It’s a life without dignity in Kuwait

From_Lebanon wrote:

Good truthful topic,
I think that administrators shouldn't have deleted the post of (Sara94), it would have represented a live example for all what is mentioned in this post.
I think that westerners are not treated poorly in kuwait because Kuwaitis (like all other arabs) think that westerners are better, more intelligent than them. It's really sad to think in that way but it's the truth.
All other nationality get the same poor, disgraceful treatment.

I agree with you 100% , so sad

Really people, be honest with yourselves.....

Every country in the world has spoiled bratty children, rude co-workers/employers, bad drivers, people who behave and believe they are above all and next to royalty, dilapidated buildings with poor living conditions, people who are treated badly because of skin color or heritage etc., and on and on and on..!

Now, while these offending scenarios might be more prominent in Kuwait versus Germany, I think that is all up to the individual.

If you are one of those attempting to defend Kuwait, saying that you don't see the idiotic drivers, rude people, the racist treatment and slavery of maids/nannies/ etc, rundown buildings where whole families live ....buildings that in another country would have been condemned and torn down 10 years ago...
Then I say you are ignorant, and you aught to open your eyes and drive around some of the "unsavory" places of Kuwait and educate yourself on the horrifying life that some people are living now.

And to those that can say nothing nice about Kuwait.......you have chosen your opinion already and you should either leave or simply endure your time here keeping your complaints to yourself. In any country there will undoubtedly be one race that is hated for whatever reason, and another that is treasured and respected. If you are not being treated with respect then simply find another place to work. If the money means more to you than respect, then why are you complaining? You have made your choice, now livenwith it.
There is plenty to enjoy about Kuwait, and the Kuwaitis, if you can open your mind and accept it. Life is what you make of it, so either find a way to enjoy life, or suffer in silence.

Nobody says the people that complain don't enjoy other parts of the country.

And honestly, I don't see why people should not bitch and whine here if it makes them feel better and if they maybe get some reasonable input of what other choices they have.

If someone doesn't want to read this, then all I can say is the same that you offer: Go away and read something else.

wow..wow... iam so surprised of the letter the you wrote about
"LIVING WITHOUT DIGNITY IN KUWAIT" ....you experience was
unacceptable beacuse we are in century 21, dont matter what
part of the world you are ...we are humans, we all have to be
treated with respect.
  i just  meet a guy, i think he love me like i do. He is from kuwait and he want to merried me, but iam little concerned about
move to kuwait, because i dont know much about they culture, iam afair to lose the contact with my family,the contact with the exterior, my social life.. and i dont know what happen with womens like me, iam single mom with 3 kids, what will happen with my kids they are mexico-american; wich will be they
pribileges or what should do, i know my boyfriend wants his own kids but what is going to happen with my kids...
  ok i have many questions, i hope you can help me to know more
about mi sutuation maybe will be difrent then your because i comefrom united state or be the same dont matter were u comefrom
please if you red my letter reply....thank you

                                    yanira

This country has a much stronger racist segregation than most I've been to. Saying that, I've met some great people here, kuwaitis, but push come to shove they spit out some racist remark like "jungle people" or the like....and their great personality is now marred by the deep running hate they have for anyone not "pure".
I DO feel for those that are treated like slaves or "beneath", but how I feel doesn't matter when a person is affected by the country as a whole.

oil has made them racist.if they exceed God's mercy limit ,they will beg for forgiveness.

Go back farther than oil, when Kuwaits were the house maids to India. The hatred runs deep. Payback is foremost in the minds of those who were affected, or those who feel Ike they have reason to treat those deemed "low society" due to tribal mentality.

hello guys
i'm an Australian
i know some ppl from kuwait, but studying here

they are so kind and sweet, and what u've said about them was so harsh
i have visited kuwait 5 weeks ago and the way they treat foreigns is amazing
yeah i have met some ppl who is not  friendly
but there is no way that they will say sth bad to anyone without a reason! believe me.
whenever i meet someone, they start telling me about places i should visit and where not to go!
most of them love foreigns
actually whenever they see foreigns the start smiling and asking "how are you" " are u enjoying your time....."
they are so friendly
no one had treated me in a bad way, however, that doesn't mean that there isn't rude ppl
rude ppl are in every where, not just in kuwait
but u can't judge kuwait by it's ppl



in india,us, aus  there are some ppl who treat others in a rude way
they are in every where


let me ask u a question guys
would u be happy to hear about someone talking about ur country in a bad way?
in a blog!
that sounds even worse then the bad treatment!

