(for those who have been disturbed by my grammar and spelling, I don't recommend reading beyond this sentence)
I have this habbit of constantly thinking, and by thinking I don't mean super intelligent thinking, just plain thinking. I think of ways to change things I don't approve of, I think of constantly changing myself for the better, I think of enriching my life with good friends and great company. These are all good thinkings, I think.
Then there's the painstaking thinking, over analytical thinking, the on going thinking, the middle of the night till morning thinking.
Here's when my thinking gets exhausting:
In the car - Thinking of other cars without AC and how terribly hot they feel because a second ago I was thinking my AC is not cool enough. Thinking of the unbearable heat from the front door of my house to the car (2 steps) then seeing the people working on the streets or working on building sites, the ones waiting for the bus or the ones selling ice-cream on the side of the road.
At work - I miss my daughter terribly, I can't wait to see her, I'm so glad she's got a great nanny. Thinking..... poor nanny, she has 2 daughters (8 year old and 11 year old) i'm sure she misses her daughters, god those poor girls must be devastated without their mother. Patricia's (the nanny) daughter just graduated middle school with honors. Thinking..... do people in Kuwait know that these people (nannies, drivers, cooks and so on..) have families? babies? husbands? wifes? a normal happy life.. why would anyone treat someone so badly and think less of them?
In bed - Thinking.... mattress needs to be changed. Thinking..... those poor girls in the labour agencies (makateb al khadam) sleep on the floor and share a room with 70 other girls.
Daughter's playroom - Hussah (daughter) is being a brat, I'm so fed up of her whining. Thinking...... if i'm fed up of my own daughter why shouldn't Patricia be fed up with her as well? More thinking ..... I should create an environment that keeps both daughter and nanny satisfied and entertained. Thank God for TFC (The Filipino Channel) and their evenings of "wow woweeeee" .
In public - Seeing nannies and housekeepers in uniform. Thinking.... Why are they in Uniform? god I can't imagine what they're feeling, I wouldn't want to wear uniform to public, everyone else looks so good, free to choose what to wear. Uniforms should be worn at home.
When i'm bored - Sometimes I just want to leave the house because I spent too much time on the sofa. Thinking.... what about the house keepers, they're here everyday (except for their holiday once a week) , if they're bored they go to their rooms, right here in my house. how boring.
Does anyone feel this way? If not, shouldn't we? Aren't my feelings humanistic feelings? Shouldn't we sympathize and recognize that there are people here who consider labour expats (especially from India, Sri Lanka, Philipines, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Egypt and many more) insignificant. I hear a lot of "you shouldn't feel guilty for being blessed" talk from people around me, here's the thing though, I don't feel guilty, I feel empathy.
I will keep fighting this so called losing battle.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Sunday, June 17, 2007
"Our country right or wrong. When right, to be kept right; when wrong, to be put right."
In my previous post, a comment made by an anonymous person asking me to read what Dr. Ahmad Al Rubei (Allah yashfeeh inshalla) and Shaikha Amthal are saying in Al-Qabas today.
Dr. Ahmad Al Rubei says in his article that it's time to face the truth about human rights violations. Kuwait's government and parliament should take action instead of harbouring the violations. He mentions that human trafficking is very much happening in Kuwait through Shaikhs from the ruling family, or just civilians who have fiancially flourished in this business with their dirty money, that many of those people (violators) also have companies that sign labour contracts with the government for schools, hospitals, and government institutions. He says when he was in the government (ministy of education) he found alot of violations from companies who had contracts with the ministry. They paid their employees 17kd/month, he along with Mr. Jassim Al Oun (minister of ) took the necessary action against them. He said it's not hard to stop these violations if you have a conscience and if you are patriotic and want the best for your country. Dr. Ahmad in his articles gives a few other examples of violations that are happening in Kuwait.
