Officials knew Saudi proposes Resurgent K-Dow venture five-day Yemen James lifts was ‘a failure’9 ceasefire10 Cavaliers47 Min 22º Max 40º FREE www.kuwaittimes.net NO: 16514- Friday, May 8, 2015 WhoWho willwill thethe UKUK choose?choose? Page 14 LONDON: This combination picture shows (left to right) Opposition Labor Party leader Ed Miliband and his wife Justine Thornton and the leader of the Conservative Party David Cameron and his wife Samantha after voting yesterday as Britain holds a general election. — AFP Local FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2015 Local Spotlight Youth and weekend violence By Muna Al-Fuzai that all those involved were young people. These incidents are This is a false allegation to avoid responsibility. not the first of their kind, but being repeated nearly every The family is the key tool for all good and bad behaviors of weekend has made them a matter of attention and sends a youth and is responsible for all actions carried out by children, warning message to families who simply want to enjoy quality especially from the ages between 15 and 18. When parents time without ending the night at a police station or in hospital. neglect their duty to keep an eye on their kids and their friends [email protected] Who is at fault? Some blame the government for not enforc- and allow them to stay out late at night, they should expect ing laws. Youth are not punished properly for fighting and too problems, particularly related to drug addiction, thefts and many engage in violent scuffles over trivial matters like flirting fights. Having cash in their hands is also not a wise choice for as violence among the youth become a phenomenon of with girls or squabbles over a parking spot. But it’s not the sole teenagers. weekends in Kuwait, especially in malls, the airport and duty of the government. Parents and civil society organizations There is a need to prepare a study to find out the psycholog- Hother places that are usually crowded with people? What are also responsible. We all need to be part of the solution to ical and social characteristics of violent persons. Also, we need are the main factors that lead to violent behaviors by young confront this phenomenon of violence. to intensify awareness campaigns, lectures and seminars in people? It is a question that arises with the frequent occurrence The spread of fights and killings shows a radical shift in the schools and the media about the dangers of violence. of beatings, stabbings and even rarely, killings. path of violence and crimes in the country. Some studies and Moreover, a revamp of laws to impose harsher penalties will Last Thursday saw several violent incidents in one day. There researchers tend to point fingers at the negative effects of lead to a reduction in some violent behaviors. It needs a joint was a dispute at Kuwait airport that turned into a brawl, a fight videogames for encouraging violent behaviors, but I don’t think effort, as it takes two to tango. in a mall and several reports of kids getting into small scrapes this is true because all youngsters today are playing on the Gulf Road and elsewhere. The common element was videogames, but this doesn’t make them killers or mentally ill. Have a safe weekend! Hanging out with Kuwait’s Indian youth By Aakash Bakaya Indian student has their own favorite pool hall. is unfortunate because as they are Internet- kid’s evening activities. If you’re wondering why Most pool parlors in Western movies are smoke- based games, they are not playing with the peo- so many of the above mentioned places are locat- here do the Indian youth hang out? What filled and gloomy and crowded with rowdy ple next to them but with someone most likely ed in Salmiya, it is simply because the majority of do they do? For many references to the men. However in Kuwait, it’s almost the exact in Russia. tuitions are held there. These afterschool classes Wyouth of Kuwait almost always refer to opposite. Here they are bright, flashy places are free of rules and have a much more relaxed local youth. But with more than 800,000 Indian res- filled with young boys looking to make the most Indian ‘dabaahs’ attitude towards teaching (which unsurprisingly idents living in the country, its certain there is also of their limited time on the table. Pool is a great Salmiya is filled with small Indian restaurants, actually helps them to learn better). After tuitions a large Indian youth population. Rarely do you see way to pass the time and meet new people. It more popularly referred to as ‘dabaahs’. Places are over, kids are free to do pretty much whatever Indian youth hanging out in groups in malls or costs next to nothing to play for an hour or two, like ‘Thakkar’ and ‘Amman Bhelpuri’ have been is available to them. It is a great way to unwind other usual youth hangouts. For such a large so most tables have a ‘loser pays’ contest, where staple hangout spots for years and are frequently and catch up with school friends and also a great demographic of the population, they do seem the loser of a best of five is made to pay for the visited for their affordable Indian street food. The point to plan out what to do next. quite an elusive bunch. But contrary to popular session. service is quick and few places make a better cup Indian youth in Kuwait are not your ordinary opinion, young Indians are some of the most A number of parlors have a PC gaming sec- of tea, so it is little wonder why the youth flock to bunch of teenagers. Rather than wondering aim- active people in Kuwait who are out of the house tion attached to them. ‘Counter-strike’ - one of their little stalls year after year. lessly in malls, they prefer more engaging social almost every day. If you’re trying to find them - you the most popular videogames in the world - is activities. Kuwait doesn’t give us much of a social might be looking in the wrong places. still massively popular in gaming cafes, even Evening tuitions nightlife, but the youth make up for it with a lit- though it was released 17 years ago. Nowadays, No matter how far-reaching their hobbies may tle bit of creativity and a whole lot of energy, Sports grounds online multiplayer games like ‘League of be, tuitions (also known as tutoring) are the start which are definitely something we can all use in When I was asked this question about Indian Legends’ and ‘Dota 2’ are on top of the list. This and sometimes the end of almost every Indian our daily life. youth - ‘sports grounds’ was the first thing that came to my mind. Football grounds, basketball courts and suitable cricket pitches to play on - if Photo of the day it’s a long open field with a water cooler or baqala nearby, then there’s a certainty that Indian kids are making the most of it. Basketball courts are immensely popular among Filipinos as well, but they don’t always make up the majority of the crowd. The youth club and Marina court in Salmiya are the most popular as they are in close proximity and relatively well kept. Pretty much anything with recognizable goalposts is used for football - no matter what condition the surface is in. ‘Chula ground’ in front of Salmiya’s famous ‘Titantic’ apartment complex is easily the most used ground. Indian school teams often use the ground to host informal matches between them as the elevated sand berms that surround it make for a great seating area for spectators. Cricket pitches on the other hand are much more spaced out around the country. Most of the younger kids play in the grounds near their apartment buildings, while older ones pick out the grounds with the least outside disturbances (parked cars being one example). Parks and gar- dens with suitable brick paths are very common cricket grounds. Sharq Garden with its long smooth walkways has at least five different groups playing at the same time on Friday evenings, as does the parking lot of Lu&Lu Hypermarket. KUWAIT: One of only a handful of English bookshops in Kuwait, Q8 Bookstore is located in Bayt Lothan in Salmiya. — File photo Pool and gaming parlors In Kuwait, pretty much every high school by Yasser Al-Zayyat. Local FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2015 No to fast-food challenge Kids persuade parents against ‘evils’ By Sunil Cherian School, Jahra where the Big Share was hap- pening, another group of students — Noura nlike other times where parents had to Mohsen, Hajer Ali and Latifa Mosaed — made merely be nice and polite listeners to mothers to dip their hand in the green paint Ukids at their school’s social awareness for their hand prints as an action plan against program, this time they had to respond and the war that is ravaging now in the world. “If even dip their hand in paint to pledge against we don’t do this paint pledge, then all are war. At a school in Jahra, that is what parents going to forget our presentation,” Noura said. had to do on Wednesday, May 6, in a program Other action plans included collecting where groups of students demonstrated their money from bake sale and obtaining a free- verdicts on socially challenging issues. Big dress day with one dinar permission from the Share, as the program was called, shed light school director Janice Dennis.