21/02/2018
8383 times read
21/02/2018
8383 times read
With her racist and inhuman statements, which are characterized by empty conceit, MP Safa’a Al-Hashem, has undoubtedly created for herself, a reputation in several countries, especially countries which supply labor in huge numbers. By her statements, she has also won the hearts of a majority of ordinary Kuwaitis who do not want to work because they believe her demands will open for them the doors of prosperity. These people also think the expatriates are the root cause of all our problems — be they traffic, health services, education and security. This is not how issues are solved. Safa’a, you are one of the causes, and a partner in this demographic imbalance. Most of the employees in your home or in your business, if not all of them, are expatriates and your failure to replace them with Kuwaitis means you have failed to be role model and set a good example. You are a legislator and you must begin with yourself so that others can follow suit. You are also to be blamed because as a legislator you have failed to introduce legislation to limit the flow of expatriate labor into the country. You are also to be blamed as a legislator for failing to introduce legislation to change the perception of tens of thousands of young unemployed Kuwaitis do the work done by the expatriates. The Nursing Institute, for example, has been producing thousands of graduates over forty years, but none of them have accepted to join this field of humanitarian nature. We say the same can be said of Kuwaitis who are reluctant to work as imams or muezzins. For 50 years we have failed to encourage the Kuwaitis to work in these fields. For example of the approximately 2,000 imams and muezzins working at the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, about 30 of them are Kuwaitis. What is even worse is your failure, or perhaps your inability, to submit a parliamentary query, or even an explicit request to disclose the names of human traffickers (visa traders), perhaps because either they belong to reputable families or are highly influential and ‘untouchable’ although they are the ones who have created the demographic imbalance. Moreover, we find that the fault does not lie with the expatriates, most of whom are honest and honorable which ‘many of us’ lack. The rate of achievement among the expatriates in government institutions and private sector companies and their commitment to attendance and punctuality is very high. The expatriates have not come to Kuwait against our will or have imposed themselves on us. It is we who gave them our right to do the work of our fathers and grandfathers because of the change in our attitude concerning these jobs. We have rejected to do these jobs until date either because we are lazy or arrogant, and here comes MP Safa’a Al-Hashem and others and blame the expatriates instead of addressing the arrogance of the Kuwaitis and keep in check their behavior to become more active, more respectful towards others and appreciate the honorable work. The summer is just around the corner and I wonder who will repair, install and carry out the maintenance work on our air-conditioners when temperatures reach the 50 Celsius and above. I wonder who will extract oil from our deserts, who will take care of us when we are sick and in hospital, who will carry out thousands of other professions and vital jobs if the expatriates leave the country for good. A majority of us either refuse to do many things, are either lazy or have not mastered the art. e-mail: [email protected] By Ahmad Al Sarraf