I would like to congratulate the readers on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan. I hope the month will be full of blessings and victory for the Arab and Islamic nation.
The month of mercy comes this year while our nation is facing tough conditions: Iraq was taken away from us even as we looked on; our beloved Syria is being torn apart by the fire of its own army, which is led by Bashar Al Assad and his war staff composed of Safavids, Shaubies and parties of betrayal and apostasy.
Lebanon is suffering from sectarian and political rifts and the fire is heading full speed toward the capital, Beirut. Egypt is lost in a vast abyss from which it will be difficult to rescue it (I hope God saves Egypt and protects it from those who want to do it harm).
The situation in Libya, Tunisia, Yemen and Sudan is no better. The situation in the Gulf countries, which are under threat from evils groups, is no better either.
Thank God we in Qatar are in good condition. We have young leaders from the top to bottom. We all look forward to completing the development plans drawn up by H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani; may God give him health and long life so he can harvest the fruits of the seeds he planted in Qatari youth under the leadership of the Emir, H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. We have hopes that the Emir will have honest supporters who will help him fulfil his responsibilities to the people of this country.
Having said all this about conditions in the Arab world, I would like to dwell on the statements of the First Undersecretary of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Hassan Al Mula. Al Mula said the ministry would be responsible for identifying job opportunities for Qataris and would train them.
This is good news and worthy attention of everybody. I hope statements by government officials are followed up with practical action.
In this regard I know of several cases that I would like to raise with the Ministry of Labour, and Al Mula in particular.
The first case is of a group of youth who did not receive public education for some social reasons. These youth only managed to attend primary school. They searched for work, but to no avail.
One of these youth managed to get a job at a state institution. He passed the medical test. This man, however, was not hired by the state institution, which discovered that a cheque he had given to one of his family members had bounced. This happened ten years ago. The man’s criminal record is otherwise clean. The question is: Should this man be punished for the rest of his life for having given one of his family members a cheque that bounced?
We make mistakes, and then when we plead with God for mercy, He forgives us.
The Public Prosecution says such a case can be dropped with the passage of time. Is there a way, Al Mula, to save this man from the clutches of evil fuelled by financial needs if he does not find a job?
The other case is of youth with varying educational qualifications. When these youth apply for jobs in the private or semi-public sectors, they are always asked to submit evidence of past professional experience of not less than five years. The fact is that most of our youth do not have five years of professional experience. Can this requirement be waived? Other youth have the required professional experience, but they are hired for salaries lower than those of their foreign peers although they know both Arabic and English. Is it logical that a foreigner who is less qualified is hired for a salary and an administrative position higher than that of his Qatari peer?
I know of many such cases but it would take a long time to discuss them. These examples can be investigated.
We have high hopes in H E Abdullah Saleh Mubarak Al Khulaifi, the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs. We hope he will help the Qataris mentioned above – both men and women – realise their dreams.
