Jennifer Stables; Pic: Abdul Basit/The Peninsula
Doha: Members of the British community in Qatar never feel they are thousands of miles away from their home country. The diverse vibrant culture, safe environment and the hospitality offered by the country make them feel that they are at home.
British expatriates host cultural programs and get-together which help them to keep abreast of updates happening in their community.
“I have been residing in Qatar for 23 years my children were born and brought up here. They were part of the local community they have many Qatari friends. My children felt very much at home, they called Qatar home,” Emad Turkman, Chairman of Qatar British Business Forum and Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO)of Rumaillah Group told The Peninsula. “Absolutely there is no problem that is why everybody is happy here,” he added.
Emad is running “Qatar British Business Forum’ the largest British expatriate business group which has over 500 members. The Forum was established in 1992 is considered one of the oldest business group in the country.
A big majority of British expatriates who leave Qatar come back which shows their strong bond with Qatar.
“Various cultural programs are being organised by British Council and British Embassy for their expatriates in Qatar,” said Turkman adding that the activities focus on British history and culture and promoting the opportunities of education in the UK.
The fifth annual Qatar-British Festival, which started on November 27, has already become a huge success among British expatriates and residents. The festival being organised by British Embassy and British Council has 20 live events for this years edition.
Emad Turkman
Qatar is a great place for expatriates including UK citizens residing in the country as they get a lot of opportunity to meet with their fellow citizens and members of other communities at work and free times, said another British expatriate.
“I have been living in Qatar since five and half years working with an engineering firm,”Jennifer Stables Country Chair of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE)-Qatar told The Peninsula.
She added that British expatriates participated and attended a lot of cultural programs organised by British embassy and British Council and other organisations.
The overall environment of safety is another important highlight of Qatar.
“There are very nice people here. I have been working in same organisation for 23 years. Qatar is very safe environment for families. No where in the world you could leave your door open and keep key of your car and go out,” said Turkman.
He said that despite difference in the culture between two counties there are significant respect from the people of both sides. “I recommend the people to come in Qatar,” he added.
British expatriates are well organized community in Qatar, Turkman said “They meet each other regularly. They have many social organisations like mother groups, children groups, book society, sport society.”
Expatriates commend the role played by British Embassy in Qatar by organising cultural programs. “There are a lot of occasions where people meet in the embassy functions. I never feel alone,” he added.
Qatar-British Festival, is one of them which marked the friendship between two countries, said Stables: “I enjoyed the celebration marked on different occasions with my friends at different places. I attended the last celebration ‘Queens’s birthday party’ which attracted large number of people including representatives of British firms operating in Qatar,” she added.
Stables said that many new people came in Qatar who looked for friends so there were very easy to make friendships moreover they were very welcoming people.
“My friends get together at homes during free time specially at weekends. Next week I am going to meet with my friends in Perl Qatar on a cocky party which is part of some cultural celebration.” She said that she some time her friends gather at lunch time. “Since they belonged to different countries and cultures so they brought their traditional foods. We enjoyed good times together,” she added.
