{"id":2950,"date":"2014-07-10T14:25:01","date_gmt":"2014-07-10T18:25:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dorjegurung.com\/blog\/?p=2950"},"modified":"2026-03-13T22:07:42","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T22:07:42","slug":"qatar-from-afar-uncomfortable-questions-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dorjegurung.com\/blog\/2014\/07\/qatar-from-afar-uncomfortable-questions-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Qatar…From Afar: Uncomfortable Questions II"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On Thursday, April 25, 2013, when my dismissal had been finalized<\/a>, when I had submitted all the necessary documents (e.g. exit clearance form) and surrendered my Qatar ID\/Residence Permit (RP), Qatar Foundation ID, passport etc., I was set to leave Friday, May 3, 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only two things remained: apartment inspection by, and clearance from, the housing department, and getting my passport back from Qatar Academy (QA). The latter was contingent on my RP being cancelled and the Exit Permit being approved and applied for, on my behalf, by QA. (An electronic document, Exit Permit, which when issued, is held by the immigration authorities in their system.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But my passport never came<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s what happened instead between the day my dismissal was finalized and the day I was jailed on May 1<\/a>. (The email exchanges were with the administrator facilitating my departure, referred to as PC from here on. I refer to PC as “another administrator” in the post detailing the timeline of my ordeal<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thursday, April 25<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I schedule the apartment inspection for the morning of Sunday, April 28. (See image below for what it entailed.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Apartment<\/a>
Apartment clearance check list.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

 <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Sunday morning, April 28<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The actual \u201cinspection\u201d consists of the housing representative walking in, handing me a piece of paper to sign, and, signature done, walking out!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monday, April 29<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

At 11:51 am I fire off an email to PC, inquiring about the cancellation of the RP and status of the Exit Permit, and therefore the status of my passport. I had been promised my passport that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 12:28 pm PC writes back saying, and I quote, \u201cYes \u2013 we anticipate this arriving today \u2013 tomorrow latest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The day passes and neither do I have my passport nor do I receive any update.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuesday, April 30<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

At 10:02 am I email PC again inquiring after my passport etc. saying that my shipping agent needed them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 10:06 am PC writes back with, and I quote again, \u201cHiya Dorje, \/ We will have this by 1:00 today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you can see, the response contained no explanation for why it hadn’t arrived the previous day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1:00 pm comes and goes\u2014no passport, no word!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 2:12 pm I write a follow-up email saying, and I quote,  \u201cDo you have them? Can I come pick it up?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 2:18 pm PC responds: \u201cHiya, \/ [named personnel at QA] had gone to pick it up earlier today \u2013 I will check if he is back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 2:24 pm I fire off a quick response to that saying, \u201cI tried calling him before I sent you that email but he didn\u2019t answer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 2:33 pm PC responds saying: \u201cI have just spoken with [the same named personnel at QA] \u2013 your RP is cancelled in the system but the stamp was forgotten \u2013 it can be picked up tomorrow about 2:00. \/ Sorry about that dorje.\u201d (See image below for the email.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Final<\/a>
Final email from PC.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Wednesday, May 1<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Mid-morning, long before 2 pm, I get a call from Al Rayyan police station. After spending about four hours at the station, I am in jail by mid-afternoon<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Uncomfortable Questions<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The way the apartment inspection took place and the exchanges I had with PC raises a number of uncomfortable questions, as I am sure you can tell. Before I go on to the questions however, I want to reiterate something I stated in the first post<\/a> in this sub-series: I confess, I don’t necessarily know the answers to these questions, and where answers are provided, they are my own educated guesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Why was\u00a0the inspection\u00a0so perfunctory?\u00a0Was it as perfunctory with every other colleague?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Why did PC only respond to my emails and not volunteer information about the status of my passport?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Why did PC keep stalling?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Why would a “stamp” be necessary to cancel\u00a0a plastic card (Qatar ID\/RP)? How would you stamp a plastic card? (See image of the card below.)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    \"Qatar
    Qatar ID\/Residence Permit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    1. Why would a missing “stamp” on an ID card delay the handover of a passport? (I wasn’t getting the card back anyway; the authorities were keeping it.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Is there a\u00a0simpler\u00a0explanation?\n