إنكار الحقائق أم إصلاح الخطأ؟
عدد القراء: 327
17/06/2007 حدث ما كنا وكان غيرنا يحذر منه، فلقد وضعت بلادنا في القائمة السوداء كإحدى الدول المتاجرة بالبشر، فشكرا لحكومات ظلت تتفرج على كارثة المتاجرة بالعمالة، وشكرا لبرلمان آخر ما يفكر فيه طرح قضايا جدية تهم مصلحة البلد.علينا ان نتوقف عن انكار الحقائق، والاعتراف بأن هذا التصنيف لم يأت من فراغ، بل على كل انسان لديه ذرة ضمير واحساس، تجاه البشر، ومحبة لهذا الوطن ان يفرح، بهذا التقرير، فجماعتنا الذين لا يسمعون كلامنا ربما يهديهم الله فيسمعون كلام غيرنا، وربما كانت الضغوطات الخارجية اكثر تأثيرا، مهما كانت قاسية، من طروحاتنا التي ناشدت بكل محبة فلم تجد لصوتها صدى سوى الإنكار!الذين يتاجرون بالبشر في الكويت هم من علية القوم، بعضهم اشخاص متنفذون في الاسرة الحاكمة الكريمة، بعضهم استمر يأكل الاموال الحرام لسنوات طويلة عبر هذه الممارسات الشائنة، وكثير منهم تعطيه الدولة عشرات العقود لعمالة المستشفيات والمدارس والمؤسسات. واذكر اثناء عملي الوزاري اني اكتشفت شركة كاملة، لديها آلاف العاملات وحاصلة على مناقصة كبيرة، كانت تعطي لعمالها راتبا لا يتجاوز سبعة عشر دينارا في الشهر، ويومها، وبتعاون مع الاخ الكبير جاسم العون وزير الشؤون في ذلك الوقت، قمنا بالاجراء المناسب ولكن هذا غيض من فيض ومثال من عشرات الامثلة!البلد مليء بالشحاذين الذين يتم احضارهم عبر التجارة بالبشر، احدهم يحضر مئات الاشخاص لمدة شهر في رمضان يقومون بمهنة الشحاذة امام المساجد وفي المناطق السكنية وهو شخص متنفذ ولا احد يستطيع ان يوقفه!بدلا من تصريحات المسؤولين التي تحاول انكار الحقيقة، مطلوب منهم التواضع والنزول من ابراجهم العاجية وزيارة مناطق الحساوي وجليب الشيوخ والعباسية ليروا بأم عينهم الحالة المأساوية التي تجلب العار على وطننا، وتدعو كل صاحب ضمير حي ان يقول الحقيقة غضب من غضب، ورضي من رضي!ليت احدا يدرس حالة الشبكة الاجرامية التي تحضر العمالة البنغالية وهي شبكة تمتد من دكا الى الكويت تقوم بتزييف الجوازات واحضار خريجي السجون من بنغلادش الى الكويت والذين يقومون بجرائم السرقة المنظمة لكل شيء من مناهيل المجاري الى بيوت السكن! ليت احدا يتساءل كيف يحصل عضو مجلس امة سابق على اكثر من خمسة آلاف اقامة؟!هناك مافيا من تجار الاقامات يتورط معهم مسؤولون في الدولة وتحديدا في وزارتي الداخلية والشؤون، وهناك رشاوى وجرائم تتم تحت نظر الدولة وسمعها، وما قيل في التقرير الدولي يجب بدلا من انكاره التحقق من صحته بعد ان فقدنا الامل في الحكومة والبرلمان في هذه القضية الخطيرة والمقلقة والمعارضة لكل حقوق الانسان والتي تضر بسمعة وطننا!التحدي امام وزيري الداخلية والشؤون، بل هو امام مجلس الوزراء، وتحديدا امام سمو رئيس مجلس الوزراء، فهل نمتلك الشجاعة لمرة واحدة ونفتح هذا الملف المتورم دون تردد! وندفع تكلفة فتح هذا الملف الشائن؟!د. أحمد الربعي
http://www.alqabas.com.kw/Final/NewspaperWebsite/NewspaperPublic/ArticlePage.aspx?ArticleID=286185
Shaikha Amthal Al-Sabah, known for her social work and protection of the environment has harsh criticism of the human trafficking report that was made by the state department. She blames Kuwaitis of having no respect for the country for giving this information to the United States, she also says there is no country that does not violate human rights, even in America you find the homeless in the streets and they themselves should abide to the laws against human rights. She recognizes the violations in Kuwait but is not happy with the negative exposure of Kuwait when all Kuwait's good deeds go unrecognized. She says that Kuwaitis have faith and religion that teaches them the respect fo human lives. The newspaper covered the work Shaikha Amthal is doing with the Labour working on the streets, giving them water bottles and having cold water available in some areas, her organization is hoping to have more water available to those who work on the streets under the sun.
