Sixty three-year-old Peter Michael Stuart White first came to Qatar some 35-year-ago when he was visiting different countries on foot. He was then a journalist by profession in the UK and joined the Gulf Times as a reporter. He worked for a brief period of six months and left for the UAE where he worked in Fujairah.
Community recently caught up with the adventurer, who has been involved in different kinds of social and welfare works around the world. In an interview, he talks about his life and experiences at length.
Introducing himself, Peter said: “I am a free spirit, who has seen a lot of world both as a professional and a traveller. There are only a few countries that I have not visited yet.
“I came from a privileged background. My father was a military diplomat. My mother was a physiotherapist. This seems to be the clash in our family, one going for military and the other for medicines. After working as a journalist for some years, I finally decided that the best thing was to do medicine. As a child, I went to a private school in England. I have an older sister and two younger brothers. I have never been a married man. As for children, my work with Unicef has given me children in quite a big number to look after.”
Sharing his story about what the ‘free spirit’ has been doing so far, he said: “Free spirit means that you try and follow your inner life as much as possible, your intuitions, and your sentiments. Sometimes, you are led into a certain situation and if you can follow that thread, you are probably at the right place at the right time. Sometimes, I did quite long travels and at other times, I would be spending few years in isolation in England, Ireland and Italy. I lived in a mountain cave in Italy with my dog, named Banjo, for four years. It provided me a lot of energy for other activities.
“Having no money never troubled me. In fact, in some journeys I preferred having no money at all. So many other possibilities arise while having no money. While you walk, you meet incredible people in your way. I have visited many countries, all of Europe, Middle East, South Asian countries, China, Africa, Southeast Asia. I have not yet visited South American and Australian continents.
When asked how and when he started social and welfare work, Peter said: “It was during the civil war in Lebanon that I visited a refugee camp and the scenes there led me to social work. I was moved by the sheer misery the people were enduring at that time. Then, I was a journalist working in England. I realised that I could do better things than just writing about different things. Since then, I have been working to gather aid and send it to different areas where people are in trouble.
Regarding his different philanthropic works, the traveller added: “Probably, it started during the Gulf war in 1990s in Bahrain. I thought there would be a need for a civilian ambulance during the war. I came to the Middle East with my dog.
“After the Gulf war, I along with my dog, went to Finland and enjoyed my holidays in the Arctic Circle. There, I started a big project with a small idea of just taking a suitcase full of medicines to Moscow after the fall of the Berlin Wall. I was able to do that through the generosity of some private people. It was a great success. It was noticed by the then US president. Then, I walked across Europe with my dog to raise awareness about the condition of children in Bosnia. I succeeded in raising the sensibility for the children. I put together a project ‘Arms for Peace.’ This project helped in getting the Balkans problem solved. Then, I went to Switzerland where I have been working for all these years.
“Last year, I went to Oman close to its border with Yemen hoping to supply medicines in the catastrophe-hit areas. It was not a successful project because of the politics.”
When asked about coming back to Qatar, Peter said: “The idea is to have some sponsors for buying 10,000 pairs of rubber boots for the Syrian refugees living in camps in Lebanon. The children suffer during harsh winter weathers. I saw children walking in the mud bare footed. It occurred to me that the rubber boots could help them. I want to have colourful boots that will make the children happy. The idea is to come here and see what I can do.
“I was offered a job to work as a reporter with the Gulf Times. Currently, I have been here for three weeks and moved around Qatar. It is like having woken up after a very long coma. It is quite incredible. There was not much infrastructure when I was here for the first time. It is amazing to see the miracle of the Gulf region. One thing that struck me during my last visit and I kept that it in my mind all these years was a very casual encounter with a young lady on the Corniche. She was with her family and she turned towards me and smiled. I still remember her face and smile even after 35 years.”
When asked to share one good thing that he has learnt from his life-long travelling, Peter said; “It is an incredible planet to live. I have seen incredible cultures, vegetation, flowers, and fruits. It is a paradise that unfortunately we are losing in one way or another, partly because of pollution and partly because of thoughtless development.
“As a traveller, you are reflecting a lot on what you see around you. If I can bring the smile – the girl gave to me – to other people, I will consider myself to have lived a fulfilled life.”
“Today, the travelling has become safer with the advent of new technologies. Unfortunately, I do not think that there are great travelling experiences that were there in the past.
Some parts of the world are beginning to look like other parts too much. There isn’t much distinction between one city and another. If you travel in a company, it is sometimes an adventure. But if you travel alone, it is always an adventure.”
TRAVELLER: The keen traveller has been in Qatar for three weeks now and describes the development and changes in the country as a miracle. Photo of Peter by Ram Chand
