Kuwait Driving Laws Enforced in Hawali
AdventureMan and I have a running disagreement. I say more people are pulling over to make calls, or using headsets. He says he sees people using mobile phones all the time. (He would not agree to a spot survey of the cars around us, but we also noticed fewer children in the front seats, very cool.)
I think traffic is improving in Kuwait. I see more people using seatbelts, fewer people weaving around while trying to talk on cell phones, and more people using turn signals. I see less endangering behaviors.
Am I being too optimistic here?
From the Arab Times:
250 citations issued: Hawalli police launched an intensive campaign and issued 250 citations to motorists for not wearing seatbelts and another 50 for using mobile phones while driving, reports Arrouiah daily.
Female Ministers Must Wear Hijab?
This is from yesterday’s Arab Times. I have two questions – first, I have no objection to hijab, and I thought it was every individual’s choice to wear or not to wear. Is it the law to wear hijab?
second, I’ve been told that in Kuwait, women did not wear hijab – it is neither cultural nor traditional. Where is this insistence on hijab coming from?
Don’t allow female ministers in Parliament without ‘hijab’: MP
KUWAIT CITY : The government and Parliament should strictly adhere to the Islamic teachings in granting women their political rights, says MP Mohammad Hayef Al-Mutairi to Al-Watan Arabic daily.
Urging both authorities to enforce the Elections Law based on the Islamic teachings, Al-Mutairi said the government should ensure the two female ministers – Education and Higher Education Nuriya Al-Subaih and State Minister for Housing Affairs and Administrative Development Mudhi Al-Humoud – will abide by the Islamic teachings in carrying out their duties in their respective ministries.
According to Article 17/2005 of the law and as stated in the Holy Quran, Al-Mutairi stressed women should always wear ‘hijab’ (veil). He also asked the government to be objective in implementing the law, which should be enforced among its members first to serve as an example to the people. Al-Mutairi added the executive and legislative authorities should not allow Al-Subaih and Al-Humoud to enter the Parliament without ‘hijab.’
Heavy Heart: Police Dog Auction
In today’s Kuwait Times is an ad from the Ministry of Interior offering “28 Trained Police Dogs” for Auction on June 3rd.
Everyone knows there are clandestine dog fights here, where animals are goaded to fight until deeply injured and killed. This is not a dog-friendly culture. Dogs starve here all the time, are hit, beaten, abandoned, stoned, maimed, tortured by children and adults.
The thought of who might buy these dogs and the purposes they might be put to makes my heart heavy. Worse. It makes my stomach heave.
Working dogs do what they are trained to do. The work hard. They served Kuwait! They deserve a good retirement.
Arte Y Pico Award
My friend Lofter, over at Life at the Foot of the Stairs has honored me with the Arte y Pico Award, “given to those who are creative and have a penchant for art.” I am truly honored, Lofter, and I thank you.
There are responsiblities that go with this award:
1. Pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also for contributing to the blogging community, no matter what language.
2. Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog.
3. Each award winner (upon acceptance) should show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award.
4. Show the link of Arte y Pico blog , so everyone will know the origin of this award.
5. Show these rules.
So here are my selections:
1. Suresh Gundappa and Meditation Photography. I don’t know how I found this blog, but I find myself returning to it often. We don’t share the same religion, but we share similar values. His photos knock my socks off.
2. In a move of flagrant nepotism, I choose my niece, Little Diamond, at A Diamond in Sunlight because she also has lots of photos, describes daily life in the turbulence of Beirut living, and did I mention she is my niece?
3. Because they are also here, there and everywhere, writing about any and every interesting thing from technology to food to sky photography, and because they have only been blogging since October and have had amazing response, I choose Some Contrast, with bloggers Yousef and Mishary.
4. The Queen of all Kuwait Bloggers, Jewaira because her Jewaira’s Boutique delicately manages to introduce controversial topics without setting the blog-world aflame, because she has the most amazing headers and because she is smart and savvy and a great writer.
5. This last one is a stretch, but I select Purgatory because, like VanGogh, he is an original, people don’t always “get” him, I don’t always get him, but he does original works of art, he thinks way outside the box, and he lets Jacqui give him a new, and usually very artistic look from time to time.
Again, thank you, Lofter, for selecting me for this award.
Saved by a Scream
This woman had a close call. I am re-assured that the family was taking her to Saudi Arabia to kill her; it implies that the climate in Kuwait does not support honor killings. Another tidbit from the Arab Times:
Screams help officers thwart bid to kill girl for soiling family name
KUWAIT CITY : The Saudi immigration officers manning the Al-Riqei border post are said to have reportedly foiled an attempt by an unidentified GCC family to kill their daughter to save their honor, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily.
