ShareGood morning dear and honorable brothers and sisters, and I wish you all a blessed month of Ramadan in advance. The title of this column means 'I am a Kuwaiti, and I can do whatever I want.' This proclamation can be heard in many places inside and even outside Kuwait. Many Kuwaitis think by making this statement, they are superior to people of other nationalities, since the law in many cases supports and backs them against helpless people. This phrase can be heard in streets, malls, workplaces, cafés, shops and even outside Kuwait by irresponsible citizens who travel abroad and instead of showing the beautiful nature of the Kuwaiti people, tend to defame the image and tradition of this blessed land. Let me give some examples for some irresponsible behaviors obviously seen in Kuwait, which exactly fits this phrase.
In the streets, many people think they own the roads and refuse to be directed or talked to when committing a mistake or a wrongdoing while driving; therefore, they tend to take matters into their own hands and clearly utter this phrase 'Kaifi, ana Kuwaiti' when confronted. In another case, some irresponsible citizens believe that on entering a foreign embassy in Kuwait, they are still considered to be in Kuwait, forgetting that any foreign embassy represents its state. In other words, when you enter a foreign embassy's premises, you are considered no longer in Kuwait and must abide by the rules of that country. There was an incident of a national who went to an embassy and started yelling at staff members who asked him to wait in line till his issue is taken care of. Instead of complying, the man yelled and threatened to deport all embassy staff members, not knowing that he was committing an offense punishable by law.
Another incident I personally witnessed was in a parking lot when two Kuwaiti friends blocked the parking lot's entrance, and did not allow anyone to enter. When an old man approached to ask them to make way for people to enter, one of the men yelled at him and said: "Kaifi, ana Kuwaiti", as if the space belonged to him.
Abroad, this phrase is also widely used by some thoughtless persons. In restaurants for example, some of our people shout at the waiter as they do here in Kuwait, stunning everyone inside the restaurant, who think they are members of the mob. These senseless persons want to have everything their way, and do not want anyone to argue with them because according to their beliefs, they are Kuwaitis 'who descended from heaven' and are untouchables. One should be a good example for his country, instead of portraying an image that might make others believe that all Kuwaitis are irresponsible because of the behavior by irresponsible citizens.
Till the next article in sha Allah.
By Talal Al-Ghannam
[email protected]
