Beit Al-Othman Museum Keeping the Past Alive
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Beit Al-Othman Beards and niqab Neymar rescues Museum - Keeping become liability Barca as injured the past alive4 in troubled18 Egypt Messi47 limps off Max 47º Min 29º FREE www.kuwaittimes.net NO: 15906- Friday, August 23, 2013 MubarakMubarak ‘released’‘released’ PAGE 10 CAIRO: Egyptian medics and military policemen escort former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak into an ambu- lance after he was flown by a helicopter ambulance to the Maadi Military Hospital from Torah prison yesterday. (Inset) Mubarak’s supporter kisses his poster out- side the Tora prison. — Agencies Local FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2013 Zookeeper Goner is feeding giraffe at Kuwait Zoo A day in the life of a zookeeper Challenging, yet rewarding By Nawara Fattahova wrong. For instance, they tend to look tired or move sluggishly. Usually watery eyes, lack of KUWAIT: Taking care of animals is a passion appetite, weight and hair loss are sure signs for some people, while it’s a job for others. of illness. We take them to the veterinarian This profession requires employees to have a who has the final say in medicines and form lot of patience and genuine love for animals of treatment, he said. to do a good job. Sometimes this job brings injuries. “We Goner, is one of the zookeepers working at have been hurt by animals many times, espe- the Kuwait Zoo since 1992. At the zoo, each cially by gazelles which can be very aggres- zookeeper is responsible for a certain kind of sive sometimes. When we try to catch them animal. “I’m responsible for the herbivores, for treatment, they attack us instead of trying including giraffes, hippos, gazelles, and other to run away. Over time, we have learnt to deal animals. My work starts early in the morning with them,” said Goner. and observing animals is the most important However, this isn’t a problem. The greater part of our job,” he told the Kuwait Times. challenge which the zoo-keepers face is a Cleaning is done on a daily basis at the horde of uncivilized visitors. “Many visitors zoo. “We clean the grass, the water contain- throw sweets or food covered in plastic bags ers, and feeding boxes. The most important to the animals and the poor animals consume place to keep clean is the food area. This hot it. The plastic will obviously not be digested weather attracts a lot of germs and bacteria. and will cause more problems, including sud- We do this work every day so that the animals den death sometimes. When there are more are always kept in a clean environment. We visitors, we keep a close watch on the cages. Goner and his colleagues nursing a wounded animal feed them the required quantity of food after We have signs everywhere in the zoo warning that,” said Goner. visitors against feeding the animals or beat- Strict observation includes the animals ing them, but they break all the rules and and their babies. “When a mother has a new some even light cigarettes and give it to the “Many visitors throw sweets or food covered baby, we have to take care of the baby and monkeys. Some horrible boys use their slings move it to a different enclosure, especially if to kill birds, and we discovered this only after in plastic bags to the animals and the poor it’s not well. Different animals have different we saw some birds with bleeding heads. In temperaments and we’re trained to deal with fact, many visitors are aggressive and don’t animals consume it. The plastic will obvi- them in special ways. Some animals are even respect the guards,” Goner admitted. aggressive and may hurt themselves with The zookeepers are sometimes injured by ously not be digested and will cause more pins, so we have to place them in special the animals. “Many times my colleagues and I enclosures. Some animals like giraffes, hippos, were beaten up by monkeys or hit by gazelles problems, including sudden death some- and lions need to be tranquilized before we when we tried to move from them from one can treat them for any kind of illness,” he enclosure to another. A lot of people breed explained. them on farms and when they realize they times. When there are more visitors, we Observation is a continuous daily process. can’t take care of them anymore, they give “The animal can’t tell us when it’s sick but we the zoo a call and tell us to take them away,” keep a close watch on the cages.” always get to know when something is he said. Local FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2013 Local Spotlight Stop this senseless killing of strays By Muna Al-Fuzai KUWAIT: Fish feeding is a ritual that attracts tourists around the world. This is the Kuwait version of the sight- seeing activity. —-Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat [email protected] don’t have a dog, not that I don’t like dogs but I can’t afford the responsibility of taking care of a living soul. To me, an animal Idoesn’t require lesser than a human in terms of safety and securi- ty. It’s a basic need for all creatures on earth after all. This is why I believe this article should be a wake-up call for all of us to stand up against this wild killing campaign in Kuwait where the goal is to shoot all stray dogs at once. The team was formed after a 4-year-old Kuwaiti girl called Aisha was attacked by six stray dogs in Kheiran, a weekend resort destina- tion in Kuwait. Yes, I agree we need to get rid of the dangerous stray dogs but in the most humane and sensible way possible and not in this brutal and random manner - under the guise of protecting the community from possible threat of attack. One of the solutions I think is to catch these dogs and place them in a shelter or put them up for adoption. I understand the wild and dangerous ones should be administered lethal injections to end their lives peacefully but it’s not fair to generalize that all strays are dangerous. Some of them might just be hungry and scared too. I know some may argue that they deserve to be killed for attack- ing a small child. But if this is the argument, then we will have to kill all animals on earth, including lions and birds and since there’s a possibility of them attacking humans at any given time. I hear that the shooters will be starting a fresh round of attacks next month. I know some will say that many people get killed every day and there’s meaningless bloodshed, so why are we making a fuss about animals? These are the same narrow-minded people who believe that killing animals is a noble cause. They are wrong because according to them, animals are a waste in this universe but nothing on this planet is without a reason. Allah the Almighty has gifted wis- dom to all creatures: men, animals and even small insects. If we truly understand and believe this, we’ll know that all have a right to live. What do I want? I want people to stop thinking animals are not more important than man. I really do and just for the record, this applies even to cats being killed on the roads by speeding cars. I think the more we discuss this in the media, the more attention it will get. I also hope the shooting club won’t support this campaign. Just simply stop the killing. KUWAIT: A man is trying to seek refuge from the hot sunrays under a newspaper. — Photo by Joseph Shagra Local FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2013 Beit Al-Othman Museum Keeping the past alive By Ben Garcia and its artifacts. “Abdullah Al-Othman was an important part of history and his work house originally built in the 1940s by and contribution to the country’s national Abdullah Al-Othman has been turned heritage is really worth-remembering and Ainto a national museum. Al-Othman praising,” said Al-Qattan. He said Abdullah Museum houses historical artifacts, art and Othman was one of Kuwait’s many famous documents which were collected by people philanthropists way back in his era, when he who wanted to see their rich cultural her- amassed wealth after entering the trade and itage under one roof where it is protected contracting business. “He used to distribute and treasured. money to the poor people who flocked to his The museum serves as a reminder of the house or in places he visited at that time. past events which instills a great sense of Truly, he was a remarkable man worth nationalism, patriotism and responsibility remembering,” he said. “This person was a among the younger generations. real philanthropist and he used to give his The museum that opened to the public Surrounded by an elevated wall, in a total ‘zakat’ annually. He loved to give and that is area of 9,454 square meters, Abdullah why he was known as the ‘Great two years ago serves as a reminder of Othman Museum houses numerous rooms Philanthropist’ and was later called ‘Al- dedicated to the history and culture of Othman Zakat’. He died in 1965 and even the past instilling a great sense of Kuwait from the pre-oil era to present time. then, he allocated a third of his wealth to Housh (courtyard), diwaniyas, muqallatt, charity,” Al-Qattan mentioned. “The place is nationalism, patriotism kitchen, living room, master’s bedroom and exactly what we want in the museum.