don't act like one



cheers,
S

Sinthya, the beauty of forums is that they give people a chance to speak their mind, give their own point of view. believe it or not, the world is not a nice place for all.

if you had read a little deeper into the stories being shared here, you would find that yes, life for you would be peachy here given your complexion and COR (Country of Residence), you were here for a vacation, of course it would be all smiles.

however, if you are here because you HAVE to work here, to earn and send money back home, to toil and slave to make ends meet, you would sing a different song lass.

again, focus on the CORE of what is being said here; the blatant RACISM that is eminent. yes, you will be judged by your nationality/ color here, by some people. no one ever said this was the general rule, however it is the case for a majority of those who are posting here.

so please, before condemning those that share their stories on blogs, take a second to actually understand where they are coming from.

my name is haya
I'm from kuwait
What u have said about my country hurts me deeply
Kuwait isn't like that
We "kuwaitis" don't teart ppl or judge them for their colorIts KUWAIT!
There is no colors in hereWhen I have traveled to usa some people treated me badBut others were nice with us
Some drunk was acting and saying bad things, one was about to stab my father for not giving him some money!!

I didn't write it down on a web siteBecause it doesn't reflects usa, but it reflects the person itself
And when i went to uk, many treated as badly, wasn't friendly with us, mostly didn't love the idea of Muslims coming in their country, some stole from us, however, other ppl welcomed us and loved having us in their country.
When I went some restaurants in lebanon, whenever they see kuwaitis some restaurants gave us different menu with higher price, with a taxi, once I were with my Lebanese friend, so they charged us the normal charge, Though i was lebenece too, others when I speak kuwaiti, they over charge us
They aretrying to get advantage of us!
Others were treating us as equally!
Like normal people
Charge us the write chargeTreat us nice
All of which,didn't make me write it down and gossip about it. Because I'm certain that this doesn't represent  uk or usa.. Etc,  but certain people.Although kuwait is very safe country and when I traveled to us, lebanon, uk, australia, and many more.. Saw drunk ppl who was god knows what they were trying to do by following us and running after us , although I felt not safe.. At all!
But I didn't write it down and talked about.. People drinking, stealing, trying to stab my father, lying to us, don't want to sell us because we are muslims,... I didn't wrote any of themWhenever I meet someone from usa, australia, england...When they ask me about my trip to their county, I don't say that , u people are bad, rude....etc
Why?
1- it is rude saying it 2- it will hurt them specially ones who have nothing to do with it3- I know that it doesn't reflect the country but the person

One more thing
Thank u sinthya, how nice of u,..As she said, we love having foreign people in own countryEven indians, we treat them well

Even my maid, I love her so so muchMy family treat her good
I swear that once she had problem with other indian, we had to call the kuwaiti lady that is responsible for that maid and let her shout at her maid.
My driver (indian), friend's driver, uncle... We treat them well,  even my mother shout at me sometimes for making the maid go up and bring me something.We see them like one part of us.However, those people u'r talking about don't represent kuwaitYes even in kuwaitThere people who treat others in a rude way

But as sninthya said, there is rude people every were,We all humans
We treat people the way we wanna be treated!

So please stop it, its not nice talking about us.. At all!
it hurt us!

One race
Many cultures
One place

This is what we should live by

why are people finding it extremely difficult to draw a differentiation between being a TOURIST and an EXPAT in a country?

