Kuwaitis rejoice as Saddam's end nears

By Ahmad Al-Khaled
KUWAIT: Kuwaitis' celebrations may be doubled this year with the possible execution of Saddam Hussein on the first day of Eid Al-Adha. Many locals visit the gravesites of their near and dear departed souls on the morning of the first day of the Eid. When asked how a Saddam 'Eid' execution would affect Kuwaitis going about their usual Eid traditions, Abu Khaled said, "We go to the graves of our families to honour them - I will not think about this animal's death during my rituals, but if they execute him today, he will be lucky to die on such a day as Eid, although he does not deserve an 'Eid' death." He added: "They should have executed him years ago - but thanks to God, justice will be served the day he dies." "I will visit ??????????????the my brother's (a martyr) grave as well as the graves of all my departed family members. I will honour and remember them, after which I will enjoy Eid with my family and pray to God for justice," Abu Yusef said. With a majority of Kuwaitis having lost relatives, suffered violence and property loss during Saddam's 1990 invasion and the subsequent occupation of the state, all Kuwaitis old enough to remember have their own opinions of Saddam, although many showed a reluctance to elaborate on their personal experiences during those dark miserable days. Many showed great candour in expressing their opinions on the impending execution of the man who tormented them. "He is an evil man...he invaded us, he slaughtered our people and even killed his own people, he deserves what he gets. I hope they wait until after Eid to give him what he deserves, let him sit and wait for death like so many of his victims did," said Umm Abdullah. "He took from our country the feeling of safety and security we had enjoyed for so long, and with his death there will be a new feeling of calm and security in Kuwait as justice is finally going to be served. This Eid we can be doubly grateful to God. God is great!" said Abu Ali. "Saddam's soldiers killed my brother, but he took from our family more than one life - he killed us all that day but we have survived to see him executed for the crimes he committed against his own people - not for the crimes he committed against us Kuwaitis. But he will pay for those crimes after the execution, for which Almighty God will give justice to us Kuwaitis," said Abu Muhamed.Reminiscing on the occupation, Umm Barrak said: "During this time we thank God for food, water and pray for our families' safety - this year we will thank God for justice served! We know all Kuwaitis will rejoice when they hear the news that he is finally dead." "I remember wondering during the occupation if we would ever be free again...we were forced to shave our beards by Saddam - the Iraqis did not allow us to move freely or even to pray in the mosque. Thanks to God for our freedom and may God give justice to the Kuwaitis for all the crimes he committed on our people," Abu Salah said. "Saddam went unpunished for the crimes against us during his lifetime, let God now decide how he should pay in death," he added.The execution of Saddam at the hands of the Iraqi people would not be a new event in Iraq's modern history. Iraq's King Ghazi I was killed in a mysterious car crash in 1939 shortly after a failed coup. King Faysal II was killed in a coup wherein the entire royal family was massacred in their palace in 1958. Prime Minister of Iraq Abdul-Karem Qassim was killed in 1963 after a faction took over the country in a coup and killed him after a mock trial. One should not be surprised then if Kuwaitis, while worshipping God in the traditional ways of Eid, also rejoice during this Eid and celebrate as justice is finally served with the execution of Saddam - albeit sixteen years too late

Millions in Makkah for haj

MAKKAH: Around two million Muslims will today begin the annual haj pilgrimage to Makkah amid increased safety measures aimed at preventing stampedes which each year claim scores of lives. The Haj Commission reported that more than 1.6 million people had arrived in the kingdom by Tuesday and more were on their way. Saudis and other Muslims resident in the country are expected to swell the number of the faithful undertaking the haj to some two million - about the same number as last year. The official SPA news agency said Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, who also heads the Haj Supreme Committee, had taken charge of security arrangements and was marshalling security and civil defence forces in the holy city.Nayef warned that security forces would crack down on any attempt to undermine the haj. "We hope nothing will happen" to disrupt the pilgrimage, but "we will act firmly and vigorously" to deal with any risk, he told reporters late Tuesday in Mina near Makkah. "We will not tolerate any activity other than (haj rituals) whatever their nature," the Saudi official added when asked about the risks of sectarian tensions during the pilgrimage. His remarks come against a backdrop of the daily Sunni-Shiite violence in Iraq which has prompted some commentators to express concerns about the risks of a proxy conflict between Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia and Shiite-majority Iran.Since the 1979 Islamic revolution..... read more kuwait times 28/12/2006