الشيخة أمثال تساعد17/06/2007 كتبت ريم أبي المنى: بمناسبة تدشين حملة 'سقيا العامل' في منطقة الصليبخات التي يطلقها مركز العمل التطوعي، وجهت الشيخة أمثال الأحمد رئيسة المركز، رسالة لم تخص بها أهل الكويت فقط، بل وجهتها الى كل من يدعي أن الكويت ضد حقوق الإنسان أو إنها مقصرة من هذه الناحية، داعية تلك الفئة أن تأتي لتلمس كيف أن الصغير قبل الكبير يهب لنصرة ومساعدة من هو بحاجة، ويشارك في أعمال الخير والتطوع.لماذا التشهير؟وعن التقرير الذي صدر عن الولايات المتحدة الأميركية ويعنى بمسألة الاتجار بالبشر ألقت الشيخة باللوم ليس عليه وإنما على الكويتيين الذين يعطون الأميركي مثل هذا الكلام. وقالت 'صحيح إنه ما من دولة في العالم لا تخترق أو تعتدي على حقوق الإنسان، حتى أميركا بكبرها فيها هذا الخرق، فالمتشردون يفترشون أرصفة نيويورك، وهم قبل ان يطالبوا الدول الأخرى بتطبيق القوانين، ليتهم يطبقونها في بلدانهم. ونحن لا ننكر التجاوزات التي تحصل في البلد، لكن لماذا التشهير بالكويت وهي بلد له أعماله الخيرية. وعتبي على الكويتي الذي ينشر العيوب فقط، لننشر العيوب والمحاسن معا.إحساسوفيما يختص بالحملة، أكدت أنهم في المركز حريصون على أن تطال الأماكن غير المأهولة بالسكان والتي يعمل على بناء بنيتها التحتية، أي الأماكن التي ليس فيها مياه سبيل أو بقالات أو جمعيات، حيث يمكن للعمال شراء الماء وغيره. وأكدت أن هذا العمل نابع من إحساس أهل الكويت، إحساسهم بدينهم، قائلة: 'نحن لا نلجأ إلى جمعية أو منظمة دولية تميز الكويت لأن الكويت تتميز بأهلها المتمسكين بدينهم وبتعاليم الرسول عليه الصلاة والسلام.واضحولدى سؤالها عن أعداد جمعيات النفع العام الآخذة في الارتفاع، قالت ان كل جهة تتكلم عن نفسها، فأعمال الجمعيات هي التي تضع الجمعية في المراكر الأولى.مظلة ولدى سؤالها عن الاتحاد الخليجي لمراكز العمل التطوعي الذي رحبت به كافة الاطراف، اجابت الشيخة انه لابد ان يكون لنا دور لخدمة دول مجلس تعاون الخليج، وهذا الأمر لن يتحقق طالما نحن مشتتون فمن شأن هذا الاتحاد ان يجمعنا على امل ان ينطلق المشروع قريبا ويكون تحت مظلة الامانة العامة لمجلس التعاون مشروع إنسانيومن جهته تحدث نائب رئيس المركز ووكيل وزارة الدولة لشؤون مجلس الامة المساعد م. احمد عبد المحسن المرشد، عن مشروع 'سقيا العامل' واصفا ياه بالمشروع الانساني الذين ينفذه المركز للسنة الثانية على التوالي، فالفكرة بدأت عندما اثارت الشيخة امثال موضوع العمال الذين يعملون في صنين الشمس، والمشروع عبارة عن توزيع المياه واللبن والعصير على العمال في المناطق السكنية قيد الانشاء التي لم تصلها التمديدات الكهربائية وبالتالي لاتنعم ببرادات او ثلاجات المياه الباردة.نجاح وتوسع واضافت: 'بدأنا العام الماضي بأربع ثلاجات في جنوب الجهراء وغرب الجليب ومنطقة فهد الاحمد السكنية ومنطقة الوفرة، وبعد النجاح الذي لقيته الحملة، زدنا عدد الثلاجات في منطقة النهضة وجنوب السرة، ويشاركنا هذا العام النادي العلمي من خلال المتطوعين لديه. توصلنا العام الماضي الى توزيع حوالي 2 مليون عبوة وهذا العام نطمح لتوزيع 3 ملايين عبوة، فالمتطوعون والمتطوعات يؤدون عملهم على اكمل وجه، ومن الجدير بالذكر ان المتطوعات لا يأتين الى المنطقة التي يتواجد بها العمال وانما عملهن يقتصر على تعبئة الاكياس عصرا وتجهيزها للمتطوعين ليتم نقلها الى البرادات من ثم توزيعها على العمال صبيحة اليوم التالي.التقدم المحرز واكمل موضحا ان العمل الماضي بدأ بتوزيع العبوات باستخدام سيارات المتطوعين، اما هذا العام فعمدنا الى تحديد نقاط توزيع وحرصنا على ان تتواجد في اماكن تجمع العمال، الامر الذي يوفر الكثير على المتطوعين ويسهل العمل.وفي النهاية تقدم القيمون على الحملة بالشكر من الجهات المشاركة في المشروع وهي الامانة العامة للاوقاف ووزارة الاشغال العامة والشركات التي ساهمت بكميات من الماء والعصير واللبن والاهالي المتبرعون وبلدية الكويت والمتطوعون والمتطوعات.
