Apply the basic questions of genocide to Kuwait, as discussed in exercise one. What categories of people you believe are most vulnerable to collective acts of violence and why? What can be done to prevent such violence from happening and/or protects vulnerable populations? As future leaders in your respective fields outline a plan that promotes peaceful resolutions.
S00038004 In applying these questions of genocide to Kuwait, hypothetically, I believe that expatriates are more likely to become the victims in these types of genocidal situations and are most certainly the category of people that are most vulnerable to collective acts of violence. The reason behind this circumstance would be the fact that there are less Kuwaiti citizens and more emigrants. Somehow many do not accept this and think of it as "unfair". Some individuals may believe that expacts have been taking over the work place (for example, Indians or Egyptians) and feel as though they have fewer job oppertunities because of this. As a result, expact individuals may face unfair treatments from others in the work area. There are many ways that these violences could be prevented and many methods and techniques that should be used in order to protect groups or populations that are more vulnerable. For instance, being able to learn more about the issues that occur and do something about it by participating in and supporting. Secondly, provide more job oppertunities for citizens. Thirdly, carry out laws that protect such rights rather than focusing on the rights of Kuwaiti citizens only. Lastly, another way to reduce the chances of these cases would be to offer programs that would help put an end to the discrimination expects face on a daily basis.
In my opinion I think that the ones that have an identity crisis which are called Bedoons, are more collective to the acts of violence, because to begin with they are stateless they don't have any rights; which makes them the weakest group therefore if they act on any type of action they will immediately be in trouble or executed from the country or worse. The higher power might think that they are disturbing the country or something similar if they ever try to speak out and fight for their rights so they might prohibit them from staying in the country. So if there was to be a genocide incident in Kuwait, in my opinion the ones who are more vulnerable to this violence are the Bedouins since in the country they are thought of being unbeneficial because the majority are jobless because of their background and the don’t have much rights to help them stay safe in such situations. I think it is hard to prevent such actions from happening; but an option might be that the country has strict laws for illegal acts of violence and genocide, no matter who the people behind the acts of violence are whether high power or important people or so on, the rules must apply to them all if they ever act upon such actions. The action must be taken asap and should not be postponed till the situation gets worse that way they would prove their strength which might stop future violent situations from happening as this might be a lesson to the others.
I think that rage and protests etc. comes from anger which comes from lack of rights or so on so the rights of the people must be heard and at least show some sort of improvement or help so that there would not be any need of disturbance from the protests etc. in the country and so would prevent any acts of violence that might occur from the protests etc.
I think as a starter if I was a leader I would educate that discipline is very important and should be taught to all the people, like for example the British or the Chinese they live in strict discipline so their people are scared to cause any sort of troubling act because they know the price they're going to pay if they do so. The people must be afraid of the law and respect and apply it. People should also see mercy when it is needed they need to see and know for sure that the leader would want the best for them so that they would obey them. It would be pointless to rule a country if your people don't believe in you or think that one day you will go against them. I also think the education is important, what we educate our people with and how they are educated reflects on the peace of a country. I think that also if the leader is good, the people would be to and most importantly if the leader promotes peace their people would too.
1. What categories of people you believe are most vulnerable to collective acts of violence and why?
- Bidoons: because they are negatively viewed in the Kuwaiti society due to lack of citizenship and the rights that come with it such as the right to mobility, employment, educational scholarship and others, and thus are excluded from the sense of community (questionable) that our society has. That is a form of discrimination, and from Raphael Lemkin’s perspective, the beginning of social and economic genocide. - Bidoon women: A subcategory to the previous point, as women are already a repressed minority in a political and social sense in the Arab world, making them easier targets. 2. What can be done to prevent such violence from happening and/or protect vulnerable populations?
The main argument that the Kuwaiti population supports is that Bidoons do not deserve citizenship as they are not original Kuwaitis (questionable, as it is simply a matter of late application for citizenship, rather than who was there first) and are destructive to the society. By this I mean, they believe that there are already enough people fighting for job opportunities, higher pay, and more benefits from the government, a government that relies entirely on the country’s oil privilege as the main source of wealth, and a nonrenewable one at that. So to try and prevent violence against this vulnerable population we must first look at the basic human rights that, I believe, should apply to all people, with or without nationalities. These people must be granted protection from the ministry of interior so that if they were threatened in any way, the situation wouldn’t escalate into a full blown genocidal murder, nor will they feel the need to take matters into their own hands and fights back as previous events have shown, such as the fights that were breaking out a few years ago in malls. 3. As future leaders in your respective fields, outline a plan that promotes peaceful resolutions?
The issue of the Bidoon is one that has never been solved thus far in Kuwait, like many political endeavors. However if not dealt with sooner rather than later, discrimination may move beyond words and will eventually evolve into action, especially in times of economic struggle. The Bidoon should be granted the same rights as ex-pats in Kuwait, because from my perspective it doesn’t seem fair that an ex-pact should receive better treatment than a Bidoon. So if they are not permitted citizenship then at the very least they should have access to basic human rights such as healthcare, mobility, employment, and residency. This way, the Bidoon population will only contribute to the country if not anything else. The discrimination will not disappear but it may slightly subside, as they will no longer be viewed as “strays” but rather “outsiders”. They may not have an embassy to run to like the ex-pats have but Kuwait should at least provide them with security in terms or protection against violence and the rights mentioned above. References:
Hinton, A. L. (2008). Genocide: an anthropological reader. XX: Blackwell , US.
Vulnerability is often directed to those people who lack power, are dependent, and defenseless. I believe that if genocide were to occur in the state of Kuwait, Bidoons would be considered as victims. Bidoons form a pretty large population in Kuwait, they have been living in Kuwait for decades and are not given some of the very basic rights that every individual should have, and at the very top comes citizenship. Historically, Bidoons have made very strong relationships with Kuwaitis and still do, but due to the increase of life demands and the hardship of living a decent life, they have been discriminated in the ways benefits and rights are distributed. They have been demanding to have their right of having a citizenship that is not only written on paper, but also that allows them to cross boarders (because if you have a citizenship, you’ll probably have a passport), improve their status, and enhance their financial conditions. Bidoons are more prone to persecution and acts of violence because of their constant demanding of the rights they should be getting. They want to be heard, they want a proper political structure, and equality in terms of the rights they must be given. They have been in a negative position of power for a long period of time, they are dependent, have no authority, are not granted some basic governmental services, medical treatment, employment, and education. In addition to this, they are stripped out from their civil rights, the right to have a driver’s license, certifications, and many other benefits. Their right in my opinion is a universal one, as everybody has to own an individual citizenship that provides a sense of safety and belonging. In such a genocidal situation, irrespective of their individuality, Bidoons would be chosen as a collectivity, exterminated, to end this “disorganized, complex” way of life.
Various steps could be taken in order to prevent such cases from happening. First, seeking equality in human rights for everyone at a society level. This would help in balancing the relationships between citizens and non-citizens. Also, providing the vulnerable population with the rights they must be getting “properly”, education, health care, and so on, will improve their lives in many ways. Another step is to open the job employment gate for Bidoons, to let them join the work labor so that they can help and contribute in making this country a better place. Finally, letting them be politically active might be an effective solution in eliminating some of the political conflicts they have been going through.
For me, I think everyone should be granted the basic human rights from residence, access to clean food and water, education and health care in order to build a more peaceful world. Eliminating one of these would cause some harmful consequences on the exposed population. Providing choices for people is an effective step that could be taken in promoting peaceful resolutions among populations because, the more choices you have, the more opportunities you are offered that’ll help you take a step further. Also, promoting equality and equal behavior in political, economic, and social matters will encourage relationships that are based on understanding and acceptance. Moreover, educating people will help them having a higher level of understanding about the causes, effects, and logical solutions for different issues such as genocide. Finally, looking at what would benefit the society as a whole and open a platform for discussions among various groups would diminish the probability of such problems.
In my opinion I believe that expatriates (Asians) are the ones who are vulnerable to collective acts of violence because first they are mistreated by Kuwaitis, and that creates a sense of hate which will lead to violence. second, they work all day and don’t get a good salary which will upset them because they feel it’s unfair to work for the whole day and not get the salary they deserve. Third some of the expats gets abused verbally and physically. We could prevent such violence by listening to what they need. we should try to treat them as members of our families because at the end of the day they are humans like us, no need to mistreat them. We should try to teach people more about how big the issue is. As a future leader I would educate the new generation about the issue and set certain laws to make them feel safe about their life and jobs in Kuwait.
