It saddens me to repeatedly hear people comment that they “won’t be voting” in the upcoming elections on May 16. What saddens me most of all is that these people represent the young demographic, people who are just about-or have begun to create a family of their own, and need every help they can get to ensure their family’s security when oil runs out.

It’s not just about improving government services; it’s ensuring that these services continue to survive after the economy shrinks from complete oil dependence in sixty or seventy years time; according to recent estimates (some reports claim a maximum of forty years).

I have a 2 year old daughter, by the time she’s a mother, her children will face Kuwait’s hardest economic situation ever-a country without oil to fuel the state’s expenditures and services. In other words, what I as a parent decide today will affect my grandchildren’s future wellbeing.

By selecting the right MP, we as voters set the standards for a better future, it’s not about voting for someone who would be able to help me grab a government-built house quicker than the rest, or someone who would be able to process my papers with his influence or some other short-term personal gain.

Younger voters may not feel it now, but think about this: A University education with gender-segregated classes is no education to rely upon, and this segregation came about recently because the people voted for the wrong MP’s. On the same subject, an educational system where course work is dictated by politically and religiously motivated advisers is doomed to produce fanatics and extremists no matter how the situation is justified.

Last year I posted a blog about the difference between the Kuwait of the 1960’s and today, and in it, I outlined the features of the ideal candidate for my family and myself. Today, however, there are many options that fit the description I set for myself, and ironically enough, they were not all tribalists nor Islamists or ‘service MP’s’; They were all right-minded people, with an actual progressive agenda and clean-shaven faces who don’t shout their throats off in front of cameras, spurting out brain-farts for local consumption while flexing their tribal or Islamist muscles!

I’m not endorsing anyone in particular here, but I am asking everyone to vote, and vote well. Vote with your minds, not your hearts, not your ears, and certainly not for your expected monetary gains – despite what you may watch in political plays and songs, you shouldn’t be voting for Kuwait for the sake of Kuwait; It’s simply a plot of land with oil underneath it! You should be voting for your family’s well-being in the not-too-distant future, you should be voting for Kuwait’s children, since they’ll be inheriting the problems and solutions that you will be creating today….and if that’s not enough to make someone vote right, think about people in my latest post, and what they’d done for you and your country lately!

The above shot is of the proposed Surra Co-op (under construction); it has a bold, futuristic vibe.

Summer in Kuwait – Somewhere Off Abu Halifa

With the short rainy season behind us and the shorter spring almost over, we look forward with much trepidation to summer time here in Kuwait with its usual super heat and mugginess. Although if you have arrived in Kuwait in winter, you would think the cold so severe it would last forever (you probably rushed like everyone else to purchase some new electrical portable heaters).

We had a nasty cold snap last year too, the market ran out of portable heaters, people travelled to their chalets or farms to get heaters and bring them home – we also heard of people travelling to Saudi Arabia to purchase oil heaters (a very popular item in Kuwait – since many people here even with central air-conditioning abhor central heating because they wake up suffering from throat dryness, headaches and fall ill).

Surprisingly, we learnt the Saudis themselves came to Kuwait to look for the same type of heaters because they ran out as well.

As for myself, I ended up scavenging the heater from the driver’s room since he was away on his leave, lucky devil.

Of course the big hot summer will be upon us in no time and we will miss the cold, its memory long gone; we will start complaining about how stifling the heat is, and questioning what the heck we are all doing here when everyone is drifting to a cooler climate.

The big deal this summer is the decision by the Ministry of Education to delay the start of the school year to coincide with the end of the holy month of Ramadan, adding more inanity to our educational system. Indeed, many have seized this opportunity and are planning to spend the month of August and first half of September outside Kuwait, like they used to do many moons ago when Ramadan was during the summer season (tickets to Lebanon a favorite destination for a lot of the locals are already sold out for that period).

It would be funny as hell if the Lebanese expatriate community remained in Kuwait (because airline tickets are sold out) while the Kuwaitis travel to Lebanon for the summer.

We only hope that the protagonists in Lebanon remain calm and the Israelis don’t start another war to ruin the tourist season there.

I’m a huge fan of TV commercials when they’re done right (i.e. creative, funny, daring, bold); and so it was with great anticipation that I scored a ticket for the annual showing of Night of the AdEaters: a global traveling advertising extravaganza that plays in major cities around the world.