Hayaa, you are entitled to your opinion, as everyone else is entitled to theirs.

you are a good person, no ones questioning that. others are not. yes, ive had my fair share of run ins with racists, racism is not specific to one nationality, however, being the hosts of this country, certain expats would expect a more dignified treatment, which is exactly what this post is about. that dignified treatment is offered preferentially to some, not all expats, depending on where they are coming from. again, this is not a general rule, but it does exist.

i was born and raised here, and now im working here, if you want to practice your "life is greener on the other side" speech it is fine by me, but please do not be ignorant to the fact that yes, racism does exist in Kuwait.

would you remember the article that came out in al-rai newspaper, which was discussing the trending phenomena of arguments that take place between locals and expats? it was "I Am Kuwaiti, I will deport you", and this sentence was used haphazardly by most from women arguing over an item on sale, to guys arguing over a parking lot.

instead of blatantly denying that the people on this forum are speaking the truth, try to listen to them.

and once more, it is called expat-blog, where expats share their experiences. you have to show a bit of give and take in your ability to argue.

well yeah there is some people who say that, and i do find it rude. however, this doesn't give you guys the right to talk about my country in that way!

it is so not nice!!
and may god help you with what you're dealing with.

regards, haya

I think everyone have the right to say his opinion even if you did not like it or you think his rude. I believe in every where there is good and bad Even if you go to the best places in the world, you will find who will say negative things about them. I think it’s better to focus on the positive things instead of the negative things without closing our eyes.

To ProudQ8ti:

I find it interesting you say that I make Kuwait sound like hell on earth. That wasn't the intention with which I wrote this post – I only wrote what I experienced and saw first-hand. If this sounds like hell to you then too bad though I've heard from others they think hell would probably be a more agreeable place than Kuwait. I note also that you've made no attempt at all to deny what I've written so it would stand to reason that notwithstanding your comments, you are otherwise in complete agreement with me.

“Teething problems” is hardly an apt description of the wholly unacceptable treatment that people of certain nationalities have to endure in Kuwait. You've taken the liberty to make personal assumptions of me, most of which you've got wrong, but you're correct in assuming that I certainly did not get what I bargained for in Kuwait. All one wants really is to be treated as a human being should be treated, with respect and civility – is that asking for too much? You just have to look next door at Dubai where I was raised – sure it's got its own problems – but in terms of social attitudes there's a lot Kuwait can learn from it. I've been reading the shocking stories other expats have shared in this thread and so many people cannot all be living in a state of delusion. These stories (and mine) cannot therefore be said to have been written simply as a result of any personal animosity towards Kuwait in general – this is the everyday reality for a large chunk of people in Kuwait, no matter how unpalatable that may sound to you as a Kuwaiti national.

You've made assumptions of me so allow me to make a couple about you. I haven't the slightest doubt that you're a decent person yourself but I would think that you either live outside Kuwait or in an ivory tower. Sure there are Kuwaitis who treat others with respect and I've mentioned as much in my post. But please, open your eyes to the ills around you and do not ignore the obvious. And what could be more shameful about a country than to read, as you have yourself conceded, that its government has no problem granting equal benefits to all its citizens, but will not grant equal citizenship rights? As for people in India, firstly, I do not understand why there are some in this forum here who are determined to convert this into a “Indians vs Kuwaitis” battle. That is not what the topic is about and besides it's an exceptionally weak defence. What you're saying in effect is – yes, we discriminate in Kuwait but so what, so do you Indians! That can hardly be a justification – two wrongs do not make a right. Besides I have addressed this point in detail in my reply to Lea so there's no point in repeating myself. I would suggest you read that and also the other posts in this thread as there are obviously a lot of uncomfortable truths you're trying to shield yourself from. Incidentally, Lea's original post seems to have disappeared – I suppose my reply made him realise the flawed nature of his arguments and he decided to remove his post all together!?

Allow me to conclude by offering you the same advice you've given me which is to look inward. I can empathise with you and appreciate that it isn't easy to find one's country being depicted negatively in a public forum but you need to rise above that. God bless you.

To kuwait411:

I am very sorry to hear that you've been treated badly by Asian expats in Kuwait. All that you've written is certainly unacceptable, no matter which way you look at it, and certainly not something anyone, let alone a lady should have to go through. Except what that does have to do with this topic? You've obviously got deep personal grudges against Asians (with good reason I suppose) and just decided to let off some steam here without in any way adding anything worthwhile to what the actual discussion is about.

