Postcard | Qatari pictograms

(Doha, Qatar) A curiosity, in Qatar, are the pictograms. You know those little drawings that give instructions without having to translate them into 72 languages? The recipe: simplicity and efficiency. And there’s nothing simpler than a stick figure crossing a street to announce a crosswalk.

The Qataris, themselves, have allowed themselves a little fantasy. On several pictograms, they dressed their characters. Sometimes with the traditional long garment that men wear to the ankles, called a thobe. Sometimes, with the integral veil which covers all the face of the women except the eyes, the niqab.

Each time it amazes me.

Why ?

Because in the street, few people dress like that. An overwhelming majority of Qatari residents – over 90% – wear long pants with a sweater or shirt instead.

Since the massive arrival of tourists last weekend, the contrast is even more striking. There are as many women in niqabs as Panthers fans in a Canadiens game in Florida during the holidays.

You should know that the demography of Qatar is unique. According to the most recent census, only 245,000 Qataris over the age of 15 live on the peninsula. It is roughly the equivalent of the population of Longueuil.

Who are the other 2.5 million people who live here? foreign workers. Mostly young men from South Asia and Africa, who have come to work in construction, restaurants, retail or for a security agency. In the old town, where my hotel is located, they are the ones we meet in the greatest number. European and North American expats, meanwhile, are concentrated in the city’s swankiest neighborhoods, like The Pearl, where city planners have created a fairly successful replica of Venice’s canals.

One last curiosity before returning to the stadium: the ratio of men to women. In Quebec, there is almost statistical equality — only 10,000 more men than women. Here ? There are 2.6 men for every woman, mainly due to the hiring of hundreds of thousands of foreign workers in traditionally male sectors, such as construction.