Previously banned expats now allowed to bring their Families to an already overcrowded Kuwait

Finally someone speaks up about the growing number of foreign laborers.

Despite all the problems we are suffering from and which should have been solved a long time ago, despite the three million expatriates rendering a million natives into a minority, despite the traffic jams that now mar even the inner city residential areas and make one hate having to leave one’s house to run an errand, despite the tremendous pressure on state-provided civic amenities which has affected their quality and speed of delivery, despite the crime rate zooming every year, despite so many things that are not in the interest of the country, the interior ministry has come up with a new circular. It has now decided to lift the ban on certain nationalities which were earlier debarred from entering Kuwait citing reasons that had to do with threat of terrorism and drug trade.

The decision smacks of a strange attitude as if Kuwait lacked enough problems of its own already. The interior ministry has opened the door for family visas for Syrians, Yemenis, Iraqis, Iranians, Pakistanis and Afghanistanis.

It will not be a long before we see the children of people of these nationalities gathered at the traffic signals or cooperatives’ parking lots begging under the garb of selling trinkets. Such influx of more expatriates from new nationalities will lead to new criminal gangs of thieves. As it is, there is no dearth of gangs in Kuwait.

The more skilled among them will undertake a training course on our cars in garages. Some wives and mothers of these new expatriates will have their share of activities and will be seen moving around charity societies and Beit Al-Zakat to receive their share. Some will indulge in the practice of sorcery, something the Abdaly border post bears mute witness to.

The interior ministry has left it wide open for expat employees in both government and private sectors to bring in their wives and children on the basis that they can share the burden of their livelihoods although it knows well that this is not true.

It is well aware about the fact that some people resort to forging their salary certificates in order to be eligible to bring in their families, especially in the private sector. Let the interior ministry excuse us but this is a decision that lacks wisdom.

What will Kuwait gain from allowing in families of these expats, especially when it is overcrowded with tailors, bakers, carpenters, constructors, Nikhi and Bajilla vendors, drugs traders and smugglers – these are professions some of the expats have excelled in, so why do we need more?

We used to criticize the UAE saying we could hardly notice one Emeriti citizen among thousands of expats in streets and markets. Now, it seems that criticism will come back to our doors to haunt us as we are trundling down the same road. I do not think the Interior Minister is unaware that Kuwaitis make up for less that one third of the population.

Who knows if they find themselves making up for only one tenth some day if the country continued with such a stupid policy.

We ask His Excellency, the Minister of Interior, will you play your role as someone tasked with keeping our country secure, using the authority you have or will you let things keep running the way they are doing? (link)

At least someone in the media has the nerve to stand up and say what others are thinking! Kuwait is full to the brim with marginal laborers and now they have a reason to never leave once they bring their families here. It's sad when the country's own citizens can't qualify for Bait Al-Zakat because they are making "too" much money not considering almost every household has some type of loan which takes up more than 50% of their paychecks each month due to greedy banks.

At least in UAE the citizens can live in other Emirates but where can Kuwaiti citizens go? I used to go out everyday when I first moved here, we used to love summer because most people would travel and the streets of Kuwait had no traffic but today I rarely even leave my house as I know what traffic awaits me. The country if full and has just about met its maximum capacity yet they open the door for more people who have no plans on leaving. Crime level has increased 10 fold and instead of closing the door to Kuwait and taking "inventory" of the people already here they open the doors wide open again.

Citizens are drowning and no one cares, it's all about money.