Any Good News?

After posting an article entitled "Filipina Maid And Her Bangladeshi Lover To Receive 100 Lashes Plus Deportation" I shared on FB from The Arab Times, a friend asked me:

soooo..... any fun or positive news stories from over there?

I said,

lol um......no, not really. Let's see....Kuwait is trying to set the record for the world's longest flag....and there was an article about the Muslim Egyptians & Coptic Christians in Egypt that came together for Christmas. On Christmas Eve a suicide bomber blew himself up in front of a christian church killing 21. Well for Christmas- I believe Orthodox Christmas, which makes that January 6, the Muslims set cordons around Christian churches to protect them against possible attacks by terrorists. The article was written by a Kuwaiti & he goes on to state that Egypt is the only Middle Eastern country where there is unity between religions. It was a very positive, encouraging read:

http://www.arabtimesonline.com/NewsDetails/tabid/96/smid/414/ArticleID/164057/reftab/36/t/Christmas-for-Egyptian-unity/Default.aspx

But really- aside from Kuwait winning the Gulf Cup & Qatar being named the destination of the World Cup in a few years- positive news does not happen much. It's mostly about terrorism, local crime, laws about foreigners, & other global events. I mean, for New Years they reported that they arrested Indians b/c they used fireworks. These countries are so conservative that even a public kiss is a crime and they write about it so that others learn their lessons.

And as much as I would otherwise like to make Kuwait sound like an ideal place to live compared to America.....there isn't much good news. The Arab Times http://www.arabtimesonline.com has some pretty insightful journalists who write opinion articles about the culture of Kuwait. They seem pretty moderate & tolerant of other cultures but they don't entirely represent Muslim Kuwaitis. The Arab Times is full of articles about crimes- but some of these 'crimes' would NEVER be considered 'crimes' in Western culture.

I jumped onto http://www.kuwaittimes.net searching for any positive articles and they had the same topics as Arab Times did. Except they were featuring this one article entitled "One-third of Women in Kuwait are Domestic Abuse Victims." http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=MzM2NTA3ODA=

It is my understanding that wives & servants are, according to Islamic teaching (Hadith),just property. In fact just recently the Arab Times reported this:

‎

The court ruled that “a man has the right to discipline his wife and children provided he does not leave physical marks,” the Abu Dhabi-owned newspaper reported in its online edition.

http://www.arabtimesonline.com/NewsDetails/tabid/96/smid/414/ArticleID/160904/reftab/96/Default.aspx

At least in Dubai they set the limit on what may be "too severe" of discipline- but I bet you in Saudi Arabia it's WAY different.

Domestic abuse can be found all over the world, despite religious beliefs. I'm not going to sit here & write a bias opinion against Islamic Law. I am all too familiar with domestic abuse & I wish there was more that organizations could do to stop it. But unfortunately we can't police homes & relationships. Maybe educating people on equality....BUT....in most Eastern countries woman are seen as inferior, so how can THAT work?

Anyway, I wish I could share more positive things about Kuwait. I think I just work way too much to be able to experience more of Kuwait. I work 18 hour days but I work the night shifts, so I can't be a part of scuba diving classes or any other activities. The fun things I've noticed that Kuwaiti's consider fun is: expensive sports cars, fashion, food, soccer, & secrets (like secret parties, secret booze, secret sex, secret drugs). There aren't any clubs or bars b/c they don't allow public dancing & alcohol is illegal. In fact, I was so excited that Pinkberry is here but was saddened to find out that they would NOT carry MOCHI (rice cakes that look like mini marshmallows and are chewy) because alcohol is an ingredient in its production!

If there are any Kuwaiti's or Expats that want to inform me about more positive things, please do so!

When I visit a country, I try to learn about its culture and appreciate it for what it is, the history, the food, & how far along the country & people have come. I know that there will always be negative & positive. Either way, I appreciate Kuwait for what it is and I STILL WOULD LIKE TO BEFRIEND A FEMALE KUWAITI!!!