http://www.alqabas.com.kw/Final/NewspaperWebsite/NewspaperPublic/ArticlePage.aspx?ArticleID=286185
****
Thank You so much Dr. Rubie for that fantastic article that should be an eye opener for all of us to start paying attention to the extremity of the situation, being a labour expat and all the problems that come with it. And thank you for mentioning that there are members of the ruling family and of the (Mubarak sect-future amirs of Kuwait) that have been and continue to be the biggest human trafficking violators.
Al Shaikha Amthal's efforts to hand out bottles to those who work in the afternoons is "kind" but perhaps we can take it further and start working on the labour laws to stop workers from working from 1-5 during the months of June, July and August. Also, exposing the problems in Kuwait is an effort to help better our country, having human rights NGOs is good exposure for Kuwait internationally but Inactive NGOs is just as bad as government officials seeing a problem not do anything about it. In my opinion, hiding the truth is worst that commiting the crime.
* "Our country right or wrong. When right, to be kept right; when wrong, to be put right." -Carl Schurz
Dr. Ahmad Al Rubei says in his article that it's time to face the truth about human rights violations. Kuwait's government and parliament should take action instead of harbouring the violations. He mentions that human trafficking is very much happening in Kuwait through Shaikhs from the ruling family, or just civilians who have fiancially flourished in this business with their dirty money, that many of those people (violators) also have companies that sign labour contracts with the government for schools, hospitals, and government institutions. He says when he was in the government (ministy of education) he found alot of violations from companies who had contracts with the ministry. They paid their employees 17kd/month, he along with Mr. Jassim Al Oun (minister of ) took the necessary action against them. He said it's not hard to stop these violations if you have a conscience and if you are patriotic and want the best for your country. Dr. Ahmad in his articles gives a few other examples of violations that are happening in Kuwait.
