Blockade of Qatar sparks dire choices
parties to the White House.
“The U.S. is helping us in pressuring the parties to solve this,” the foreign minister said.
Still, he said, Qatar is not yet ready to talk with the Arab states involved.
“They have to lift the blockade to start negotiations.”
Many of Qatar’s 2.6 million residents initially panicked after the blockade was declared, emptying store shelves of Saudi milk and other goods they worried would soon be in short supply.
New foodstuffs were flown in to fill the gap from Algeria, Iran, Morocco, Turkey and other allies, but most of those goods went to large markets in the capital.
Smaller stores in lowincome areas are beginning to have bare shelves, and migrant workers from Bangladesh, India and Nepal are having to scavenge.
A man who came looking for yogurt at one such market Sunday found the refrigerator case nearly empty, as were the vegetable bins.
Manager Ashraf Thazhekizhakkayil Peedikayil said business was down 30 to 40 percent since the blockade.
At branches of Al Meera market, a national chain selling state-subsidized goods, shelves were wellstocked with what signs said were Turkish eggs “flown in by air,” Iranian sweet melons and Algerian potatoes.
Managers posted signs identifying local goods that urged, “Let’s support Qatari products.”
Store manager Saad Tamim said he already had been importing some fruits weekly from the U.S.
Now he has added a truck for daily shipments, including berries and grapes from California.
Though the store is surviving, Tamim, 35, is suffering. His family lives in the United Arab Emirates. He used to commute to Dubai weekly, but since the blockade he has stayed in Doha.
He checks the news daily hoping for an improvement but doesn’t expect to celebrate Eid with his mother.
“Every day I pray for it to finish,” he said.