I know Americans are famously insular but if you think movies are an accurate depiction of the truth you need to broaden your horizons. For all you know, the next thing we'll be hearing from you is Mickey Mouse is for real.

Your personal experience with Asians may justify your rants against them but I'm surprised you seem to have had no problems at all with Kuwaitis themselves. Given that other Western (and Asian) women have written about the same problems you've faced (getting stared at, etc) except at the hands of Kuwaitis, it's clear you need to take off your blinkers and you will better understand then that the "paradise" you've been living in is only a fool's one.

And about your advice to leave – I wrote in my post that I left only after a brief stay there. There are better places in this world. Wish you had taken the trouble to read my post and indeed this thread in its entirety. And then you would have known reality is not a Hollywood movie.

And if you'll allow me to ask – if you find Asians in Kuwait so revolting, what prevents you from leaving the place so you don't have to live with such a savage bunch? Since I was born and raised in the Gulf and also spent a few years of my adult life there I know of several Westerners who have been abject failures in their home countries and then land up in the Gulf and start getting treated like royalty just because of the colour of their skin. They take up the highest managerial positions in top companies and get paid (for doing virtually nothing) several times more than their farting, burping, snot blowing, uncouth Asians co-workers who do all the hard work. Of course I am not suggesting you're one such Westerner, just making a general observation the same way you have.

Take care and God bless.

To the admins, please allow me to post the following article that directly correlates to the topic at hand, however it is in Arabic, as it was published in the daily arabic newspaper of Al-Anba'a, penned by Tha'ar Al-Rashidi, it would be most beneficial for any residents of Kuwait who read and understand arabic, and have posted attacks against the author of this post, to read this:

كم نحن عنصريون، خمسون عاما وهم يعملون معنا ويشاركوننا بناء بلدنا ولم نقل لهم شكرا، نصف قرن أفنى غالبيتهم زهرة شبابه يعمل ويذهب صباحا إلى عمله الذي يعود في النهاية نفعه أيا كان حجمه في دائرة تنمية البلد، تزوجوا هنا وأنجبوا أولادهم هنا، حتى أن أولادهم اعتقدوا أو يتملكهم اعتقاد أنهم كويتيون، وهم فعلا كويتيون بالمولد، لم نكن لنقفز هذه القفزات الكبيرة خلال خمسين عاما لولا أنهم جاءوا إلى بلدنا وشاركونا البناء والتعمير والتأسيس.

خمسون عاما وهم في جميع القطاعات الحكومية والخاصة، مهندسون وأطباء وصيادلة ومحامون وعمال وميكانيكيون وأساتذة جامعة ومدرسون وطباعون وبناءون ومقاولون وبائعو فاكهة وخضار وملابس وفنيون واستشاريون بل وحتى «طقاقات» وبائعات في سوق «واجف». خمسون عاما عانوا مما عانيناه وربما أكثر، فعندما استيقظت الحكومة يوما وأرادت أن تعدل التركيبة السكانية لم تضرب على أيدي تجار الاقامات ولكنها توجهت إلى الوافدين ووضعت قيودا وشروطا عليهم وعلى اقاماتهم ووضعت التأمين الصحي على أدمغتهم «ذلك التأمين الذي لا يسمن ولا يغني من جوع»، فلكي يعيش أحدهم مع زوجته وثلاثة من أطفاله عليه أن يتحمل تأمينهم الصحي وتكاليف إقامتهم بمبلغ يفوق الحد الأدنى لراتبه رغم أنه لا توجد حدود دنيا للرواتب في الكويت ولم تحدد يوما، وكأن الحكومة عندما أرادت أن تكحل التركيبة السكانية أعمت عيون الوافدين، كانوا ولا يزالون الحلقة الأضعف والطريق الأسهل لأي قرار أرادت به الحكومة تعديل أخطاء تجار الإقامات من المواطنين الذين يتحملون المسؤولية الكاملة عن كل أخطاء التركيبة السكانية منذ عام 1980 وحتى اليوم.