إنكار الحقائق أم إصلاح الخطأ؟
عدد القراء: 327
17/06/2007 حدث ما كنا وكان غيرنا يحذر منه، فلقد وضعت بلادنا في القائمة السوداء كإحدى الدول المتاجرة بالبشر، فشكرا لحكومات ظلت تتفرج على كارثة المتاجرة بالعمالة، وشكرا لبرلمان آخر ما يفكر فيه طرح قضايا جدية تهم مصلحة البلد.علينا ان نتوقف عن انكار الحقائق، والاعتراف بأن هذا التصنيف لم يأت من فراغ، بل على كل انسان لديه ذرة ضمير واحساس، تجاه البشر، ومحبة لهذا الوطن ان يفرح، بهذا التقرير، فجماعتنا الذين لا يسمعون كلامنا ربما يهديهم الله فيسمعون كلام غيرنا، وربما كانت الضغوطات الخارجية اكثر تأثيرا، مهما كانت قاسية، من طروحاتنا التي ناشدت بكل محبة فلم تجد لصوتها صدى سوى الإنكار!الذين يتاجرون بالبشر في الكويت هم من علية القوم، بعضهم اشخاص متنفذون في الاسرة الحاكمة الكريمة، بعضهم استمر يأكل الاموال الحرام لسنوات طويلة عبر هذه الممارسات الشائنة، وكثير منهم تعطيه الدولة عشرات العقود لعمالة المستشفيات والمدارس والمؤسسات. واذكر اثناء عملي الوزاري اني اكتشفت شركة كاملة، لديها آلاف العاملات وحاصلة على مناقصة كبيرة، كانت تعطي لعمالها راتبا لا يتجاوز سبعة عشر دينارا في الشهر، ويومها، وبتعاون مع الاخ الكبير جاسم العون وزير الشؤون في ذلك الوقت، قمنا بالاجراء المناسب ولكن هذا غيض من فيض ومثال من عشرات الامثلة!البلد مليء بالشحاذين الذين يتم احضارهم عبر التجارة بالبشر، احدهم يحضر مئات الاشخاص لمدة شهر في رمضان يقومون بمهنة الشحاذة امام المساجد وفي المناطق السكنية وهو شخص متنفذ ولا احد يستطيع ان يوقفه!بدلا من تصريحات المسؤولين التي تحاول انكار الحقيقة، مطلوب منهم التواضع والنزول من ابراجهم العاجية وزيارة مناطق الحساوي وجليب الشيوخ والعباسية ليروا بأم عينهم الحالة المأساوية التي تجلب العار على وطننا، وتدعو كل صاحب ضمير حي ان يقول الحقيقة غضب من غضب، ورضي من رضي!ليت احدا يدرس حالة الشبكة الاجرامية التي تحضر العمالة البنغالية وهي شبكة تمتد من دكا الى الكويت تقوم بتزييف الجوازات واحضار خريجي السجون من بنغلادش الى الكويت والذين يقومون بجرائم السرقة المنظمة لكل شيء من مناهيل المجاري الى بيوت السكن! ليت احدا يتساءل كيف يحصل عضو مجلس امة سابق على اكثر من خمسة آلاف اقامة؟!هناك مافيا من تجار الاقامات يتورط معهم مسؤولون في الدولة وتحديدا في وزارتي الداخلية والشؤون، وهناك رشاوى وجرائم تتم تحت نظر الدولة وسمعها، وما قيل في التقرير الدولي يجب بدلا من انكاره التحقق من صحته بعد ان فقدنا الامل في الحكومة والبرلمان في هذه القضية الخطيرة والمقلقة والمعارضة لكل حقوق الانسان والتي تضر بسمعة وطننا!التحدي امام وزيري الداخلية والشؤون، بل هو امام مجلس الوزراء، وتحديدا امام سمو رئيس مجلس الوزراء، فهل نمتلك الشجاعة لمرة واحدة ونفتح هذا الملف المتورم دون تردد! وندفع تكلفة فتح هذا الملف الشائن؟!د. أحمد الربعي
http://www.alqabas.com.kw/Final/NewspaperWebsite/NewspaperPublic/ArticlePage.aspx?ArticleID=286185
Shaikha Amthal Al-Sabah, known for her social work and protection of the environment has harsh criticism of the human trafficking report that was made by the state department. She blames Kuwaitis of having no respect for the country for giving this information to the United States, she also says there is no country that does not violate human rights, even in America you find the homeless in the streets and they themselves should abide to the laws against human rights. She recognizes the violations in Kuwait but is not happy with the negative exposure of Kuwait when all Kuwait's good deeds go unrecognized. She says that Kuwaitis have faith and religion that teaches them the respect fo human lives. The newspaper covered the work Shaikha Amthal is doing with the Labour working on the streets, giving them water bottles and having cold water available in some areas, her organization is hoping to have more water available to those who work on the streets under the sun.
