In Qatar, white is right

But then again, don't get me wrong. The intensity isn't as bad as the old times in England, when a taxi driver would refuse to drop you to South Hall at 10 am saying it's his lunch time, or a supermarket security guard following you around in the market just coz you're not white, or that you're Indian.

But then again, a thief's a thief, right? Be it a theft of 10 bucks or 10,000. It's still a crime.

And so, I'll tell you stories and stories about Qatar. How much I am falling in love with this country, how amazingly it's changing, growing.

But then again, it ain't perfect, just like probably any other country, except say the Islands of Langkawi or Seychelles.

Here, Qatar, a country which houses people of almost 50 different nationalities, is a country in which, if you ain't White, you'll feel a little bit of pinch here and there sometimes.

Either you ignore that pinch and turn around and walk. Or you stand up, and decide to do something about it. You may or may not be succesful. But it's the law of my life. If you give me grief, I'll give you grief.

I ain't Jesus. I'm a headstrong human being. I'm gonna fight back.

We're not gonna talk about how White's invariably are paid a lot more than non-Whites in Qatar. It's a pointless thing, especially when money doesn't mean anything to me. If anyone else wants to talk about it, go ahead. But not me.

I'm talking about pride, which I do care about. I am talking about, being a decent looking, well-spoken, well-dressed (maybe a little too stylish for some), long-haired writer, an image I do give a damn about. I'm talking about being an author of two books. I'm talking about being the man who broke news of one of the biggest sex scandals ever to have erupted in the country of India. I'm talking about being a former Pro-cricketer in England. I'm talking about pride, which I do care about.

In a country the size and population of India, I was never EVER EVER stopped from entering in any restaurant, or bar, or whatever.

In Qatar, (what, is it half the size of Delhi?), working for the leading newspaper of the country with an unmissable name that appears every now and then, I am stopped from entering places.

This isn't about me. This is about so many non-White men, who are refused entry into restaurants and bars like the one in Rydges Hotel, or Intercon's Paloma, saying "entry only for couples and members", when everyone knows there is no membership system in Qatar whatsoever, and there are about a hundred white stags inside, probably allowed entry in shorts and slippers. It's about those non-White men, who quietly turn around and walk away, and probably then head to a cheap-sad-ass restaurant or bar to have a drink or eat food.

It's about them.

As far as me, if a club or a restaurant stops me, Like Rydges did twice, and Paloma once, when the entire place inside was filled with White stags, I bring hell down on the hotel, and make sure the guard at the entrance who stopped me opens the door for me. I make sure that happens.

I'm sorry, but I ain't used to being stopped from entering any place.

And so the black Sri-Lankan guard at the entrance of Rydges bar stopped me last week. Same excuse, "Couples and members."

I quietly took out my ID and my newspaper card, and told him, "Dude, I'm just here to have a beer and shoot some pool."

Two white men came out of the lift, while I was standing before the ropes of the entrance to the bar, the six-and-ahalf-foot black guard opens the gate for them, smiles and they enter. I am still standing outside.

"I thought you said couples only."

"Sorry, you cannot enter," is what he said.

"I want to speak with the bar manager."

"She's off. Come tomorrow at 10am."

"Brother, when I come tomorrow, you will open this gate for me."

"We'll see. Let's see what you can do."

I swear, I didn't sleep that night, I had a focus for the next day. The next morning, I began to give grief to the hotel, left right and centre... from top to bottom.

Finally reached the F&B Manager. He told him he'd look into the matter.

fair. The next day I went back there. This time there was no one at the gate. I went inside, with a friend, drank, came out. Easy.

Now yesterday, after about a week I went back there. The same black Sri-Lankan. He whispers something to the other guard something about me being the same guy from Gulf Times, and after a bit of their tamil talk, they said you can't enter. That was it.

I called up the F&B Manager at midnight. Obviously man. My phone went inside, and out came a blonde lady who was apparently the bar manager.

"Why did you call up my boss? He's giving me hell."

"Well, I'm sure you deserve it. It might not be your fault at all, and you may not be even aware of it, but you are responsible."

"But I am here. You could have spoken to me."

"The last time I asked for you, you weren't here. So cut the jack."

"Whatever, go in."

That's the way she allowed me inside what she called, "My (her) bar."

A customer, like they say, in Qatar, is fucked.

Anyway... that apart. The real sad part about all this madness is that all the guards who refuse entry to people because they ain't White at gates of restaurants and bars are either from Sir-Lanka or Africa!!!

Maybe I am being a little too hard. It isn't that absolutely no non-White is allowed inside. No, that's untrue. Of course they are. But no White would ever be refused entry, no matter if he's wearing shorts or slippers or whatever. While a non-White must follow rules. He'll be refused entry on any account.

I ain't saying everyone should be allowed. And also that it's impossible to know just by the face who's gonna or can cause trouble inside a place. But all I am saying that just by the colour of the skin, you can't know either, who really is gonna be trouble inside.

For example, last night at Rydges, there was a Brit blonde on the dance floor. I haven't seen a bigger non-charging-slut ever in my life. She was dancing alone... when there were three ugly men, from different different tables smooching her around. Some holding her, smooching her, then the other one takes her, pulls her by the hair and kisses her, and then another.

It was by far THE most pathetic sight I had ever seen in my life. But no, it was ok... coz she was White, a White, who was eventually escorted outside by the guards after she started abusing the DJ for not playing her song, while the men from different tables fought with the guards coz they were just about to lose either of their night's vagina... or were they plannin an orgy?!

The other day at Oasis, an Arab, a regular at the Oasis bar, dressed in shorts was refused a drink because he was in shorts.

On another afternoon, he brought down hell to the hotel, when a White entered the bar in shorts and sneakers and was handed over a beer by the bartender.

He said, "Fuckin hell, this is MY country, and in MY country, you smoothen rules for a person who's from another place, and not for ME???"

He made it a point to have that White man escorted out and return in proper trousers, while all of us started clapping and cheering.

So, what do we do?

There are two sorts of people in this world. One, who quietly tolerate everything. And the other, who stand up and take responsibility to change them.

My name is Rohit Wadhwaney. And I'm about to tell these people, that speaking English with an accent does not imply education and power.