بدلا من أن تضرب الحكومة على أيدي تجار الإقامات، ضربت الوافدين بقرارات جعلت البلد أقرب إلى بلد من المغتربين العزاب.

50 عاما والوافدون يأتون ويرحلون، يبنون ويعمرون ويشاركوننا العمل والبنيان، ولم تتكون لدى العامة من المواطنين فكرة سوى أن هؤلاء الوافدين جاءوا بحثا عن الدينار وكأن المواطن ملاك منزل لا يأكل ولا يشرب ولا يبحث عن الدينار «ألم نقم الدنيا ونقعدها وحل مجلس أمتنا الماضي بسبب 50 دينارا؟».

في نظرة أخرى للوافدين نقول عنهم «جاءوا ليشاركوننا لقمة عيشنا ويأخذوا وظائفنا»، رغم أن دستورنا كفل لنا التعليم والصحة والتوظيف وهم «يا بخت» من يجد منهم وظيفة بالكاد تسد رمقه حتى آخر الشهر.

50 عاما وأغلبهم سمع هذه الجملة «أنا كويتي.. أنت وافد.. هذي ديرتي»، نفس عنصري عالي النبرة، ونسينا أن من يلوح لنا بالعلم الأحمر في الطريق أثناء الاصلاحات به كحماية وتنبيه لنا هو وافد يقف في عز الظهيرة بينما نحن نستمتع بهواء مكيف سياراتنا، ونسينا أن من علمنا ودرسنا وافدون ومن بدأ حركتنا الفنية من الوافدين ومن أسس صحافتنا «الحديثة» وافدون، ومن عالجنا وافدون، ومن أعلى البنيان هم من الوافدين.

50 عاما واستكثرنا خلالها حتى أن نقول لهم شكرا.

من القلب شكرا لكل وافد جاء أو عاش في هذا البلد حتى ولو لم يفعل سوى أن دق مسمارا في لوحة إرشادية على جانب طريق مظلم.

legacy wrote:

To the admins, please allow me to post the following article that directly correlates to the topic at hand, however it is in Arabic, as it was published in the daily arabic newspaper of Al-Anba'a, penned by Tha'ar Al-Rashidi, it would be most beneficial for any residents of Kuwait who read and understand arabic, and have posted attacks against the author of this post, to read this:
....

And here's a link to an English version of this article published in Kuwait Times:

http://news.kuwaittimes.net/2012/05/07/ … st-we-are/

Hey everyone !

I actually think this topic is really interesting.
I wouldn't say this country is better than the other one in terms of how many bad people there are. I've travelled a lot and trust me, I agree with my mom saying "stupidity has no boundaries. It is international."

I am half european half arab. Usually people treat me as a european but sometimes people think I'm indian and usually it was making me smile because in taxis they put indian radio thinking I can understand it, or they count in hindi when they give me the change back in a shop. Indian culture is very present in Kuwait.

My boyfriend is indian. I know the first reaction of people when I mention him cause they kind of feel like "what are you doing with an indian guy ?" but they love him when they meet him. I know the indian community here, especially all those young people who are born and raised in Kuwait, and racist against their own kind sometimes.

I have also a lot of kuwaiti friends. They are adorable. I met some horrible ones, but to me, it was quite rare. Even my boyfriend, as an indian, has kuwaiti friends.

It is true that I've seen some things here I've never seen before. I am shocked to see the labours treated in a bad way. But I was going to Starbucks every morning for my coffee and the waiters are all filipinos or indians, and every morning there were a lot of kuwaitis coming for their coffees. They were very polite, joked with the waiters, talked about their work and life to them. Those are the ones I want to remember. And of course, there are a lot more people like this than we think.

I've been to a kuwaiti party one day. And because of the noise, one neighbor complained. The kuwaiti guys were drunk and started to beat the neighbor up badly. But the other guys tried to stop them and were shocked.

