Proceedings of The International Conference on Research in Humanities
Year: 2019
DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.33422/icrh.2019.03.73
Wishes Captured
Robin Fetherston
ABSTRACT:
Qatar, a small but wealthy country in the Arabian Peninsula, is a land full of expatriates who have been brought in to help native Qataris build and modernize. In Doha, the capital,where the majority of people reside, expatriates form eighty-eight percent of the population.They come from a wide variety of countries and cultures, bringing their experience, past memories, and dreams with them. “Wishes Captured” is an original work of fictionalized vignettes featuring expatriates who exist in three different phases of life: a young Indian independent domestic worker, a middle-aged American professor, and an aging Nepalese maintenance supervisor. Like most workers in Doha, it is the desire for a better life that has propelled them to choose to leave their homelands. Chiku hopes to explore the world outside his home while he is young; Beth seeks to escape her past; and, Mr. Milan needs to improve the financial standing of his family. They have met, however, life circumstances that have modified or undermined the possibilities inherent in this experiment. This piece offers a glimpse of their thinking and imagination in an expatriate world where hope is challenged.
Keywords: Expatriates; Imagination; Memory; Modified Dreams; Qatar.