I had attended one of these shows in ‘simpler times’ a few years ago at the ‘Shaab Park’ cinema, and I had not been back to see them in a while. This year the show was held at ‘The Avenues’ Cinema; first of all, the lobby looked like a nightclub, and I mean that as a compliment! (Full disclosure: It was my first time ever inside ‘The Avenues’ Cinema, mainly I boycott ‘Cinescape’ and their censored movies out of principle).

The invitation stated ‘6.30 pm’ and I got there on time only to find that the actual screening would start at 7.30 pm – in the meantime I thought to myself ‘why not visit the various promotional stands’ – giving away everything free from coffee to doughnuts to shampoo to sushi, all to the accompanying tunes of an over-excited (yet admittedly good) DJ who pumped the slamming House tunes to unreasonable volume, adding to the nightclub vibe I mentioned earlier… with the obligatory pause for the Prayer Call (Athan).

An hour of this was more than I could bear so I went for a stroll aimlessly around the mall, came back just before 7.30 pm, foolishly thinking the screening would start on time. By the time the attending crowd – made up mostly of self-congratulating ad industry people (see: jerk, circle) herded into the theater as it was already approaching 8 pm. On each seat, ‘Zain’ (the main sponsor) had placed a bag full of “goodies” including the usual giveaways (t-shirt, coasters) and a rattle made of clapping plastic hands and some geeky ‘neon’ eye-glasses. The clapping rattles were meant to encourage “audience participation”, to encourage loud applause whenever a great commercial appeared (You can see where this is heading, right?).

After a shaky welcome speech by Zain’s ‘Public Relations’ people, and an introduction to their new “Create” service, we then had to sit through a seemingly endless stream of Zain commercials. Did they not know they wouldn’t hold a candle to the masterpieces of creativity we were about to watch?

I am forever amazed at people’s ability to regress into childhood, and in really big groups; last night was no exception. The audience of full-grown ‘professional ‘adults kept shaking their rattles in full force at the slightest provocation, regardless of what we were watching. I kept praying for the novelty to wear off, again banking on everyone eventually getting bored or annoyed with the rattles and settling down to enjoy the show. But no, the noise kept on unabated… if there was anything to be heard it was drowned out; if there were any witty jokes in the ads, they were lost.

And if all that wasn’t enough… I had the misfortune of being seated next to two overweight ladies who provided us with a running commentary throughout the screening – they simply would not shut up! Oh and they rattled nonstop… I know we’re not watching a serious film requiring total silence, but do I really want to hear this woman next to me commenting loudly on every commercial? And rattle too?!

Yes I”m talking about you, the silly cow, third center row from the back!!

When the first intermission came around, in the interests of saving my sanity I made a dash for the door and got the hell out. On my way out, I complained about the stupid rattles and I was told that they do this every year, and for no particular reason other than they think it’s ‘fun.’

It’s a real shame because there were some truly wonderful ads being shown, but I can’t imagine ever sitting through something like this again, so I won’t be coming back. EVER!!

Note: Their second showing is tonight at 6.30 pm (meaning 8pm?) – you have been warned (if I were you, I’d stay home).

Mahboula 2009: The ‘Mermaid Project’

For the first time in my life, I am in a diwaniya. And not only visiting, but participating. Thank you, Amer, for opening up your blog for guest contributors, and inviting me to join. I am honored to be here.

Who am I? I’m Global Gal, an American expat living in China. A long time ago I lived in Kuwait in an apartment with ill-fitting windows, pock-marked facade, (presumably from bullets), and, in the right light, Iraqi graffiti under the thinly-coated paint of the interior walls. It was 1992 and I was sixteen. Fresh off the airplane from Texas, the Mahboula (Mad Woman’ in Arabic) area might as well have been the moon. Eventually, it was home and all these years later I still miss it. I even miss that hastily thrown together apartment. I can honestly look back on my two years in Kuwait as some of the happiest and most influential of my life. I have never forgotten my Kuwaiti friends and the Kuwaiti experiences that made me who I am today – a traveler, an expat and an admirer of the little country that could.

When I hear about the current state of Kuwait – multitudes of restaurants, Marina Mall, aquariums, etc. and the current state of Mahboula and Fahaheel, where I lived and spent most of my time, I tend to think like that grumpy old man character from ‘Saturday Night Live’.

(Cue Grumpy Old Man voice): “Back in my day we didn’t have McDonald’s and Burger King right across the road. There was no such thing as McDonald’s. If we wanted fast food, we walked to the shawarma stand or found an adult to drive us all the way to Fahaheel. And in Fahaheel you could have Wendy’s or KFC and that was it. There was no Hungry Bunny. And we liked it.

