Kuwaiti Lawyer Defends Expats Against Arrogance And Racism

Kuwaiti legal advisor urges Emirati lawmakers to ease up on blaming expats

Citing the recent trend of rising instances of arrogance and racism against expats within Kuwaiti society, Hesham al Saleh tweeted that expatriates make up more than 85 per cent of the population and the emirates are moving forward as a result. Al Saleh is urging Kuwaitis not to blame expatriates for governmental failures, saying one reason for the increase is that local MPs are benefiting from the situation and have the approval of leading lawmakers and officials. The legal advisor stated expats are simply human beings who arrived in the emirate to work for a salary after being granted official work permits and permission to stay.

Media reports on the issue refer to a number of Kuwaiti lawmakers, including the notorious MP Hashem as well as social media activists and writers, saying they are using racist comments and blaming foreigners for every problem in the country. Some have even demanded selective deportation of the majority of the 3.3 million expats, thus bringing their total numbers down to that of the 1.4 million resident Kuwaiti nationals.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are urging the allocation of around two hours for a debate to investigate the state of the government’s security agencies in the light of rising regional tensions caused by the Trump presidency’s position on Iran. The call came as a response to the considered strong possibility of war in the region should the tensions escalate. Kuwaiti ministers feel they have serious concerns over a possible war, adding they haven’t been sufficiently briefed on the readiness of the emirate’s defence and security agencies.