Two shameful incidents involving animal abuse and violence against people occurred in Kuwait last week. Both crimes reflect ugliness and cruelty that should not be taken leniently. The first incident occurred when a former MP wanted to express happiness over the results of the elections in Kuwait. He slaughtered camels and sheep and broadcasted it on social media, claiming that the creepy videos were dedicated to the Kuwaiti people.

I don’t understand the connection between this purely insane act and the Kuwaiti people. The views indicate that everyone including children and teenagers watched this video, and probably think that it is OK to abuse animals for fun. To me this is murder and not entertainment.

Another incident occurred when a Kuwaiti justified his actions as fun after he ran his car over a Bangladeshi man to entertain his friend riding with him. The victim was waiting for a bus when he was hit. He was injured with fractures in his pelvis and right leg. The accused said he only wanted to intimidate the man for fun and not kill him.

The victim saw the car coming out of nowhere and froze. So basically, the accused wanted to have fun at the cost of someone’s life, as he had nothing better to do with his own. He found pleasure in scaring the victim, whose misfortune led him in the path of this abuser. The criminal is in police custody, and hopefully no wasta will set him free.

The report did not mention details about the offender’s age. I hope to see his picture published, because his hobby of targeting expats for fun can cost them their lives. These expats have come to Kuwait to work and are already living under poor conditions. Regrettably, the offender showed no guilt and claimed that his greatest desire was to have fun. Fun cannot be achieved by hurting innocent people.

In the West, violence is often associated with alcohol and drugs, but these incidents that occur in broad daylight in Kuwait show no signs of being influenced by drugs or alcohol. Both the suspects were conscious of their crimes, and happy and proud of what they did. The animal abuser even documented his terrible crime, in which he was covered with the animals’ blood.

Both cruelty towards animals and humans have common characteristics. Their main aim is to hurt the living, or worse kill them. Several studies on violence confirm that such crimes are perpetuated by people who were subjected to violence at a young age, but this is no justification for their crimes. I believe the society bears great responsibility in opposing violence against women, children and animals, and should not try to validate it for any reason.