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Segregation in universities and schools is no longer imposed by the explicit prohibition of black and white students from attending the same schools as it was a long time ago, but it is caused by the students themselves and members of educational institutions. Just to give an insight, segregation is the unequal or unfair treatment of a person or a group because of their ethnicity, religion, culture, etc. After reading Neha Vora’s book called Teach for Arabia (2019), and having the coffee hour with her, I could see that this big issue does exist in Education city. As soon as I arrived on campus, I saw many people socializing in subgroups based on their nationality. Qatari was hanging out in groups with other Qataris, Pakistani hanging out only with each other, and so on. I stopped and thought, “what am I doing here?”. I felt so excluded seeing everybody in small closed groups where no one from outside seemed to be able to join.
In her book, Neha Vora talks about certain preconceived notions that exist in one subgroup about the other subgroup, which is an opinion formed beforehand without adequate evidence. I completely agree with her argument. We see this every day, people judging others without even knowing the other person. Unfortunately, these preconceived notions make people distance themselves from other groups and hinder community interaction. Although this is a “natural” human reaction, it is not correct. We can be surprised by people in ways we never thought to be surprised.
Vora interviewed students who said that their views on certain subgroups had changed after interacting with them. After I interacted with Qataris, for example, my views on them changed 100%. Moreover, I know many people who changed their minds about me as well after we interacted with each other. This segregation has decreased a little after people got to know each other and start breaking paradigms. However, although I can interact more with people of other nationalities, in certain situations I don’t feel comfortable or I don’t feel that I belong to that group.
Therefore, I think that segregation can decrease over the years, but never end up completely because there will always be conversations or things in common between that group that an outsider can feel excluded socially. These are just a few examples and ways in which students can be discriminated against in Education City. Furthermore, this issue is not limited to students. I have heard several stories of migrant workers being mistreated by their bosses and big companies in Qatar. Migrants working as babysitters, drivers, housemaids, etc, which are unrecognized jobs and considered inferior in our society.
Sources:
Vora, N. (2019). Teach for Arabia American universities, liberalism, and transnational Qatar. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.