Guest contributor:
By M. AL-MUAID ALI
THE story goes that a captain of a ship which has sunk appeared before an investigative committee consisting of experts and specialists, which has convened for a hearing six months after the accident since which he has been suspended of the job he loved.
And as investigative committees go, they went on to recount events, and to study the circumstances, possibilities, and alternatives, going into details as to how he could have saved the ship from sinking.
The captain respected the decision of the committee which he described as highly respected. In his remarks on its decision, he went to elaborate that the committee consists of all sorts of marine and oceanographic sciences, and that they had six months to investigate, and to brainstorm, backed up by state of the art technology, in quiet offices, and under no stress, going further to say that he was alone, facing turbulent seas with nothing but mere moments to spare, that his first priority was to save as many lives as possible.
There are plenty of situations where choices are limited in which the person is faced with two choices, where the best option is less than optimal, like the choice of either saving the baby, or saving the mother’s life.
Related story: Qatar PM Orders Search for Mother Who Abandoned Infant at HIA
The aforementioned scenario kept playing in my head after reading the statement released by the Government Communication Office (of Qatar) regarding the results of a preliminary investigation involving the measures taken at the Hamad International Airport (HIA) on the 30th of October 2020, which read:
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“The preliminary investigation into the attempted murder of a new-born baby found in a very serious condition at Hamad International Airport (HIA), and the subsequent procedures taken by the authorities at the airport, including examining a number of female passengers, revealed that standard procedures were violated. Those responsible for these violations and illegal actions have been referred to the Public Prosecution Office.
“Following the directives of His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior (of Qatar), specialized task forces are reviewing and identifying any potential gaps in the procedures and protocols followed at Hamad International Airport, in order to address them and ensure that any violations are avoided in the future.
“His Excellency the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior expressed the Government of the State of Qatar’s sincerest apology for what some female travellers went through as a result of the measures. This incident is the first of its kind at HIA, which has served tens of millions of passengers without any issues like this before. What took place is wholly inconsistent with Qatar’s culture and values. Qatar is fully committed to the safety and security of all travellers arriving to or transiting through HIA.”
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If I were in the same position as the person who was investigated, I would have told those investigators, with their calm and collected thoughts, to place themselves at the moment where this horrifying incident unfolded, with only seconds to act in order to stop the culprit from escaping punishment aboard one of the flights departing HIA.
Such were the circumstances that accompanied this decision, which stirred a whirlwind within the airport. All of this just so the members of this respected committee could picture themselves in similar circumstances to measure how each would act, in order to balance their view, before coming to their conclusions.
Primarily, we must value the brave stance of the Qatari government of acknowledging the incident, without attempting to bury the incident, in a remarkably transparent manner in a time where hiding, forging, and obfuscation of facts have become the norm.
In such times we value the culture of accountability, an apology doesn’t necessarily come from a guilty party, in an attempt to fix a mistake, but it is made to reconcile with those who were inconvenienced, such is an admirable thing when stalling, and dodging responsibly provide an easier route for dodging accountability, and examples of this route being taken are almost innumerable.
It’s an important message to be sent for the apology to come from the upper echelons of the executive branch, as stated by the Prime Minister, “And on this note, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Interior Affairs express the deep remorse of the government of the State of Qatar and it’s sincere apologies over the traumatic experiences that some female travellers have went through that were a result of the procedures undertaken”.
Such message is to be appreciated, and would have been sufficient, but the government went further to add “and that we remain vigilant to guarantee the comfort and safety of all passengers passing through HIA”.
This signals that the safety of all passengers without discrimination is taken very seriously by the highest echelons of the executive branch.
The transparency displayed by the government of the State of Qatar, and the quick response to correct and reconcile, sets an example to be strived for, in an age where public relations are dominated by vague statements. This situation was handled with transparency and grace, and perhaps it must be taken into account the scale and the immense pressure which led to the mistakes that were made on that day, and they were made in an effort to save the lives of a child and her mother, and to bring the perpetrators into justice. (muaidalamin@gmail.com) (✓)
The article is a re-print through of the Qatar Embassy in Manila. Opinion and views here are solely by the author.