‘Curfew step in right direction’

‘Need to open migrant workers file’

“THE ‘comprehensive ban’ decision taken by the government following a warning issued by the Minister of Health, Dr. Bassel Al-Sabah, of the increase in cases and the community’s failure to comply with health requirements and the consequent failure of the health system to continue its efficiency in providing health care to patients is a right step in a right direction,” Dr. Faisal AlSharifi wrote for Al-Jarida daily.

“This decision would not have been taken had it not been for the numbers to go beyond the predetermined rate, and because all indications reflected the actions of the people in terms of their lack of commitment to health instructions, and their miscalculation of the seriousness of the disease despite reports published by the various media outlets of tragedies around the world of the ability of the emerging coronavirus — its lethality — especially among the elderly and those suffering from chronic diseases and weak immune system.

“Confirmed infected numbers around the world are close to five million and more, not to mention the deaths that have exceeded 300,000, most of which in developed countries with medical and logistical capabilities and highly efficient economic systems, which however failed to control the outbreak of the epidemic due to the recklessness and lack of adherence to health guidelines.

“Yes, there is popular grumbling about the length of the partial ban that preceded the comprehensive ban, and there are those who do not see the benefit of implementing it originally after many countries abandoned it by leaving the issue in the hands of its citizens concerning awareness and social distancing but most people failed to adhere to the means of personal protection and then imposing a policy of co-existence with illness, or in other words, the application of herd immunity.

“As a follower, the government of Kuwait did everything in its power to avoid the ‘herd’ immunity policy, and very extreme precautionary measures at the expense of the state treasury despite committing some errors for one reason or another, but there is awareness of the part of the citizen and the expatriate in controlling the spread of the epidemic to return to normal life to a minimum in the next stage.

“There is a real problem facing the health authorities in controlling the disease, which was revealed by infections among migrant workers after the Indians, Egyptians and Bangladeshis took the lead due to living in overcrowded housing which lacked the most basic health conditions, making it difficult to anticipate the numbers of infections under these living conditions.

“On the occasion of talking about migrant workers, this file should be opened wide, as the issue cannot be tolerated, nor can it pass without holding accountable the visa traders and brokers, and those who have facilitated this trade by opening serious investigations.

“The investigation should also include reviewing the contracts of cleaning companies because crowds of cleaning workers are seen everywhere – hospitals, cooperative societies, central markets, the airport and the vegetables market, not to mention the need to hold accountable the owners of real estate and the Municipality of Kuwait which have allowed singles to live in residential areas.

“The accountability must be comprehensive, from which no one is excluded, regardless of position or whoever was behind it. What has happened is an unpardonable crime against Kuwait and the country of humanity.”

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Dr. Al-Sharifi

“Without a doubt, we are facing difficult and dangerous circumstances which will have a negative impact on the economy,” columnist Dr Abdulmohsen Hamada wrote for Al-Jarida daily.

“The economy is the heart and soul of the State. We hope the government and the council will have calm and sane personalities who can propose solutions which take into account the interest of the State, its future and that of the coming generations.

“Foremost among these circumstances is the corona pandemic, as well as the resulting interruption of work that will reach three months — until the end of May, drop in oil prices, a budget deficit of KD 9.2 billion, government’s plan to cover the deficit through debt, Parliament’s rejection of the Debt Bill, and governmental insistence on approving the bill that will be discussed in the next session.

“In the speech of HH the Amir on the occasion of the last 10 days of Ramadan, he said: ‘This pandemic requires us to take lessons and sermons from it. This is a divine test of the strength of our faith and determination. It calls for unity and cohesion.’

“He stressed that Kuwait’s future has major and unprecedented challenges in terms of maintaining the safety and durability of our national economy from external shocks caused by the epidemic, especially the sharp decline in oil prices and value of assets, which will negatively affect the financial solvency of the State.

“Therefore, he called on the government and the Parliament to join hands in developing a program to guide government spending and lay down plans to reduce dependence on oil.

“On the other hand, the National Assembly speaker commented on the speech of His Highness the Amir, saying, ‘His Highness sounded the alarm on what the country will face in the future in light of the low oil prices, in addition to the need to diversify sources of income and polish consumer and financial behaviors.’”

“When competent authorities in the Ministries of Interior, Health, and Social Affairs started taking legal measures against the violators of residence permit in the country at their level of sovereignty, especially in the era of the coronavirus pandemic where the biggest and most developed countries in the sciences and technology have crumbled, our country had no particular nationality in mind, as some troubled waters fishers are trying to portray,” Sheikh Faisal Al-Hamoud Al-Malik Al-Sabah wrote for Al-Kuwaitiya daily.

“For example, the Egyptian Arab community with which our country shares historical ties that are almost strategic, happens to be the largest community alongwith the Indian and Bengali communities, which are almost equal in number and creating an imbalanced demographics through which their nationals outnumber the citizens of Kuwait three times.

“It is noted that Kuwait hosts on its soil about 120 Arab and foreign nationalities, and it’s necessary to find a fundamental solution to the imbalance that costs the state huge sums – not only on salaries but other services such as healthcare and security monitoring, while these two facilities are mostly affected when the country incur losses. Also, it is necessary to implement the required policy of replacing expatriate workers who have taken over the safe public sector.

“The productive private sector is left for expatriates who are satisfied with any salary, as it will certainly be greater than what they receive in their home countries, so foreign workers took the place of citizens in private sector. The state encouraged citizens to engage in this sector because of its impact on the economic activities and production process. The government incited employers and owners of the companies with assistance related to costs and guarantees, being the citizen’s right – as is the case in other countries that have balanced the jobs in both public and private sectors.

