The unique animated series that helps visitors cope with Qatar’s culture shock – BBC News Mundo

But these matters do not concern Heydar, who does not consider himself the “right person” to speak about criticism of the event.

What this visual artist and managing director of the Nefaish animation studio in Doha wants is for visitors to experience a less cultural contrast when visiting Qatarthe first Muslim and Middle Eastern country to host a soccer World Cup.

For this reason, together with his colleagues, he has created a unique animated series: kawkabani, available on Youtube in Arabic with subtitles in Spanish, English, French, Hindi, Mandarin and Japanese. It has five chapters.

In the series, the visitors are represented through Kawkabani, a little alien and football fan whose ship crashes in the desert two years before the World Cup.

And then begins his cultural journey with the locals.

The purpose of the series is to offer some tips on Qatari etiquette, customs and culture with humor.

“The idea came to us five years ago. We were having fun with friends and we imagined this alien who doesn’t miss any World Cup. We thought it would be a good way to represent our cultureHeydar recalls.

After crashing in the desert, the alien meets three friends who, according to Heydar, represent three categories of characters that World Cup attendees can find in Qatar. These three welcome Kawkabani with open arms.

“The main characters are a local from the Bedouin desert communities, a member of the Hadar, who lived near the sea and dedicated themselves to fishing and collecting pearls, and a more liberal Qatari with Western heritage,” says the animator.

In reality, it won’t be very easy for visitors to come across a Qatari, warns Jo Floto, the BBC’s Middle East editor-in-chief.

In a country of three million inhabitants, locals barely make up around 10% of the population. They live between 300,000 and 350,000. The rest are foreigners.

More than one million people are expected to visit Qatar during the event.

And although the country has shown a willingness to tolerate and welcome, it has also made it clear to visitors what is allowed and what is not for avoid discomfort among the more conservative Qataris, given that some customs and rights of this sector of the population are governed by Islamic law.

Kawkabani is an independent project, although it has been financed in part by the organizers of the World Cup, the Supreme Committee for the Organization and the Legacy of Qatar.

Some of Kawkabani’s problems come when he is invited to a Qatari home for lunch.

“We wanted the alien to be like a third eye for visitors who come and notice things that we locals don’t see, like the way we greet each other,” says Heydar.

Indeed, the little alien is surprised when, once his hosts enter a house, they all first greet the patriarch of the home with a kiss on the forehead.

He is also surprised when he sees how the men greet each other. rubbing his nose or when they do not stop offering you coffee until you shake the cup with your hand from one side to the other, which means that one is satisfied.

In the protocol guides that Qatar has prepared for the World Cup, they recommend greeting people according to their status and age in a home, starting with the oldest in the family.

They also suggest placing a hand on a child’s forehead in the form of a blessing and not approaching a female host with a willingness to hug first.

Of course, they are simply recommendations, since as several Qataris and residents of the country have told BBC Mundo, Many locals are used to living with various cultures in a country where they are not the majority.

“But for us it was important to tell why we rub noses between two men, why we kiss each other three times on the cheek, how we eat when we sit at the table and why we receive coffee with our right hand and not with our left” Heydar says.

“Friends from all over the world are going to visit us. It would be very nice if they greet my dad knowing how to do it and extend their right hand when they are offered coffee. It would be nice to see that people understand and adapt to our culture,” he explains. the entertainer.

And he reflects: “thanks to many American series, if you go to the United States you know what their lives are like, but animations are a new industry in this region. There is a lack of Arab content and animations.”

Nefaish Studios will be taking a month off for the duration of the Worlds.

Many Qataris, like Heydar, they are excited and they want this event to overcome stereotypes and help the world learn more about Qatari culture apart from the controversies that have accompanied the event.

Although there is also another sector of the Qatari population that is reluctant to the massive arrival of Westerners for a whole month.

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