It’s been more than a month since four Arab nations cut land, sea and air routes to Qatar. However, in the gas-rich Gulf nation’s glimmering malls and luxury hotels, there is little sign of hardship.
Clothing stores sell the latest summer trends. Grocery stores are brimming with meats and cheeses from Europe and Turkey, and just last month the country’s main port received 4,300 cars and sheep from Australia.
Famous Barcelona soccer players Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba met with fans last week at a mall in the capital, Doha, which will host the 2022 World Cup tournament.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt moved to isolate Qatar in last month, severing diplomatic ties and closing off their airspace and shipping lanes over Doha’s support for Islamist groups across the region, many of which are viewed as terror groups by its rivals.
Qatar denies supporting extremism and has condemned the closures as an attack on its sovereignty.
Worried residents rushed to grocery stores, emptying shelves of dairy products and other food imports after Saudi Arabia sealed Qatar’s only land border, but they were quickly restocked.
Signs on cars and billboards read “We are all Tamim. We are all Qatar”.
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