Life is a series of choices. Every step is a choice, an option, a decision. We try our best to make these choices based on what we know. What we pick may not be based on what is right and what is wrong, but what we believe in our minds and hearts. Whatever we do decide, we have to compromise. It is always one or the other.
In 1986 we used to play around in the garden in front of our house. It was a public garden, not one of those large ones, but just big enough for us and our neighbors to play around in. We used to play soccer in the street as well next to the garden. And how can I forget, actually eating some of the flowers in the garden.
We used to run around in it, exploring, the grass was long, and we liked that because if laid down we would be almost invisible. We’d also love watching the tiny grasshoppers jump out as we ran around the garden. If we’d spot one on a leaf, we’d slowly come up to it and try to catch it. We even developed our own grasshopper-catching strategy — by placing our hands in a certain position and a certain distance, so that even if it jumps we can catch it.
We let them go, and try to catch them again. What we also loved to catch were small butterflies as well — you’d think I’m talking about some fantasy land, no, this is in Kuwait, right in front of our house in Bayan. One of the last insects we’d run after and try to catch was the ladybird. There were tons of them. We weren’t mean to the creatures, we’d let them go, but exploring was such a fascinating thing to do then.
Fast forward a few years later, and we’re into video games, and running around the house more — breaking things — and not going out as much as we used to. A few years later I remember going out in the garden, it was quiet. I didn’t see any grasshoppers, or butterflies, or ladybirds. There were a few caterpillars. We entertained ourselves with them, but soon enough, we stopped going to the garden.
When I look outside the window now at the garden. I see garbage around the edges, and the neglected plants. The flowers were all gone, all that was left was grass, and even it, looked like it was in a terrible state. On one part of the garden there was a huge pile of sand and pebbles for construction.
I went out to look at it, but there was nothing there. I hoped that as I stepped into it, a grasshopper would jump out, or a butterfly would flutter away — there was nothing.
I wondered if these were all gone because of urbanization. Was it all because we were changing the ecology so much? New people had to move in, and the creatures had to move out. Thinking about it that way, I’d suppose the people are more worthy of the place. Somehow.
A few days ago I passed by this car on Fahaheel road. Hmm, so far nearly all my videos have been of burning cars and burning buildings. I’m not a pyromaniac, I assure you.
In Kuwait we are used to this concept: we break the law whenever we feel like it. If we get caught we mostly try to talk our way out of it, or get in contact with certain individuals who help us get out of the trouble we got into. Breaking the law has easily become a matter of convenience.
Most of us have broken the law, at least and most commonly the traffic law. In some roads the speed limit is a joke, and driving at that speed is too ridiculous. At other times we have parked in a no parking zone. Are the parking spots designed that bad that it easily becomes impossible to find a parking spot? Wait, I meant a close parking spot.
The other most common traffic violation (based on my assumption) is breaking the red light. You can see it turning yellow, and you know that if you don’t step on the gas pedal you will be waiting at that traffic light for another 5-10 minutes! You speed ahead, and pass the light just a split second after it has turned red.
Driving this morning I saw cars pass a red light simply because they saw that no one was coming from the other side. It was inconvenient to them to wait for a few minutes (2..3…5.. or even 10 on some of those traffic lights) and seeing that there clearly wasn’t a camera in place or a police car they simply drove off, casually, crossing the red light. If you’d ask them why, they would probably say, “Why not? I’m busy, and there was no one on the road.” Sure, they could say that now, and probably get away with it.
Why has the law become so much a matter of convenience, and breaking it has become such a casual activity, that everyone does it and feels inferior if they see someone else do it, and they themselves don’t!
Do the people in charge believe the installation of more speed/light cameras and higher ticket fines would make it more convenient for people to respect the law? Of course not. People will actually start feeling bitter. Since they are inconvenienced by the current situation, adding more strict laws would only make it all the more less convenient for some. To others, it would make them feel trapped, with stress of laws they have to follow and fear of being caught and/or breaking the laws they are not so quite aware of.
What would be the solution? Why do we need a solution? The law is there to protect people from themselves. The law is a government decree and should be respected. They are the higher authority and they have a right to place the laws they see fit. This does not mean that we cannot challenge these laws in an administrative manner. Isn’t this why there is a National Assembly? In the U.S. and probably other areas there is a City Council where regular citizens can take the podium and voice their concerns. I don’t believe there is such an entity in Kuwait. If there is however, I have not heard of such a thing.
How is it possible then for citizens to speak their minds, and contribute to this country? We do love Kuwait. There are also people who are not Kuwaiti but have lived here for many years and also love this country. All we can really do is try to talk to the people in charge, however inefficient that may be, or simply complain. Complain. And complain some more.
There is a lot of hate, anger, and resentment that we see in the news, in the streets, and even at work sometimes. I believe it is truly about time these issues get addressed and something serious be done about them.
P.S. To the people with a lot of hate I say: Don’t insult this country. Don’t insult the government. Certainly don’t insult the people. You will not gain respect by doing so, neither will you gain any results.
