Here There and Everywhere

Expat wanderer

Good Samaritan

This is from today’s Arab Times, but I think there was a very brief write-up of it before – a Kuwaiti, coming out of mosque during Ramadan, saw her walking naked and dazed down the street, wrapped a “cloth” – I am guessing his gutra – around her and took her to the hospital. I remember thinking what a good, decent man this was, coming from mosque, during Ramadan, having compassion on this poor abused woman. Or maybe that was another, totally separate incident where four young men abduct, gang rape, and dump an Ethiopian maid. (sigh)

Police hunt gang rapists: Police are looking for four young men who allegedly kidnapped and raped an Ethiopian girl, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily.

Police received information about a girl in a semi-naked state in Kabad and rushed to rescue her. The girl said four youths dumped her in the middle of the road after having forced sex with her successively.

I tag this Women’s Issues, but if you read the papers, you will know that young men are as vulnerable to abduction and gang rape as young women.

October 6, 2008 Posted by | Community, Crime, ExPat Life, Family Issues, Kuwait, Law and Order, Living Conditions, News, Relationships, Social Issues, Women's Issues | 2 Comments

St. Francis and Animal Friends Bazaar

Good Morning, Kuwait! Today is the Feast of Saint Francis, the patron saint of animals, and kindness to all living creatures. In his honor, we are posting an announcement for a bazaar benefitting the Animal Friends League in Kuwait. One-of-a-kind items, beautifully made, and many unique and high quality vendors will be there, all to help out Animal Friends.

October 4, 2008 Posted by | Charity, Community, Events, ExPat Life, Kuwait, Living Conditions, Pets, Shopping, Social Issues | 2 Comments

Give to Everyone Who Begs From You

Months ago, I wrote a post about people asking for money in Kuwait, and when should you give and when should you not. It’s a problem that bothers all of us from time to time – when to be generous, and when are you throwing your money away?

Here, the instructions are clear – give to everyone who begs from you.

To me, that means keeping money on hand that I am comfortable will feed someone for a day – half a dinar to a dinar. Bread, beans, water . . .

When we lived in Tunis, my husband had his own beggqr – a man who came by the house from time to time. One time my husband followed him home, and when he came back, he said no matter how much we give this man, it will never be enough, he and his family live in a hovel. When the man came to us with a wound on his arm, my husband took him to the clinic and saw that he was cared for properly. The truth turned out to be that it benefited my husband, and our family, in the long run to be in a relationship with this beggar.

I’ve been taken by cons – the dripping medical bag, the fake leg gash – and I still believe it is better for us to error on the side of compassion.

Luke 6:27-38

27 ‘But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

32 ‘If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.* Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

37 ‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.’

October 4, 2008 Posted by | Charity, Community, Cross Cultural, ExPat Life, Family Issues, Health Issues, Kuwait, Living Conditions, Relationships, Social Issues | 12 Comments

Running Red Lights (3)

I first blogged about this on April 14 and then again in July. I was on this road again yesterday, and oh look – nothing has changed, except the one remaining red light has become even dimmer in the 6 months. I have seen other lights changed – and cleaned (part of the problem here is the humidity and the sand gumming up the lights) but c’mon, this should be a part of nightly traffic maintenance! This is a disaster waiting to happen at a busy intersection:

Can you even see the red light? You have to know it is there, I think. It is the top right light. Now – can you see it?

Traffic department: These lights are at the intersection of the southern Gulf Road/ 7th Ring Road/ 209 and Highway 30. Please, clean up these lights and put in fresh bulbs!

October 3, 2008 Posted by | Bureaucracy, Community, Customer Service, ExPat Life, Health Issues, Kuwait, Law and Order, Living Conditions, Technical Issue | 5 Comments

Great Kuwait Sunset Challenge

The votes are in – based solely on sheer volume, I am crowned Queen-of-the-Sunrise. It’s a question of location – I am presented with the perfect opportunity almost daily (not, like today, when it is haze from horizon to horizon) and I take it.

Sunsets, however, are another matter. I rarely see the sun go down and think “oh! I have to get a photo of that!”

For example:

How pathetic is that?

Here is my challenge to you, Kuwait bloggers. Find a Kuwait sunset. Shoot a photo. Post it on your blog and come back to tell us here that it has been posted. I want to see Kuwait sunset through your eyes. Make it speak!

