Former Indian ambassador to Qatar George Joseph dies

Dr George Joseph, former Indian ambassador to Qatar, died on Thursday in a hospital in Kochi, Kerala after a brief illness. He was 66.

The burial will take place on Saturday at St John The Baptist Catholic Church, Nedumkunnam, Changanassery. Dr Joseph leaves behind his wife Rani and daughter Renu and her family.The ex-envoy had been ailing from renal disorders for sometime, family sources told Gulf Times. Dr Joseph, a widely respected career diplomat, was well-known for his humility, and compassion for the needy and distressed sections in the Indian expatriate community. He served in Doha from October 2005 to January 2009.After Qatar, Dr Joseph was appointed ambassador to Bahrain and he retired from there two years later. During his stint in Qatar, Dr Joseph was instrumental in introducing an array of people-friendly reforms at the Indian embassy, including the monthly Open House that turned out to be very popular within the community. During these sessions, a number of issues concerning the Indian nationals in Qatar were taken up and redressed with the active support of the ambassador.His numerous interventions led to a number of stranded expatriates returning home as he effectively took up seemingly unending issues with the sponsors.The envoy always came forward to help the large number of Indian fishermen in the country. "Despite his poor health, Joseph Sir travelled long distances to reach Dukhan, Shamal and Al Khor to meet with our members and help us by bringing the matter concerned to the attention of the authorities," recalled Thomas Francis, a senior member of the group.Dr Joseph's role in saving the lives of two Indian nationals who were accused of the murder of an Indonesian housemaid and sentenced to death by a Doha court is still remembered by community members. Following his efforts, their sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in March 2011."It was Dr George Joseph's considerable interest that helped me take the case to the Supreme Court," remembered Nizar Kochery, who led the legal battle for the condemned duo. Kochery said he remained in contact with Dr Joseph until he was hospitalised last month. Dr Joseph also was able to "pull out" a six-member family from Goa, which was mired in various problems following the collapse of their small-time business and the illness of the mother.There had been several cases where his mediation and ceaseless efforts brought succour and comfort to distressed people. In one such case, an Indian worker who was seriously injured at work was awarded a compensation of more than QR 300,000 and an all-expenses paid repatriation.