Mami is an Ethiopian maid working in Qatar. Ruby is an instructor at a university in Qatar. You can follow the life and the intertwining of many that they meet in their journeys through the Gulf States (mainly Qatar) as a maid with all the heaviness that includes, and as a middle class expat The characters in this book are based on real people with a narrative on how their lives parallel. Geographically, Qatar and is a tiny emirate and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) is a confederate of emirates governed by a supreme council comprised of seven emirs. An emirate is a political territory that is ruled by or which reigns by a dynastic Islamic monarch styled emir. An emir is translated to commander or prince in English, but they are the head of the political structure in these countries. The current Emir of Qatar is His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamid Al Thani. Prior to 2013, it was his father His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani. The astute reader should have now observed that the ruling government and therefore the strongest political clan in Qatar are the Al Thani family. Any individual in Qatar with the Al Thani last name are among the most powerful and wealthy family in Qatar. Qatar is a peninsular country that exists somewhat as an appendage to Saudi Arabia, their only border nation. In terms of GDP per capita, Qatar is the richest nation on planet Earth. According to the W.H.O. Qatar (Ahmad, 2015) also ranks as the second most polluted nation in the world. The total population of Qatar is 2.6 million people, but nationals comprise only 300 000, and thus all calculations of wealth only pertain to the actual Qatari population. In statistics, laws, and in many social aspects, the rest of the population are not clearly included in statistics. Although the intention is to include only nationals for their statistics, it may be understood also that in general the rest of the population does not hold the same importance while residing in Qatar. Qatar is a country with a clear delineation of social stratification-a system of classes-even within slavery. Within Mami's slave class, there is stratification. Similarly, even within Ruby's middle class, there is stratification. Qatar's society is a complicated infrastructure of levels within levels, and labels within labels. The impact of these levels and labels on the lives of the 2.6 million souls living in Qatar and those living in the Gulf is an emotional, political, philosophical and eye-opening journey. There are many tiers to slavery. Enjoy this journey into Qatar, Ethiopia at a very intimate level.
About the Author: Suzanne AbuNadar worked in the Gulf as an ex-patriot. She was a part of the middle class, but in a unique position due to her own background and her difficult circumstances. She's a mother, a scientist, an educator, an environmentalist and a political and social observer. She has done presentations around the world, written for magazines and journals, written educational books and lead many development innovations in developing countries. This book was a difficult story to write down, to put into words what was witnessed and what was hidden.