Min 13º Max 31º FREE www.kuwaittimes.net NO: 17054 - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2016 Anti-expat sentiments on the rise Interior plans to raise fines and fees By B Izzak KD 1,000. Maarafi said other decisions include toughening penalties on those who provide KUWAIT: The Ministry of Interior plans to ask shelter or work to absconding foreign work- the next National Assembly to approve deci- ers and also on those workers themselves. sions to increase charges of Ministry services The official also said that the residence as a whole and on residency services in par- department has started implementing the ticular, the head of the Residency recent increase in the salary cap required by Department said yesterday. Director of the expatriates to be able to sponsor their wives General Department for Residence Affairs and children which was raised from KD 250 to Major General Talal Maarafi also said that the KD 450. He said the measure is primarily Ministry plans to double the overstay fine aimed at reducing the number of so-called from the current KD 2 per day to KD 4 for resi- “marginal” or unskilled foreign workforce. He dence violators. also said that the ministry will introduce new Maarafi did not provide further details on measures with the aim to further cut the the type of charges the ministry plans to raise number of unskilled laborers. and whether the KD 600 ceiling fine for resi- At present, Kuwait is home to 1.3 million dence violators will be also increased. native citizens and around 3 million foreign- Currently, foreigners who overstay their resi- ers, a majority of them Asians with close to dence permits are required to pay a fine of a record-breaking 1 million Indians. There KD 2 per day up to a maximum ceiling of KD are over 650,000 domestic helpers, a majori- KUWAIT: Suspected visa violators are detained in this file photo as Ministry of Interior 600 regardless of the duration. He did not ty of them female, among the expatriates. intensifies crackdown on illegals. — MOI explain if the overstay fine for visitors will also Maarafi regretted that this important issue Kuwait has witnessed a significant rise in include excessive traffic, youth unemploy- be raised. The fine for visitors who overstay is has escaped the attention of a majority of anti-expat, anti-foreigner sentiment in ment and other issues often blamed on the KD 10 per day with a ceiling not exceeding candidates in the November 26 snap polls. recent years, with many social problems country’s foreign population. Local FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2016 PHOTO OF THE DAY Local Spotlight Prostitution and social media By Muna Al-Fuzai [email protected] wo Romanian prostitutes were arrested in TMahboula last week. The news of the arrests itself is not new or surprising, or even the fact that European women come to Kuwait for this type of work. It has happened before and there are even stricter measures for unmarried women to receive visit visas due to such occurrences in the past. But who helped these women to come to Kuwait? And were they arrested as well? According to local authorities, detectives were monitoring videos on social media showing the two women offering their services around the world. The two later arrived in Kuwait, and I would assume they were either invited or made a deal to come and meet people here. An undercover agent was asked to strike a deal with them and they agreed to receive KD 200 each per hour. The two were then arrested in a flat in Mahboula. The women admitted Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi, a symbol of Islamic architecture. — Photo by Mustafa Albader / KUNA offering to have sex with men for money, and were transferred to the deportation center. IN MY VIEW Now the police have all the names and informa- tion about the clients of these two women. Reports suggest it was to inform them should the women be Are our ideals ideal? found to carry infectious diseases and illnesses, but why weren’t the men paying prostitutes for sex also arrested? Both the women and men know that pros- titution is prohibited and punishable by law in ask ourselves truthfully: Are our ideals ideal? By Nejoud Al-Yagout Muslim Arab countries. The women want to make We need to ponder for ourselves and witness the some money, while the men want an hour or two of world around us. Or more importantly, let us observe the state of our inner world that continues to hold onto pleasure. Neither care about the law. Worse, the our truth alone at the expense of others. Can our truth men ignore the probability that these women might [email protected] sustain everyone? If not, there is something inherently have infectious diseases. It’s disgusting, but true. unfair about it. And when life is unfair, when we are And we have no idea if this phenomenon is get- unfair to each other, this is when disease is allowed to ting worse or more frequent. Is prostitution growing ove can slice us open, until we find nothing there: grow and love is repressed. This is why we are so sick. more common in Kuwait, not only by foreign no beliefs, no separation, even no you and me. Sometimes, we do not even know how sick we are L women coming on visit visas, but also in brothels And, paradoxically, in this nothingness, everything, because we share the same views with so many others. everyone is welcome. But as Jiddu Krishnamurti wisely stated: It is no sign of already established here illegally? Arab societies For as long as we pledge allegiance to a nation, an health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society. tend to condemn and deny such acts, but this does- ideology, a race, a gender, we are excluding others. And And when we realize, when we allow ourselves to n’t mean they don’t take place. love never excludes, so the only way to choose love is to face our own perversion, our own sickness, our own It is a societal and security problem that threat- be love. A love that accepts all. A love that encourages darkness, we begin to recover from the collective mad- ens the safety of the community. The process of everyone to grow into who or what they were meant to ness through unconditional love. Love is not conditional raising awareness and warnings must reach every- be. A love that allows us to question, to doubt, to on the way we behave, what we wear, who we love, one, and border posts should not be lenient over believe, to renounce, to profess, to ponder, to thrive. To how we worship, what we say and do. This is the beauty be, without being spoon-fed. of awakening. We give ourselves permission to outgrow the entry of foreign women without having a con- Sometimes, letting go of all we have learned is the what we once perceived was the only truth. And until tract of employment or family members in the hardest thing to do, but there is no other way around it. we know this, we will continue to love others condition- country, for example. Let’s be clear about it - we are Our minds will build up fortresses of defense, claiming ally, and will continue to judge and feel judged. We will not a touristic destination. that others who share our beliefs are not practicing it continue to kill those we were taught to fear. We will The great influence of social media on our youth the right way, though we inherently know that there is divide the world into us and them and continue to pros- needs to be reviewed, because the youth can easily no room for misinterpretation when it comes to love ecute those who we perceive as threats to our shaky and inclusiveness. We either love everyone or have foundations. Is it not time to heal? We can do this. You be victimized by communicating with people they hearts that are partially closed. And let us admit that we and me. Together. With our hearts. do not know. This issue may be local, but it’s a glob- have not found a path that has completely opened our Our minds have made a mess of everything, so it is al concern too. Even in the West, young girls or hearts as yet. This will naturally arise when we are will- time to let go and welcome nothingness into our lives. teenagers fall victim on social networks to unknown ing to evolve. Each and every one of us. As individuals. The only thing keeping us from liberation is fear, but persons, dragged into a vortex of human trafficking, As unique souls. love is stronger, way stronger, than fear. And love can Let us look at the news and the wars around us being sexual slavery or drugs that sometimes ends their only guide us when we are open, empty. The time is young lives. We need to raise awareness about the fought in the name of our beliefs. Let us take a closer now. Now. look at the antagonism toward those who do not con- dangers of social networking with faceless people, form and the way we impose our ideals on others. Let us Nejoud Al Yagout - Photo by Djinane Alsuwayeh whether men or women. Local FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2016 Traffic jams emerge as election day approaches By Oqab Al-Qoubaa gatherings of crowds are still causing traffic congestion and overparking in some areas.