Qatari nationals are now officially on notice to leave neighboring countries within two weeks after an unprecedented diplomatic freeze of the nation by key allies and neighbors.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen and the Maldives announced that from Tuesday 6th June, 2017all ties with Qatar — a country of 2.4 million people, mostly foreign workers is severed indefinitely.
Qatar has said the justification for the freeze — allegations that it supports terrorism and destabilizes the region — are “unjustified” and “baseless.”
What’s changed?
• Saudi Arabia has severed all land, sea and air links with Qatar, and the UAE has closed its airports and harbors to Qatari flights and shipping.
• Etihad, Emirates, Fly Dubai and Gulf Air have halted all flights in and out of Doha, the Qatari capital. Qatar Airways says it’s halting flights to Saudi Arabia.
• Qatari diplomats have been given notice to leave their foreign posts.
• Qatari citizens have been told they have 14 days to leave Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE, and those countries also banned their own citizens from entering Qatar.
Qatar is rich in oil and gas but low on food production as they depend heavily on imported food mostly from Saudi Arabia. Now the borders have been shut, food prices could skyrocket. At the time of this report, stockpiling of food is ongoing by residents; contemplation’s of what life might look like under diplomatic isolation — an almost imaginable predicament for a wealthy country, yet one that relies almost solely on imported food.
The Qatari embassy in the UAE advised its citizens to travel via Kuwait or Oman if they are unable to fly direct. It also offered to pay for their tickets if they don’t have the means to purchase them.
Some expats in the Gulf were also scrambling to find other ways of getting to, and from, Doha. Many families live in Dubai and commute to Doha — normally just a 45-minute flight away.
