Thank You, Qatar!

Three years, we go again!

A little over two weeks ago, I set off after three years of staying in my home country and finally somewhat getting back into the norm. Thinking back to where I was pre-COVID, I have grown to appreciate the small things that I receive, including the smell of the airport. With the World Cup being hosted in Qatar this year and my dad’s work being deeply intertwined with football, and as a result influencing me to fall in love with it, I was extremely fortunate enough to be handed this truly, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to the Middle East. Come along as I share my experience in every aspect with you all!

Context

Of course, being in a position to be able to say that I’ve attended a World Cup semifinal, and a final is still so surreal. However, I feel that I haven’t done Qatar justice for the first few days I was here. If I could’ve enjoyed the city of Doha 110%, I feel that I’ve only lived up to 90% of the experience. This is due to me falling sick after experiencing bad food poisoning just days before my flight to Doha and not recovering completely till a few days upon arrival. I have many brilliant things to speak on Qatar, but there could’ve been more, if my body’d listened!

Did I have any first-hand experiences relating to the World Cup 2022 controversies?

For any who aren’t aware or aren’t football fans, this World Cup in particular were met with many scandals and controversies. Such as the corruption allegations that Qatar paid their way through to host the World Cup back, as they had bribed officials to vote for Qatar to host. However, I will mainly focus on the migrant workers issue, the banning of alcohol in matches and its effects within the stadium, at which I got to experience.

During the few weeks that the World Cup was about to host and being hosted, videos of the migrant workers issues were constantly recommended to my social media, it was hard to ignore and was made clear of what it took to construct 7 stadiums, accommodations and more to welcome fans all over the world. Mainly, it was the rights, working conditions and treatment of the workers that were called into question as it reflected what seemed like modern day slavery. Although I can’t speak for any of the construction workers, I did see an overwhelming majority of Doha’s population being migrant workers and having spoken to many of them, my view has broadened.

My family and I took 30+ Uber rides during our trip with all the drivers being migrant workers, to say the least, I was pleasantly surprised by how welcoming and friendly these people who came from India, Bangladesh, Nepal etc. were. They were all so down-to-earth for a chat and I really enjoyed building connections with these strangers because when do you get the chance to speak with people of all kinds of backgrounds if it’s not when you’re travelling? Each of the 15 minute-ish chats during the Uber rides somehow became a significant part of what made up my Qatar memories. With a mission in my mind, I asked each driver how long they’ve stayed in Qatar and whether they enjoy the life here. To be honest, I’ve got very mixed responses, with drivers being in Doha ranging from 6 months to up to 8 years. The responses for their level of enjoyment in Doha were mixed, as well, but the gist that I felt I got was that a lot of them stay for the pay, I remember specifically one of the friendliest driver saying, “Life is half-half here, [for] work, good, [for] living, not good.”, and it’s understandable because their families are so far. There was another particular encounter in which the driver went in depth about the expensive lifestyle in Qatar in comparison to what he earned, how a small one-bedroom flat could cost up to 500 Qatari Riyal (~140 USD) per week, resulting in him unable to afford to go out for meals. Despite the tough life in Qatar, as many have said, I find that they all keep an optimistic attitude and are incredibly welcoming towards tourists (One of the drivers knew some Mandarin as well, saying basic phrases like ‘Ni hao’ and ‘Xie xie’.).

With this in mind, another core memory I had was the humbleness and lowliness aura of these migrant workers. The phrase I had heard the most interacting with the hotel staff and the Uber’s was “Yes, madam”, this to some, may seem as normal as words can be but to me, this phrase hid diffident and a clear social hieratic difference. This could be linked with the history of Qatar and how the migrant workforce makes up 70% of Qatar’s population, or it could just be me overthinking. Either way, from where I’d been bought up, this made me feel like a fish out of the water, particularly uncomfortable because it wasn’t the way I wanted myself to make them feel. I don’t want to feel a sense of superiority, I don’t want the housekeeping staff to stop and exit the room once I enter, in my mind, there should never be a sense of social hieratic difference, there should only be respect.

