Blindness in Qatar

There's a new New York Times article out about Qatar's growing blind population. It mentions a little about the previous NYT's article and how marrying first cousins might be a cause of so much blindness.

A very fortunate woman, Dr. Heji, who went blind was given the opportunity to learn English, go abroad, and earn a PhD. She says that there are many obstacles for the blind in Qatar despite their growing numbers.

• Qatar's cities are built for cars
• Dogs are not well received here so seeing eye dogs aren't feasible
• Many still marry first cousins and other close relatives

It is a good article. Read it!

Until Next Time,

WW

Interesting Article about Qatar

A few days ago I read this New York Times article after a few co-teachers posted it on their Facebook walls. Basically, Qatar is headed for a lot of problems because of: fast food leading to obesity and diabetes, sudden mass wealth leading to laziness, extreme heat making exercise outside nearly impossible, and the time honored tradition and popularity of marrying first cousins.


The article states that when people marry first cousins and have children there are genetic disorders like blindness and mental disabilities. This of course set off an alarm in my head when I tought of my class. (I cannot stop thinking of my class because they've been a particularly rough bunch.) In fact, out of 18 ladies I have 2 that have noticeable eye problems. One wears glasses and one does not. The one with glasses has one clouded eye turned inward towards her nose. The one with no glasses has one eye that catches my attention. I cannot figure out if the one eye is stuck in the same position or if it wanders. Either way, the one without glasses has a pair of eyes that act as separately darting around the room.


The article went on to explain that "Qatar ranks sixth globally for prevalence of obesity and has the highest rate of obesity among boys in the Middle East and North African region." I did notice a big difference in bodies when I moved from South Korea to Qatar. In South Korea I was looked upon as "big" even though I am 5'5" and about 125 pounds. Here, women cover their curvy (obese?) bodies with the long, black abaya. My students do not seem to have any insecurities about their bodies. It was refreshing at first, but now I see their habits as described in the New York Times article as clearly unhealthy.




Perhaps the most shocking (and predictable to me having lived here for several months) is the private life of the Qatari man running a government program to decrease these issues. That man is a 25 year old, overweight man who does not exercise and married his first cousin.

I do not know if the people here are in denial, do not understand/believe the medical research, or just do not care about these health issues. I guess only time will tell...



Until next time,

WW

Abaya photo credit: http://jamericanmuslimah.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/abaya.jpg