If I were to have been asked who would be the victims of a Kuwaiti genocide a couple years ago I would have easily have said it would have been the Kuwaiti citizens and the Bedoon. But that’s not the case; if a genocide were to occur in Kuwait it would be between the Kuwaiti citizens (perpetrators) and the expats like Indians, Filipino’s, Europeans etc. (victims) in Kuwait. The reason why it would be the Kuwaiti citizens and the expatriates involved in the genocide is because the expats are vulnerable and are limited in what they have and what they can do. Though the Kuwaitis are less in terms of numbers in the country many have the status, wealth, and most importantly they have the rights: Kuwaitis have the right to vote and get government jobs in power unlike the expats. The expats however, do not have a high-ranking status in the society; they do not have the same rights as the Kuwaiti citizens. The jobs many of the expats have do not pay well and most are living in poverty. That’s not to say that all expats are living in poverty there are those are doing well financially, but there are still many have financial issues. The root cause of the conflict would be that the Kuwaities would be frighten so to say, of ratio between the themselves and the expats. The Kuwaities would want more of ‘their’ land back. There would be no deaths but instead the genocidal rational would be cultural and biological; the Kuwaities would want to control the amount of expats in the country. It would be hard to determine how the international community would react but most likely the countries close by would be shocked to hear that Kuwait is having such a problem, because Kuwait is usually the mediator between countries who are having issues. they may try to step in and help settle the situation. The aftermath would be new rules and regulations as well as a compromise in which both sides get what they want (Kuwaitis find a way to utilize the and they have and the expats get more job opportunities with higher pay). Obviously during the conflict a few people decided to migrate out of the country, but there would’ve been no deaths at all. -S00036975
There are a lot of Bedoon in Kuwait, and their number more than hundred thousand, and they represent the minority in the society compare to Kuwaiti population, however, if we look at the history, in many cases the minority can overcome the majority, for instance, the Philistine and Israel case, before the Jews dominated the Philistinian lands, they were the minority, they represented 20% of the population, despite that, they took Philistnian lands. Therefore, I think the most group vulnerable to genocide are the Kuwaitis, and the reason behind that is revenge because Bedoon did not get their rights as humans over past years. As Kuwaitis, we should be aware of the consequences of this persecution against Bedoon, and try to prevent any problem that could happen in the future, and we should warn people and government of this, for example, we can use social media as a tool to reach a message to the government. If I became a leader or responsible on Bedoon case in the future, my priority it would be to find solutions for their problems, for example, I will try to solve the education problem like enter them in government schools alongside with Kuwaitis, also we should determine the minimum salary for Bedoon, the Bedoon right now most of their salary less than 500 KD which does not meet the basic needs these days, moreover, we should provide them with basic supplies at a nominal price, like bread, milk, and rice etc. finally we must give a Kuwaiti nationality for those who deserve it.
Applied to Kuwait, who are most vulnerable in Kuwait are the bedoun. The perpetrators would be the government of Kuwait. The government has been trying to get rid of bedoun for a long period of time. What bedoun are allowed and not allowed to have make it harder for them to live in Kuwait. It is not only that the government would be a perpetrator, Kuwaiti citizens who do not want to offer their citizenship to anyone of foreign “blood” also play a role in being a perpetrator. The victims of the genocide are those who are most vulnerable based on their status, which are the bedouns. Citizenship is important to Kuwaitis and it defines them and is being kept from the bedouns. Identities that fall under citizenship also include, ID cards access to healthcare and access to education. Based on what is taken away from the bedouns and their status, they are considered civilly dead. The root cause of the conflict that could arise would be a combination of modernity and geopolitics. Bedouns have been kept away from citizenship for a long time, but with the new forms of modernity in Kuwait brought upon the country by the oil wealth, a genocide seems to be closer and closer. With modern ways of annihilating an entire population it is easier and more efficient than it would have been in the past. Bedouns do not get their citizenship because of the geopolitics of the past. There are no papers or legal documents owned by the bedoun that verify where they have come from, which makes it an issue. It is an issue because they could be from Iraq or Iran, which Kuwait has had a long history of distrust with.
The rationale that would be behind the genocide would be that they are trying to solve the citizenship issue. The genocide would focus preventing the next generation of bedoun from being born. Steps for this to happen would include, preventing marriage between bedouns, and forcing all the bedoun women to have hysterectomies. The response of the international community would be outrage. There will be many protests by Kuwaitis and by bedouns that would try to stop the genocide from taking place. The aftermath of the tragedy would be horrible as the bedouns slowly begin to die off overtime not being able to reproduce. Many of them would become depressed and even suicidal as their right to have children and marry was taken away from them. Women would hide and have children out of wedlock before they go through the procedure. It would cause the bedouns to hate the Kuwaitis and destroy the peace between both populations. Bedoun men could reproduce with Kuwaiti women, thus bringing in more bedoun children, even though they have a Kuwaiti mother they would take the lack of citizenship from their fathers.
When it comes to preventing all this from happening, what I would propose is to have DNA tests. It is a simple test, the only thing it would require is a swab of saliva. With today's technology all you would need is a strand of hair that traces back to your entire family lineage. The government can test all the bedouns as well as the Kuwaitis in order to compare their histories. This way despite the lack of legal documentation it can be shown where the bedoun have been and where they came from. It would also be shown where the Kuwaitis have been and where they have come from. Then if the bedoun results are more or less the same to the Kuwaiti results then they get the citizenship without any hesitation or protest. If the bedoun’s family lineage is not even close to the average Kuwaiti then it is proof that he is not Kuwaiti and he would not be able to fight with scientific fact. This would peacefully prevent the violence of a genocide from happening and protects the right of the vulnerable population because it would scientifically show that the bedoun are truly Kuwaitis.
In this matter, I believe that expatriates would be vulnerable towards violence. This is because an expat is in the hand of his/her sponsor, which means they have minimal power to be able to leave the country whenever they want, or own a residence. This is solely based on their sponsor. A sponsor has the ability to deport an expat at any time. This gives expats limited freedom of speech and should rely on the rules of their sponsor. In my opinion, I think this is inhumane, and the threat to deport is commonly and loosely used among Kuwaitis. Therefore, expatriates are more vulnerable as they are working in Kuwait to support themselves or their family and have commitments and responsibilities to take care of and could not afford to fight back.
A way to protect expats is to push for a change in the rules and regulations of a sponsor. Also, right now, expatriates are threatened as the government is trying to reduce their number in the working field in order to encourage Kuwaiti citizens to take their place. This plan is known as ‘kuwaitization’. I do agree that it is a good principle that ensures the availability of jobs for Kuwaitis but there are certain jobs that Kuwaitis would not take (cleaner, teacher etc). So, this proves that expats still hold a place in the work sector and we should encourage that. It has also been mentioned in Kuwait times, that 58% of unemployed Kuwaitis aren’t willing to work in the private sector, and this failed the enforcement of ‘kuwaitizing’ the private sector. This shows that expats are still needed. To promote a peaceful resolution, we should encourage similar rights as Kuwaitis and teach the younger generations to respect expats and their contribution to our society, provide stability by allowing them to own a residence, and shedding light on the mistreatment that some are going through.
A genocide is usually committed by the majority against a minority. In Kuwait, currently the minorities are the Kuwaiti Christians, the Kuwaiti Shiites and the Bedoons. Who I believe would be vulnerable to this type of violence. In the past, there has been a fanatic Kuwaiti Sunni movement who have spoken against two minority groups (the christens and the Shiites) against allowing them to stay and practice their religion in Kuwait. Even though our constitution allows the freedom of religion. Today in Kuwait due to security reasons Kuwait has had a large police presence at a majority of Shiites mosques and some churches on days that have large gatherings. Which makes it part of the prevention plan. Any form of genocide is due to ignorance and the lack of respect for human life. Only education, and open mindedness and the willingness to accept others for their beliefs will help the country as a whole to advance. Only then can we advance as a human race. I would like to reiterate that this is an opinion on a hypothetical case. S00036721
Genocide is when a majority in a particularly, sharing same ethnic backgrounds start with massacring other groups due to their ethnicities. In theory, if there was a chance of a genocide in Kuwait, Bedoons are going to be the target. Bedoons are typically Arabs who don’t actually have a country to call their own so it would be easier to eradicate them, politically speaking of course. Kuwait isn’t that big of a country and it has limited resources, and lands, with that stated Kuwaiti’s and the government are going to have to get rid of extra consumers that aren’t even Kuwaiti. Bedoons who live in Kuwait are a minority with a weak significance to this country so they would be vulnerable if this genocide would befall. Stateless, and illegal immigrants is usually what comes to mind when think of Bedoons, they are excluded socially and economically form the legal rights taken by a Kuwaiti, and they don’t hold any identification to verify them. One of the various reason why Bedoons aren’t considered as Kuwaiti’s is because like other countries, Kuwait’s government won’t just give out the citizenship to a group of people, with no relation or evidence that they belong here. This conflict of genocidal proposal against Bedoons, would happen because of the vulnerability of this group mainly because they don’t belong anywhere. Unfair, although that’s survival of the fittest, and some won’t condone this genocide, but that’s how living is and will be. This genocide won’t have to be a bloodbath as others in the beginning, rather the rationale taken is going to deny them from basic rights like income sources which will result in them not being able to buy goods and feed their family, after that robberies and crime will increase which will force the government to fore take action, which will lead to chaos. Along side, Bedoons not being Kuwaiti, “the safety of the community” would rise against them, justifying most brutal engagements Kuwaiti government, is to act upon.
Even when the international communities would have to speak up, they won’t have a say because Bedoons aren’t actually Kuwaiti and Kuwait just wants to get rid of them, so they are taking a strategical way out. As soon as other communities speak up they could put the Bedoons up for “adoption” if they would like to have them as refugees then great. The aftermath of this tragedy would, have effects on Kuwait ideal of living and would make people fear Kuwait.