As to the main reason I travelled to Qatar, the World Cup 2022, I was left wanting more when everything sunk in and it was already over. I was beyond disappointed knowing my idol, Cristiano Ronaldo, and his country Portugal had already been knocked the day I travelled to Doha, however, the difference differentiating watching at home on TV and in real-life, was the atmosphere and thrill. I’d been lucky enough to watch one of the semi-finals and the final (thank you mother Zhu and father Zhu), the pictures you see above was the day of the semi-final, Argentina versus Croatia, and I had butterflies in my stomach. The stadium was rocking and knowing that this was truly something I’d perhaps never experience again in my life, I had to savour every moment. It’s almost like a first love, you might meet someone better in the future (or experience something better, in this case), but you don’t forget your first.

The game itself ended 3-0 to Argentina and being present in the stadium was completely different, you could see how dominant Argentina was against Croatia, and it made me realize and appreciate how difficult it really is to become a manager of that magnitude. 90 minutes passes by at lightning speed, and any crucial adjustments can change the game. The beauty of football, I guess. Other than the game, there was great debate all over social media about the banning of alcohol within stadiums due to security reasons and the concern of excessive visibility of alcohol that may upset the local Islamic community of Qatar where alcohol is forbidden. Many were concerned, and I was asked multiple times when I came back how the atmosphere changed with the absence of alcohol. In my opinion, not only should the beliefs of the Islamic community in Qatar be respected, but also, the atmosphere should never be defined by alcohol ‘hyping’ everyone up, but instead be defined by the football played. It’s the World Cup semi-final, all is at stake, enjoy the game! I saw exactly what I’d expected to see: Passion and wildness, the stadium was 80% filled with Argentinian supporters who all screamed their heads off as the team scored again, and again. If you ask me, a crucial part as to why they won the World Cup, it was the fans who got behind them and pushed them forwards. Nothing that I saw reminded me of the absence of alcohol, many people including myself even forgot to drink because 90 minutes is not a lot of time, and you are glued to the game all the time.

Opening ceremony before the final of the World Cup 2022

The final…

If you know what went down during the final, you know. The game ended with Argentina becoming champions of the world, I came into the game hoping for France, Mbappé in particular to take home his second World Cup trophy (I am a Ronaldo fan, after all) but at the end of the day as I took an Uber to the airport to catch a flight, I was just overjoyed that I witnessed one of the greatest finals in arguably the best sports in the world. I must also admit, I came into this hoping for a loss on Lionel Messi’s end, and despite the title of ‘Greatest of All Time’ still belonging to Ronaldo in my heart, Messi has earned my upmost respect. His rivalry with Ronaldo has been beautiful. Knowing what was at stake, this was probably the closest I ever got to having a heart attack, disappointment, frustration, thrill, exhilaration, I felt everything there was to feel. Even writing this blog now, I’m uncontrollably smiling to myself, I believe everyone should experience excitement of this magnitude at least once in their lives and see passion at its core. I was surrounded by Argentinian fans, from the age of an 8-year-old girl to her grandparents, from brimming in confidence to utter disbelief to sobbing and hugging, but hidden within the crowds of Argentinians were French supporters who screamed and jumped along with me. I usually consider myself a calm viewer, swallowing English bad words and any visible upset down my gut, but that day I was lit up. It was the beauty of football, seeing everyone let loose in the stadium, I let myself go, too. The match was too good to be true, and I cannot thank anyone else but my parents for making this happen, I just cannot believe I witnessed everything first-hand. Enjoy the gallery of pictures and videos below.

Minutes after Argentina was crowned as winners

Thank you, Qatar.

Being my first real travel in 3 years, I sometimes get emotional about how fortunate I am, the memories I hope to make and the experiences I want to share as I become older. Especially this time around, I spent much less of my time in my hotel room, bingeing on some reality TV show, but out exploring. I helped my parents organize a last-minute boat trip to enjoy the island we stayed at (it’s called The Pearl) and wow, was it amazing. The weather was on our side, too, during the day it can get quite sunny but during the night it’s the perfect balance of warm and cold. Would I recommend travelling to Qatar? I think the World Cup contributed so much to the experience I very much enjoyed, therefore I cannot speak much about what it’d be like afterwards, I wouldn’t have jumped out of my comfort zone if it wasn’t for the chase for football. To the Japanese lady who owned the Japanese store for 10+ years and Filipino man I met on my boat trip that’s been in Doha since the beginning, thank you for sharing your love with my family and I. I loved it.

Thanks for reading, and see you all in a bit.

-Winnie 29/12/2022