From Fareej to Metropolis: A Social Capital Survey of Qatar

Abstract

The importance of social cohesion and levels of social interaction were highlighted during the 20th century as waves of migrants from developing countries started arriving at the shores of the developed world. These interactions between members of the community on different levels are labeled today under the concept of “social capital”. Social capital embodies the relationships that connect people outside the family to society as a whole. This is seen in social interaction between members of the same group and between different groups, membership and involvement in civil society, community and religious organizations and other indicators of social activity. The investigation of social capital in Qatar provides a window into the unique population characteristics of the broader Arab Gulf, as well as Qatar itself. In response to rapid economic development, Qatar, like most other Arab Gulf countries, has a sizeable immigrant population, comprised of expatriates (white-collar workers) mainly from the Arab and Western worlds and migrant laborers (blue-collar workers) mainly from South and Southeast Asia. The Social Capital Survey, centered on social life in Qatar, is the first survey of its kind in the GCC region. This executive summary focuses on the neighborhood as a microcosm of these groups’ social worlds. White-collar migrant workers tend to live in employer-provided housing comprising of apartments and villa complexes and blue-collar migrant workers mostly live in labor camps thus they tend for the most part to interact with co-workers and individuals with similar backgrounds. Qataris tend to live in neighborhoods with detached high-fenced housing in predominantly Qatari neighborhoods where extended family members tend to live. These neighborhoods largely define and structure the social interactions of these respective groups, and this executive report presents the first results describing these relationships. This report is organized into six sections. The first section, “Reasons for Residing in Neighborhood,” presents responses to questions about the importance of and reasons for living in a particular neighborhood. Section two, “Neighborhood Composition,” presents responses to questions about who lives in the respondent’s neighborhood, and who he or she would most prefer to have as neighbors. The third section, “Neighborhood Interaction” provides a summary of responses to questions about participation in neighborhood activities and interactions with neighbors. Section four, “A Sense of Belonging” describes attitudes about the importance of belonging to one’s neighborhood and the extent to which respondents believe they have a lot in common with their neighbors. Section five, “A Sense of Community,” describes respondent beliefs about the willingness of their neighbors to help in times of need. The last section “Social activity” provides an overall view of social activity and inter-group relations in Qatar. All six sections compare responses by Qataris, white-collar respondents, and blue-collar respondents.