Since the State of Kuwait became an independent state officially, after its independence from British protectorate, it became civilian state and united all sectors of the society under the articles and legislation of the Constitution, which was officially made under the late Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah on January 29, 1962. The diversity of its members distinguishes the Kuwaiti society, such as Bedouins and urbanites, as well as their religious division of the Sunni and Shi'a sects. All of them had accepted the rule of the Al-Sabah for them since the founding of the State of Kuwait, from the era of Sheikh Sabah I (1752-1776) until the rule of Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jabir Al-Sabah. I think that a new division must be considered, although they are a minority, but they are increasing, and they are "Kuwaiti Christians”. Kuwaiti Christians, who fled to Kuwait at the turn of the last century, are less than 400 Kuwaiti citizens. Their origins come from Turkey, Palestine, and Iraq. They played a leading role in the renaissance of the State of Kuwait at the time. This category enjoys civil rights according to the Kuwaiti Constitution, but they still lack parliamentary representation as well as ministerial representation in the government. Socially, they seek to introduce themselves and their activities to all members of Kuwaiti society. From my personal point of view, this small group is now afraid of the radical Islamic group and the extreme direction of the Christian religion. I expect some of the hardline Islamic groups will be perpetrators in reducing their presence in parliamentary or political life, and the victim is this limited group of Kuwaitis. Through the Kuwaiti press, one can understand the fears of some of the Christian Kuwaitis about the tragic events happening to some Christians by some Islamic extremists. According to Ismaeel Naar, “Al Arabiya English”, asked the Kuwaiti’s first Christian pastor Emanuel Benjamin Ghareeb “Do Kuwaiti Christians feel safe? The pastor said that “Muslim-Christian relationships have been tested in recent years given the rise of Islamophobia in the west amid extremist attacks by groups such as ISIS targeting Christians in the east. Earlier this month, a bombing at Cairo’s largest Coptic cathedral killed at least 25 people and wounded 49, many of them women and children attending Sunday mass, in the deadliest attack on Egypt’s Christian minority in years. This event has caused some concerns for Kuwaiti Christians.” I think from my point of view that the conflict and its prediction will be in the form of biological genocide -one of the field of genocide, if one can say. I think this group will call them” people of non-related blood”. (p.32) This group is religiously observant and denounces the existence of a religion other than the Islamic religion, and this group does not accept “the other”. Political leadership in Kuwait will not allow such extremist religious practices to marginalize or isolate one category without another. As well as the Kuwaiti human rights organizations will not allow this to happen in the State of Kuwait. I think official and non-official bodies will not allow such social isolation of such a minority. The existence of the prestige of the state, which is the rule of the morning, prevents such oppositions against human rights. Kuwait is a member of the United Nations and is always committed to abide by its international laws and regulations. In the light of globalization, the world has become a small village and thus means of social communication will emerge such genocidal justification. We need to review the religious discourse by conveying the spirit of practical tolerance and putting it into the curriculum. Any person who has contributed such a wrongful act shall be held legally accountable, and analyze what happened and to find out the real reasons for future avoidance. A civil state is a state that respects human dignity irrespective of its color, sex, religion, or any other human difference. My Love- Kuwait: S00029529
In the case of genocide, the most vulnerable people are the expats in Kuwait, specifically the expatriates from underdeveloped countries, such as India, Philippines and other countries. However, the perpetrators in this case are Kuwaitis and none Kuwaitis, because they believe they are of higher authority than them, which gives them the belief to mistreat them. The none Kuwaitis in this situation, would be the people who employ as well as, work with the said expatriates. This is due to their lack of security, authority, and their placement under the three standard social classes. Since most of those expatriates come from underdeveloped countries, people see them as poor, uneducated people that have no rights or protection. They are vulnerable because they are placed by the perpetrators in a position of no authority and less privilege. In addition to that, said expatriates do not have the luxury of protection from their embassies in Kuwait, which is the reason behind the mistreat they are receiving. They are vulnerable and exposed to violence because of their job positions, such as; garbage worker, domestic workers, tailors, taxi driver and etc. Moreover, people of all ages justify their mistreatment to those said expats by their downgraded job position, and for a fact this has happened multiple of times. We can not stop violence no matter what we try, violence will happen. Thus, some sort of prevention and protection should be considered in order to make those said expats safe. Protection should come from the embassy and the government of Kuwait, the protection should give the expats the right to express themselves and to be given their right as workers. Prevention can come in a a sort of awareness and punishment, people need to be aware of harassment consequences, because believe it or not if those expats leave Kuwait, no Kuwaiti would want to replace their job as in our society people believe that there are certain job positions that we can take, and other job positions are considered shameful. No only that, but people should understand that mistreating people is inhumane, thus those harassment should be punished by law. A peaceful resolution plan would be that in the next few years the embassies of the said expats establish laws and agreement of protection for the expats, as well as the government of Kuwait should punish by law the people whom harass those expats. Other than the government and the embassy, people in Kuwait should raise awareness regarding the harassment that those expats are receiving, and that we should help them in order to prevent it from happening or carry on to happen in the future. Another plan is to educate the younger generation regarding the job positions that those expats obtain, and we need to teach them to not downgrade those jobs positions as they might be small but without the said expats no one will do the job.
The subjects that I think would in involved as in terms of perpetrators are the Kuwaitis and the victims would be the expats living in Kuwait. The reason is because the number of expats in Kuwait is more than the Kuwaiti citizens so the Kuwaitis would feel the expats outnumbering them as a threat. An expat would be any one who is living in Kuwait and does not hold with him/her a Kuwaiti passport. The cause of the genocide would be to eliminate the huge number of expats living in Kuwait. The perpetrators rational would be that expats are growing in population, and they are taking away our Kuwaiti culture and tradition. The international response would be that that each expats country would bring them back to their country or other neighboring countries would welcome the expats to work. Therefore, the aftermath of the tragedy would be many expats would return to their countries, even those who consider Kuwait as their home. New rules can be put to grantee equal rights for both sides; this may help to prevent such violence from happening and protect the vulnerable population. As a future leader, I would spread awareness about the importance of these expats in our country and how we should learn to live together.
Genocide is generally considered one of the worst moral crimes a government can commit against its citizens or those it controls. In latest years, worries in Kuwait surrounding the country’s demographic composition have been on the rise. Like all GCC countries, a significant percentage of Kuwait’s population is comprised of foreign nationals who have moved to the country for work opportunities. As Kuwait continues to grapple with economic changes stemming from a decline in global oil prices, public discussion surrounding Kuwait’s expatriate population has become increasingly bitter, with expatriates being blamed for draining the country's resources and siphoning money away from social spending directed at Kuwaiti citizens. In the heart of these rising tensions, several members of Kuwait Parliament have called for policies explicitly aimed at reducing the number of foreign nationals living in the state. Such propositions have ranged from deportation en masse to expatriate-specific taxes and fees. This increased level of antipathy towards expatriates in Kuwait is a worrying development, particularly in the context of a country and region in which migrant workers are already subject to systematic abuse. Rights groups and governments alike must therefore continue to monitor this trend closely, seeking to ensure that conditions for migrant laborers in Kuwait do not continue to worsen. #ShahadAlOtaibi
The subjects that will be involved in term of perpetrators in Kuwait are the Christine Kuwait and the victims would be the Muslim Kuwait. How and why because although there are only about 400 Christine Kuwaiti that are well known off the numbers are increasing day by day and with the help of the social media their voice is begging headed and the started to affre public more often where in the past decade I would say the would ashamed. The root of that conflict would be given the fact the Kuwaiti constriction sates that all Kuwaiti should have equal rights but yet you can’t be Kuwaiti unless you are Muslim. Those Kuwait Christine have the Kuwaiti ciztenship long ago before many decade tagin it until now. This why the still opting until now. moreover, those Christine Kuwaiti can’t express their faith freely their children have to take the Islamic studies and still the have to get married and divorce in a Muslim court. I believe that the root cause of this conflict would be the increased demand for their rights they would prosted or even get some sort of help from outside country. The Muslims Kuwaiti would do their best to excluded them because they would feel that the Christine Kuwait does not repost the Kuwaiti national identity. Also, the christens have no voice or heard voices do if they try to speak to speak for their rights by prostses they know they would get arrested so their plan would be that they would start a civil war to projects them self’s aginst others. I would imagine that the response from the national committee would be that most christens country would get involved and projects the Christine’s that would also change the laws in the Kuwaiti and give the Christine Kuwaiti their full rights or more. I belieflike the aftermath of this tagey would be the most Kuwaiti would have to leve to another country and Kuwait would be more like turkey after the Othman’s empire. S00013695
The most vulnerable people in Kuwait would probably be the Bedoons. Most Bedoons were either born in Kuwait, lived their entire life in Kuwait or have close family ties in Kuwait. Kuwait practices a system of institutionalized discrimination against the Bedoons. Due to the fact that their presence in Kuwait has been declared illegal, Bedoons are vulnerable to exploitation and harassment. As they are fearful of the authorities, they refrain from filing complaints and limit their movement to their neighborhoods, where they can avoid checkpoints and harassment. Since they are classified as “illegal residents” they are no longer issued civil identification cards, driver's licenses, employment, denied educations for their children or travel documents, the state technically have them under virtual house arrest.
Before the fall of 1985, Bedoons were treated the same way as any Kuwaiti citizen would have been treated. They were given the freedom to travel, they were issued temporary passports, and they were eligible for government services and employments. The government should follow a set of measures in order to avoid violence or protect the vulnerable population. For example, Bedoons should be allowed to receive travel documents without having to accept a non-return visa. Another example would be to restore the right of Bedoon children to education and their access to health care.
In order for one to fully understand what is going on they first have to be properly educated on the history of their own country. If one was to learn that the Bedoons were granted the same rights as any Kuwaiti citizen before 1985, they would possibly be more open to the fact of fighting for the Bedoon rights. Also, basic rights should be granted by government officials.
If we look at things on the surface, it would be hard to imagine that a violence can occur in Kuwait. As a humanitarian leader, Kuwait has developed a reputation as a diverse and tolerance society through its international charitable efforts, and from its multi-national community. Yet, behind the curtain, Kuwait does not tolerate all its members of society.
