Dear Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani,
I am writing to you this open letter today after I failed to reach you at your office because of the too much work you have at the administrative and security levels in this country.
I have preferred to write this letter, which comes from a man who loves this country, a man who does his best to protect the security and peace of this country, given the fact that the press functions as a bridge between the government and citizens.
I am writing this letter because I want everybody in and outside Qatar to know about what our country and wise leadership offer to people suffering everywhere. Our country has opened its doors wide to everyone who seeks rescue from oppression in most Arab countries.
Your Excellency, our country is home to a large number of people who had to leave their countries because of oppression and come here. Some led a dignified life in their countries and occupied leading positions but preferred to leave to live in dignity here, having refused to continue living under oppression back home.
They took Qatar as their destination and our leadership welcomed them. Our leadership treated them generously and preserved their pride and dignity.
Qataris did not need a visa to visit their countries in the past, Qatari students could find their places in schools and universities there without any discrimination or suffering.
They could stay in these countries as long as they wanted regardless of whether they were young or old.
True, when they go to these countries, our citizens do not demand any help from authorities there thanks to the prosperity Allah has bestowed on us and the fact that our wise government does everything possible to meet our needs when we are abroad — even on vacation.
The Foreign Ministry always provides Qataris with phone numbers of Qatari consulates and embassies to facilitate contact between them and official agencies when they are abroad.
Your Excellency, what has made me write this open letter to you through the media is a decision/law by your Interior Ministry that prevents expatriates above 60 from renewing their residence permits.
Other people and I can understand the reasons for this decision/law, but you know that there is always an exception to the rule, particularly when it comes to white-collar jobs.
Most people I am talking about here are the ones who were subjected to injustice in their countries.
That is why they had to leave to escape oppression by their rulers and regimes.
They came here to live as our brothers and sisters. Most are qualified and some work in government agencies and research centres. Some are nearing 60 or above and feel worried about themselves and their families.
They are from countries like Iraq, Syria, Libya, Algeria and Mauritania. Where will they go if they are not allowed to continue to live in our country? They cannot go back home because the situation that forced them to leave in the first place has worsened.
Worse, foreign embassies do not grant visas to people who do not have residence permits for at least one year, even if they want to perform Umrah or Haj.
Our country has treated these people generously, provided them with facilities and protection for their families. Can all this end all of a sudden?
I hope our wise leadership exempts this category of residents from this decision/law. I hope you continue to treat residents above 60 with the same generosity you did in the past. The reality is that Qatar, founded by H E Sheikh Jassem bin Mohamed and its renaissance spearheaded by the Father Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, has become the destination of the oppressed.