الشيخة أمثال تساعد17/06/2007 كتبت ريم أبي المنى: بمناسبة تدشين حملة 'سقيا العامل' في منطقة الصليبخات التي يطلقها مركز العمل التطوعي، وجهت الشيخة أمثال الأحمد رئيسة المركز، رسالة لم تخص بها أهل الكويت فقط، بل وجهتها الى كل من يدعي أن الكويت ضد حقوق الإنسان أو إنها مقصرة من هذه الناحية، داعية تلك الفئة أن تأتي لتلمس كيف أن الصغير قبل الكبير يهب لنصرة ومساعدة من هو بحاجة، ويشارك في أعمال الخير والتطوع.لماذا التشهير؟وعن التقرير الذي صدر عن الولايات المتحدة الأميركية ويعنى بمسألة الاتجار بالبشر ألقت الشيخة باللوم ليس عليه وإنما على الكويتيين الذين يعطون الأميركي مثل هذا الكلام. وقالت 'صحيح إنه ما من دولة في العالم لا تخترق أو تعتدي على حقوق الإنسان، حتى أميركا بكبرها فيها هذا الخرق، فالمتشردون يفترشون أرصفة نيويورك، وهم قبل ان يطالبوا الدول الأخرى بتطبيق القوانين، ليتهم يطبقونها في بلدانهم. ونحن لا ننكر التجاوزات التي تحصل في البلد، لكن لماذا التشهير بالكويت وهي بلد له أعماله الخيرية. وعتبي على الكويتي الذي ينشر العيوب فقط، لننشر العيوب والمحاسن معا.إحساسوفيما يختص بالحملة، أكدت أنهم في المركز حريصون على أن تطال الأماكن غير المأهولة بالسكان والتي يعمل على بناء بنيتها التحتية، أي الأماكن التي ليس فيها مياه سبيل أو بقالات أو جمعيات، حيث يمكن للعمال شراء الماء وغيره. وأكدت أن هذا العمل نابع من إحساس أهل الكويت، إحساسهم بدينهم، قائلة: 'نحن لا نلجأ إلى جمعية أو منظمة دولية تميز الكويت لأن الكويت تتميز بأهلها المتمسكين بدينهم وبتعاليم الرسول عليه الصلاة والسلام.واضحولدى سؤالها عن أعداد جمعيات النفع العام الآخذة في الارتفاع، قالت ان كل جهة تتكلم عن نفسها، فأعمال الجمعيات هي التي تضع الجمعية في المراكر الأولى.مظلة ولدى سؤالها عن الاتحاد الخليجي لمراكز العمل التطوعي الذي رحبت به كافة الاطراف، اجابت الشيخة انه لابد ان يكون لنا دور لخدمة دول مجلس تعاون الخليج، وهذا الأمر لن يتحقق طالما نحن مشتتون فمن شأن هذا الاتحاد ان يجمعنا على امل ان ينطلق المشروع قريبا ويكون تحت مظلة الامانة العامة لمجلس التعاون مشروع إنسانيومن جهته تحدث نائب رئيس المركز ووكيل وزارة الدولة لشؤون مجلس الامة المساعد م. احمد عبد المحسن المرشد، عن مشروع 'سقيا العامل' واصفا ياه بالمشروع الانساني الذين ينفذه المركز للسنة الثانية على التوالي، فالفكرة بدأت عندما اثارت الشيخة امثال موضوع العمال الذين يعملون في صنين الشمس، والمشروع عبارة عن توزيع المياه واللبن والعصير على العمال في المناطق السكنية قيد الانشاء التي لم تصلها التمديدات الكهربائية وبالتالي لاتنعم ببرادات او ثلاجات المياه الباردة.نجاح وتوسع واضافت: 'بدأنا العام الماضي بأربع ثلاجات في جنوب الجهراء وغرب الجليب ومنطقة فهد الاحمد السكنية ومنطقة الوفرة، وبعد النجاح الذي لقيته الحملة، زدنا عدد الثلاجات في منطقة النهضة وجنوب السرة، ويشاركنا هذا العام النادي العلمي من خلال المتطوعين لديه. توصلنا العام الماضي الى توزيع حوالي 2 مليون عبوة وهذا العام نطمح لتوزيع 3 ملايين عبوة، فالمتطوعون والمتطوعات يؤدون عملهم على اكمل وجه، ومن الجدير بالذكر ان المتطوعات لا يأتين الى المنطقة التي يتواجد بها العمال وانما عملهن يقتصر على تعبئة الاكياس عصرا وتجهيزها للمتطوعين ليتم نقلها الى البرادات من ثم توزيعها على العمال صبيحة اليوم التالي.التقدم المحرز واكمل موضحا ان العمل الماضي بدأ بتوزيع العبوات باستخدام سيارات المتطوعين، اما هذا العام فعمدنا الى تحديد نقاط توزيع وحرصنا على ان تتواجد في اماكن تجمع العمال، الامر الذي يوفر الكثير على المتطوعين ويسهل العمل.وفي النهاية تقدم القيمون على الحملة بالشكر من الجهات المشاركة في المشروع وهي الامانة العامة للاوقاف ووزارة الاشغال العامة والشركات التي ساهمت بكميات من الماء والعصير واللبن والاهالي المتبرعون وبلدية الكويت والمتطوعون والمتطوعات.
