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Temperatures Washington puts El Hadary heroics might drop to Tehran ‘on notice’ defy belief as zero in Kuwait7 for firing14 missile Egypt46 book final Min 02º Max 13º FREE www.kuwaittimes.net NO: 17130- Friday, February 3, 2017 Local heritage preserved at bookshop SEE PAGES 4 & 5 Local FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2017 PHOTO OF THE DAY Kuwait City seen from Al-Shaheed Park. — Photo by Ghazy Qaffaf/KUNA Local Spotlight IMPRINT Save expats Lest We Throw Stones By Muna Al-Fuzai By Nejoud Al-Yagout [email protected] [email protected] o those from here, remember. We have no right to ast week I raised the topic of animals that are aban- My Kuwaiti friend replied he was on the phone, and that’s criticize Trump. Syrian refugees are not welcome doned on the streets by their owners or market ven- why he did not move the car. He added he was not blocking here either. And let us not forget how many Iraqis dors. This week, I feel obliged to call for ‘saving’ expats, anyone’s car or the road. Yet this man was screaming at him T L and Palestinians were deported after the invasion for after a Kuwait Times reader asked me a question over a situa- for no reason. The situation got absurd when the irate security reasons. A close friend of ours from Pakistan has tion he and many others face daily. He said and I quote: “We Kuwaiti man told my friend he was sorry because he thought given up on coming to visit Kuwait after she was denied expats do not even know where to complain or what to com- he was expat and did not know he was a Kuwaiti too! So, if a entry a couple of times (once even transit on her way to plain about. I live in Farwaniya, where traffic police entered a person is an expat, does this justify shouting at him or her? Is NYC). We also had a temporary ban on Bangladeshis for a dilapidated side street and ticketed the cars parked opposite that an excuse to humiliate others because they are not period of time. a residential building. Where should we park our cars then? Kuwaitis? When you find out your adversary is a Kuwaiti, you I wonder why we think it is alright to vent our frustra- The cops are promised incentives to catch as many violations apologize! tion on social media regarding Trump’s policies when we as possible. Who better to exploit than the expats?” The reader is right, because he does not know what to remain silent regarding our own bigotry and xenopho- Parking has always been a problem in Kuwait, because for complain about and to whom. Soaring rents are a problem, bia. Where are the voices in our community defending many years, the municipality allowed building owners to not parking is another and rising prices are yet another problem. minorities and the rights of immigrants and refugees? allocate parking spaces for the tenants; or at least it was not Moreover, sometimes there is the problem of discrimination, Sure, we have a few activists, but for some reason they compulsory to designate the basement of the building as a especially on the streets. car park. So for many years, it was and still is a mess. Go to seem to be lone voyagers - as we seem to be too compla- These people who target expats are insulting us in Kuwait Salmiya, Hawally or Farwaniya at night and you will see cars cent to assist them. Are we so afraid of love that we choose, and Kuwaitis in general. Such people are the cause of dam- scattered everywhere as if a tornado hit them. instead, to surrender to fear? If this is the case, we have lost aging our image as a civil and modern society. The reasons We are exposing expats to a contradictory situation - our right to complain about the way of the world. for such behavior are that they don’t consider their actions a between asking them to abide by the law and breaking it. Still, I remain optimistic that what is happening today mistake. I personally do not know any custom or any law that We have expats who come from different countries, cultures is what the world needs to awaken from the stupor of permits such discrimination or behavior. and origins, and yet they will do whatever they are asked separation. It starts within us. We are invited to remove Rejection of discrimination is a value and a culture of the according to Kuwait’s laws, habits, customs and traditions, all traces of beliefs that have taught us that we are supe- community. It is also the role of good education and parents despite the difficulty of the matter. Isn’t this enough? rior to another in any way. We are invited to defend to teach their kids that this is a shameful act in any society. So For example, a Kuwaiti friend went to a walking path down- those who do not have a voice for fear of deportation or if a child abuses the maids in the house and is not punished, town. He was wearing sports attire and driving a small and old car. imprisonment. And we are invited to change ourselves. he will grow up thinking it is OK to abuse anyone who in not After he finished his walk, he went back to his car. He remained One by one. This is the time for new beginnings, albeit from his community. stationary for 10 minutes before driving out of the parking lot. All via a painful collective slap on the face to shake us out of Well sir, you’re right. I do not know where to complain of a sudden, a man in a dishdasha came up to his window and our complacency. Yes to love. and to whom. It’s all about ethics and culture. yelled at him, claiming he was slow in moving his car! Nejoud Al Yagout - Photo by Djinane Alsuwayeh Local FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2017 HALA FEBRUARY Just kiddin’, seriously Mr President - build bridges not walls By Sahar Moussa [email protected] f you ask me what is common between deception Iand Trump, I would say: Misdirection. Misdirection, is a form of deception in which the attention of an audience is focused on one thing in order to distract its attention from another. Donald Trump in seven days was able to spread chaos throughout the world, from the first day he became President of the United States. But were his orders a misdirection intended to distract ‘us’ (the audience) and serve hidden agen- das? After Trump’s victory in the elections, we can’t but acknowledge his ability to rile us all up. Today I will play the devil’s advocate and look at the situation February is one of the most popular months in Kuwait’s calender thanks to the nation celebrating National and Liberation from another perspective. Days. Photo shows youth celebrating last year’s national holidays on the streets of Kuwait. — Photo by Yasser Al Zayyat Trump’s executive order on immigration bars citi- zens of seven Muslim-majority countries from enter- ing the United States for the next 90 days and sus- pends the admission of all refugees for 120 days. in my view These countries are: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Sudan and Yemen. Since the order was issued, peo- ple from all over the world have been protesting Pushing back against social oppression against it. But did you know that Kuwait also has a list of countries whose citizens are not allowed to enter the By Fatma Al Attar state? Ironically, these countries are Syria, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Pakistan and Afghanistan. As far as I recall, [email protected] not one person protested against this list. Trump also set in motion his plan to build an “impenetrable, physical, tall, powerful, beautiful, southern border wall” between the US and Mexico. ocial oppression is defined as “a concept that describes chased by government housing programs, even if they have The border is about 1,900 miles (3,100 km) long and Sa relationship of dominance and subordination made their payments. Kuwaiti women cannot marry alone traverses all sorts of terrain. This wall will cover 1,000 between categories of people in which one benefits and require a male guardian. The country has no laws pro- miles and natural obstacles will take care of the rest, from the systematic abuse, exploitation, and injustice direct- hibiting domestic violence, sexual harassment or marital according to news reports. The wall is meant to stop ed toward the other.” In other words, some groups have rape. Laws and social pressure push women to marry one illegal immigration, or so he claims. This order led to more power than other within society. Those people live a man; She can be shunned, her reputation tarnished, if she an uproar by some Americans in general and comfortable life and their acceptance of others makes life does not. But it does not stop there. Mexicans in particular. easier. But powerful groups tend to abuse their power for Marrying someone her family does not approve of can But did you know that Israel also built a security their own benefit. Although Kuwait is more privileged than also damage a woman’s standing. In effect, she cannot mar- barrier or ‘border wall’ in 1994 between the Gaza Strip most countries, that does not change the fact that social ry unless someone else approves.

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