I guess Kuwait has such big advantages for their citizens that what you see in Kuwait, you won't see it anywhere else because your government will kick your arse. But if politics were the same anywhere else, you would have the same kind of behaviors I'm sure about it. Let's say the culture here makes bad people dare to do anything they want. There are bad people in other countries, but by law, they cannot be racist, they cannot touch somebody else etc. I guess that's why we are seeing those extreme behaviors.

Unfortunately, as Legacy says, we only remember the bad ones, and not the ones who helped us, who said hello to us, who smiled to us.

To me, Kuwait has been one of the biggest adventure of my life. I always say, there are bad things as well as good. Take advantage of the good things. Forget the bad. And what you're gonna see in Kuwait, you won't see anywhere else. That is an incredible and particularly interesting social experience : it is a country where the grey doesn't exist. It is or white or black. But that makes it amazingly interesting to analyse.

Thanks for the English translation of the article. It was beautiful.

Didiyem- your mom was correct! Stupidity has no boundaries! Racism exists everywhere. Some cultures manage to hide it better than others. Here in the Southern US, slavery is still a hot issue, along with a dislike of almost anyone with naturally dark skin. We continue to have a racial divide. People like to sugar-coat and pretend it doesn't exist, but if you watch closely it's there. Daddies dont want their daughters dating or socializing with anyone but good ole Southern Baptist white church-goers. Heck, even the churches are separated by skin color, for the most part. Of course, those daddies would never admit this on this forum. Honestly, I prefer the Kuwaiti way. At least you know up front if a person has a problem with you because skin color/ethnicity!  I can't stand it when white people here just assume I'm part of their secret "racist club" and talk racist trash when all the dark skinned people leave the room.

Excuse my rant...

I noticed some of them, and its really disappointing. too bad
They're just too conservative and end-up being rude.

legacy wrote:

To the admins, please allow me to post the following article that directly correlates to the topic at hand, however it is in Arabic, as it was published in the daily arabic newspaper of Al-Anba'a, penned by Tha'ar Al-Rashidi, it would be most beneficial for any residents of Kuwait who read and understand arabic, and have posted attacks against the author of this post, to read this:

كم نحن عنصريون، خمسون عاما وهم يعملون معنا ويشاركوننا بناء بلدنا ولم نقل لهم شكرا، نصف قرن أفنى غالبيتهم زهرة شبابه يعمل ويذهب صباحا إلى عمله الذي يعود في النهاية نفعه أيا كان حجمه في دائرة تنمية البلد، تزوجوا هنا وأنجبوا أولادهم هنا، حتى أن أولادهم اعتقدوا أو يتملكهم اعتقاد أنهم كويتيون، وهم فعلا كويتيون بالمولد، لم نكن لنقفز هذه القفزات الكبيرة خلال خمسين عاما لولا أنهم جاءوا إلى بلدنا وشاركونا البناء والتعمير والتأسيس.

.

Finally !!

Ji am qassem.

//my name is haya
I'm from kuwait
What u have said about my country hurts me deeply
Kuwait isn't like that
We "kuwaitis" don't teart ppl or judge them for their colorIts KUWAIT!// there cannot be more lie ( false statement ) than this statement !!!!!!!!!!!!

as a matter of fact,
1. how bangladesh nationalities are trated?
2. srilankans
3. pakistainis
4. phenoys
5. indians
6. egyptians
7. westernrers ( brit,US, AUS ETC)

i have gone to immigation - many a time - and they will delibrately speak in arabic by seeing my paper as indian and they know that i do not know arabic. so, what are their intentions? First they will not see my face even!.. i have wait for few more minutes.. then she/he will ask shooooo?? it appears as if i am begging for his wealth and he is granting!.. How many traffic violations and punished for asians and not punished for kuwait locals!... truth cannot be hidden in carpet!.. as LEGACY rightly said, we need to understand the difference in life in the following cases individually!
1. tourists
2. student
3. expat
4. expat with family!
5. expat for a longer time
6. expat for a longer time with faimly!

coz, the frustration level and nature of discrimination will be different in each cases. one may overlap in some time and/or some cases.... i lived in UAE,JORDAN & KUWAIT.. but in kuwait it is different life than everywehre!!!!!!!!

this thread is almost 4 years old ! I close it