Of course, genocide is out of the question. But ever since the establishment of Kuwait, the Bedoon has been victims of persecution. The Bedoon translated in English “Stateless”, are group of Kuwaiti locals who the government does not recognize as citizens of Kuwait. The main accusation is that they are migrants from Iraq and the Levant. Though some are actual locals before the establishment of 1961, some migrated and destroyed their former passports as an attempt of gain Kuwaiti citizenship.
Currently, some Bedoon live is metal made structure in Sulabiya and live in the worse conditions in Kuwait. Without proper representation or protection from any government, the have trouble gaining jobs, which creates difficulties in gaining other necessities like food or education. This results to crime and cheap products being sold on the traffic light. If a child approaches you with a toy or small tissue bag, he is either an expat from Syria or a Bedoon. Some Bedoon took a stand against this discrimination, and during the Arab Spring they protested. Unfortunately for them, they were faced with water cannons, arrests and deportation. This isn’t the first-time government took action their numbers. From a personal story during the Iraq invasion, my family shared incidents where the Bedoon were refused entry to Kuwait after Kuwait got liberated. They even recently proposed a deal to the Bedoon to migrate them to the Comoros, an island nation in Africa, and in return they will gain Comoros citizenship.
At this point of time, it is now to be seem to be hard to get rid of the Bedoon since they are to part of Kuwait. As I mentioned earlier, genocide is out of the question and ethnic cleansing failed. Arguably, the best course of action is to actually make them Kuwaiti citizens for various reasons. One particular reason is that since they have no outside contract with other governments in the world, it is safe to say that they will be loyal to the state of Kuwait. It will also increase the number of Kuwaiti citizens in Kuwait, which will help in the democratic process by having more participants, as well as increase our military capabilities. One main side-effect to granting them legal right as citizens, is that as a Kuwaiti citizen, you are obligated to various benefits, which includes healthcare, free education, land right and so on. The fact the number of citizens will increase means that the capability to spend on the citizens will decrease in order to accommodate for the mass number of Bedoon gaining Kuwaiti status. This reason alone is why the Kuwaiti society rejects granting citizenship to Bedoon, as it will cause a disruption to the stability. On the other hand, I believe this disruption will be beneficial to Kuwait, as it will balance out the economic classes between Kuwaitis and expats. In theory, the addition of Bedoon to Kuwaiti status will shape a lower class local community due to budget changes, and as a result you will gain Kuwaitis working in the lesser jobs such as garbage men along with expats. This will create more security to the Kuwaiti economy, because if the major Kuwaiti income, which is oil runs out, the first thing we will lose is the access labor due to the fact that we will no longer afford it. Meaning that most expats that Kuwait developed a habit of relying on will be gone. Therefore, having a lower class made out of Bedoon will ensure that a crisis will not occur.
Until then, the Kuwaiti government will remain on the offensive against the Bedoon, and hopefully a disruption will change everything. Regards, Isehaq Shamo S00041632
Hypothetically, if a genocide takes place in Kuwait, I would expect it to involve Kuwaiti citizens and Bedoons. The perpetrators would be the Kuwaitis whereas the victims would be the Bedoons living in Kuwait. By Bedoons I am referring to any person who does not own a passport or a legal proof of origin and is thus considered state-less.
This group of people has been a topic of conflict in Kuwait for a long period of time. Their presence in the country is openly undesirable by many Kuwaitis. This is because they are viewed as outsiders who are trying to force themselves into the Kuwaiti society with the mere intention of taking advantage of the benefits and rights provided to the citizens by their government, which are not meant for them. Some are even accused of deliberately hiding information about their origins and only pretending to be stateless to create a case for themselves, from which their main aim is to own the Kuwaiti citizenship in order to exploit the country’s resources; thereby considered a threat to the society. The government has also made it almost impossible for the Bedoons to acquire the citizenship as they too consider them ineligible of having it; thereby indirectly supporting the intolerance that the citizens have towards Bedoons. This hence causes the Bedoons to be vulnerable to acts of violence in Kuwait. The aforementioned view of the Kuwaiti people about the Bedoons and the reasoning they have to unwelcome them in their society would hence be the genocidal rationale promoted.
Furthermore, due to their state, the Bedoons do not have the right to travel out of the country. Also, they are not provided any equal rights in terms of education (scholarships), healthcare access, political access, ownership of property, decent living conditions, equal job opportunities, fair income, and so on. They are not fairly given their basic human rights. They are highly exploited at the workplace yet offered a very low wage/salary when compared to the citizens of the country, also making it close to impossible for the Bedoons to get an education leaving a large proportion of their group uneducated. Bedoons face this kind of structural violence every day.
Considering the very minimal rights given to them and the marginal living conditions they experience in Kuwait, and since a genocide constitutes a chain of events that trigger it including structural violence, the condition of the Bedoons can be viewed as an on-going genocide that’s slowly taking place over long intervals of time, which might eventually end up in their wipe out altogether.
Prevention methods include first and foremost the tolerance of the Bedoons in the country by Kuwaitis and the equal enforcement of laws on both Kuwaitis and the Bedoon. They should be fairly treated by the government and given their basic rights as human beings. These rights include proper access to food, better healthcare, better living conditions, and equal access to job opportunities as other people in the country. Moreover, the income to be provided to them should not be determined by where they come from but by their qualities. Those Bedoons who were born and lived here their whole life should be allowed to apply for government scholarships and be given equal access to education. Additionally, those whose rights are violated should be able to resort to the government to help solve it. They should be given this right to protection in the country like any other person. All of this can be made possible if it is strictly enforced by the law. As for the Kuwaiti citizenship, Bedoons who by deeper investigation prove to share the same ancestry as other Kuwaitis in the country should be considered eligible for acquiring the citizenship. Their cases should not be neglected. Additionally, children of a Bedoon father and a Kuwaiti mother should be given the right to acquire the Kuwaiti citizenship through their mother and thereby possess all the rights as citizens equally. If these rights are strictly enforced in the country, it would encourage tolerance toward one another and would hence prevent a possible genocide from taking place. -S00034781
If there was one group of people in Kuwait who are vulnerable, I would consider them, to be the foreigners. These include Bedouins, Philippines, Indians and basically all the domestic workers and expats. In Kuwait, they are often seen as the lowest of the class especially by Kuwaitis. They get disrespected and mistreated too often from people who are in a higher authority and if they ask for something from them they sometimes get punished for it. This has been going on ever since the oil was founded. We are looking at ourselves as the top and always look for staying there. The truth is that the foreigners are on our side and typically friendly, although we do not always see that since we mistreat them. In order to prevent dangers in the future we need to understand the foreigners from their side. Many are poor and isolated from their family, who are in another country. They are working hard every single day and not getting paid much for their family. This is only one common problem they have that needs to be understood. On top of that, if Kuwaiti’s can understand this there wouldn’t be any future problems arising based on culture and class conflicts. They need to be able to think critically when it comes to foreigners and not judge them for ethnicity. Their treatment must be more equal from the Kuwaitis to the foreigners. I believe that we are mistreating them I even admit myself in the past have not treated them the best. This is exactly what needs to be changed: To stop seeing them as a low class and respect what they do for us. From my experience, it appears as if Kuwaiti people are somewhat stubborn and highly value their opinions over others.
In exercise one, I chose to discuss a hypothetical genocide against the Bidoons in Kuwait by the Kuwaiti government. The reason for this is that the Bidoons in Kuwait are seen as a conundrum as it is thought that there is no foreseen solution to this ‘problem’. Therefore, one possible solution could be genocide. The majority of Bidoons in Kuwait are isolated and excluded from all aspects of society whether it is social; political; education; medical and others. This is because in Kuwait bureaucracy (and the majority of administrative institutions you must have an Identification card, civilian or expatriate. The Bidoon, whose group name literally means ‘without’, implying without nationality and therefore stateless. This makes the Bidoon population vulnerable leaving them without any aspect of representation for their rights. The rationale to justify the genocide would be the Kuwaiti government advocating for continuing the Kuwaiti nationality clean and ‘true bred’. Since the Bidoons utmost problem is the lack of citizenship which is connected to lack of rights, they are seen as a threat as many Bidoon and NGO’s advocate giving them citizenship to decrease the population. This angers the government as it goes against the idea of a true Kuwaiti. Since the Bidoon are so isolated from society, learning about them is also difficult. As they are stateless and undocumented, knowing their exact numbers, where they live, what they buy and other aspects of life is also difficult. This creates even more separation. In my opinion, the first step to decrease tensions between the two groups is to educate. The Kuwaiti government stereotypes the Bidoon’s and since we are not taught about them in school, some people grow up never knowing they exist. Talking about the Bidoon subject is considered somewhat taboo in some Kuwaiti social structures which again lessens the less people know about them. Speaking from personal experience, I did not know about the Bidoon ‘problem’ in Kuwait up until senior year of highschool. Of course, this is not the case with everyone but I can safely say that a good portion of the society knows nothing about them.
What lessons do we learn from the Rwanda genocide and other cases of political violence discussed in class? How would you apply those lessons to preventing conflicts and violence from erupting in Kuwait?
Explain the conflict between the Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda as discussed by Phillip Gourevitch. What lessons do we learn from the Rwanda genocide case? How would you apply those lessons to maintaining peaceful relations and preventing future conflicts from erupting in Kuwait?
