FREE Established 1961 Friday ISSUE NO: 17476 JAMADA ALTHANI 21, 1439 AH FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 2018 Fahaheel: Commercial, farming 9 center and important gateway Saudi women jog in the streets of Jeddah’s historic Al-Balad district yesterday. — AFP Int’l Women’s Day marked with aspirations for equality See Pages 10 & 11 2 Friday Local Friday, March 9, 2018 Wake up, parliament! or music, tends to frighten certain people. ing every weekend to neighboring countries, The Ministry of Youth and Diwan Al-Amiri And so, year after year, we watch or read then this is slowly becoming a theatrical per- are beacons of light in our community. The IN MY VIEW about another parliamentarian destroying the formance in its own right, only without music youth is thriving because they finally have an career of a minister, or jailing someone who said By Nejoud Al-Yagout and song. outlet to express themselves. By denying peo- something on social media or musicians and Everyone loves music. At concerts at JACC ple their right to entertain and be entertained, speakers banned entry because they are against and Al Shaheed Park, we witness “conservative” we are encouraging people in our society to our tradition. and “liberals” enjoying music. Why do some escape via sinister modes of distraction. We have noble women fighting to abolish people in power feel threatened by what unites Art is not liberalism or progress. It is a part [email protected] Article 153 of the constitution which stipulates us, instead of divides us? Music is a universal of our roots. As a voter, I beseech MPs to that honor killings are merely a misdemeanor. language, and it is not imperative to attend. It is address issues in our society that are essential esterday a Member of Parliament tweet- NGOs are struggling to bridge the divide a choice: a choice that is being robbed from us. to the majority, not the few who claim to speak ed about three concerts that were to be between the stateless and locals. We have There is nothing in our constitution that states on behalf of all of us. There is room for diversity Yheld this weekend in Kuwait. He insisted domestic helpers and those who suffer from that music is against the law. regarding interests. that the Ministry of Youth should not revolve abuse at the hands of their husbands or family around music or dancing, and adds that the min- members who are vying for the attention of istry is overspending their budget. Eerily, he uses those in power. Yet our lawmakers seem more a threat to conclude his message warning that concerned with imposing their belief systems on soon those “responsible” will be held into a society that is rich in cultural heritage or account, in his effort to deter others. lamenting everyone else besides themselves. It’s Unscrupulous recruiters target As a local woman who was granted the right always the fault of others, they believe. In the last to vote in 2005, it amazes me how many times I year alone, we have witnessed xenophobic com- job seekers in Kuwait have witnessed the dissolution of the Parliament ments, a member of parliament refusing to sit due to corruption charges. I joke to my friends next to a woman because she was wearing per- By Nawara Fattahova salary if they find a job for me, and I agreed. abroad who were granted the right way before fume, and episodes of members addressing the On top of this, they demanded I pay a deposit us that I have voted more than them. I cannot speaker to complain about other MPs. What ob seekers - be careful of getting of KD 20, which according to them would be remember any parliament that has run a four- about the issues begging to be resolved in our scammed by fake and unscrupulous refunded when I find a job. They even gave me year course. since lawmakers invest so much of beloved country, the ones that were mentioned Jrecruiting agencies in Kuwait. Sometimes a receipt,” he said. their energy trying to bring down “corrupt” min- during their campaign tours? scammers will pose as recruiters for well But the agency didn’t find him a job. “Two isters and interrogate them. In some cases, it has Yes, this is a democracy, but if it is at the known multinational companies in Kuwait, weeks later, I found a job by myself. The nothing to do with financial corruption, but what expense of respect for our fellow beings or our asking for small payments from job seekers in recruiting agency never called me, so I went the lawmaker deems as the corruption of the fundamental right to appreciate art and enter- exchange for a job. Other times, recruiters may there to get back my KD 20. They told me to masses. Because, for some odd reason, singing, tainment in our country, which has many travel- solicit fees from would-be employees to come back the next day. I went there again the ‘process’ the application and say that these next day and they asked me for the receipt. The fees are only a deposit - but one that is never employee went inside and came back saying the returned. Richard is a victim of the latter. He accountant is not available and told me to found a recruiting agency that has branches in return tomorrow. He didn’t give me back the Hawally, Salmiya and Kuwait City. receipt. I visited the agency more than five “I was looking for a job and I saw the ad of times to get my money back, but without any this office on Facebook. I contacted them and result,” Richard said. they asked me to come over to their office in “Finally, they told me I will never get my Hawally for an interview along with my docu- money back. I couldn’t complain at the police ments. So I went there, submitted my CV, filled station as they had taken the receipt, but I want up the application form and was interviewed by to stop them from scamming poor people. Every the staff,” Richard told Kuwait Times. time I went there, I met other victims who were The office was crowded with other appli- also there to get their deposits back, but were cants. “They told me they will take my first not successful despite coming repeatedly. I’m sure they made a huge amount out of scamming people, as the number of my application was above 4,000,” he lamented. An inspector of the con- sumer protection department of the ministry of commerce and industry noted that in order to file a complaint at the department, the victims should have a contract or it should be written on the receipt that the KD 20 they paid is refundable. “They have to prove they paid the amount and that the com- pany assured this payment is refundable. Otherwise, they can’t complain at our depart- ment. But they can report the matter at the police station or file a case in court,” said the inspector. A piece of advice: Always check what’s written on the invoice before paying, and nev- er let the receipt leave your possession unless you’ve been repaid the amount. 4 Friday Local Friday, March 9, 2018 Photos by Athoob Al-Shuaibi massive lakes of standing water, swarms of one in Um Al-Haiman is still under construction. mosquitoes and the unhealthy environment But Boushehri denied that the accumulated KUWAIT: Several government officials created by the situation. water was sewage water and stressed that it including Hossam Al-Roumi, Minister of Public Its unclear if the lakes are formed by raw was treated water that would be sucked from Works and Minister of State for Municipal sewage seeping into the open desert or from the houses by a special pipeline. Affairs and Jenan Boushehri, Minister of brackish water released to the surface due to Several government agencies are now Utilities and Minister of State for Housing the continuing construction. Al-Roumi said dur- involved in trying to resolve the issue but Affairs recently toured the Sabah Al-Ahmed ing the tour that the problem resulted from not meanwhile plant life and local fauna, including City after complaints from residents regarding linking the area’s sewers to a plant because the camels, are taking advantage of the situation. Friday 5 Local Friday, March 9, 2018 6 Friday Local Friday, March 9, 2018 Transparency and the rule of law By Athoob Al-Shuaibi s part of French-German diplomatic cooperation, the Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and the ARule of Law was launched to encourage outstand- ing activists in this field. French and German embassies around the world nominate a number of candidates for the laurel, and 15 winners are selected by a supreme commit- tee comprising of the French foreign minister and his German counterpart. In 2017, a Kuwaiti activist was cho- sen for his work on a parliamentary monitoring website called Raqib50.com, which was launched in 2011. Abdullah Al-Khonaini told Kuwait Times that the site focuses on the principle of transparency by putting out all facts about the performance of parliamentarians, especial- ly the percentage of their attendance and absence, the laws that they voted for or against, and draft laws that relate to political and legal developments in Kuwait. The Raqib50 website is one of the projects of the Sout-Al laws and state institutions. The administration of docu- on the decisions of the electorate, but the more they rely Kuwait group, which promotes awareness in the Kuwaiti mentation in parliament is very cooperative, because what on the site, the more aware they become, which helps society of people’s constitutional rights and disseminates they have is public information.