So what’s the problem? You go into an institute or something along those lines to get a service or buy something. Usually you’re already part of this institute because you have an account with them, or, they are part of the government. Naturally they would ask for (a) document(s), and you would kindly and happily provide them.
Here comes the problem. They don’t only check your I.D. but they make copies as well. Every. Single. Time. Not only do they make copies of your Civil ID card but your bank card (ATM, VISA, MasterCard..), other I.D., copies of other photocopies.
Tell me, is there a goofy green drooling monster these people have in their basement that feeds off copies of people’s I.D. and private documents?
I haven’t been to the carnival neither have I seen how pretty it was. The only thing I saw was later that evening when we went to see Jumper at Al Fanar. We were shocked to see these scenes. The next day however, everything was very clean and tidy, but none the less. It was very dirty that night.
I only have one question. Did it really have to be that way?
An introvert is a person who is energized by being alone, and drained by being with other people. Sometimes Introverts are thought of as being shy, although that may be true, that is not necessarily always the case. Being an introvert only means that you appreciate your alone time and chose to be alone to regain your energy and stabilize yourself before going to a group of people. Extroverts are the opposite: they are energized when they are with groups of people and their energy is drained when alone.
Poll Question: Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Please participate and vote on the right. Thank you!
Our culture in Kuwait is an extremely social culture due to the small size of the country and population. There is always someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows probably everyone. Families are also large, and some families are also very well connected because of family and marriage ties.
When we consider these facts, we realize that mostly no week goes by without some family occasion. These occasions are sometimes weekly, or appear suddenly; a cousin getting married, a baby being born, a nephew graduating, someone passes away, someone is sick, someone leaves the country, someone comes back from a trip, a celebration, an anniversary, and the list goes on.
I have noticed that introverts are mostly misunderstood. They prefer to be alone so the extroverts (and misinformed introverts) see them as anti-social. They criticize their behavior as wrong and that people should always interact with others when given the choice and should never turn down an invitation. To an extrovert, this may sound like heaven, but to an introvert, especially one who values his or her rejuvenation time would see this itself as energy-draining. Just the thought of meeting and talking to all those people for hours on end.. has got me out of energy to complete this post! *tehee*.
A person is usually born an introvert or an extrovert, it is not a choice. This has to be considered by parents who find their children behaving in that way. When a child chooses to not want to participate with other groups it does not mean the kid is being stubborn, generally at least. It is perfectly normal and being social is not about being around people, it is mostly about being connected to those people in some way or other.
In part 1 of this series I only opened up with a question for all to answer. The question was: Has foreign labor affected our country negatively? I do admit, I got some very positive feedback from everyone. I thank you all very much!
Many of you mentioned that the topic of foreign labor is very large. We cannot talk about every aspect of this topic in detail and hope to reach some positive outcome in the end. I picked the issue of responsibility for today, as I believe it is one of the most important effects of foreign labor in our community.
I thought about why most people do not like to work here. Why do they prefer to take the easy way and have someone else do it for them, or do a very poor job and be OK with that. I came to the conclusion that these people do not understand the importance of their work, and the repercussions it has on society as a whole.
Where does this lack of responsibility and accountability come from? There are a couple of ways a person can end up that way, and I have developed a theory. I could be wrong, I could be right; this is only my personal opinion.
When we start to import foreign labor and depend on foreign workers to do our jobs, we become at ease. We start to enjoy living a casual life, and become dependent on these foreign laborers. How do you think a small child would act and think when he sees that his parents depend so much on a maid or a driver to do their work?
You might say, “…but there are rich people who have servants do everything for them!” These rich people are known to be strict to force their children to learn about responsibility, and accountability while still enjoying a regular life full of servants and drivers who do a lot of their work for them.
This is evident when you go to a government bureau. Who knows what everything is, and how things need to be done? It is usually the tea guy, the farrash (janitor), or the courier. These employees are paid low wages, and they know how everything is done because they are the ones who are doing most of the work*.
The problem revolves around the dependency on foreign labor. We can see this when we compare ourselves to the west. — pause. I said we can compare ourselves to the west, but that would probably turn off a lot of people who think, “Why do you want to be like USA… All the Kuwaitis want to be modern and westernized.” Fine then, let us compare ourselves to how we used to be in the older days.
People lived simple lived, in simple homes. Everyone in the house had a job to do and men were men, women were women. Regardless of the question of equality, everyone had their own responsibilities and they developed that since they were young. They only depended on themselves, and the idea of being responsible and accountable for their actions grew in them.
These people grew up to be responsible people. They grew to be people who had done some hard work earning a living. For those who were at home, they cleaned and cooked on their own. They knew when something had to be done; it had to be done right.
You may wonder if this is going to be it. Am I just going to stop here and finish complaining? That is not all, I have thought of a solution. Again, this is my personal opinion.
How can we learn to be more responsible, and how can we raise a more responsible generation? Is the answer to exile all the foreign workers? No. There are two main influential parts of society that have to take a role in this solution. The families and the government.
