Day after, Kerala diaspora regain calm

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The panic that gripped Keralites residing in Qatar on Monday following diplomatic crisis that isolated the Gulf country from its neighbours seems to have faded with many perceiving a speedy solution to the `disputes'.
Life and business went as usual on Tuesday in the absence of emergency situation or any restriction from the government or enforcement agencies.“Monday's panic, which saw several residents including Malayalis thronging hypermarkets to stock essential commodities was found to be totally unnecessary, as supplies are least affected,“ said T N Baburaj, president of Indian Community Benevolent Forum, an organisa tion working under the Indian embassy in Doha.
Though a consumer country, Qatar has not declared any state of emergency and the police ignored Monday's panic situation in hypermarkets, Baburaj said. “The government's restraint has been able to calm the residents,“ he added.
Unlike other Indians working in Qatar, 40% of Keralites employed there have their fam ilies with them, which is being cited as a major reason for the `unnecessary panic' that spread among the Malayali community immediately after the news broke. Out of the estimated 6.5 lakh Indians residing in Qatar, 60% are from Kerala.
“However, the recent years have witnessed more flow of expats from Rajastan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Tamil Nadu rather than from Kerala,“ said Haneef Mohammed, working in a retail company . Still, 95% of grocery shops, cafeterias and small hotels are owned by Malayalis and they also run many retail outlets, especially in automobile sector and travel agencies, he said.
The country is said to be employing around 15,000 Indian nurses, of which majority are from Kerala. The mediation by the Kuwaiti Emir to settle the dispute between Qatar and five other Arab nations the support from Iran and possible supply of essential commodities from countries like India have raised the residents' hopes. As of now, Qatar depends on Saudi Arabia and UAE hugely for food items.
“A continued conflict may affect supply of milk for which Qatar heavily depend on Saudi Arabia. But, we are sure Qatar will have several alternative options,“ said Alex Thomas, who has been working in the hotel industry for several years.
As of now, there's no shortage of supply or price escalation, Thomas said. “And, we think it's an issue which could be settled in a couple of days,“ he added.