Drawing from Raphael Lemkin's work and our in-class discussion on the "techniques of genocide involving a coordinated attack on elements of nationhood," discuss how vulnerable populations in Kuwait may experience a process reflective of being "primed" to become targets of violence. Consider the following elements: political, social, cultural, economic, biological, physical, religious, moral.
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ReplyDeleteIn applying these questions of genocide to Kuwait, hypothetically, I believe that expatriates are more likely to become the victims in these types of genocidal situations and are most certainly the category of people that are most vulnerable to collective acts of violence. The reason behind this circumstance would be the fact that there are less Kuwaiti citizens and more emigrants. Somehow many do not accept this and think of it as "unfair". Some individuals may believe that expacts have been taking over the work place (for example, Indians or Egyptians) and feel as though they have fewer job oppertunities because of this. As a result, expact individuals may face unfair treatments from others in the work area.
There are many ways that these violences could be prevented and many methods and techniques that should be used in order to protect groups or populations that are more vulnerable. For instance, being able to learn more about the issues that occur and do something about it by participating in and supporting. Secondly, provide more job oppertunities for citizens. Thirdly, carry out laws that protect such rights rather than focusing on the rights of Kuwaiti citizens only. Lastly, another way to reduce the chances of these cases would be to offer programs that would help put an end to the discrimination expects face on a daily basis.
In my opinion I think that the ones that have an identity crisis which are called Bedoons, are more collective to the acts of violence, because to begin with they are stateless they don't have any rights; which makes them the weakest group therefore if they act on any type of action they will immediately be in trouble or executed from the country or worse. The higher power might think that they are disturbing the country or something similar if they ever try to speak out and fight for their rights so they might prohibit them from staying in the country. So if there was to be a genocide incident in Kuwait, in my opinion the ones who are more vulnerable to this violence are the Bedouins since in the country they are thought of being unbeneficial because the majority are jobless because of their background and the don’t have much rights to help them stay safe in such situations. I think it is hard to prevent such actions from happening; but an option might be that the country has strict laws for illegal acts of violence and genocide, no matter who the people behind the acts of violence are whether high power or important people or so on, the rules must apply to them all if they ever act upon such actions. The action must be taken asap and should not be postponed till the situation gets worse that way they would prove their strength which might stop future violent situations from happening as this might be a lesson to the others.
ReplyDeleteI think that rage and protests etc. comes from anger which comes from lack of rights or so on so the rights of the people must be heard and at least show some sort of improvement or help so that there would not be any need of disturbance from the protests etc. in the country and so would prevent any acts of violence that might occur from the protests etc.
I think as a starter if I was a leader I would educate that discipline is very important and should be taught to all the people, like for example the British or the Chinese they live in strict discipline so their people are scared to cause any sort of troubling act because they know the price they're going to pay if they do so. The people must be afraid of the law and respect and apply it. People should also see mercy when it is needed they need to see and know for sure that the leader would want the best for them so that they would obey them. It would be pointless to rule a country if your people don't believe in you or think that one day you will go against them. I also think the education is important, what we educate our people with and how they are educated reflects on the peace of a country. I think that also if the leader is good, the people would be to and most importantly if the leader promotes peace their people would too.
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Delete1. What categories of people you believe are most vulnerable to collective acts of violence and why?
ReplyDelete- Bidoons: because they are negatively viewed in the Kuwaiti society due to lack of citizenship and the rights that come with it such as the right to mobility, employment, educational scholarship and others, and thus are excluded from the sense of community (questionable) that our society has. That is a form of discrimination, and from Raphael Lemkin’s perspective, the beginning of social and economic genocide.
- Bidoon women: A subcategory to the previous point, as women are already a repressed minority in a political and social sense in the Arab world, making them easier targets.
2. What can be done to prevent such violence from happening and/or protect vulnerable populations?
The main argument that the Kuwaiti population supports is that Bidoons do not deserve citizenship as they are not original Kuwaitis (questionable, as it is simply a matter of late application for citizenship, rather than who was there first) and are destructive to the society. By this I mean, they believe that there are already enough people fighting for job opportunities, higher pay, and more benefits from the government, a government that relies entirely on the country’s oil privilege as the main source of wealth, and a nonrenewable one at that. So to try and prevent violence against this vulnerable population we must first look at the basic human rights that, I believe, should apply to all people, with or without nationalities. These people must be granted protection from the ministry of interior so that if they were threatened in any way, the situation wouldn’t escalate into a full blown genocidal murder, nor will they feel the need to take matters into their own hands and fights back as previous events have shown, such as the fights that were breaking out a few years ago in malls.
3. As future leaders in your respective fields, outline a plan that promotes peaceful resolutions?
The issue of the Bidoon is one that has never been solved thus far in Kuwait, like many political endeavors. However if not dealt with sooner rather than later, discrimination may move beyond words and will eventually evolve into action, especially in times of economic struggle. The Bidoon should be granted the same rights as ex-pats in Kuwait, because from my perspective it doesn’t seem fair that an ex-pact should receive better treatment than a Bidoon. So if they are not permitted citizenship then at the very least they should have access to basic human rights such as healthcare, mobility, employment, and residency. This way, the Bidoon population will only contribute to the country if not anything else. The discrimination will not disappear but it may slightly subside, as they will no longer be viewed as “strays” but rather “outsiders”. They may not have an embassy to run to like the ex-pats have but Kuwait should at least provide them with security in terms or protection against violence and the rights mentioned above.
References:
Hinton, A. L. (2008). Genocide: an anthropological reader. XX: Blackwell , US.
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Vulnerability is often directed to those people who lack power, are dependent, and defenseless. I believe that if genocide were to occur in the state of Kuwait, Bidoons would be considered as victims. Bidoons form a pretty large population in Kuwait, they have been living in Kuwait for decades and are not given some of the very basic rights that every individual should have, and at the very top comes citizenship. Historically, Bidoons have made very strong relationships with Kuwaitis and still do, but due to the increase of life demands and the hardship of living a decent life, they have been discriminated in the ways benefits and rights are distributed. They have been demanding to have their right of having a citizenship that is not only written on paper, but also that allows them to cross boarders (because if you have a citizenship, you’ll probably have a passport), improve their status, and enhance their financial conditions. Bidoons are more prone to persecution and acts of violence because of their constant demanding of the rights they should be getting. They want to be heard, they want a proper political structure, and equality in terms of the rights they must be given. They have been in a negative position of power for a long period of time, they are dependent, have no authority, are not granted some basic governmental services, medical treatment, employment, and education. In addition to this, they are stripped out from their civil rights, the right to have a driver’s license, certifications, and many other benefits. Their right in my opinion is a universal one, as everybody has to own an individual citizenship that provides a sense of safety and belonging. In such a genocidal situation, irrespective of their individuality, Bidoons would be chosen as a collectivity, exterminated, to end this “disorganized, complex” way of life.
ReplyDeleteVarious steps could be taken in order to prevent such cases from happening. First, seeking equality in human rights for everyone at a society level. This would help in balancing the relationships between citizens and non-citizens. Also, providing the vulnerable population with the rights they must be getting “properly”, education, health care, and so on, will improve their lives in many ways. Another step is to open the job employment gate for Bidoons, to let them join the work labor so that they can help and contribute in making this country a better place. Finally, letting them be politically active might be an effective solution in eliminating some of the political conflicts they have been going through.
For me, I think everyone should be granted the basic human rights from residence, access to clean food and water, education and health care in order to build a more peaceful world. Eliminating one of these would cause some harmful consequences on the exposed population. Providing choices for people is an effective step that could be taken in promoting peaceful resolutions among populations because, the more choices you have, the more opportunities you are offered that’ll help you take a step further. Also, promoting equality and equal behavior in political, economic, and social matters will encourage relationships that are based on understanding and acceptance. Moreover, educating people will help them having a higher level of understanding about the causes, effects, and logical solutions for different issues such as genocide. Finally, looking at what would benefit the society as a whole and open a platform for discussions among various groups would diminish the probability of such problems.
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In my opinion I believe that expatriates (Asians) are the ones who are vulnerable to collective acts of violence because first they are mistreated by Kuwaitis, and that creates a sense of hate which will lead to violence. second, they work all day and don’t get a good salary which will upset them because they feel it’s unfair to work for the whole day and not get the salary they deserve. Third some of the expats gets abused verbally and physically. We could prevent such violence by listening to what they need. we should try to treat them as members of our families because at the end of the day they are humans like us, no need to mistreat them. We should try to teach people more about how big the issue is. As a future leader I would educate the new generation about the issue and set certain laws to make them feel safe about their life and jobs in Kuwait.
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ReplyDeleteIf I were to have been asked who would be the victims of a Kuwaiti genocide a couple years ago I would have easily have said it would have been the Kuwaiti citizens and the Bedoon. But that’s not the case; if a genocide were to occur in Kuwait it would be between the Kuwaiti citizens (perpetrators) and the expats like Indians, Filipino’s, Europeans etc. (victims) in Kuwait.
ReplyDeleteThe reason why it would be the Kuwaiti citizens and the expatriates involved in the genocide is because the expats are vulnerable and are limited in what they have and what they can do. Though the Kuwaitis are less in terms of numbers in the country many have the status, wealth, and most importantly they have the rights: Kuwaitis have the right to vote and get government jobs in power unlike the expats. The expats however, do not have a high-ranking status in the society; they do not have the same rights as the Kuwaiti citizens. The jobs many of the expats have do not pay well and most are living in poverty. That’s not to say that all expats are living in poverty there are those are doing well financially, but there are still many have financial issues.