Prostitution in Kuwait

I recently received a letter from a reader about prostitution in Kuwait. The topic itself is thorny, and frankly, I don't even believe that I am writing about it in a Kuwaiti newspaper. The reader was disturbed by the faces of the women caught by the police while soliciting customers, most of whom were South Asian. He believed that in many instances, these women were forced into this profession either by dire poverty or by being tricked into it by other people. His emails made me research this issue further.I looked on the Internet and found that Kuwait, unfortunately, has a negative reputation in terms of human trafficking. A report produced by the US State Department on trafficking in persons, listed Kuwait, along with its neighbours Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, as countries not making a strong effort in combating human trafficking. The report stated that between 600,000 and 800,000 men and women were trafficked as forced labour, and all too often, individuals forced into labour do not have the knowledge or the ability to file for legal protection. Living in Kuwait, I can verify that this statement is painfully true. Many women from India and Sri Lanka come to Kuwait as maids. For the most part, they live and work for decent families that pay their wages on time and treat them with respect and kindness. The misfortunate ones that end up with lousy families become so frustrated with their living conditions that they mistakenly feel life will be better outside of the homes they work for, and decide to escape. This is the fatal mistake that many domestic labourers make that ends up creating more problems than solving them. Once they run away from their employers, the police hunts them because most employers opt to end the residency of their domestic labourers and send them back to their country of origin. The women, thus, make a point to stay out of the police's eye. They opt to stay in areas mostly dominated by other domestic labourers, many of whom are men who have not been intimate with a woman for a long time. At best, these men will solicit the women for sex for money, and at worst, they will just rape them and discard of them in some way. I remember reading a news report sometime last year about how the police discovered an apartment filled with runaway maids kidnapped and forcefully turned into prostitutes by male domestic labourers, who pimp them to other domestic labourers. It was sickening because many of these women were happy to see the police pick them up, after having made an effort to dodge them. What advice can we offer domestic labourers, both men and women? For women, my advice is to stay within their employers' home, because in most cases, it will be safer than living in the street. If their employers are mistreating them by physically abusing them or withholding their wages, then I suggest they contact the recruitment agency that first brought them to the country. In Kuwait, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour is the main arm responsible for coordinating anti-trafficking activities, and has set up an inter-ministerial committee on expatriate labour to issue recommendations regarding minimum wages and establishing a standard contract for domestic workers. Furthermore, we have seen some recent convictions of recruitment agencies for labour rights abuses. The Ministry has also established a labour dispute centre to assist workers in salary disputes. Foreign workers are permitted to file civil suits against their employers and, though cases move slowly through the courts, these suits are often settled in favour of the maids. As for male domestic labourers, it is sometimes easy to abuse female domestic labourers because they believe the police will just ignore any non-Kuwaiti victims. This is wrong. The police will have no qualms about arresting any non-Kuwaiti male involved in kidnapping or prostitution and some crazy cops will relish at the thought of beating the living daylights out of anyone involved in these activities, even without the presence of sufficient evidence against him. Any man who thinks he can get away with raping a female domestic labourer needs to think long and hard about that before he goes forward with his actions. Prostitution may be the oldest profession in the world and we cannot deny that it is present in every country, even the most conservative ones. However, we should all put a concerted effort at eradicating it, because it does no benefit other than degrade and increase violence against women. French novelist Victor Hugo once said "We say that slavery has vanished from European civilisation, but this is not true. Slavery still exists, but now it applies only to women and its name is prostitution." It is about time that prostitution, just like slavery, vanishes from Kuwait.
By Shamael Al-SharikhStaff Writer (Source:Kuwait times,28/12/2006)

