, and that the club is able to keep its current location or relocate somewhere suitable. I have a feeling that this, however, is the end of an era.

I like green. I don’t like fences.

Beware! Dangerous! Green! Keep out!, originally uploaded by desert_dan.

Since living in Qatar, the little things that I wouldn’t normally pay the slightest attention to have assumed a much more prominent, important position in my being.

Things like green for example. I like green. I like all types of green. The blue and brown greens of Australia. The bright, almost iridescent greens of the UK. The spots of (native) dark green that spot the desert of Qatar. I’m not fussy. You don’t see a lot of green in a place like this, however some green (like this farm) don’t really feel like they belong. It is man made and artificial. Even the ‘European’ Gardens in Australia feel more natural than this. This farm (at least) uses recycled waste water for irrigation, but plenty of other farms in Saudi and Jordan (for example) use groundwater, extracting it at a rate which will deplete the resource in a matter of years. Water in this part of the world is far too scarce, and should be treated as a valuable commodity. Maybe that’s why there is a fence? But is it to keep the grass in? Or the pesky visitors out?

I don’t like fences, or barriers. I don’t like the idea of keeping things or people out or locking things or people in. I don’t like being kept out and away from things that I’d like to get to. I don’t like others being kept out or away from things that they need to get to. The Gazans for example. Why keep the ordinary people of Gaza away from essentials for life such as food, water and fuel? A minority of militants are attacking (in principle) another group of militants across the border in Israel. The only difference to my feeble mind being that the Israeli army is government sponsored. I accept that some fences are deemed necessary for the good of society, but ordinary fences, stopping ordinary people doing ordinary things seems a waste of time and energy. Having said all that, I will be locking my door tonight when I leave the house!

Heading back to Australia in a month, I will relish the prospect of green, and the relative lack of 8 foot barbed wire fences. Part of my renewed commitment for 08 (the year without limits or edges) to make every moment count!

dream time

a family of dreams, originally uploaded by desert_dan.

The last week in Qatar I’ve had some strange dreams. At first I wondered what they were all about, but for now I’ll just enjoy them.

They started with a dream about an ex-girlfriend (who I found out the next day is going through a breakup), that we were back in our home town and generally playing around (although keeping it clean). It was pure, simple, innocent fun. Something to wake up smiling about in the morning.

The next night I dreamt that I had a stalker.. Not a vicious, nasty, depraved stalker. Just a general, run of the mill, innocent stalker (notice a theme here?). It was actually a girl from work, she wouldn’t really leave me alone and was tracking me down and harassing me at every opportunity. She even followed me to my house and started making random house calls.. Although the idea may disturb me now, at the time i guess it was kind of flattering.

A few nights later I had another dream. Well, 2 dreams in fact. While out shopping I’d bought some whole grain bread, because, well I like it. The thing is, Anwen isn’t exactly the biggest fan of it. Well, while I was asleep I dreamt that I was cooking mushrooms on wholegrain toast, and that Anwen got out of bed, got upset with me for cooking whole grain bread (and not having any for her) and stormed off, never to be seen again! When I woke up, I started cooking mushrooms on wholegrain bread…. When Anwen got up though, there was no repeat of my dreamtime fireworks. Phew!

That same night I also dreamt of cats, not actually seeing cats (or Cats for that matter), but just cat noises. The next night I stayed at a friends house, with 2 cats.. making small mewing noises at various times of the night…

I don’t know what it all means, but if I’m dreaming nice dreams, and waking up smiling (or smiling when they don’t come quite true).. I’m pretty happy with my lot. If someone has any idea what it does actually mean, could they tell me please? I’m still a touch curious…..

then the rain cleared…

then the rain cleared…, originally uploaded by desert_dan.

and normal service resumed…

Life in Doha has gone back to somewhat normal this week since the rain cleared and most of the roads have dried out.. The rain, the cold winds and the arguments about whether this is actually cold are all a thing of the past… for now!  It’s finally safe to get out and about again!