http://www.alqabas.com.kw/Final/NewspaperWebsite/NewspaperPublic/ArticlePage.aspx?ArticleID=286185
****
Thank You so much Dr. Rubie for that fantastic article that should be an eye opener for all of us to start paying attention to the extremity of the situation, being a labour expat and all the problems that come with it. And thank you for mentioning that there are members of the ruling family and of the (Mubarak sect-future amirs of Kuwait) that have been and continue to be the biggest human trafficking violators.
Al Shaikha Amthal's efforts to hand out bottles to those who work in the afternoons is "kind" but perhaps we can take it further and start working on the labour laws to stop workers from working from 1-5 during the months of June, July and August. Also, exposing the problems in Kuwait is an effort to help better our country, having human rights NGOs is good exposure for Kuwait internationally but Inactive NGOs is just as bad as government officials seeing a problem not do anything about it. In my opinion, hiding the truth is worst that commiting the crime.
* "Our country right or wrong. When right, to be kept right; when wrong, to be put right." -Carl Schurz
Saturday, June 16, 2007
In conclusion
Mr. Jamal Ahmad Al Kandari
Chairman
This man - parliament member Mr. Jamal Al Kandari- swore under oath to protect our nation's constitution, the constitution that protects human rights and liberties. His job as a member of parliament is to make sure all laws of our countries are enforced by the government and obided by. The same man who pays his employees 20 kd/month which is a violation of labour laws in Kuwait. Wake up people.
Dr. Mohammad Sabah Al-Salim Al-SabahForeign Minister of Kuwait
In the case of Shaikh Mohammed Al-Sabah, though he did play down The State Department's reports of Human Trafficking putting Kuwait in Tier 3 level (worse level), he did indeed recognize the problem, and that makes my work and other NGO work easier especially after years of of denial by government officials. Here's what he said:
"I believe that the report is missing a lot of facts mainly regarding the issue of dealing with foreign domestic labor."
"We agree that there are a lot of issues that require improvement and the government is serious in tackling some of the negative aspects in the situation of foreign domestic labor, and you will see this in laws that the government will adopt on that issue."
http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=MTgxODEwNzgyMg
http://www.alqabas.com.kw/Final/NewspaperWebsite/NewspaperPublic/ArticlePage.aspx?ArticleID=286078 (Arabic Version)
Friday, June 15, 2007
SHAME ON US .. take a look
*please read all the way through to read about 'Kuwati Company Accused of Labor Trafficking Builds US Embassy in Baghdad'
Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000: Trafficking in Persons Report 2007
http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2007/
12 June 2007
Public Awareness of Human Trafficking Increasing, Rice Says
New Trafficking in Persons Report gives Georgia special praise
By Eric GreenUSINFO Staff Writer
Secretary Rice announces the release of the Trafficking in Persons Report June 12 at the State Department. (Janine Sides/State Dept.)
Washington -- U.S. efforts to raise awareness of trafficking in persons are paying off, and now millions more people know about the global problem, says Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
In introducing the State Department’s seventh annual Trafficking in Persons Report on June 12, Rice said human trafficking until recently was “akin to a global family secret. It was known but not often discussed publicly.”
Rice said that in her travels around the world, she has noticed “a greater desire by our partners to fight this crime and protect its victims.” The United States, she said, is helping to lead a global movement “not just to confront this crime, but to abolish it. More and more countries are coming to see human trafficking for what it is -- a modern-day form of slavery that devastates families and communities around the world.”
Mark Lagon, the new director of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Human Trafficking in Persons, said in detailing the 236-page report that Georgia merited special praise in its trafficking efforts. That nation, he said, has shown “admirable political commitment” to confront the problem. Georgia’s improvement, Lagon said, includes efforts to prevent girls and women from being lured into the global sex trade, where employers turn them into “mere commodities, with their bodies for sale.”