The families need to teach their children about responsibility. They themselves might find it hard, but they must learn and must teach their children. You can teach by giving chores, by recognizing hard work and encouraging working together, for a better good (in this case, the betterment of the situation at home for example.)
The families need to limit the roles and responsibilities of the laborers. You can’t have the worker do every single thing for you. You have to be the role model; you have to get up and go get your own things. You’d have to do your own work, especially if you want it done right and done your way.
The government has to enforce accountability and responsibility from the top down through its own hierarchy. They have to teach their employees that every single paper in a file is important. Losing that document is not an option.
They have to preserve the rights of people. When there is a sense of responsibility and accountability there is a natural inclination to deciding what is best for the country as a whole, and not make decisions based on personal affiliations, or personal grudges against others in the community.
Again, I wish to clarify that this is a personal opinion. This is not based on any research, or scientific data, but the science of my mind and what I see and hear. I would hope, and pray that the situation does get better in this country. I am doing what I can, by speaking my mind and putting this out there in hopes that those of you can learn something or see something from a different perspective. Thank you for taking the time to read this very long post! God bless you all!
* I understand this is not true to all agencies, but this is an opinion of a lot of public offices and ministries.
Question: Do you consider yourself a naughty person? You may have your own definition of naughty, so answer based on that! There is not bad or good here either (I’m proving a point to a friend of mine ;P). Please vote on the right hand side! Thank you! :)
I was going to talk about the foreign laborers that has destroyed responsibility in this country. Then I was going to talk about my trip to Dubai. Then I thought about talking about my late absence and the real reason behind it.
Still and all, I am in no talking mood, not really, not at the moment. I have been feeling down since I came back from Dubai actually. I try to deal with it and not let it affect what I do, so far it has only affected my blogging. I don’t know if it is the weather or not but I will leave all these topics for later.
I want all your input first before I start talking about the foreign laborers. Here is a question to ask yourself: Has foreign labor affected our country negatively? State your ideas and opinions here, and you can comment and debate other people in the comments. Feel free to be defensive and offensive, I want this to be a healthy debate… as long as no sharp weapons are used!
I will post my opinions later. I want it to be understood that I do not hate people in general. I do not hate foreign labor, and I do not hate those who come here to seek a living, you’ll understand better when I post my opinion.
P.S. I also understand that there is no connection between the poll and the topic, but this is just to give those of you who don’t like to discuss politics something to do when you get here :P And thank you to all those who have been participating in all the previous polls! Thank you!
Question: Are you traveling this Eid or New Year, or both? I know there is a long way between both vacations but I’m sure expats who have left for Christmas or are planning to leave soon will be gone until after the New Year (please take me with you). What are your plans?
As I was driving to work this morning, I passed by what was obviously a burning car. I can only assume that the people in the car have fled the scene and were getting some help.
I was very tempted to stop and get the fire extinguisher out of my car and use it, however there was no way to get to the burning car without obscuring the current path I was in.
What shook me was that there wasn’t ANYONE who was standing there using some type of fire extinguisher to put out the fire! Wasn’t it required by law that every car have one? How long has this car been burning already? I’m sure it has been at least burning for five minutes, I could see the flames from the opposite light!
I’m slowly beginning to believe that in a time of crises, people would flee rather than help, which is a very very sad thought.
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In 1986 we used to play around in the garden in front of our house. It was a public garden, not one of those large ones, but just big enough for us and our neighbors to play around in. We used to play soccer in the street as well next to the garden. And how can I forget, actually eating some of the flowers in the garden.
We let them go, and try to catch them again. What we also loved to catch were small butterflies as well — you’d think I’m talking about some fantasy land, no, this is in Kuwait, right in front of our house in Bayan. One of the last insects we’d run after and try to catch was the ladybird. There were tons of them. We weren’t mean to the creatures, we’d let them go, but exploring was such a fascinating thing to do then.
When I look outside the window now at the garden. I see garbage around the edges, and the neglected plants. The flowers were all gone, all that was left was grass, and even it, looked like it was in a terrible state. On one part of the garden there was a huge pile of sand and pebbles for construction. 
In Kuwait we are used to this concept: we break the law whenever we feel like it. If we get caught we mostly try to talk our way out of it, or get in contact with certain individuals who help us get out of the trouble we got into. Breaking the law has easily become a matter of convenience. 
What would be the solution? Why do we need a solution? The law is there to protect people from themselves. The law is a government decree and should be respected. They are the higher authority and they have a right to place the laws they see fit. This does not mean that we cannot challenge these laws in an administrative manner. Isn’t this why there is a National Assembly? In the U.S. and probably other areas there is a City Council where regular citizens can take the podium and voice their concerns. I don’t believe there is such an entity in Kuwait. If there is however, I have not heard of such a thing.
So what’s the problem? You go into an institute or something along those lines to get a service or buy something. Usually you’re already part of this institute because you have an account with them, or, they are part of the government. Naturally they would ask for (a) document(s), and you would kindly and happily provide them. 
