asher

Hi my husband is having interviews for an accompanied job in Qatar. I am profoundly deaf but lip read very well.

In India I was treated as learning disabled until people got to know me how is Qatar with the disabled?

I have a spinal probem too and have chronic pain for which I take fentanyl patches and have some difficulty walking

Is life going to be really difficult for me? should I ask him not to take the position?

Sandboy

first thing I would check is if that drug is legal - many in that bracket arent

Miss Anne Thrope

I don't know Qatar well enough to be able to answer your question but I would be surprised if there was much if any accommodation for deaf people in most places there nor for people with difficulty walking. However, it sounds like you have dealt with many challenges already so I'm sure you would manage. As to whether it would be worth the hassle, I think that will be hard for anybody to answer without having a better sense of what day to day issues will be. Any examples you could mention to help illustrate?

I suspect the pain medication could be an issue - defintiely worth checking before going much further as Gulf countries can be very restrictive on anything that could be perceived as narcotic regardless of how essential it may be for therapy.

What do you mean by an accompanied job please? You mean one where the company will pay for their spouse/family to relocate with them?

Cracking thread title and beyond cute avatar btw..

asher

yes they will pay for me to relocate with him

I have a minicom (type relay) kind of phone Im guessing there wont be anything like that there? where an operator is provided to type to me and listen to the hearing person on the other end.
I'm not too bothered about accomodations really it's the general attitude to the disabled I want to know.

will I be viewed as a sad person who really should be humoured but in a very patronising manner, or will they view me on my own merits.

I have lived in India, all over Europe and currently in Australia so am used to varying degrees of prejudice.

I thought that as long as I had letters from my pain specialist I would be ok with my opiates?

scrubbedexpat141

Unlikly a letter from anyone will help bypass middle eastern ignorance.

How did the Indians react to you?

THey'll be the people you come into contact with on a daily basis...them and Filipinos.

Can you come to visit first? Or is that out the question?

Definitely need to research the drugs though.

Meow

If you need ongoing medication of that mature it will be expensive. Best to check out the cost to you, unless you are lucky enough to get cover via the employer with medical history disregarded.

Good luck.

asher

the Indians treated me as a brain dead moron mostly, until they found out I was teaching the nurses and working as a nurse practitioner in a slum clinic in Delhi and then they just couldn't understand why I would do that for free!

I would not be working in Qatar so I guess I would be the stupid person again sigh,

a visit is out of the question as he has been told if he is offered the job they would want him ASAP and I am currently in the UK on compassionate grounds whilst he remains in Aus to work.

thanks for the drug advice

asher

the employer will provide full medical cover we have been told

britexpat76

Hi Asher,

I would almost certainly say if your medication is Opiates they will be banned. Simple codeine tablets are so anything stronger and you will struggle. Prejudice towards people with disabilities in the ME should be no different to what you would encounter anywhere else as most of the people you would associate with would be western expats not the locals.

They certainly don't have disabled access to most places in Qatar and provided you are reasonably mobile with your back pain you would be fine. I wouldn't expect to find anywhere with minicom etc though. With Skype etc these days though you could use that instead?

If you can succeed in places like India I am sure provided you can have your medicine you would be fine in Qatar.

asher

thanks for that information, yes fentanyl and endone are morphine derivatives so will have to research that further if anyone has more information on that I would be grateful.

Qatar sounds interesting it will be an adventure I'm sure

Meow

Please check that it is MHD cover as many plans exclude existing conditions. Get the full terms in writing before you accept the offer.

asher

thanks for that am just sending my OH a message to ask for that

Patsy Stoned

These medicines are available BUT are very strictly controlled. It might be an idea to contact a "Western" GP in Qatar..I am sure somebody here can recommend their Dr.... then you can ask them about availability of your meds and also what other support is available for your condition.
As Britexpat has said..you will be in contact with western expats mostly....1 good thing is that you will be able to have a full time maid/helper and possibly a driver, which, hopefully, will help you get around.

Ethos83

I can't speak for Qatar but I had an American friend in Dubai who was deaf. He wore hearing aids and read lips and was pretty self-sufficient and had a very good job. He couldn't hear over telephones but communicated via text messages and emails and his PA made any phone calls he needed. But I do remember him complaining that quite often he had to go in person to make arrangements that most people otherwise made over the phone. But on the whole he got by just fine.

Englishmum

Hello 'Asher'.

I don't usually post on the ME boards (I'm in Switzerland) but your thread title stood out and I just had to read your post!

Here are some links about being an expat in Qatar, which may be of help:

http://www.expatwoman.com/qatar/mont...care_6179.aspx (I'm sure if you google the names of the hospitals and clinics on the list, you may find that they have their own websites so you can contact them directly)


http://www.expatwoman.com/qatar/monthly_qatar_faqs.aspx


http://www.expatwoman.com/qatar/foru...m24-qatar.aspx (messageboard for Qatar - you may wish to post your questions there)

http://www.expatwoman.com/qatar/mont...Doha_9454.aspx (how to employ a maid in Qatar)

http://www.expatwoman.com/qatar/foru...m42-maids.aspx (a very interesting - perhaps controversial - board about employing a maid and the various dramas......)

All the best!