According to a security source the parents with the daughter and another sibling traveled to Salmi post and to prevent the ‘victim’ from screaming for help the family’s relative who allegedly works at the post hurried through the process of stamping the passports to help the family cross into Saudi Arabia as the family waited in their car.
When the girl reached the Saudi border post she screamed for help and told the immigration officers that her father planned to kill her.
The family was temporarily detained at the post until the Saudi authorities contacted the authorities in Kuwait. After the family was returned to Kuwait under guard, the relative who helped them at the Salmi post was arrested and detained for interrogation.
The daily said it is a case of ‘honor killing’. The girl was reportedly involved in an affair with an unidentified youth inside an apartment in Salmiya and she became pregnant.
Meanwhile, the Al-Anba daily added, when the girl was in police custody the brother grabbed his younger sister and threatened to shoot her in front of the building of the Criminal Investigations Department.
He was demanding the release of his other sister who was caught having fun with the youth inside an apartment after a missing person report was filed against her.
A police sniper shot the man in the arm and rescued the younger sibling.
I can’t imagine her life will be easy, if she is pregnant, unmarried, and has a family who wants her dead. I can’t imagine that Kuwait has social services that can help her negotiate a path. Life will be difficult, but it sure beats what was about to happen to her in Saudi Arabia.
Woman Receives Allowance
Sometimes, it’s a little article that has a huge impact. This little article, about a recent court decision in Kuwait, has potential for such an impact;
This is from today’s Arab Times:
Court orders allowance for woman
KUWAIT CITY : The Constitutional Court Wednesday received a petition filed by a Kuwaiti woman, requesting the court to declare the second paragraph of Item No. 2 and fifth paragraph of Item No. 3 of Cabinet decision No. 142 /1992 unconstitutional.
The court then declared the two paragraphs unconstitutional.
In her lawsuit submitted by her lawyer, Attorney Khaled Al-Hamdan, the woman said she was appointed as a lawyer at the Fatwa and Legislation Department in December 2000 and was promoted to ‘Lawyer A’ in December 2006.
The woman was surprised when she learnt her male colleagues were receiving housing allowance of KD 200 for the bachelors and KD 300 for those who are married. She then filed a case as she has not received any housing allowance since she joined the department.
The session was presided over by Judge Rashid Al-Hammad.
By Moamen Al-Masri
Special to the Arab Times
Pretty cool, huh? Wooo Hoooo on Judge Rashid Al-Hammad! Woooo Hooooo on Lawyer “A”, who fought for her rights – and WON. Wooo Hoooo, Kuwait!
Warm Welcome Home
Everything went smoothly on my great trip back to Kuwait, as AdventureMan would say “the number of landings equalled the number of take-offs” and that is always a very good thing. My flights were more or less on time, I had space and time and endurance . . . the immigration line was short and my bags came off the flight quickly and . . . the best is yet to come.
We always love going to the airport. The airport in Kuwait is nothing like the airport in Seattle, all Nordic and Scandinavian cool, with restrained welcomes and hearty pats on the back . . . no, the Kuwait welcome is unrestrained, literally, although there are barriers, when someone important is coming home – a new bride, a returning university student, grandma and grandpa coming back from the Hajj, or maybe Daddy coming home from a business trip – the barriers, literally, fall.
Family members show up en masse and this is one time when voices are not lowered – everyone shouts and whoops with joy when the loved one appears on the arrival “runway.”
And today – today, it was my turn. As I exited the customs check, there were cheers! There was a huge crowd, waiting – for me! They threw rose petals! They ululated! It was the most wonderful arrival I have ever experienced. They even had TV lights, cameras!
oh! wait! who are those handsome uniformed young men being mobbed by their proud family members?
Ah well, I was welcomed by the sweet warm grin of AdventureMan, waiting for me patiently, and yes, yes, I did walk over some rose petals, and I was greeted with shouts and cheers and ululations, even if it wasn’t exactly for me . . . it was still, quite a thrill, and a wonderful way to come back to Kuwait.
When I arrived in Seattle, people told me I had brought Kuwait weather, as it was in the 90’s and low 100’s, very warm for Seattle in May. Returning the favor, the temperatures in Kuwait have dropped to about 38°C – close to 100°F, and there are scattered rain-plops. I don’t see any signs of showers, yet, but the night is yet young, and very very humid.
Correction
Stating that the incident never happened because it was not reported to them does not mean it did not happen. An eight year old girl does not make up a rape; she doesn’t have the vocabulary, she doesn’t have the experience to create a lie like that.
“No one brought it to our notice” does not mean it didn’t happen.
Indian School denies girl raped by the school bus driver
KUWAIT CITY : An official at an Indian School in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh on Monday rubbished claims that a girl student from the school was raped last week by the school bus driver.
Reliable sources had earlier told the Arab Times that an eight-year-old student from the school was raped by the school bus driver, who reportedly charmed the girl with sweet talk and took her to his apartment in Jleeb Al-Shyoukh where he raped her.
