It was a disturbing week indeed with two brutal crimes against innocents - an Egyptian expatriate and a baby girl. Both crimes are unconnected, but are indicators of the lack of fear from law enforcement and respect for humanity and human rights. Are we facing a serious problem? Yes, we do. With a clear imbalance in the Kuwaiti population, we are now facing a serious problem related to the society's respect of human rights and the spread of drugs. Moreover, with bedoons being involved in both the crimes, there is something wrong indeed.

The first disgusting crime made headlines when a bedoon man named Ali Abdullah Al-Shemmari appeared in a video on social media beating, insulting and humiliating a naked Egyptian worker named Ashraf Abu Al-Yameen. According to official statements, the incident happened almost 18 months earlier because of a theft from the mobile phone store owned by the bedoon, where the Egyptian works. Another Egyptian man was arrested for filming the abuse and posting it on social media.

As a human rights activist and a journalist, I think we have three concerns here. Firstly, the rate of crimes by bedoons in Kuwait - this issue is not spoken about openly, but it will not resolve by itself. Secondly, the large number of bedoons in Kuwait - without resolving their problems, we are destroying the image of our small country and creating fear for our personal security in the local community. Thirdly, wasta or interference by influential people or claims of insanity must not be accepted as excuses.

Another crime against human rights and child abuse occurred this week when a couple, a Kuwaiti man and his bedoon wife, murdered their young daughter and hid her body in a freezer. The interior ministry's security media stated that the body of the three-and-a half-year-old girl was found at her family's residence, and her father confessed to placing her body in the freezer immediately after her death a week ago. That is a horrific crime against a child. As if it was not enough that they killed their own flesh and blood, they kept her in a freezer as if nothing had happened.

Investigations revealed that the suspect wrapped his daughter in a shroud and bought a freezer on the same day she died, and put her body in it. The parents claimed to be under the influence of drugs. But I can't image how could they do all the thinking to cover up a crime for a week without being noticed, and even buy a freezer to keep the body in it! Did they pay by credit or cash? This is too much for someone under the influence. This couple has been arrested and I hope they both rot in jail for life. Local prison is not a picnic, so hopefully they will learn how their baby girl felt. She is in a better place now.

Investigations also found that the parents were neglectful in caring for their four children. This couple had four children! I am now concerned about the status of their three other kids. This is a disturbing crime, and this is why the child protection law must be implemented so that a child can seek help of the law from those who put his childhood and innocence under threat.

Those two crimes are making me feel sick, but this will not solve the problem. We need a serious solution that goes to the roots of the issue, which is the spread of violence, especially child abuse and domestic violence, drugs and crimes by bedoons.

By Muna Al-Fuzai

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