03/06/2025
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03/06/2025
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YOUR HIGHNESS, the Prime Minister, certain questions are being raised among citizens. Is everyone required to be disinterested -- whether they are affected by the recent measures or not? Should things be allowed to happen, even if they are on the wrong track, or is it better to prioritize essential issues? These questions are also directed to the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, who is responsible for various matters. I ask Allah to grant him the strength to continue this activity in a way that serves the interests of the State, which are inseparable from the interests of the people.
Everyone sees that the Cabinet and the ministers are preoccupied with trivial matters. This is not beneficial for the future, especially at a time when all other countries are working tirelessly to establish a foothold in the new global order that is beginning to take shape. Any country that does not occupy a place in the current global order will not have an effective role in the future. On several occasions, you have spoken about the citizens’ demands, particularly regarding the purification of national identity, which is a matter of belongingness before anything else. Everyone supported the measures taken against those who forged citizenship and held dual citizenship.
However, there are still calls to hold accountable those who facilitated the commission of these crimes and participated in manipulating this sensitive issue, because the consequences are serious and thorny. I, along with many others, also pointed out the need to study the repercussions of these measures on society as a whole. For example, what is the fault of the children and grandchildren in a forgery case committed by a grandfather who died and whose children had nothing to do with this crime? On the other hand, this undoubtedly led to obstacles that the official executive branch must resolve, such as those related to the real estate properties of those whose citizenship was revoked, their social status, like marriage and childbirth, among others, their jobs and livelihoods.
The Council of Ministers has indeed allowed some of them to travel on passports valid for some months, but not all countries grant visas to those whose passports will expire within a year or six months. What is the Council of Ministers’ plan to resolve this problem? Your Excellency, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, I hope you understand the true pulse of the people and how they react to these measures. You have the tools to do so. You have the candor and courage to speak the truth. This is how we have known you since you assumed your position, as you have never deviated from the truth.
Today, we have a significant percentage of those who have become illegal residents (Bedouns). In the past, solutions to this issue were easy, such as granting them limited-term passports, which allowed them to travel to countries that valued their skills. Many Bedouns want to serve Kuwait, as they have never known any other homeland but Kuwait. Without a doubt, such people deserve appreciation. What is the fault of the mother who raised and educated her children born to a Kuwaiti father and a non-Kuwaiti mother?
What about those who became Bedouns after the revocation of their citizenship? Your Excellency, the First Deputy Prime Minister, daily newspapers reflect the people’s voice, especially on the issue of revoking citizenship. Your Excellency, you are undoubtedly aware that local and international forums have begun to discuss this issue, particularly the revocation of the citizenship of those who acquired it through dependency. I said it before and I repeat it now: “No soul shall bear the burden of another.” The important questions now are: Were these measures carefully considered? How can society emerge from this cycle?
Your Excellency, the Prime Minister and Your Excellency the First Deputy Prime Minister, the Kuwaiti society is interconnected. It always supports the government in doing what is right and highlights the errors, if any. This is how Kuwait has operated for more than 400 years. There have always been milestones at which people pause.
Kuwaitis have become accustomed to fighting corruption and holding the corrupt and bribed accountable, even before the establishment of oversight and auditing institutions. So, when the government began to vigorously combat corruption, Kuwaitis supported it and stood by the ruler. Today, people are confused about their position regarding the repercussions of revoking citizenship.
Therefore, we present the matter to the Council of Ministers, His Highness the Prime Minister and His Excellency the First Deputy Prime Minister, so that effective solutions are reached in order to end this emerging crisis. The press is the mirror of society and the news it conveys should comfort readers, so the situation can improve and Kuwait can emerge from the cycle of preoccupation with trivial matters and focus on more important and priority issues; such as how to boost the gross domestic product (GDP), which brings prosperity and stability. Your Highness, the Prime Minister, I invite you to visit Shuwaikh Industrial Area to witness the scale of economic activity there and its contribution to the GDP. Behind this congestion, noise, and economy with largely unlimited income, are welcome expatriates, of course.
The important thing to ask is: Who benefits? The beneficiaries are the landowner and the tenant, while the State gets nothing. The ‘Bedoun’ issue is complex, in addition to those whose citizenship was revoked. Strangely, this is happening in Kuwait, a country of goodness and generosity, and whose ruler is the benefactor of goodness and giving.
Your Highness, the Prime Minister, Your Excellency the First Deputy Prime Minister, thank you for returning the passports of the wives of Kuwaitis whose passports were revoked. Thank you for restoring the benefits and salaries they were denied earlier. This is a step in the right direction. We will say thank you...Thank you... And thank you again once the relevant committee meets and decides to reinstate the citizenship of those who were wronged.
Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times
