Dear expats in Qatar,

It has been a wild month, hasn't it?

Before I get into the main purpose of this letter, which is obviously going to be about the geopolitical crisis happening right now, I want to get into why I initially wanted to speak to you directly.

Way before the blockade and the Gulf crisis, the relationship between Qataris and expats were, to say the least, complicated.

I need not summarize the expat grievances towards the Qataris because you and I know it very well. However, I will quickly summarize where the Qatari grievances toward expats comes from:

- Working under expat bosses who are extremely prejudiced.
- Seeing expats move back to their home countries and write offensive pieces on us and our country.
- The stories and rumors we hear of how some expats exploit the country for their personal benefit.
- The stereotypical jokes from expats who feel safe around some Qataris.
- The wonderful comment section of the Doha News Facebook page. If you have seen it, you know what I am talking about.

These are just a few, but that might come in a different letter in different circumstances. Anyway, these Qatari grievances has shaped some expectations towards your community.

When the blockade was announced, expats rushed into supermarkets to prepare for the zombie apocalypse. We were 120% sure that all of you would start leaving in three days.

This didn't happen though.

In fact, what we saw was completely different. We saw your community stand in solidarity with us. We saw you write articles dispelling ridiculous rumors about the situation here in Doha. We saw videos of how much this country means to you. We saw you wear the revolutionary "Tamim el-Majd" t-shirts.

Expats community in Qatar rallies in Solidarity with Qatar and It’s People during their #Eid celebrations.#WeAreQatar #IstandWithQatar pic.twitter.com/HT5d9VHweT

— #IstandWithQatar (@IstandWithQatar) June 26, 2017

We even saw you share the joy with us of having different options of dairy products now. We saw you truly becoming a real part of Qatar, in its highs and now in its lows.

You proved what we experienced with our horrible expat bosses were just one of those isolated incidents. You showed us that the people who go on racist tirades on the Doha News comments section just represent themselves.

And the stories and rumors about expats exploiting the country? Well there are probably a hundred more stories about expats who work hard to see this country succeed.

Therefore, on behalf of all Qataris, I want to thank you for your support. You made this absurd blockade easier to swallow.

Now let's get back to making this country awesome.

Best regards,

Not the typical "local" guy in immigration, Hamad Al-Mansouri.