I'll give credit when its due- and at this point, its due.

As much as I make fun of Qatar for how they do things and what they stand to acheive with theircurrent policies, I must take a paragraph or two to point out something that caught my eye yesterday, buried deep within the annals of the Middle East section on BBC's website.
Qatar plans to pay the wage of 40,000 Palestinian workers.

Since Hamas took over the Palestinian government, money that Israel has usually provided (and often, as in this case, used as a political tool) has dried up. Israel has refused to pay thewages for all public sector workers such as teachers, doctors, nurses, security personnel etc.This has been an economic sanction even greater than the price many nations have paid for their illegal actions; and this is in response to the Palestinian people execising their political rightto elect a government of their own choosing.

All of these workers have been left stranded. They hold important positions in Palestinian society, tying the strings of stability together everyday- responding to crises or trying to educate a generation that sees nothing in its own future. These are the building blocks of a Palestinian society that has been dogged by war, sanctions and seperation. To rob these people of their own meagre sustenance is a crime- neverthless, they have gone on and worked for free.
Now, Qatar like Iran afew months ago, has pledged to pay all 40,000 workers' wages. Qatar might be on its knees to the Americans, it might even be the most pro-Israeli government in the Middle East, but what they have pledged to do makes me feel that there is still hope for them.

Good for the Qataris to be spending their money on less Bentley GTs and more on humanitarian efforts. Whats more, Qatar has also pledged a further 7 million in aid to the Palestinians. Its high time the Middle East woke up and took stock of what is going on in Palestine. Don't get me wrong, its not as if they do not know, or that they don't talk about it, but as Edward Norton says in American History X, "There's a lot of hard talk around here, and no follow through"; same applies to the Middle East nations. Its no wonder that my friend S makes a distinction between the Middle East and the smaller region known as the Glf, the affluent, high-spending spoilt brats that own half the wealth in the world and fail to share any of it with anyone, much less people of their own race.

I'm starting on a righteous trip again, aren't I? I'll just leave it at that. I'm glad Qatar is helping out and I hope to see more of the same in the coming months.

Allah-i-Khaleek, yanni peace!