Economics
Stunned Qataris Hunker Down
The mood in Doha is one of bewilderment. Why have they cut us off?
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It’s Ramadan in the Middle East, but in the quiet streets and malls of the Qatari capital of Doha the reassuring routines of the annual fast have been interrupted by an incomprehensible shock.
People in this tiny country, dominated by a metropolis built on enormous wealth from selling natural gas, are trying to understand why their Gulf neighbors want to cut them off from the outside world to punish their leaders for supporting Islamic militant groups. At least one supermarket is limiting purchases, the airport is no longer bustling and families are being separated in a region where nationalities are interwoven.