Free Fouad – Protect Free Speech

I got this email from Avaaz.org about a blogger incarcerated without charge in Saudi Arabia. If the idea of I thought you might want to know about this campaign to free a blogger jailed by the government of Saudi Arabia. According to Ben Wikler from Avaaz, Fouad is one of the few bloggers in Saudi who is game enough to write under his own name. His blog’s tagline is: “Searching for freedom, dignity, justice, equality, public participation, and all the rest of the lost Islamic values.” I have never visited Saudi, and don’t particularly plan to, however I do know a number of people who have travelled through the country or lived there and have said that a normal life with commonly accepted social freedoms is impossible. The religious police crack down on un-islamic behaviour and that outside of compound walls life in Saudi is depressing and bleak. Please read Ben’s email and sign this petition to support Fouad and free speech in the world and this region!

Fouad al-Farhan, a cultural critic and father of two with a strong commitment to nonviolence, was jailed on December 11 by Saudi authorities after he questioned the arrest of a group of Saudi civil rights activists. Now, his cause is gaining attention around the world–and the Saudi government is showing some signs that it is bothered by the negative publicity. If enough of us sign this petition and get involved in publicizing his situation, the Saudis are more likely to free him.

Standing up for free speech for Fouad doesn’t just send a message to the Saudis. It also shows governments throughout the region that they can’t suppress speech without the world taking notice. Blogs are an increasingly vibrant place for public debate in the region. Sign the petition to help keep it free!

http://www.avaaz.org/en/free_fouad/97.php/?CLICK_TF_TRACK

Thanks!

rain in the desert

rain in the desert, originally uploaded by desert_dan.

The world turned on its head on the weekend.. Seemingly anyway.

Doha, this crazy, desert town was besieged by rain. It is oddly refreshing and comforting to feel raindrops on your face after 9 dry months in Qatar. The last rain that I remember here was way back in April.. Its a good thing that it was so long ago too – I had forgotten the mania of Doha in the wet. Yesterday alone I saw 5 car accidents (normally its 1)..

Doha is not built for rain. Streets get flooded, drivers get enraged (or petrified depending on their disposition), buildings leak water (and wind) and even the mice try to venture in for shelter.. Despite all this, and the shock of being locked up indoors even more than normal, there is nothing quite like falling asleep to the sound of rain on your window, or the tin roof below it.

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into the dark

into the dark, originally uploaded by desert_dan.

 

When I came to Qatar I had a theory that most expats here are running away from something. I still have that theory. Slowly, as I got to know people here, this theory seemed to be vindicated. I’ve met people fleeing bad relationships, failed relationships, drug problems, persecution and squalid conditions. Each of these people have come here to try and elminate some aspect from their life, and of course make some money.

This theory was borne of the fact that there was something that I was trying to distance myself from, just at the time I didn’t know it. At the end of 2006 I had it pretty good. Great friends, a good life in a great city and a beautiful girlfriend. What more could I want. This was the environment in which I made a decision to come to Qatar, at the time I knew I wanted more, I needed the challenge to step outside my comfort zone and know what if feels like moving to a strange city. At first it wasn’t a fun experience, but.. I am sure that I will do it again. After a few months being here, I realised that maybe some of the things I held so dear in Melbourne, weren’t too healthy. Or rather, it wasn’t healthy to hold them so dear. The distance helped me let go.

Yesterday I was having a conversation with a Jordanian friend of mine about morality, and differences that we see in morality and ethical behaviour. She happened to utter a remark about partners being selfish and not giving up something when it matters most. I realised then, how silly I have been. An ex partner of mine, despite sometimes seeming a little self-driven, possibly gave up the only opportunity she had, for something she always wanted. I don’t know this for sure, opportunities come and go, but this was exceptionally unique and may not come around. Whether she did it for me, or herself is not clear. But it has crystallised in my mind to not let any opportunity pass without at least reaching out for it.

Its time to start crawling into the dark, and no matter what I may bump up against.