The root cause of the conflict would be that the Kuwaities would be frighten so to say, of ratio between the themselves and the expats. The Kuwaities would want more of ‘their’ land back.
There would be no deaths but instead the genocidal rational would be cultural and biological; the Kuwaities would want to control the amount of expats in the country.
It would be hard to determine how the international community would react but most likely the countries close by would be shocked to hear that Kuwait is having such a problem, because Kuwait is usually the mediator between countries who are having issues. they may try to step in and help settle the situation.
The aftermath would be new rules and regulations as well as a compromise in which both sides get what they want (Kuwaitis find a way to utilize the and they have and the expats get more job opportunities with higher pay). Obviously during the conflict a few people decided to migrate out of the country, but there would’ve been no deaths at all.
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There are a lot of Bedoon in Kuwait, and their number more than hundred thousand, and they represent the minority in the society compare to Kuwaiti population, however, if we look at the history, in many cases the minority can overcome the majority, for instance, the Philistine and Israel case, before the Jews dominated the Philistinian lands, they were the minority, they represented 20% of the population, despite that, they took Philistnian lands. Therefore, I think the most group vulnerable to genocide are the Kuwaitis, and the reason behind that is revenge because Bedoon did not get their rights as humans over past years.
ReplyDeleteAs Kuwaitis, we should be aware of the consequences of this persecution against Bedoon, and try to prevent any problem that could happen in the future, and we should warn people and government of this, for example, we can use social media as a tool to reach a message to the government.
If I became a leader or responsible on Bedoon case in the future, my priority it would be to find solutions for their problems, for example, I will try to solve the education problem like enter them in government schools alongside with Kuwaitis, also we should determine the minimum salary for Bedoon, the Bedoon right now most of their salary less than 500 KD which does not meet the basic needs these days, moreover, we should provide them with basic supplies at a nominal price, like bread, milk, and rice etc. finally we must give a Kuwaiti nationality for those who deserve it.
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Applied to Kuwait, who are most vulnerable in Kuwait are the bedoun. The perpetrators would be the government of Kuwait. The government has been trying to get rid of bedoun for a long period of time. What bedoun are allowed and not allowed to have make it harder for them to live in Kuwait. It is not only that the government would be a perpetrator, Kuwaiti citizens who do not want to offer their citizenship to anyone of foreign “blood” also play a role in being a perpetrator. The victims of the genocide are those who are most vulnerable based on their status, which are the bedouns. Citizenship is important to Kuwaitis and it defines them and is being kept from the bedouns. Identities that fall under citizenship also include, ID cards access to healthcare and access to education. Based on what is taken away from the bedouns and their status, they are considered civilly dead. The root cause of the conflict that could arise would be a combination of modernity and geopolitics. Bedouns have been kept away from citizenship for a long time, but with the new forms of modernity in Kuwait brought upon the country by the oil wealth, a genocide seems to be closer and closer. With modern ways of annihilating an entire population it is easier and more efficient than it would have been in the past. Bedouns do not get their citizenship because of the geopolitics of the past. There are no papers or legal documents owned by the bedoun that verify where they have come from, which makes it an issue. It is an issue because they could be from Iraq or Iran, which Kuwait has had a long history of distrust with.
ReplyDeleteThe rationale that would be behind the genocide would be that they are trying to solve the citizenship issue. The genocide would focus preventing the next generation of bedoun from being born. Steps for this to happen would include, preventing marriage between bedouns, and forcing all the bedoun women to have hysterectomies. The response of the international community would be outrage. There will be many protests by Kuwaitis and by bedouns that would try to stop the genocide from taking place. The aftermath of the tragedy would be horrible as the bedouns slowly begin to die off overtime not being able to reproduce. Many of them would become depressed and even suicidal as their right to have children and marry was taken away from them. Women would hide and have children out of wedlock before they go through the procedure. It would cause the bedouns to hate the Kuwaitis and destroy the peace between both populations. Bedoun men could reproduce with Kuwaiti women, thus bringing in more bedoun children, even though they have a Kuwaiti mother they would take the lack of citizenship from their fathers.
When it comes to preventing all this from happening, what I would propose is to have DNA tests. It is a simple test, the only thing it would require is a swab of saliva. With today's technology all you would need is a strand of hair that traces back to your entire family lineage. The government can test all the bedouns as well as the Kuwaitis in order to compare their histories. This way despite the lack of legal documentation it can be shown where the bedoun have been and where they came from. It would also be shown where the Kuwaitis have been and where they have come from. Then if the bedoun results are more or less the same to the Kuwaiti results then they get the citizenship without any hesitation or protest. If the bedoun’s family lineage is not even close to the average Kuwaiti then it is proof that he is not Kuwaiti and he would not be able to fight with scientific fact. This would peacefully prevent the violence of a genocide from happening and protects the right of the vulnerable population because it would scientifically show that the bedoun are truly Kuwaitis.
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ReplyDeleteIn this matter, I believe that expatriates would be vulnerable towards violence. This is because an expat is in the hand of his/her sponsor, which means they have minimal power to be able to leave the country whenever they want, or own a residence. This is solely based on their sponsor. A sponsor has the ability to deport an expat at any time. This gives expats limited freedom of speech and should rely on the rules of their sponsor. In my opinion, I think this is inhumane, and the threat to deport is commonly and loosely used among Kuwaitis. Therefore, expatriates are more vulnerable as they are working in Kuwait to support themselves or their family and have commitments and responsibilities to take care of and could not afford to fight back.
A way to protect expats is to push for a change in the rules and regulations of a sponsor. Also, right now, expatriates are threatened as the government is trying to reduce their number in the working field in order to encourage Kuwaiti citizens to take their place. This plan is known as ‘kuwaitization’. I do agree that it is a good principle that ensures the availability of jobs for Kuwaitis but there are certain jobs that Kuwaitis would not take (cleaner, teacher etc). So, this proves that expats still hold a place in the work sector and we should encourage that. It has also been mentioned in Kuwait times, that 58% of unemployed Kuwaitis aren’t willing to work in the private sector, and this failed the enforcement of ‘kuwaitizing’ the private sector. This shows that expats are still needed. To promote a peaceful resolution, we should encourage similar rights as Kuwaitis and teach the younger generations to respect expats and their contribution to our society, provide stability by allowing them to own a residence, and shedding light on the mistreatment that some are going through.
A genocide is usually committed by the majority against a minority. In Kuwait, currently the minorities are the Kuwaiti Christians, the Kuwaiti Shiites and the Bedoons. Who I believe would be vulnerable to this type of violence. In the past, there has been a fanatic Kuwaiti Sunni movement who have spoken against two minority groups (the christens and the Shiites) against allowing them to stay and practice their religion in Kuwait. Even though our constitution allows the freedom of religion. Today in Kuwait due to security reasons Kuwait has had a large police presence at a majority of Shiites mosques and some churches on days that have large gatherings. Which makes it part of the prevention plan. Any form of genocide is due to ignorance and the lack of respect for human life. Only education, and open mindedness and the willingness to accept others for their beliefs will help the country as a whole to advance. Only then can we advance as a human race.
ReplyDeleteI would like to reiterate that this is an opinion on a hypothetical case.
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Genocide is when a majority in a particularly, sharing same ethnic backgrounds start with massacring other groups due to their ethnicities. In theory, if there was a chance of a genocide in Kuwait, Bedoons are going to be the target. Bedoons are typically Arabs who don’t actually have a country to call their own so it would be easier to eradicate them, politically speaking of course. Kuwait isn’t that big of a country and it has limited resources, and lands, with that stated Kuwaiti’s and the government are going to have to get rid of extra consumers that aren’t even Kuwaiti. Bedoons who live in Kuwait are a minority with a weak significance to this country so they would be vulnerable if this genocide would befall. Stateless, and illegal immigrants is usually what comes to mind when think of Bedoons, they are excluded socially and economically form the legal rights taken by a Kuwaiti, and they don’t hold any identification to verify them. One of the various reason why Bedoons aren’t considered as Kuwaiti’s is because like other countries, Kuwait’s government won’t just give out the citizenship to a group of people, with no relation or evidence that they belong here. This conflict of genocidal proposal against Bedoons, would happen because of the vulnerability of this group mainly because they don’t belong anywhere. Unfair, although that’s survival of the fittest, and some won’t condone this genocide, but that’s how living is and will be. This genocide won’t have to be a bloodbath as others in the beginning, rather the rationale taken is going to deny them from basic rights like income sources which will result in them not being able to buy goods and feed their family, after that robberies and crime will increase which will force the government to fore take action, which will lead to chaos. Along side, Bedoons not being Kuwaiti, “the safety of the community” would rise against them, justifying most brutal engagements Kuwaiti government, is to act upon.
ReplyDeleteEven when the international communities would have to speak up, they won’t have a say because Bedoons aren’t actually Kuwaiti and Kuwait just wants to get rid of them, so they are taking a strategical way out. As soon as other communities speak up they could put the Bedoons up for “adoption” if they would like to have them as refugees then great. The aftermath of this tragedy would, have effects on Kuwait ideal of living and would make people fear Kuwait.