October 2, 2008 Posted by | Beauty, Blogging, Community, Entertainment, ExPat Life, Kuwait, Living Conditions | 25 Comments

International Medical Corps Thanks YOU

This announcement was in the e-mail this morning. I love it when a striving non-profit finds a cost-effective way to spread the word and compete for the funding they need. Smart non-profits get grants, get corporate donations and use the least costly ways to raise additional funds from individual donors. They maintain a very low expenses rate and a high services rate.

Hi again,

I am so excited and wanted to thank you so much for your help! There were more
than 87,000 votes cast and thanks to you & everyone who blogged & voted, our
project, “Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children,” is now in the Top 5 of
American Express Members Project. It got pretty close at the end and we only
made it by 147 votes. We really couldn’t have done it without you!

We are now guaranteed at least $100,000 in funding, but we still need your help.
The second round of voting has begun and the project with the most votes will
receive $1.5 million. Your vote and the votes of your readers will determine how
many lives we can save. I would be so grateful if you could repost to keep the
conversation and awareness out there and if you could thank your readers for
voting for us too.

http://internationalmedicalcorps.smnr.us/

Please let me know if you can post and please vote again for “Saving the Lives
of Malnourished Children.” Voting ends October 13th. Thank you so much.

Chessia

—
Chessia Kelley, International Medical Corps
ckelley@imcworldwide.org
http://imcworldwide.org

October 2, 2008 Posted by | Charity, Community, Cross Cultural, Financial Issues, Health Issues, Interconnected, Social Issues | 4 Comments

Golden Eid Sunrise

At 0600 on this second day of Eid, while all of you are sleeping, I am up with the fishermen. At 0600, the sun has just risen and the sky is all pink and gold. Seconds after I shot the sunrise, the colors totally changed – the sky is totally cloudless, the surf continues flat, except for the twitchy water where small fish are swarming. And the temperature is a mere 79°F / 26°C even at 0800.

It is supposed to be hot today, but the rest of the week will be cooler. Wear your sunscreen if you are celebrating outside today.

October 1, 2008 Posted by | Community, Eid, ExPat Life, Kuwait, Living Conditions, sunrise series, Weather | 7 Comments

Statistical Spike

As many of you have figured out, I get online early in the morning, then I get through my day – and sometimes it is a long day – before I can get back to answer any comments, etc. Yesterday was one of those super-busy days, and it was night before I was able to check the blog.

Something strange was happening. The stats were way high . . . and for what?

As it turns out, it was a post written a month ago – Moonsighting, and yesterday, that post alone got 539 hits. 539 – it hasn’t been that long since I would never have thought I would get 539 hits in one day, total. I think a lot of people were trying to find out whether Ramadan had ended, if that tiny thin crescent of a moon had been spotted. It gives me great joy to tell you that I also had a lot of hits, I am guessing from the Seattle area, on the Northgate mosque, and how to get to the Northgate mosque. Maybe this blog is doing some little bit of good in the world, helping just a little. It’s all I ask.

And it remains a totally humbling thought to me that the posts that live on, and on, and on – are posts greatly written by or inspired by fellow bloggers and commenters, in this case Fahad, at his blog Salmiya to whose blog I am totally addicted. He is also a little bit here there and everywhere. 🙂

I am only sharing this with you because it gave me a shock this morning to see the spike in statistics, and because I suspect I will never see the likes of it again.

May your day be full of unexpected blessings, and may you have the eyes to see them!

September 30, 2008 Posted by | Blogging, Community, ExPat Life, Kuwait, Living Conditions, Relationships, Spiritual, Statistics, Technical Issue | Leave a comment

Eid Mubarak Sunrise!

When I woke up this morning, it was a little after sunrise and the entire room was flooded with sparkling clear light. Grabbing the camera, I rushed to the window – you can’t see in the photo, but there is an entire flotilla of fishing boats about 2 kilometers off the coastline; I love fishing boats, they evoke something so timeless and serene in my heart. It has to be Eid! Such a beautiful sparkling day, it has to be Eid! And sure enough, it is.

This sparkling, clear, low-humidity, relatively low-temperature day is a blessing to us all! Eid Mubarak Kuwait, and Eid Mubarak (Eid Mubarkhom?) world!

