As mentioned in the previous post, the discovery of oil triggered a wave of modernization and initiated the development of the luxury-based society we see in Qatar today.‘Company House; one of the museums in Msheireb, has posed as a great example exhibiting the journey of petro-modernity in Qatar. However an interesting feature of the museum’s exhibit is that it narrates the journey of Qatar’s modernisation through the experience of the ‘pioneers’, the first Qatari oil workers. The exhibition displays the personal anecdotes in the form of video interviews and personal belongings of some of those workers. As the discovery of oil in Qatar promised Bergthaller’s ‘good life’, it was far from the case for many of these workers and also those that came decades later in the after oil era.
Even though the discovery of oil was supposed to bring about a transition in the lifestyle and society in Qatar, the first oil company in Qatar was set up and run by the British which employed the Qatari workforce to work the oil site. Despite the profits generated by oil exports, most of these Qatari workers and families were still facing difficult living conditions. A part of the exhibition mentions how many of these workers worked far away from home and families in Dukhan which was 80+ km away from Doha. These workers were often required to walk half their way to Doha in the desert heat at times due to the lack of transportation available to them. Moreover, the development of the first dispensary and school in Doha was also for the protection of the British men and women residing in the Qatari peninsula working for the British Oil Company, This was under the agreement signed between the British authorities and the Qatari Emir to assure the protection of the British residing in the area. There was very little intrinsic care and concern for the Qatari workers and their families.
However, decades later where Msheirb, the historical site where many Qatari oil workers used to reside, is built to be this post-modern, futuristic city built entirely on a sustainable model. The building of this project similar to the British Oil Company has hired low income workers from countries in South and SouthEast Asia. Many of these workers resided in the area of Msheireb and were asked to evacuate their residences overnight and as per the report by ‘mint’ forced to sleep on the streets to make way for the construction that was known to be the Msheireb Downtown. Despite being a representative of the after oil era, this transition from oil to sustainability was also supposed to also be a version of social transition. However, even though Msheireb is an epitome of luxury with its hotels, cafes, malls and luxury apartments, its cost of living is tailored for a very particular audience from a specific socio-economic background and this displacement of workers for its construction is one sign how sustainability is a luxury in Doha that cannot be trickled down to the everyday life of many similar to the luxury of petro modernity which was not translated to all. Hence, Bergthaller’s vision of a good life for all remains an unanswered question.
