We spend on others, forget our kids
THERE is no end to the shocks we experience because of the confusion in the decisions taken by our rational governments that have mastered the art of spending our money for those far and near, and those who deserve and who do not deserve, while forgetting and ignoring the people closest to them — their children.
The government, its development funds and others spill hundreds of millions of dinars on foreign countries and destinations that we hear about almost daily ... Yet they ignore their youth who raise the head of the country and its people.
We hear every day about the artistic, cultural, sports and scientific creativity and achievements of our youth abroad because of the insistence of our government to neglect them.
The last disregard made by our rational government was to ignore one of Kuwait’s promising young sons — Dr. Bassam Al-Faili.
A few days ago, he revealed to us the date of the launch of the first Kuwaiti satellite, which he named “Qamar AlKuwait’’ from the rocket launching pad in Florida, the United States of America on June 24.
Al-Faili told Al-Qabas daily that this satellite is purely a Kuwaiti production. He said, “I installed it myself and it cost me KD 50,000 of my money.” He revealed that he did not get any support from any party.
We cannot help but wonder if our rational government went bankrupt or had bankrupted itself.
Where are its scientific institutions such as the Kuwait Institute for
Scientific Research, the Kuwait
Foundation for the Advancement of Science, Kuwait University with its scientific faculties and others?
Why isn’t our rational government encouraging such young people who raise our heads?
The matter is not limited to failing to support them financially. It has reached the point of them frustrating and discouraging such advanced scientific steps.
Al-Faili said he opted for government’s support not for the design and assembly of the satellite, but to obtain the necessary approvals to request for the allocation of frequencies for broadcasting from the satellite, to register the satellite in the name of Kuwait with the International Telecommunication Satellites Organization, and to introduce the necessary equipment and devices to control the satellite, receive its signals, and allow students in Kuwait to interact with him directly. However, he revealed that this did not happen because the government agencies did not believe him.
This is happening in a country that has established an unnecessary body — the Communications Authority. The Ministry of Communications has been doing what that spectator body has not done since its establishment.
This body, whose affiliates are supposed to be specialists in the field of communications, refused to give Al-Faili the necessary approvals to install the devices at his own expense and allow the establishment of a mini ground station for educational satellites that will be made available to students free of charge to benefit from. The reason for the refusal was that these devices, according to what the geniuses of that authority told him, do not conform to their specifications, even though he suggested to the authority for this station to be under its full supervision.
Al-Faili then approached our sister country — the United Arab Emirates — where he was received by the Emirates Space Agency and the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center. They provided him with all the facilities and even the place needed for the educational ground station. He was also invited by the Turkish Institute of Technology to discuss ways for cooperation.
This is the sad story about the failure of our rational government bodies in their decisions and their neglect and disregard for their children, despite their generosity towards foreigners.