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Since the State of Kuwait became an independent state officially, after its independence from British protectorate, it became civilian state and united all sectors of the society under the articles and legislation of the Constitution, which was officially made under the late Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah on January 29, 1962. The diversity of its members distinguishes the Kuwaiti society, such as Bedouins and urbanites, as well as their religious division of the Sunni and Shi'a sects. All of them had accepted the rule of the Al-Sabah for them since the founding of the State of Kuwait, from the era of Sheikh Sabah I (1752-1776) until the rule of Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jabir Al-Sabah. I think that a new division must be considered, although they are a minority, but they are increasing, and they are "Kuwaiti Christians”. Kuwaiti Christians, who fled to Kuwait at the turn of the last century, are less than 400 Kuwaiti citizens. Their origins come from Turkey, Palestine, and Iraq. They played a leading role in the renaissance of the State of Kuwait at the time. This category enjoys civil rights according to the Kuwaiti Constitution, but they still lack parliamentary representation as well as ministerial representation in the government. Socially, they seek to introduce themselves and their activities to all members of Kuwaiti society. From my personal point of view, this small group is now afraid of the radical Islamic group and the extreme direction of the Christian religion. I expect some of the hardline Islamic groups will be perpetrators in reducing their presence in parliamentary or political life, and the victim is this limited group of Kuwaitis.
ReplyDeleteThrough the Kuwaiti press, one can understand the fears of some of the Christian Kuwaitis about the tragic events happening to some Christians by some Islamic extremists. According to Ismaeel Naar, “Al Arabiya English”, asked the Kuwaiti’s first Christian pastor Emanuel Benjamin Ghareeb “Do Kuwaiti Christians feel safe? The pastor said that “Muslim-Christian relationships have been tested in recent years given the rise of Islamophobia in the west amid extremist attacks by groups such as ISIS targeting Christians in the east. Earlier this month, a bombing at Cairo’s largest Coptic cathedral killed at least 25 people and wounded 49, many of them women and children attending Sunday mass, in the deadliest attack on Egypt’s Christian minority in years. This event has caused some concerns for Kuwaiti Christians.” I think from my point of view that the conflict and its prediction will be in the form of biological genocide -one of the field of genocide, if one can say. I think this group will call them” people of non-related blood”. (p.32) This group is religiously observant and denounces the existence of a religion other than the Islamic religion, and this group does not accept “the other”. Political leadership in Kuwait will not allow such extremist religious practices to marginalize or isolate one category without another. As well as the Kuwaiti human rights organizations will not allow this to happen in the State of Kuwait. I think official and non-official bodies will not allow such social isolation of such a minority. The existence of the prestige of the state, which is the rule of the morning, prevents such oppositions against human rights. Kuwait is a member of the United Nations and is always committed to abide by its international laws and regulations. In the light of globalization, the world has become a small village and thus means of social communication will emerge such genocidal justification.
We need to review the religious discourse by conveying the spirit of practical tolerance and putting it into the curriculum. Any person who has contributed such a wrongful act shall be held legally accountable, and analyze what happened and to find out the real reasons for future avoidance. A civil state is a state that respects human dignity irrespective of its color, sex, religion, or any other human difference.
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DeleteIn the case of genocide, the most vulnerable people are the expats in Kuwait, specifically the expatriates from underdeveloped countries, such as India, Philippines and other countries. However, the perpetrators in this case are Kuwaitis and none Kuwaitis, because they believe they are of higher authority than them, which gives them the belief to mistreat them. The none Kuwaitis in this situation, would be the people who employ as well as, work with the said expatriates. This is due to their lack of security, authority, and their placement under the three standard social classes. Since most of those expatriates come from underdeveloped countries, people see them as poor, uneducated people that have no rights or protection. They are vulnerable because they are placed by the perpetrators in a position of no authority and less privilege. In addition to that, said expatriates do not have the luxury of protection from their embassies in Kuwait, which is the reason behind the mistreat they are receiving. They are vulnerable and exposed to violence because of their job positions, such as; garbage worker, domestic workers, tailors, taxi driver and etc. Moreover, people of all ages justify their mistreatment to those said expats by their downgraded job position, and for a fact this has happened multiple of times.
We can not stop violence no matter what we try, violence will happen. Thus, some sort of prevention and protection should be considered in order to make those said expats safe. Protection should come from the embassy and the government of Kuwait, the protection should give the expats the right to express themselves and to be given their right as workers. Prevention can come in a a sort of awareness and punishment, people need to be aware of harassment consequences, because believe it or not if those expats leave Kuwait, no Kuwaiti would want to replace their job as in our society people believe that there are certain job positions that we can take, and other job positions are considered shameful. No only that, but people should understand that mistreating people is inhumane, thus those harassment should be punished by law.
A peaceful resolution plan would be that in the next few years the embassies of the said expats establish laws and agreement of protection for the expats, as well as the government of Kuwait should punish by law the people whom harass those expats. Other than the government and the embassy, people in Kuwait should raise awareness regarding the harassment that those expats are receiving, and that we should help them in order to prevent it from happening or carry on to happen in the future. Another plan is to educate the younger generation regarding the job positions that those expats obtain, and we need to teach them to not downgrade those jobs positions as they might be small but without the said expats no one will do the job.
The subjects that I think would in involved as in terms of perpetrators are the Kuwaitis and the victims would be the expats living in Kuwait. The reason is because the number of expats in Kuwait is more than the Kuwaiti citizens so the Kuwaitis would feel the expats outnumbering them as a threat. An expat would be any one who is living in Kuwait and does not hold with him/her a Kuwaiti passport. The cause of the genocide would be to eliminate the huge number of expats living in Kuwait. The perpetrators rational would be that expats are growing in population, and they are taking away our Kuwaiti culture and tradition. The international response would be that that each expats country would bring them back to their country or other neighboring countries would welcome the expats to work. Therefore, the aftermath of the tragedy would be many expats would return to their countries, even those who consider Kuwait as their home. New rules can be put to grantee equal rights for both sides; this may help to prevent such violence from happening and protect the vulnerable population. As a future leader, I would spread awareness about the importance of these expats in our country and how we should learn to live together.
ReplyDeleteGenocide is generally considered one of the worst moral crimes a government can commit against its citizens or those it controls. In latest years, worries in Kuwait surrounding the country’s demographic composition have been on the rise. Like all GCC countries, a significant percentage of Kuwait’s population is comprised of foreign nationals who have moved to the country for work opportunities. As Kuwait continues to grapple with economic changes stemming from a decline in global oil prices, public discussion surrounding Kuwait’s expatriate population has become increasingly bitter, with expatriates being blamed for draining the country's resources and siphoning money away from social spending directed at Kuwaiti citizens. In the heart of these rising tensions, several members of Kuwait Parliament have called for policies explicitly aimed at reducing the number of foreign nationals living in the state. Such propositions have ranged from deportation en masse to expatriate-specific taxes and fees. This increased level of antipathy towards expatriates in Kuwait is a worrying development, particularly in the context of a country and region in which migrant workers are already subject to systematic abuse. Rights groups and governments alike must therefore continue to monitor this trend closely, seeking to ensure that conditions for migrant laborers in Kuwait do not continue to worsen. #ShahadAlOtaibi
ReplyDeleteThe subjects that will be involved in term of perpetrators in Kuwait are the Christine Kuwait and the victims would be the Muslim Kuwait. How and why because although there are only about 400 Christine Kuwaiti that are well known off the numbers are increasing day by day and with the help of the social media their voice is begging headed and the started to affre public more often where in the past decade I would say the would ashamed. The root of that conflict would be given the fact the Kuwaiti constriction sates that all Kuwaiti should have equal rights but yet you can’t be Kuwaiti unless you are Muslim. Those Kuwait Christine have the Kuwaiti ciztenship long ago before many decade tagin it until now. This why the still opting until now. moreover, those Christine Kuwaiti can’t express their faith freely their children have to take the Islamic studies and still the have to get married and divorce in a Muslim court. I believe that the root cause of this conflict would be the increased demand for their rights they would prosted or even get some sort of help from outside country. The Muslims Kuwaiti would do their best to excluded them because they would feel that the Christine Kuwait does not repost the Kuwaiti national identity. Also, the christens have no voice or heard voices do if they try to speak to speak for their rights by prostses they know they would get arrested so their plan would be that they would start a civil war to projects them self’s aginst others. I would imagine that the response from the national committee would be that most christens country would get involved and projects the Christine’s that would also change the laws in the Kuwaiti and give the Christine Kuwaiti their full rights or more. I belieflike the aftermath of this tagey would be the most Kuwaiti would have to leve to another country and Kuwait would be more like turkey after the Othman’s empire.
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ReplyDeleteThe most vulnerable people in Kuwait would probably be the Bedoons. Most Bedoons were either born in Kuwait, lived their entire life in Kuwait or have close family ties in Kuwait. Kuwait practices a system of institutionalized discrimination against the Bedoons. Due to the fact that their presence in Kuwait has been declared illegal, Bedoons are vulnerable to exploitation and harassment. As they are fearful of the authorities, they refrain from filing complaints and limit their movement to their neighborhoods, where they can avoid checkpoints and harassment. Since they are classified as “illegal residents” they are no longer issued civil identification cards, driver's licenses, employment, denied educations for their children or travel documents, the state technically have them under virtual house arrest.
ReplyDeleteBefore the fall of 1985, Bedoons were treated the same way as any Kuwaiti citizen would have been treated. They were given the freedom to travel, they were issued temporary passports, and they were eligible for government services and employments. The government should follow a set of measures in order to avoid violence or protect the vulnerable population. For example, Bedoons should be allowed to receive travel documents without having to accept a non-return visa. Another example would be to restore the right of Bedoon children to education and their access to health care.