“Citizens’ appetite for public employment creates disguised employment, which is a dangerous venture that takes without giving. The state has turned into a dairy cow and the result is known, because it leads to more government spending or wastage at a time when Kuwait relies on a single source, which is oil, whose price keeps falling day after day. According to international policies in the production and marketing of the commodity, which everyone knows, it is not considered a commercial commodity but political and strategic commodity.

“Returning to the issue of marginal, loose or trafficked workers (name it whatever you like), it is the duty of the state to its citizens to take strict measures, not aimed at expelling those bloated workers but to regulate their presence through specialized agencies, as we mentioned earlier. In addition to that, measures are in place to expose the human traffickers, or as I always call them (visa disasters), who are only interested in profit, even if it’s at the expense of the homeland.

“It also reveals the presence of hundreds of fake companies, especially service or security companies that require exceptional capabilities extremely dangerous to the safety of the country in any case. I do not rule out that some weak souls and those stalking Kuwait’s stability are waiting for such opportunities to pull off plans that are no longer hidden from anyone.

“Events witnessed in the course of this coronavirus pandemic, even if it’s horrifying and obscene, is not the first time. We all remember a previous incident against security authorities in Khaitan. This time around, the ferocity of the incident against security authorities is unprecedented through the electronic armies within Kuwait and the concerned country. Here, I mean the sisterly Egypt with which we have deep-rooted relations nobody can deny, but the issue turned to be a form of blackmail and I do not think those responsible for such affairs are unaware of the matter.

“What Kuwait provided the violators until their arrival to their home countries cannot be done by their own nations but she was not spared by the tongues of individual electronic flies, and maybe, officials. Kuwait will not give in to the Don Quixote threats or blackmail that may compel us to reconsider relations, because disaster will not spare us if we do not feel for ourselves.”

“In the Arabian Gulf states, we have been exposed for several years to an evil square, which tried all means to stir up civil strife in our societies and poisoned our governments through media by spreading false information and fake media materials with the aim of rendering others to despise and hate us,” columnist Hamad Salem Merri wrote for Al-Seyassah daily.

“This evil square consists of ‘Al-Jazeera’ channel, Iran, Turkey and the Muslim Brotherhood. With regard to Iran, ever since the Mullahs took over the reins of power, they have been speaking out their hostility against the people in Arabian Gulf states, whether by words or deeds. Testimony to my statement are events taking place since the eighties of the last century until this moment, such as the attempted assassination of our late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the bombings of Mecca, rioting by Iranian pilgrims, the sabotage ‘Abdali Cell’, and espionage cells that were arrested in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain from 2010 to 2017.

“As for Turkey, it started broadcasting its hostile attitude towards the Arab Gulf states after the outbreak of what is known as the ‘Arab Spring’ amid its alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood Group to destabilize the Arab countries, including the Gulf states.

“We have heard and witnessed the statements and actions of the Turkish government, led by its leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and the Arab Republic of Egypt, which continue to this day, and the drumming up and support of the ‘Brotherhood’ for the provocative actions of Erdogan towards Arab countries, and their claim that he is the next successor of Muslims [sic].

“As for ‘Al-Jazeera’ channel, it was like a cancerous tumor implanted in the body of the Arabian Gulf states to draw its upper arm, spreading its toxins among the people of the region, with the aim of spreading hatred with each other, or between them and other Arab nations, especially the Egyptians.

“Aforementioned are brief examples of the toxins the square of evil disseminates in the region, and unfortunately, this channel still broadcasts towards the Arabian Gulf, especially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, and Bahrain. We ask Allah to protect us from this evil, and cause their plot to backfire on them.”

“Social media circulated the message of the Charity Defense Team, which is a good initiative to prevent prejudice to the march started in the 1950s by the first generation founder and People’s Committee for Fundraising that we talked about in a previous article,” columnist Bader Khalid Al-Bahr wrote for Al-Qabas daily .

“They are most distinguished by the fact that they spent their money, so people trusted and followed them. Certainly, this ‘trust’ began to fade with the growth of charitable work and its transformation into institutional work. Their workers do not spend much money as they collect donations, along with partisan political organizations.

“Like any work of this magnitude and even if the intentions are pure, it will be marred by mistakes. Thus, people began to be held accountable, which turned into suspicions, then accusations.

“We noticed in the folds of the letter a threat that is not appropriate for the owners, and will not frighten those with evidence, but will only escalate the provocation. We found out there is an intention to issue a law that includes condemnation of those responsible for charity.

“We say to the brothers that the Press and Publications Law and the Electronic Crime Law are sufficient to address every offender. However, the most important aspect in our opinion is that we will rally support for it if a law of this kind is presented to include articles on imposing harsher penalties for those who misuse charitable funds -- whether employees of government institutions, associations or others. Because these are sacred funds, the fine and period of imprisonment established by the Penal Code must be increased to prevent shameful precedents which should not be mentioned again.

“Let us cut the suspicion in the hearts of the donors, and in the end, the interest of charitable work. Since 2013, we have been demanding for transparency and announcement of percentage of deductions that may exceed 12.5 percent.

“We started it with research that led us to questions. This ended in the declaration of our challenge to the associations to reveal the percentage of their deductions. Yet, all of them remained silent, except the Kuwaiti Friendship Society and some charities, while the United Nations Commission replied to us through an official letter from the president of the international organization.”

— Compiled by Ahmad Al-Shazli