It’s like it never happened. The X account of Qatar’s Ministry of the Interior has stopped posting about the security situation in the country and started posting about the dangers of drowning in swimming pools. The X account of the Ministry of the Interior in Bahrain, which was yesterday discussing warning sirens and advising that citizens occupy safe rooms, is today discussing fishing regulations and warning of big waves.
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With the – partly Qatar negotiated – ceasefire underway, both countries are keen to portray a return to normality. However, some financial services professions in the region say it will take a while to erase the memory of yesterday’s attacks.
“I was at home on the 21st floor of my apartment block with my wife and children,” says one senior expat at a bank in Doha. “For two hours yesterday, it was very hard. My wife and I spent our time devising escape plans, calling friends and our family to assure them we were OK. The children were too young to understand what was going on, but we’ve now put an escape bag together.”
If anything further happens, he says he’ll leave Qatar. “I’m apprehensive about living high in the building and still feel very vulnerable. We’d be lucky to survive an attack, and I’d rather leave.”
A video posted by CNN shows panic in a shopping mall in Qatar yesterday while the bombing was happening. There are suggestions that some expats in the country spent last night huddled in underground shelters.
One Western investor based in Qatar said the attacks weren’t an issue, though. People in Qatar believe that Qatar accepted the strike from Iran in order to deescalate the war, he said. “It’s clear the strike was symbolic. Qatar and Washington knew about it hours in advance, and Qatar was able to take all the necessary precautions to prevent casualties. No one I know is trying to leave the country, or feels in danger. Everyone is back in the office.”
Qatar is home to the Qatar Investment Authority, which boasts its employment over 60 nationalities and ability to attract “world-class talent.” It plans to invest $500bn in the US over the next 10 years. That in itself might be a reason for the US to ensure yesterday’s events don’t happen again.
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