And we didn’t go down to the beach to play in the sand and water. We weren’t allowed anywhere near the beach. Everyone was afraid of bombs and mines and booby-trapped Pepsi cans. We spent all our time buying pirated cassette tapes in Salmiya or eating at Chi Chi’s. And we liked it.

And we didn’t have Entertainment City or fancy malls or ‘fun’ places. If we wanted ‘fun’ we spotted burned out car wrecks on the side of the expressway or found another adult to drive us down to Kheiran where we could wander around the abandoned tank and play in the video arcade. And we liked it.” (End Grumpy Old Man voice)

And I really did like it! I would love to see how Kuwait has changed! Consider this my introductory post. I will be contributing travel stories and anecdotes of my Kuwait expat experience to the diwaniya in the coming weeks. I hope you don’t mind a little light-hearted fare! It looks like I need to brush up on Kuwaiti politics as well!

Global Gal writes about her life in China, travel experiences and interesting things she sees and reads at On the Fringe.

President Obama won mostly through his strong presence on the Internet – will it work for Aseel Al-Awadhi?

Links:

الدكتورة أسيل العوضي

يوتيوب” ترشح د. أسيل يظهر في نشرة أخبار قناة الراي

Official Webpage

David Niven and ‘The Streaker.’

Mohammad Hayef Al-Mutairi, former MP, self-appointed ‘defender of public morality and public property’, a man who makes the Spanish Inquisition’s Tomás de Torquemada look like a member of the ‘Vienna Boys’ Choir,’ is at it again. Apparently his Parliamentary skills (or lack thereof) seem to revolve around a ‘weekly ‘insert item’ lambasting’ technique. One week it’s diwaniyas, another it’s public funds, followed by how the act of female officers saluting is ‘haram‘ and so forth. Now all of this would be fine and dandy if it were just hot air, but when he does it, governments collapse.

This week Hayef’s hang-up involves a naked man on KTV3. According to the ‘Arab Times’:

“Urging the ministry to immediately open an investigation on the issue, Al-Mutairi asked about the role of the committee tasked to edit shows before airing them. He also inquired about the procedures taken to identify those who committed the mistake and prevent its recurrence in the future.According to the source, Kuwait TV Channel 3, on Tuesday evening showed a completely naked man – one of the participants in a European Ski Tournament. Al-Mutairi pointed out there is no room for indecent images in a conservative country like Kuwait. “We prohibit the publication of immoral photographs or showing of pornographic films in the country, how much more the airing of a naked man in television,” he asserted. “

First of all, the former MP’s biggest mistake was promoting KTV – is there anyone in their right mind who still watches it? And when I say ‘right mind’ I mean people who don’t think ‘Moby Dick’ is a venereal disease or who think Charlton Heston kissing a female ape is heretical.

Sometimes you just gotta let things go. We need more David Nivens in Kuwait and less Hayefs.

At the outset, I would like to thank all bloggers and writers who have so far contributed pieces to ‘Hilaliya,’ elevating it from a personal blog to a community blog (which I am proud of). Moreover, the ‘Diwaniya’ concept has also allowed certain bloggers the flexibility of posting about issues they were passionate here, as opposed to their own blogs, due to demographic constraints or otherwise.

Special thanks to Don Veto, Intlxpatr, 4th Ring Road, Forzaq8, Aggz the Aggressor, Daggero, فتح الخير and Hanan Al-Hajeri for their exclusive pieces all of which highlighted their own smarts, style and interests.

A big thanks to you, our frequent reader and commenter, for your feedback and support.

Additional bloggers (and writers) have jumped onto the ‘Blogging Diwaniya’ bandwagon, so expect some great new posts the coming weeks.

فى خضم الأجواء المحلية الملبدة والمناخية المتقلبة كان لابد من وقفه نستعرض فيها المواضيع الدارجة على الساحة ونحاول أن نعطي هذه المستجدات حقها قدر المستطاع ونكون بذلك قد ركبنا الموجة وتزلجنا مع المتزلجين فى عالم التدوين والذى يغلب عليه مواضيع الأكل وأنتقاد المطاعم , ومواضيع الحب والغرام أو السياسة والأنتخابات

قد بدأ الموضوع الأول بصورة لوليمة فاخرة لشخص ما وعليه بالعافية , هو اللى أستمتع بالوجبة و نحن اللى أخذنا السمعة بأننا أهل سندويش, بس خيرها فى غيره