The girl, who hails from Kerala, reported the incident to her parents after they quizzed her as to why she was late in getting home from school.
Reacting to the reports the school official added: “I can confirm that no such incident happened in our school as no one brought it to our notice.”
The official further added: “We always encourage parents of students to use the school transportation. However, we cannot coerce them into using our transportation. We would have taken immediate action if any such incident was reported to us. The safety of our students is our foremost concern.”
“It is possible that the parents of the victim may not have reported the incident to the school authorities as the student may have been using a private transportation,” the source said.
The source added that the outraged father of the victim reportedly beat up the accused black and blue before turning him over to the police and that the family is in a state of shock trying to come to grips with the incident.
According to the source, a case has been registered at the Jleeb Al-Shyoukh police station and investigations are in progress.
In another incident, a school boy of an Indian school in Abbassiya reportedly impregnated a fellow student and that the two were involved in a long courtship, according to a source. No further details could immediately be obtained.
By Francis A. Clifford Cardozo
Arab Times Staff
It Gives Me Hope
You know who I am, I’m pretty consistent in what I have to say. I believe we all have a lot more in common than we have differences, and I want us to find ways to get along. We, as a species, spend so much time and energy and resources fighting over the pettiest differences. How will we ever call ourselves civilized until we can treat every fellow creature with respect?
I bet Cupertino has problems, too. I know for one thing it is incredibly expensive. Most of what I saw there, I really liked. Whole Foods. High Tech Engineering. A wide variety of people, all working together in peace.
At our hotel, there were five weddings taking place the same day as “our” wedding. I came down in the elevator with one couple and their parents, and I got a photo of them in the hotel garden area before their wedding:
The groom is from India, and the bride is Chinese. The parents, and all the relatives are gathered, and dressed in gorgeous, flowing silks, and the bride and groom are just amazingly in love with each other and it is so beautiful, they are all so happy.
Cupertino takes a lot of pride in being beautiful, and the buildings they build are beautiful and they have “campuses” where lots of related buildings are connected with winding garden paths and ponds full of ducks.
I particularly love this sculpture:
Which looks totally different from the side:
There were flowers and plants everywhere. Many I couldn’t even recognize. I would have to learn a whole new world of gardening in California:
NOLA, Palo Alto
The rehersal dinner was at a really fun restaurant in Palo Alto, NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana) and the good times started rolling even before we left the hotel, as wedding invitees gathered to car pool and head down the highways to the dinner. We had instructions, but we were following the car in front of us, and so had a great adventure en route. Everyone finally got there just fine, the music was loud, the crowd was hoppin’ and the food was fabulous.
Hurricanes waiting on the table to greet the guests:
The appetizer plates (I couldn’t get to it fast enough to take a photo before some had disappeared!)
We started with soups and salads, but I forgot to take photos (there is a lot of visiting going on at these events!) so here is some fabulous jambalaya:
And what’s left of delicious king salmon:
I was honored to sit with the bride’s mother, originally from Tehran, and oh! what great conversations we had. The whole purpose of the rehearsal dinner is to give the families time to get to know one another a little, to provide a network for the young marrying couple, to give support. Our weddings are GREAT affairs – now I am going to brag a little. Our young generation of marrying age has chosen such fine mates. The bride in this wedding is a pistol; she and Earthling are so well matched, so good to each other and so good at supporting one another. And I love her mother! We had a great time visiting with each other.
And then – oh my – the desserts! Beignets and bread pudding:
People were scraping the sauces right off the serving plate, not wanting to waste a single tasty bite, they were that good!
This morning, the bride, my sister the groom’s mother, my mother and a host of attendants are off to the hairdressers to get hair and nails and make up done, the whole wedding ritual. I am thankful to be a minor character today – I have packing to do, and with the new packing regulations, I am in a world of hurt. I know if I need to I can buy another suitcase, but I am hoping I will not have to do that.
Last night was a truly great evening, (Thank you, Sparkle and MarinerMan!) and as good as it was, as delicious and fun filled as it was, it was just the prelude to the big event today. 🙂
UPDATE:
Hi there,
I noticed you wrote about our restaurant, Nola, on 5/25/2008 (https://intlxpatr.wordpress.com/2008/05/25/nola-palo-alto/). We really appreciate the mention! Recently, we created a new site that lets our customers order online with their desktop or smartphone. It’s an exciting addition to our restaurant, so we’re reaching out to you to ask for a small favor…
If you could help us by adding our new website (http://www.nolapaloalto.com) on your post about Nola, we’d really appreciate it! I know you wrote this post a while back so hopefully it’s not too much trouble!
Again, thanks so much for supporting our restaurant by mentioning us on your site. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. Thanks there!
Cheers,
Your fans at Nola
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