The other half

IT'S PROBABLY hard to see in the picture at right, but in the middle, near the top is someone's deck.
They've rigged a piece of plywood for shade, and if you click on the photo and magnify it, you can make out a plastic lawn chair.
They're not in the picture, but there were two people sitting there a few minutes ago. It's about 40C right now.
It's only marginally better than some of the shanties I've seen, and surrounded by more satellite dishes than I've ever seen in one spot. The migrants that I've talked to, mostly cab drivers, swear by Qatar. To a man, they've told me that here they're able to earn more than in India, Nepal or the Philippines. But then my driver from India hasn't seen his wife and young family in months.
A topnotch 3-bedroom apartment in Doha costs about 16,500 riyals a month, or about $4,500. My driver was thinking of bringing his family here, but he was having a hard time making it happen. He'd be looking at 5,000 riyals a month, he said. He charges between 30 and 50 riyals for a ride. I'm not good at math, but something doesn't add up. It's the new calculus.