وحتى يستمر زخم التدوين ومسايرة الأحداث المحلية ونجرب حظنا بالتدوين باللغة العربية الأم فأقترحت على نفسى أن أحاول أن أكتب فى مواضيع جريئة محلية مثل الحب والغرام حيث لهذه المشاعر سوق طويل عريض فى الفضاء الأفتراضى وربما أكون أول من أكتشف ظاهرة جديدة ليكون لى السبق التدوينى فيها ونصبح من الرومانسيين حالنا من حال الباقين , ونحاول أن نمحو تهمة الجفاف العاطفى الشديد المتهم بها الجنس الذكورى المحلى( ولو أن الكويتى أنفع ) الأ أن الهجوم المستمر على شخصيته بدون مسوغات فى كثير من المدونات قد صبغ هذه الشخصية المتميزة بنعت غير مطابق للواقع دون أى مبرر

وفعلا صدق حدسى وبعد البحث االسريع فى أعداد الجرائد المحلية توفقت الى قراءة عدد من المقابلات الشخصية مع أشخاص معروفين فى المجتمع كمسؤلين سابقين أو شخصيات رسمية وهم يتكلمون عن مسيرة حياتهم وأنجازاتهم فى مناصبهم وبعد الأسترسال فى المقابلة تتحول الأسئلة الى الحياة الأجتماعية للمسئول والى السؤال الكلاسيكى الذى لابد منه وهو” كيف تعرفت
“على شريكة حياتك

وهنا تبدأ سلسلة المفاجآت و خاصة بعد أن يكون القارئ قد شبع كلام رسمى مقنن ودبلوماسى وأذا بالجواب على هذا السؤال التقليدى يغير من نمط المقابلة فيقلبها رأسا على عقب فالغالبية من الذين تمت معاهم المقابلات تنفتح قريحتهم ويعترفون ويتباهون بأنهم تعرفوا على زوجاتهم بالصدفة طبعا – والصدفة خير من ألف ميعاد – ويسمى زوجته بأسمها الذى عادة مايكون رقيق ومماثل لأسماء الممثلات العربيات أيام أفلام الأسود والأبيض وليس بكنيتها أم فلان . ويزيد بأن الزواج قد تم بعد قصة أعجاب وحب متبادل .ياولد

هذا والكويت تعتبر بلد محافظ ولم يكن هناك هذه المولات الجميلة أو الهاتف النقال أو الأنترنت أو الأنفتاح فى المجتمع وهنا تطقنى البوهة لهذه التصريحات الجريئة وأفكر بما أن مسؤلينا السابقين لديهم هذه العواطف الجياشة والأحاسيس المرهفة فلماذا الغالبية من المواطنين والمقيمين يحسون بالأحباط والكآبة واليأس .هل لعدم توصيل هذا الحب لنا أو لعدم مشاركتهم لنا بالعواطف والبوح بها فقط بعد مغادرة المنصب الرسمى لأن المدام راح تقرأ المقابلة وياويله أذا ماطلعها جولييت العصر الذهبى للكويت . وعاشت الرومانسية الرسمية .مع تحياتى

According to Al-Watan Newspaper the official inauguration of Jaber Stadium has been knocked back a year and a half:

“The official inauguration of the Jaber Stadium is expected to be delayed by about a year and a half; official sources said. The Public Authority for Youth and Sports argued that the delay in signing tenders for equipping the stadium is attributed to insufficient storage facilities. Some observers have however slammed such an excuse as ”feeble,” considering the fact that the Audit Bureau had already endorsed the tenders. They pointed out to the fact that the authority could have rented storage facilities to store the equipment instead. Earlier on, the opening of the stadium was delayed on the excuse that it lacked local toilets.”

We heard horror stories about this project: last minute modifications, lack of elevators for the Emiri VIP section (added later on), not enough parking spaces and so forth (I’d really like to see 65,000 Kuwaitis carpool their way there – cause let’s be honest 6,500 parking spots ain’t gonna cut the mustard in Kuwait).

Why don’t the different bodies in Kuwait (Tenders Committee, Municipality, Authority for Youth and Sports ETC) get together at the initial stages and then agree on the terms, conditions and specs of the project before it is built?

No, wait a minute – If they did that contractors wouldn’t be able to make more dough from ‘variations.‘

I am beginning to think anything with the name ‘Jaber’ in it (Jaber Hospital, Jaber Airport, Jaber Bridge etc) is cursed.