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Syrian held for US, Western Serena, Li ease killing Indian embassies on into Madrid security guards9 alert11 in Yemen quarter-finals43 Max 40º Min 24º FREE www.kuwaittimes.net NO: 16160- Friday, May 9, 2014 SpeakerSpeaker visitsvisits AvenuesAvenues despitedespite controversycontroversy SEE PAGE 8 Local FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2014 Scribbler’s Notebook By Jamie Etheridge A question for Kuwait its role as the pioneer in the Gulf and inevitably fell behind its ommendations and proposals of every single step Kuwait [email protected] neighbors. should take - from reducing subsidies to implementing income Today, playing catch-up has become less important than taxes to streamlining bureaucracy - sitting on the shelves of uch has been said about the need to diversify Kuwait’s reaching a national consensus on what exactly Kuwait hopes to government offices. But what do the people want? Are hous- income away from oil, to reduce the number of expatri- become. Should economic development and greater openness ing and new schools, hospitals and roads enough? And is there M define the next 20 years? Should Kuwait wean itself off foreign any kind of agreement among the various segments and sec- ates and prepare the young generations for the future that is to come. There is nearly daily talk of how to fight corrup- labor - even if it means slimming down the private sector and tors of Kuwait society? It seems there are a lot of different tion and how to reform the system so that Kuwait may attract then growing a leaner, more localized economy? Should Kuwait visions of what Kuwait should be and little room for compro- more foreign investment, develop its economy and more easily open the door to foreign ownership of businesses and more mise. compete with its neighbors. free trade zones (a la Dubai?) Should it focus on a particular sec- Just before I graduated from college, one of our professors What is missing from all these discussions of plans, proposals tor or sectors like finance, Islamic finance or should it pursue a made us all write an essay: Where we want to be in 20 years. and blueprints, however, is a clearly stated vision of what rounded strategy that includes services, manufacturing, IT, etc? Most of us had never even thought about it. Graduation and Kuwaitis themselves want for their future. What about socially? Does Kuwait want to be liberal and finding a job were as far as most of us had got. But the question In the late 1950s when Kuwait’s oil wealth was new and the open or conservative and closed? Should it emulate Dubai or made me think: What really mattered to me enough that I’d country just began to realize the possibilities it might achieve, Doha or Riyadh? Should it encourage more intermarriage want to be still doing it 20 years hence? the vision was dominated by the ideas of Kuwait becoming a between citizens and foreigners or discourage this trend? The same question should perhaps be posed to every citizen modern, developed society and economy. Following the trau- Should Kuwait resist change at all costs and try to hold on to its of Kuwait: What is it, at the core, that you long to see for Kuwait’s matic experience of the invasion and the continued threat from glorious past? future? What do you want Kuwait to look like in 20 years? the north, Kuwait languished in a state of semi-becoming. It lost There are probably dozens of white papers filled with rec- The answers might surprise us all. l Local FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2014 Local Spotlight Security is vital KUWAIT: Sheikh Ahmed Al- Mesh’al (center) checking the new police academy construction site in Reggae. By Muna Al-Fuzai [email protected] he Avenues mall opened in 2007, and since Tthen it has been continuously developing to become a center of attraction and entertain- ment for people of all ages and nationalities for various reasons. I agree that this mall has pushed shopping experiences to new levels, keeping up- to-date with new benchmarks. The Avenues is one of the largest malls in the Middle East. So no one can argue the fact that the Avenues has achieved huge success in Kuwait and no other mall can compete with it. But while achieving success is easy, maintaining it is difficult and here is why. Security is key. When you go to a mall, you expect that you are safe and all security proce- dures have been taken care of to make your visit enjoyable and peaceful. No one wishes to spend his/her night at the police station. Last year, a young doctor was murdered by a The question is why these fights keep happening? The mall is huge and has many entrances and exits and security men are all over. few young men in the mall. It was shocking news and the court is still looking into the case. Since then, several negative incidents have occurred. It is as if this crime gave the green light to all trou- blemakers and maniacs to rush to the mall to make it risky. While the management has changed its policies over security, fights continue, some- times between families or teenagers. The question is why these fights keep happen- ing? The mall is huge and has many entrances and exits and security men are all over. I think the rea- son is that it is very crowded. So crowded that you inevitably can run into someone you don’t know or don’t want to see. No matter how big that mall is, you still feel you can’t get enough air, especially on weekends. The second reason is that it is an amusement point for teenagers who think they are clever and handsome, and eventually they act stupidly. Or what happened recently when a man took his lizard to the mall and became the talk of social media. He did it for fun but it was not funny. I never go to the mall on weekend nights. I don’t think it is the right time to have your best shopping experience. So avoiding rush times would be a better strategy. The mall is open all week long. I try to choose week nights or school days when the crowd is less and shops are quite. All dining tables are available too with no waiting period. Only then I can say that my shopping trip was enjoyable. Local FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2014 in my view KUWAIT: Kuwait Fire Services Directorate (KFSD) took part in Kuwait’s 6th Scorching Data Security Forum and Exhibition that was held under auspices of His the grass Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al- Mubarak Al-Sabah on May 7-8 at the Radisson Blue Hotel. The event was held in collaboration with the Central Apparatus for IT. By Abdellatif Sharaa [email protected] s I was driving down the King Fahad Road Atowards Kuwait City one afternoon, I saw a laborer watering the grass on the sides of the road. I stopped my car and asked him why he was doing it at that time of day. I told him that it should There is too much not be done at this hour because the heat is so wastage of water intense, the sun is so bright that the water burns off and you end up scorching the grass. and on top of that, To my surprise, the man agreed with me (Kalam the inappropriate inta mazboot), but said his boss had ordered him to do and so he did. Sadly enough, this is a phenome- timing further non that takes place quite frequently all across damages the grass. Kuwait. You see gardeners and workers watering lawns in front of villas or grass in the roundabout or Protecting our sprinklers in the parks and along the Corniche right environment isn’t in the middle of the day. This is the absolute worst possible time to do it. just a government I can’t help but wonder whether the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources responsibility. supervises the use of water for these purposes or offers any guidelines to conserve whatever is left of small natural green areas around Kuwait. In many places that are arid or semi arid, governments will limit the times and days lawns can be watered as a way to get the most efficient and effective use of the water. There is too much wastage of water and on top of that, the inappropriate timing further dam- ages the grass. Protecting our environment isn’t just a government responsibility. Have you ever thought how much will be the cost of having something green to grow in our dear Kuwait? Here’s another thing to consider. The Kuwait Times recently published a photo of garbage bins left in the handicapped parking spaces along the seaside. The scene was really an eyesore in a beauti- fully manicured area, and there are many reasons why it was out of place. The municipality should not allow trash to be left at this time of the day right there in the open, especially that they are working hard to maintain the integrity of the scenery and landscaping and have their own inspectors there! Police should find out who placed the trash in such parking spots, depriving its rightful users from hav- ing the convenience they designated for. The Environment Public Authority should be appalled and it must act so decisively to prevent such acts with the force of law, bearing in mind that it is already summer in Kuwait and insects are crawling and flying with all the germs and viruses they can carry with them especially that the area is highly fre- quented by citizens and expatriates alike.

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