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Social justice means equality amongst various social classes. Which means everyone should be treated equally without differentiating between wealthy and poor, regardless of affiliations or nationalities. When comparing citizens to expats in Kuwait, we find a great deal of inequality in so many aspects. For example, they both do not get the same wages, like in many countries where productivity is more important than nationality. Expats do not have access to so many services like citizens such as accommodation, education, health care and many others.
Therefore, there is no way to compare them both, and thus, raising the slogan of 'social justice for citizens' is illogical and misused, which only make citizens fake the feeling of injustice and instigates unnecessary provocative feelings. Though health insurance is a good idea, most expats work for ministries and governmental institutions. How can we then save anything from the budget if the government keeps paying health insurance for its employees? In addition, some doctors said that the cost of medical treatment in Kuwait is far more than that of the medicine. Nevertheless, some people still insist that banning medicine is the solution.
Some expats might come up with foul practices such as selling medicines or getting more than they need. Yet, it is unacceptable to punish them all because of the acts of a certain group. Why deprive a truly sick person who has a limited wage and in need of medicine from his/her simplest human rights? Moreover, subsidized food items given to citizens are smuggled to some expats for personal use or to sell. Who would guarantee the same will not happen with medicines?
Reducing expat population this way will not be useful and will not solve the true problem Kuwait is facing. Simply speaking, if all expats leave, we will not be able to cover all professions they currently occupy because we lack practical experience in some fields such as construction and others. In addition, some professions are socially unacceptable and need time to be accepted by the society. Moreover, claims that expats are taking citizens' jobs are also untrue because if you review employment methods followed in Kuwait, you will see that twice as much as needed are employed in a department that only needs 10 employees.
All countries hiring expatriates suffer from accompanying economic, social or other problems because such employment has its pros and cons. However, because of the government's mismanagement, many problems have come up and expats are being blamed for them.
German Chancellors Angela Merkel hosted many Syrian refugees in the name of humanity despite of all the problems that emerged in Germany including terrorism. The difference between them and us is that they accept both merits and demerits of their own decisions, unlike us. We do not accept expat-caused problems though expats had been brought to Kuwait according to regulations and laws. We do not view expats as partners in the construction process, we rather view them as opportunists who have come to take our wealth and then will run back to their home countries.
Accordingly, expats view citizens as racists who consider expats as servants, not as human beings who have rights and obligations. This eventually creates a big disagreement, causing disturbed relationships that might snowball into a crisis.
One of the negative reflections of our views for expats happened recently when an academic addressing members of the National Union of Kuwaiti Students in the United States made fun of Egyptians and spoke about the state's mismanagement. He made his remarks before students who should be qualified to build their own country instead of filling their minds with political opposition's ideas. So, this negative attitude of ordinary people also affected academic figures who ought to be wiser and more aware.
We are not against economic reform but only if it is done without provocation and through complete studies of pros and cons instead of using slogans that will only make citizens feel some kind of imaginary fake injustice because Kuwaitis are much honored and respected in their state. We need to reform the labor market, fight visa traffickers and set minimum wages so that expats will not feel oppressed and overburdened with high cost of living. We also need to deport marginal laborers. Only then will we find the true solution of the problem instead of resorting to temporary ones for the sake of getting more electoral gains.-Translated by Kuwait Times from Al-Anbaa
By Saqr Al-Ghaylani
