Kuwait a hostage to unending crises

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WE hardly came out of the citizenship revocation crisis when we entered the forgery related crisis, then the land grabbing scandal surfaced suddenly. Before the situation calmed down, the storm blew over forged certificates in all segments of society and government departments, which dwarfed the previous crises.

There are several theories concerning these scandals or suspicious files, but the conspiracy theory won at the end. Instead of dealing with the issue seriously according to the rule of law, many victims of the vindictiveness of their foes have opted to settle scores rather than work towards reform. They jumped the gun ahead of the outcome of the investigation to describe them using the cruelest adjectives — thereby, converting themselves into investigators, judges and implementers of sentences.

Nobody asks about the reason behind all this and nobody wishes to lay his hand on the wound to stop the bleeding of the whole Kuwait, yet many people contributed to opening the wound. Perhaps, we need to logically look at our situation which delights foes who are lurking in the corner. They no longer need to take any action which threatens our national security, as they only need to watch how we use our hands to destroy our own house.

At this point, perhaps we need to learn lessons from other countries. A message written by a professor in South Africa at the entrance of a university came to mind. It says, “Collapsing any nation does not require atomic bombs or long range missiles; it only requires lowering the quality of education and allowing cheating in exams. A patient dies in the hands of a doctor who passed his exams through cheating. Buildings collapse in the hands of an engineer who passed his exams through cheating. Money is lost in the hands of an accountant who passed his exams through cheating. Humanity dies in the hands of a religious scholar who passed his exams through cheating. Justice is lost in the hands of a judge who passed his exams through cheating. Ignorance is rampant in the minds of children who are under the care of a teacher who passed exams through cheating. The collapse of education is the collapse of the Nation.”

If we really want to say the truth without flattery, this is exactly what has happened in Kuwait. When we lowered the standard of education, diseases began to spread. If a law is enacted, we are the smartest in violating it while opening escape routes from it. Therefore, the forged certificates issue is not new.

Most or all of the fake and unaccredited certificates were obtained due to the financial privileges which some lawmakers used to entice citizens, targeting their votes during elections. Thus, each State institution has its own financial system while equality is absent.

Supposedly, only one system is applied on all employees where the criteria are limited to experience, efficiency and excellent performance. Under such a unified system, there will be no place for favoritism and phrases like “he is our son” or “he is the son of our tribe or sector.” There will be no place for someone to land using his personal parachute in the form of a fake certificate or the support of a lawmaker or an influential senior official.

It seems finding radical solutions is not part of the ways to deal with the crises that Kuwait has witnessed so far. This happened when the National Assembly banned alcoholic drinks but it did not implement a clear mechanism to prevent alternatives; hence, drugs spread and the number of drug addicts increased. This is because the traders of alcoholic drinks resorted to trafficking in drugs which are more expensive and easier to transport.

Until now, no decision has been taken concerning the fake and withdrawn citizenship as well as the distribution of agricultural plots. The fake certificates issue emerged to divert the public’s attention from previous scandals. Citizens seem to say, “God protect us from greater disasters.”

Each scandal surfaces to divert our attention from the previous one. Until when will Kuwait remain a hostage of crises which will be solved with just a minimum level of genuine national responsibility?

By Ahmed Al-Jarallah

Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times

This news has been read 16338 times!