Muna Al Fuzai

I love the Salwa area of Kuwait. It is a great location, close to the city, to shopping in Salmiya, family-friendly and accessible to all services. But there has been a growing rate of crime in the area and more attention needs to be paid to all that goes on there.

Hardly a day passes without the news of a murder, armed robbery, theft or trafficking in drugs and other crimes taking place. Some may claim that it is normal in modern societies. I don't think so because we are a small country and crimes, especially murders, are not something we should accept and simply get used to happening.

Salwa was under the microscope this month for a massive increase in crime including cases of murder, drugs, domestic violence, theft, robbery, attacks on vehicles and much more. In one case, a 45-year-old citizen killed his 35-year-old wife, in front of her children, attacking her with a screwdriver and a hammer. The police arrested the man but the impact of this awful crime on the children will never disappear.

A week later another crime has set Salwa residents on edge. Three people were found dead including a member of the ruling family. All three had been tied up and gagged and then shot execution style. Everyone has begun to wonder why and worry over his family and personal safety.

Police acted fast and caught two suspects, two Iranians (it was originally reported that one was bedoon, but the Interior Ministry has confirmed the nationalities in its official statement to the press). According to the statement, the two men, one of whom was the cook for the sheikh, killed the three to steal KD 276,000. They planned to flee once the deed was done. Now they have been caught, and five lives were lost.

But for the rest of people living in Salwa, the fear remains. The police and residents will need to work together to reverse the rising crime rate in Salwa and protect its good reputation.

I think that the overall prevalence of violence in the Arab world and the scene  of terrorist groups like IS  and other terrorist groups that spread in Syria and Iraq have a significant effect on the perpetrators of crimes because they do not feel remorse or hesitate to murder. The high number of crimes have a negative impact on social relations between individuals and spread of fear and anxiety.

The Interior Ministry is doing its job now to uncover the causes of crime, but it is necessary to reconsider the reasons to eliminate the number of such crimes. What could be the reason for such crimes in this area? If there is a tip to all here, please make sure to lock all doors and windows at night and never leave any valuables such as credit cards or cash  in your car for any reason . Don't be a prey to theft or criminals.

By Muna Al-Fuzai

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