Kuwait leasing firm Alafco boosts capital to expand

Kuwait's Aviation Lease and Finance Company (Alafco) is increasing its capital by 24 per cent to $214.5 million to finance new expansion, its chairman said yesterday.Ahmad al-Zabin said the decision was taken as part of the company's mid-term plan to increase its fleet to 50 planes after three years and to 80 aircraft by 2015.Alafco last month signed a deal to buy six Airbus A320 aircraft at a cost of $300 million, with delivery starting in 2009. It currently owns 18 aircraft of different types and also manages 15 others. During the Dubai air show last year, Alafco ordered 12 Airbus A350-800 aircraft valued at around two billion dollars, with an option for six more.The company, which was listed on the Kuwait bourse in October, has announced its fleet will rise by 10 aircraft in 2007. Jointly owned by Kuwait Finance House (KFH), the state's leading Islamic bank, and the state-owned Kuwait Airways Corp (KAC), the company has long-term lease contracts with nine international companies including Indian, Chinese and Yemeni airlines.The company, which leases and manages aircraft in line with Islamic principles which forbid usury, saw net profits rise 135 per cent to $28.4 million at the end of the last fiscal year on September 30. Its assets also were up 130 per cent from $365 million to $841 million on September 30. - AFP

Violations in treatment abroad

The Audit Bureau recently reported many violations committed by the Interior Ministry with regards to sending patients for treatment abroad, sources told Kuwait Times. It seems that some influential VIPs and MPs had mediated to exempt some patients from the regular rules and conditions for treatment overseas. The sources explained that the Ministry of Interior sent 1,485 patients for treatment overseas, all on recommendations from 11 lawmakers. The patients were paid the usual allowances and expenses but none actually suffered from diseases that could not be treated locally. Furthermore, the sources stressed that there were no clear evidence that the said patients had actually left Kuwait despite them being paid to travel abroad. In addition, some non-Interior Ministry personnel and the relatives of some retired military people had been sent abroad for treatment despite the fact that this privilege includes retirees alone.