September 30, 2008 Posted by | Community, Cross Cultural, Eid, ExPat Life, Kuwait, Living Conditions, Ramadan, sunrise series, Weather | 8 Comments

Who Has the Disability?

My good friend sent me this today, and I want to share it with you, on this, hopefully the last day of Ramadan:

 

GOD LIVES UNDER THE BED
 
I envy Kevin. My brother, Kevin, thinks God lives under his bed. At least that’s what I heard him say one night.
 
He was praying out loud in his dark bedroom, and I stopped to listen, ‘Are you there, God?’ he said. ‘Where are you? Oh, I see. Under the bed…’
 
I giggled softly and tiptoed off to my own room. Kevin’s unique perspectives are often a source of amusement. But that night something else lingered long after the humor.  I realized for the first time the very different world Kevin lives in.
 
He was born 30 years ago, mentally disabled as a result of difficulties during labor. Apart from his size (he’s 6-foot-2), there are few ways in which he is an adult.
 
He reasons and communicates with the capabilities of a 7-year-old, and he always will. He will probably always believe that God lives under his bed, that Santa Claus is the one who fills the space under our tree every Christmas and that airplanes stay up in the sky because angels carry them.
 
I remember wondering if Kevin realizes he is different. Is he ever dissatisfied with his monotonous life?
 
Up before dawn each day, off to work at a workshop for the disabled, home to walk our cocker spaniel, return to eat his favorite macaroni-and-cheese for dinner, and later to bed.
 
The only variation in the entire scheme is laundry, when he hovers excitedly over the washing machine like a mother with her newborn child.
 
He does not seem dissatisfied.
 
He lopes out to the bus every morning at 7:05, eager for a day of simple work.
 
He wrings his hands excitedly while the water boils on the stove before dinner, and he stays up late twice a week to gather our dirty laundry for his next day’s laundry chores.
 
And Saturdays – oh, the bliss of Saturdays! That’s the day my Dad takes Kevin to the airport to have a soft drink, watch the planes land, and speculate loudly on the destination of each passenger inside. ‘That one’s goin’ to Chi-car-go! ‘ Kevin shouts as he claps his hands.
 
His anticipation is so great he can hardly sleep on Friday nights.
 
And so goes his world of daily rituals and weekend field trips.
 
He doesn’t know what it means to be discontent.
 
His life is simple.
 
He will never know the entanglements of wealth of power, and he does not care what brand of clothing he wears or what kind of food he eats. His needs have always been met, and he never worries that one day they may not be.
 
His hands are diligent. Kevin is never so happy as when he is working. When he unloads the dishwasher or vacuums the carpet, his heart is completely in it.
 
He does not shrink from a job when it is begun, and he does not leave a job until it is finished. But when his tasks are done, Kevin knows how to relax..
 
He is not obsessed with his work or the work of others. His heart is pure.
 
He still believes everyone tells the truth, promises must be kept, and when you are wrong, you apologize instead of argue.
 
Free from pride and unconcerned with appearances, Kevin is not afraid to cry when he is hurt, angry or sorry. He is always transparent, always sincere. And he trusts God.
 
Not confined by intellectual reasoning, when he comes to Christ, he comes as a child.. Kevin seems to know God – to really be friends with Him in a way that is difficult for an ‘educated’ person to grasp. God seems like his closest companion.
 
In my moments of doubt and frustrations with my Christianity, I envy the security Kevin has in his simple faith.
 
It is then that I am most willing to admit that he has some divine knowledge that rises above my mortal questions.
 
It is then I realize that perhaps he is not the one with the handicap. I am. My obligations, my fear, my pride, my circumstances – they all become disabilities when I do not trust them to God’s care.
 
Who knows if Kevin comprehends things I can never learn? After all, he has spent his whole life in that kind of innocence, praying after dark and soaking up the goodness and love of God.
 
And one day, when the mysteries of heaven are opened, and we are all amazed at how close God really is to our hearts, I’ll realize that God heard the simple prayers of a boy who believed that God lived under his bed.
 
Kevin won’t be surprised at all!

September 29, 2008 Posted by | Community, Cross Cultural, Family Issues, Health Issues, Interconnected, Relationships, Social Issues, Spiritual | 7 Comments

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