Qatar is most likely his last foreign assignment and by far the “most memorable.” In his four-year tenure, he mobilised his country’s expatriate base into one of the most socially active communities. And he has been personally involved with them in every community activity.
He played golf with them, they used to go fishing together and he even experienced his first ever scuba diving here with them.
An old hand at diplomacy and a gentleman to the core, Deddy Saiful Hadi, Ambassador of Indonesia to Qatar, says he enjoyed every bit of his interaction with his community, and with people outside of it.
“I am definitely going to miss Doha, the Qatari hospitality, the local food, the members of Indonesian diaspora and a lot of friends that I have made here,” Hadi tells Community just days before he winds up his stay.
The 62-year-old diplomat is saying goodbye to Qatar at the end of this month, and with that perhaps, to his long diplomatic career, too.
“I still remember the day I arrived here. It was one chilly morning four years ago and I was pleasantly surprised. I was told the climate here is very hot. And let me tell you coming from a tropical country I adjusted very quickly and I never even once fell ill in four years here,” says Hadi as we walk into the elegantly decorated drawing room of his official residence in Dafna.
Sipping traditional Indonesian coffee, the ambassador recalls his first impression of Doha. The city was sprawling with a beautiful landscape and there was a lot of greenery around — yes, greenery!
“People say it is a desert country, but I think there is plenty of greenery around. Doha is a beautiful city,” emphasises the ambassador.
Although with continuing development, the traffic congestion has increased, Hadi believes it is not as bad as in his country’s capital Jakarta yet.
Qatar is his fifth diplomatic posting. His first was Canada in 1984 as a junior diplomat. He was posted in Ottawa as part of a one year training programme by his country’s foreign ministry.
“We were four young diplomats there. In our jeans and backpacks, we would go to a university to take English language courses in the morning and in the afternoon we would change into our suits and work in different departments at the embassy,” Hafi recalls.
The next year he moved to Vancouver, British Columbia to his country’s consulate where he spent three years. Next, he went to Romania for four years before being assigned to Kuwait, his first diplomatic assignment in the Middle East.
From 2004 to 2008, Hadi was posted in San Francisco, United States. This time he took his family along. His two sons studied there. His elder son did an MBA and his younger son graduated with a BA.
On his return to Indonesia in 2008, he was deputed to Coordinating Ministry for Political, Law and Security Affairs where he spent three years before coming to Qatar in 2012.
“I have enjoyed being everywhere. I am an open-minded and positive person. I always see positives in people and situations. And I forget any bad experiences. I love to interact with the people. Every country I have been to, I found interesting people and interesting things to do,” says Hadi.
But in all this continent-hopping, did his family life suffer, particularly the children’s education?
“A lot of my friends complained their families suffered due to constant travel. Mine too did initially, but then I managed it. I am proud to say that I have been able to raise my children well without letting their education suffer,” replies Hadi.
“I remember when I was posted in Romania; my sons had to go to a German school because at that time I could not afford to send them to an English school. It was expensive and our embassy did not support children’s education back then. Now they do,” he recalls.
Hadi says his children were therefore taught German language and he and his wife got to learn it as well in the process. When the children would go back to Indonesia, they had to teach them Indonesian language as well. But that just proved a phase.
His both sons are married now. The elder is settled back in Indonesia, working with an investment bank. The younger is training to become a diplomat. He married his classmate from Foreign Service last year and is currently, pursuing his Masters degree on scholarship from Birmingham University in England.
Leaving Doha on February 1, Hadi plans to go see him in England but only after spending two days in Abu Dhabi first where the members of Indonesian diaspora have invited him to play golf with them.
Hadi says his biggest achievement as ambassador was to receive his country’s President Joko Hidodo in Qatar on his official visit last year. “It was an honour for me and a memorable day in my life,” says the ambassador.
The veteran diplomat has been socially active with his community right from the beginning of his tenure. His wife went on to join the Indonesian women’s bowling association while he played golf and established the Indonesian community’s Golf Association in 2013.
Hadi also helped the Indonesians living in Qatar to arrange for the religious education of their children and actively participate in other community activities. More than 40,000 Indonesians are living in Qatar at present; however, Hadi feels this number can be increased as there are many areas that Indonesians can explore for opportunities.
He says he has fond memories of the time spent in Doha. Souq Waqif is one of the places he is going to miss. “We would always take our guests to cafes’ and restaurants there. The environment is amazing. Similarly, there are some amazing places in Katara and The Pearl-Qatar as well,” says Hadi, recalling how after offering Juma (Friday) prayers in Katara mosque he used to go to a café in Katara and relax.
With friends from the diplomatic community, he has also been going fishing. “I went to Al-Khor with the Malaysian ambassador and others for fishing and I caught this big humour (fish), the catch of the day,” he laughs.
Through multiple cultural shows and events, Hadi says he tried his best to introduce and promote his country’s art and culture in Doha. The ASEAN festival he helped organise as the chairman of the group of ASEAN countries in Katara was a huge success. Now, his embassy has also been invited to participate in the upcoming ‘My Coffee, My Identity’ event to be held here this year.
Hadi says tourism from Qatar to his country enhanced during his time as ambassador here and he has been able to convince his country’s tourism department to focus on Qatar as an important station to draw tourists from.
Hadi thanks HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and HH the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani for their support and hospitality. He wishes continued prosperity for Qatar.
HAPPY STAY: Ambassador Hadi and his wife Endang Deddy Saiful Hadi cutting the rice cake to initiate Independence Day celebrations. Right: FOND MEMORIES: Ambassador Deddy Saiful Hadi addressing the audience during a ceremony to mark the Independence Day of his country.