Kuwaitisation: Watch out expats ... here we come

Kuwaitisation is a policy that has been followed by the government for decades now. It has been more intense in the public sector resulting in Kuwaitis representing 95 per cent of all government employees, subsequently placing 97 per cent of Kuwaiti labour force in the public sector, that leaves only 2.5 per cent of this labour force working in the private sector. This ridiculous imbalance has provoked the government to extend its Kuwaitisation policy to the private sector where expats dominate the scene and run the show. Leaders of the private sector have justifiably shown their dissatisfaction with this policy as this entails being recipients of a bunch of the laziest people on this planet (productivity of 37 minutes a day) which in turn will lower the overall productivity of private firms and in turn lower the level of profits. Honestly I side with the government in this one, 2.5 per cent is just too low, more Kuwaitis need to move to the private sector and socialise in the more competitive and productive environment. Actually it's this socialisation that I find interesting especially on the human and personal level. How would Kuwaitis behave in a work place where expats usually have the upper hand? And how would expats who can be protective when it comes to their jobs react to increasing number of young Kuwaitis invading their work environment? It should be fun watching this type of interaction. I have many friends who work in the private sector who gave me some insights about this ongoing daily struggle.First, regardless of the origins or nationalities of expats, they share the same view about their Kuwaiti colleagues. You know the stereotype, these are young rich boys who are not ready to work hard and do not really care about learning how things work here. Self-improvement is not their concern so why bother to share knowledge with them, even if they got interested in work and in developing their skills and enhancing their productivity they will only represent a threat and soon you might find yourself replaced by one young Kuwaiti. Many expats love to build strong connections with their Kuwaiti colleagues because they understand that to have a decent life in this country you have to have a connection with well-connected Kuwaitis, so some justified hypocrisy is usually present. Second, when it comes to how Kuwaitis deal with expats in the work place, origins and nationalities make almost all the difference. Kuwaitis divide expats into three categories: Westerners, Arabs and Indians. Kuwaitis usually treat Westerners with a maximum level of respect. They have this weird unexplainable sense of inferiority when working with colleagues from Europe and North America. They tend to be polite, respectful and even shy. They even push themselves to work harder to ensure their satisfaction.Arabs for Kuwaiti employees are seen as rivals. No Kuwaiti would want to see his boss or a senior colleague from Egypt, Syria or Jordan. Expats from these countries are always accused of being prudent in sharing knowledge and are usually very protective of their jobs. When it comes to interacting with Arabs in the work place, Kuwaitis can sometimes be a little disrespectful and aggressive.Indians - well, this is a hard one. Before saying anything we have to remind ourselves that those people produce more software that Europe does. India is an amazing country. Indians are nice, well-educated people. This is totally understood. It's just that the situation in Kuwait where many Indians take low-level jobs has allowed some Kuwaitis to look down at them. So in the work place it takes a certain type of Kuwaitis that have been raised to respect people regardless of who they are to give Indians the respect they deserve. My younger brother had recently an interview at a private firm. One of the interviewers was an Indian engineer. Before getting to test the technical knowledge of my brother, he asked him "What if I ask you to bring me some coffee, you know, you are Kuwaiti, will you bring me a nice cup of coffee?" It's a weird question that you do not usually expect in interviews, but it seems like this Indian engineer has seen a lot. My smart*** brother answered "Sorry sir, I do not serve people coffee regardless of where they come from." I just love my brother and wish all Kuwaitis were like him. By Meshary Alruwaih

Kuwait's Star Academy nominee fails KU classes

Kuwait University's students' affairs deanery recently rejected a request filed by Kuwait's nominee and participant in the Lebanese TV programme Star Academy, Ahmed Dawood, reported Al-Watan. On being accepted as a participant in the programme, Dawood filed a request to be exempted from sitting for a test in his course of business administration that he is currently enrolled in. He asked for a chance to sit for the following course's tests. The faculty of business administration initially agreed to exempt him but the students' affairs deanery rejected the request on the basis that the excuse Dawood used to justified his absence was unacceptable, and thus he failed all subjects. Dawood said he was going to be away in Lebanon during the course tests on an official 'patriotic mission' representing Kuwait, which was not accepted.

Each governorate may get own Friday market

Municipal Council member Dr. Fadhel Safar recently suggested building a special Friday market for tents, livestock and birds in each Kuwaiti govornorate, reported Al-Watan. Safar's motion was delivered to the chairman of the Municipal Council. He argued that the Municipality has received too many applications for licenses to invest in the Friday Market, currently located in Al-Rai. "The current location of the market cannot provide room for as many applicants and since the Municipality had always wanted to provide all kinds of services in each governorate, this motion looks reasonable," said Safar.
(Kuwait times,December27,2006)

New hospitals in Kuwait

Kuwait has established nine new hospitals to provide health care for Kuwaiti citizens and residents in the state of Kuwait at the behest of His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Syeikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-jabar al-Sabah, a kuwaiti minister said here yesterday. Visiting kuwaiti minister of public works and minister of state for kabinet Affairs Bader Nasher Al-Humaidi, who also doubles as acting minister of information, made the remark on the sidelines of the 23rd session of the council of arab ministers of housing, held here yesterday. He added that HH the Amir of Kuwait called for providing medical care and establishing new hospitals for the sake of citizents and residents in Kuwait.
Coordination is currently underway between ministry of public and the ministry of health on ways and means of providing necessary medical equipment for the new hospital in the governorates of jahra, ahmadi, farwaniya and mubarak al-kabir. (Source: Kuwait Times'24/12/2006)