We are the reason ... not expatriates THE security onslaught by the Traffic and the Public Security departments of the Ministry of Interior on expatriates which resulted in the arrest of a large number of them for violating traffic, labor and residence laws should be tackled in a quiet manner. The expatriate violated the traffic laws which he dared not violate in his country — (it does not matter) — in my opinion for two key reasons. The first reason is the lack of application of laws particularly in the recent years. We as road users see hundreds of violations committed right under the nose of the traffic police. Since no action is taken, an expatriate believes we live in a country where traffic laws are inapplicable. Add to this the bribe that can buy your way out. I think hundreds of cars which ply on our roads are not road worthy and this is the concrete evidence of what I am saying. The second reason in my opinion lies in the fact that our brother in humanity, an expatriate, particularly the one who belongs to the poor class and with little education, sees Kuwaitis — men, women and youth — violating traffic laws around the clock. He sees them driving recklessly; driving in emergency lanes, using cell phones while driving, not respecting the law which calls for fastening seat belts while driving and follows their example. Now we have someone in the person of Major-General Abdulfattah Al-Ali — a Napoleon of his time — in spite of the fact that he only performs his duty and applies the law which many of his counterparts and even former ministers of Interior had turned a blind eye to. We had asked for strict implementation of the law decades ago but discrimination and its unequal application by the Ministry of Interior was the reason for failure. Moreover, the application of the law should be preceded by awareness campaigns. I think we all remember the campaigns which were launched in the 1960s and the 1970s under the title ‘Driving is an art and courtesy’. Unfortunately, driving these days is neither courteous nor artistic. The drivers have no morals. Therefore, the law must first be applied on the Kuwaitis and then the expatriates because before the law everyone is equal. Recently, I have noticed a strange phenomenon. We accuse the expatriates of causing us all sorts of troubles. Therefore, we must contemplate for a while and lay down the facts. The expatriates are the reason for our welfare — a dream for some but a reality for us. The expatriates sweep our streets, sell our commodities in our cooperative societies, teach our children, give ‘shape’ to our homes, operate our banks and companies, rent our buildings, buy our commodities, edit our newspapers and do all sorts of jobs which we spurn and we still blame them for our woes. The resident or expatriate who is now illegal was brought into the country and left without work by a Kuwaiti — of black nationality — the Kuwaiti who has filled his stomach by the sweat of this expatriate. The Al-Qabas daily in its integrated report published on June 26, 2013 says the visa traders are the only people who have greatly benefited from the security campaigns and subsequent deportation of expatriates particularly those traders who have the key to unlock ‘symbol’ No (71) — the symbol which has closed the company files of visa traders — the key reason behind the phenomenon of illegal residents. Unfortunately, the government represented by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor has dug its head in the sand instead of bringing them to justice in line with the law which punishes a person who trades in visas and residence permits. e-mail: ali-albaghli@hotmail By Ali Ahmed Al-Baghli Former Minister of Oil
Posted on: Thu, 27 Jun 2013 09:28:36 +0000
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