Dear Sir,
Recently when I was visiting a shopping mall in Doha with my two-month-old baby boy. Usually I always carry a feeding bottle in my bag but that day I forgot to take it along. I thought that there might be a breastfeeding room in the mall since a lot of nursing mothers do happen to go to malls with their little ones. On inquiring from the information desk, I was surprised to hear that there was one on the opposite side which was a long walk from where I was. By the time I reached the feeding room, the little one had lost his patience and had received quite an attention from passersby. I assume the parents’ room was never in the building plan.
A few days later, I was visiting one of the best private hospitals of Doha for a minor treatment of my child and astonishingly there was no feeding room or parents’ room in that building too. I was escorted to a doctor’s empty room for feeding.
Many countries, including Qatar are now aggressively promoting breastfeeding for the well-being of both babies and mothers. It really makes me disappointed to see many public places here not providing such facilities. I strongly suggest and appeal that parents’/feeding rooms be made a priority in public complexes.
Ayesha Nsar, (e-mail address provided)
Thank you and goodbye Qatar
Dear Sir,
I am leaving Qatar for good. My stay in Qatar had been amazing, very eventful and a memorable one. I would like to express my gratitude to three important entities who made our (myself and my family members) stay very comfortable and joyous in this country.
First, I would like to appreciate Gulf Times for its immense contribution in keeping me connected to all parts of the world. Virtually no day of mine passed without reading Gulf Times. It became a part and parcel of my everyday life. I think its genuine reporting of news without any bias makes it unique. A separate section for community, with focus on school activities and the different communities, also makes it special. I was happy to note that Gulf Times news reporting was very balanced in terms of region, community and other sectors. I used to wait for Monday to read the “Tamil Nadu Roundup” as I belong to Coimbatore in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. This is a clear example how Gulf Times is able to reach its readers locally as well as globally. I am sure that GT will march towards greater success in future.
Next my sincere thanks go to the Government of Qatar for providing excellent facilities to spend weekends and other holidays with family and friends. A walk along the Corniche, cycling at Aspire, a visit to the wonderful museum, activities at places such as Katara, Pearl Qatar, Souq Waqif, etc. during Eid, Qatar National Day, Qatar National Sport Day and Spring holidays are a few to mention. Qatar has become a role model for all other countries to set high standards for all residents in terms of quality of life. I wish and pray Qatar continues to grow to greater heights. I am sure that Qatar FIFA World Cup 2022 will be the best ever in the series. Thank you Qatar for everything.
Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation and thanks to Hamad Medical Corporation and the primary health centres that took care of all our health needs. My salute to all staff members of HMC who always showed great care and professionalism while dealing with our health issues. The staff of health centres were kind and courteous whenever we approached them. I wish all of them well. I am sure that I am going to miss Qatar badly, but I will definitely be carrying all the sweet memories to cherish.
Thank you all and goodbye.
Vidhyasankar Subramanian, Doha
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