Muna Al Fuzai

In the past, Kuwait had an exceptional role and distinguished status with regards to freedom of expression, expats, fighting corruption, a strong parliament, key public figures and an influential press that defended the rights and freedoms of citizens and Arab causes and conflicts in general. Today, after half a century, some of us are wondering whether we are still holding the same position in front of the world, and what have we lost in the past 30 years. What has happened to us?

 

Mistakes happen, and this is normal for any government, but correcting them sometimes is hard, if not impossible. For example, the government committed a vital mistake in recent years when it granted citizenship to persons who don't deserve it, while many bedoons and Arabs sacrificed their lives in old Arab wars or for the liberation of Kuwait, but did not receive the same privilege. This is not something minor, because social injustice leads to negative feelings of insecurity and a lack of sense of belonging and loyalty. It could badly affect the society in the long term.

 

The demographic imbalance and granting of citizenship to non-eligible people have inserted people and families from other countries with different cultural and intellectual backgrounds as well as customs and traditions in the Kuwaiti environment. Now the government is trying to face this issue, but it seems to be out of control, because the key people who were involved in this issue have died and their children are innocent, as they have constitutional rights that can't be ignored. So we have to bear the consequences of this illegal act as a community and society.

 

The other thing here is that many Kuwaiti citizens have allowed the spread of corruption at all levels. I know that many accuse the government of wasta and corruption as well as appointment of expatriates without restriction, but who allowed all this chaos? The citizen - who should be a good model for his community and in front of expats.

 

I have a good example. When a citizen hands a luxury car to his Asian driver, he tells him if he has a problem or an accident on the road, he must contact his Kuwaiti sponsor at once. Not for legal actions, but to find wasta to bear the least cost of get him out for free and possibly let others take the blame.

 

If this is not corruption, I have no other title for it. This citizen is encouraging corruption and creating an idea in the mind of his Asian driver to not worry about the police and punishment because the Kuwaiti will always back him up. Eventually, this driver will not respect traffic laws or anyone because he has the Kuwaiti's wasta...

 

The same applies when we bring expatriates to Kuwait on work contracts and good promises of a life like in heaven, and then do not fulfill our promises and agreements or try to circumvent them because corruption allows us to do so. They naturally will start complaining and may turn into corrupt people themselves, exploit the law or even threaten to sue us in courts.

 

Another issue that affects the society and people is related to the imprisonment of young people who express their views on social media according to what they see is a matter of freedom of expression in accordance with the law and the constitution granted to them as Kuwaiti citizens. But they end up in prison for many years with murderers and drug dealers. We end up losing a young soul without benefiting anyone or the society. How about teaching these kids some responsibility away from prison? How about creating social and community service?

 

Therefore, what some say about protecting the society should not only be words, but actually visible to the public. Things may seem small and ineffectual, but for a small society, it is important. We have a constitution that was written by thinkers, patriots and preachers who preceded us in thoughts and time. We were given the opportunity to preserve it and to affirm its rules through modern laws that strengthen the status of our country and citizens and maintain the dignity of expatriates, so everyone will be equal before the law and offer no protection for corruption.

 

Citizens are best ambassadors of their countries. But when we travel, we don't abide by the laws of host countries, do not respect other Arab visitors and assume we have the right to insult others and break the laws because we have an embassy that should rush to rescue us. We are only insulting our country and ourselves. A country is not about new buildings, restaurants and malls. It is about ethics, values, good education and enforcement of laws. A sustainable country should preserve the past and consider about the future in order to maintain the rights and dignity of all.

 

By Muna Al-Fuzai

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