In order for one to fully understand what is going on they first have to be properly educated on the history of their own country. If one was to learn that the Bedoons were granted the same rights as any Kuwaiti citizen before 1985, they would possibly be more open to the fact of fighting for the Bedoon rights. Also, basic rights should be granted by government officials.
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If we look at things on the surface, it would be hard to imagine that a violence can occur in Kuwait. As a humanitarian leader, Kuwait has developed a reputation as a diverse and tolerance society through its international charitable efforts, and from its multi-national community. Yet, behind the curtain, Kuwait does not tolerate all its members of society.
ReplyDeleteOf course, genocide is out of the question. But ever since the establishment of Kuwait, the Bedoon has been victims of persecution. The Bedoon translated in English “Stateless”, are group of Kuwaiti locals who the government does not recognize as citizens of Kuwait. The main accusation is that they are migrants from Iraq and the Levant. Though some are actual locals before the establishment of 1961, some migrated and destroyed their former passports as an attempt of gain Kuwaiti citizenship.
Currently, some Bedoon live is metal made structure in Sulabiya and live in the worse conditions in Kuwait. Without proper representation or protection from any government, the have trouble gaining jobs, which creates difficulties in gaining other necessities like food or education. This results to crime and cheap products being sold on the traffic light. If a child approaches you with a toy or small tissue bag, he is either an expat from Syria or a Bedoon. Some Bedoon took a stand against this discrimination, and during the Arab Spring they protested. Unfortunately for them, they were faced with water cannons, arrests and deportation. This isn’t the first-time government took action their numbers. From a personal story during the Iraq invasion, my family shared incidents where the Bedoon were refused entry to Kuwait after Kuwait got liberated. They even recently proposed a deal to the Bedoon to migrate them to the Comoros, an island nation in Africa, and in return they will gain Comoros citizenship.
At this point of time, it is now to be seem to be hard to get rid of the Bedoon since they are to part of Kuwait. As I mentioned earlier, genocide is out of the question and ethnic cleansing failed. Arguably, the best course of action is to actually make them Kuwaiti citizens for various reasons. One particular reason is that since they have no outside contract with other governments in the world, it is safe to say that they will be loyal to the state of Kuwait. It will also increase the number of Kuwaiti citizens in Kuwait, which will help in the democratic process by having more participants, as well as increase our military capabilities. One main side-effect to granting them legal right as citizens, is that as a Kuwaiti citizen, you are obligated to various benefits, which includes healthcare, free education, land right and so on. The fact the number of citizens will increase means that the capability to spend on the citizens will decrease in order to accommodate for the mass number of Bedoon gaining Kuwaiti status. This reason alone is why the Kuwaiti society rejects granting citizenship to Bedoon, as it will cause a disruption to the stability. On the other hand, I believe this disruption will be beneficial to Kuwait, as it will balance out the economic classes between Kuwaitis and expats. In theory, the addition of Bedoon to Kuwaiti status will shape a lower class local community due to budget changes, and as a result you will gain Kuwaitis working in the lesser jobs such as garbage men along with expats. This will create more security to the Kuwaiti economy, because if the major Kuwaiti income, which is oil runs out, the first thing we will lose is the access labor due to the fact that we will no longer afford it. Meaning that most expats that Kuwait developed a habit of relying on will be gone. Therefore, having a lower class made out of Bedoon will ensure that a crisis will not occur.
Until then, the Kuwaiti government will remain on the offensive against the Bedoon, and hopefully a disruption will change everything.
Regards,
Isehaq Shamo
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ReplyDeleteHypothetically, if a genocide takes place in Kuwait, I would expect it to involve Kuwaiti citizens and Bedoons. The perpetrators would be the Kuwaitis whereas the victims would be the Bedoons living in Kuwait. By Bedoons I am referring to any person who does not own a passport or a legal proof of origin and is thus considered state-less.
ReplyDeleteThis group of people has been a topic of conflict in Kuwait for a long period of time. Their presence in the country is openly undesirable by many Kuwaitis. This is because they are viewed as outsiders who are trying to force themselves into the Kuwaiti society with the mere intention of taking advantage of the benefits and rights provided to the citizens by their government, which are not meant for them. Some are even accused of deliberately hiding information about their origins and only pretending to be stateless to create a case for themselves, from which their main aim is to own the Kuwaiti citizenship in order to exploit the country’s resources; thereby considered a threat to the society. The government has also made it almost impossible for the Bedoons to acquire the citizenship as they too consider them ineligible of having it; thereby indirectly supporting the intolerance that the citizens have towards Bedoons. This hence causes the Bedoons to be vulnerable to acts of violence in Kuwait. The aforementioned view of the Kuwaiti people about the Bedoons and the reasoning they have to unwelcome them in their society would hence be the genocidal rationale promoted.
Furthermore, due to their state, the Bedoons do not have the right to travel out of the country. Also, they are not provided any equal rights in terms of education (scholarships), healthcare access, political access, ownership of property, decent living conditions, equal job opportunities, fair income, and so on. They are not fairly given their basic human rights. They are highly exploited at the workplace yet offered a very low wage/salary when compared to the citizens of the country, also making it close to impossible for the Bedoons to get an education leaving a large proportion of their group uneducated. Bedoons face this kind of structural violence every day.
Considering the very minimal rights given to them and the marginal living conditions they experience in Kuwait, and since a genocide constitutes a chain of events that trigger it including structural violence, the condition of the Bedoons can be viewed as an on-going genocide that’s slowly taking place over long intervals of time, which might eventually end up in their wipe out altogether.
DeletePrevention methods include first and foremost the tolerance of the Bedoons in the country by Kuwaitis and the equal enforcement of laws on both Kuwaitis and the Bedoon. They should be fairly treated by the government and given their basic rights as human beings. These rights include proper access to food, better healthcare, better living conditions, and equal access to job opportunities as other people in the country. Moreover, the income to be provided to them should not be determined by where they come from but by their qualities. Those Bedoons who were born and lived here their whole life should be allowed to apply for government scholarships and be given equal access to education. Additionally, those whose rights are violated should be able to resort to the government to help solve it. They should be given this right to protection in the country like any other person. All of this can be made possible if it is strictly enforced by the law. As for the Kuwaiti citizenship, Bedoons who by deeper investigation prove to share the same ancestry as other Kuwaitis in the country should be considered eligible for acquiring the citizenship. Their cases should not be neglected. Additionally, children of a Bedoon father and a Kuwaiti mother should be given the right to acquire the Kuwaiti citizenship through their mother and thereby possess all the rights as citizens equally. If these rights are strictly enforced in the country, it would encourage tolerance toward one another and would hence prevent a possible genocide from taking place.
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If there was one group of people in Kuwait who are vulnerable, I would consider them, to be the foreigners. These include Bedouins, Philippines, Indians and basically all the domestic workers and expats. In Kuwait, they are often seen as the lowest of the class especially by Kuwaitis. They get disrespected and mistreated too often from people who are in a higher authority and if they ask for something from them they sometimes get punished for it. This has been going on ever since the oil was founded. We are looking at ourselves as the top and always look for staying there. The truth is that the foreigners are on our side and typically friendly, although we do not always see that since we mistreat them.
ReplyDeleteIn order to prevent dangers in the future we need to understand the foreigners from their side. Many are poor and isolated from their family, who are in another country. They are working hard every single day and not getting paid much for their family. This is only one common problem they have that needs to be understood. On top of that, if Kuwaiti’s can understand this there wouldn’t be any future problems arising based on culture and class conflicts. They need to be able to think critically when it comes to foreigners and not judge them for ethnicity. Their treatment must be more equal from the Kuwaitis to the foreigners. I believe that we are mistreating them I even admit myself in the past have not treated them the best. This is exactly what needs to be changed: To stop seeing them as a low class and respect what they do for us. From my experience, it appears as if Kuwaiti people are somewhat stubborn and highly value their opinions over others.
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In exercise one, I chose to discuss a hypothetical genocide against the Bidoons in Kuwait by the Kuwaiti government. The reason for this is that the Bidoons in Kuwait are seen as a conundrum as it is thought that there is no foreseen solution to this ‘problem’. Therefore, one possible solution could be genocide. The majority of Bidoons in Kuwait are isolated and excluded from all aspects of society whether it is social; political; education; medical and others. This is because in Kuwait bureaucracy (and the majority of administrative institutions you must have an Identification card, civilian or expatriate. The Bidoon, whose group name literally means ‘without’, implying without nationality and therefore stateless. This makes the Bidoon population vulnerable leaving them without any aspect of representation for their rights. The rationale to justify the genocide would be the Kuwaiti government advocating for continuing the Kuwaiti nationality clean and ‘true bred’. Since the Bidoons utmost problem is the lack of citizenship which is connected to lack of rights, they are seen as a threat as many Bidoon and NGO’s advocate giving them citizenship to decrease the population. This angers the government as it goes against the idea of a true Kuwaiti.
ReplyDeleteSince the Bidoon are so isolated from society, learning about them is also difficult. As they are stateless and undocumented, knowing their exact numbers, where they live, what they buy and other aspects of life is also difficult. This creates even more separation. In my opinion, the first step to decrease tensions between the two groups is to educate. The Kuwaiti government stereotypes the Bidoon’s and since we are not taught about them in school, some people grow up never knowing they exist. Talking about the Bidoon subject is considered somewhat taboo in some Kuwaiti social structures which again lessens the less people know about them. Speaking from personal experience, I did not know about the Bidoon ‘problem’ in Kuwait up until senior year of highschool. Of course, this is not the case with everyone but I can safely say that a good portion of the society knows nothing about them.
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