The report, mandated by the U.S. Congress, grouped Georgia for the first time with what is called the “Tier 1” countries -- those doing the best job of controlling human trafficking, prosecuting those involved, and supporting and assisting trafficking victims. Hungary, Slovenia and the Czech Republic are also newcomers to the Tier 1 group.
The report lists 75 countries in an intermediate Tier 2 group -- those that are demonstrating a “significant” commitment to address their trafficking problems but have not yet achieved international standards -- while 32 countries are on a Tier 2 “watch list” for having shown signs of failing to make improvements. The report places 16 countries in the bottom Tier 3 -- those governments that have shown no commitment to meeting international standards.
Lagon said that the list of countries in the Tier 3 group has grown to 16, compared to 12 from the previous year, “due to a lack of effort” by these nations to combat trafficking. Countries new to the Tier 3 group are Algeria, Bahrain, Equatorial Guinea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Oman and Qatar.
Lagon said India stayed on the Tier 2 Watch List for the fourth straight year and was not downgraded to Tier 3, despite the fact that the world’s “largest democracy” has the “world’s largest problem of human trafficking.” The United States, he said, needs to “engage in a very serious dialogue with India” on the South Asian nation’s trafficking problem, since the countries are “two serious democracies” with a “developing alliance.”
The U.S.-India relationship is such, said Lagon, that the “level of communication between our two governments” can “stand some serious, frank talk about a problem like bonded labor or sex trafficking.”
One country that fell off the Tier l list was Ireland, placed instead in a group called “Special Cases.” The report said the presence of “foreign women in prostitution and a growing migrant labor population raise concerns about a potential trafficking problem” in Ireland. Other special cases are the Bahamas, Barbados, Brunei, Haiti, Iraq, Kiribati, Lesotho, the Solomon Islands, Somalia, Swaziland, Tunisia and Turkmenistan.
The report does not exempt the United States from a cataloguing of its own trafficking problem, including women and girls who migrate to America and become prostitutes. An unknown number of U.S. citizens and legal residents are also trafficked within the United States, primarily for sexual servitude and forced labor, the report says.
While the United States is not assigned a tier rating, Lagon said America stands “ready to be judged” on the problem. He stressed that the United States should be seen as an ally against trafficking.
In fiscal year 2006, the United States contributed more than $74 million abroad to fund 154 international anti-trafficking projects in 70 countries. Since fiscal year 2001, Lagon said, the U.S. government has funded more than $448 million to fight a problem in which an estimated 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders each year. Some 80 percent of that total is female, and up to half are minors. (See related article.)
The United States is “not just standing with our arms folded, judging others,” because trafficking is a “transnational problem,” Lagon said. “We offer our hand as a partner to try and solve this problem of modern-day slavery.”
For additional information, see 2007 Trafficking in Persons Report.
Rice's remarks, Lagon's remarks and more information about human trafficking are on the State Department Web site.
(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov/)
http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2007&m=June&x=200706121538261xeneerg0.3716089
08 June 2007
State Department Offers Film Program on Trafficking in Persons
Goal is to raise worldwide awareness of “modern-day slavery”
By Eric GreenUSINFO Staff Writer
Washington -- U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide are arranging screenings for foreign audiences of several films that vividly display the evils of trafficking in persons, the modern-day equivalent of slavery.
This film program is designed to raise global awareness of how trafficking victims are used for sexual exploitation or forced labor, according to the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP).
State’s Summer of Anti-Trafficking in Persons Movies outreach program coincides with the June 12 release of the department’s 2007 Trafficking in Persons Report. The annual report is intended to highlight the growing efforts of the international community to combat human trafficking and to encourage foreign governments to take effective actions to counter all forms of trafficking in persons.
The screenings of the films will take place exclusively through the auspices of the U.S. embassies and consulates.
An official in the TIP office told USINFO June 6 that “it is hard to count the number of human trafficking victims worldwide” because trafficking is a hidden crime that occurs “under the shadows.”
The TIP film outreach program, now in its second year, has gotten a “tremendous response” from foreign audiences, and the high-quality American films have proven “very effective” in raising awareness of the trafficking issue, the official said.
If this program results in saving “even one person from being a victim of trafficking, then clearly we have made a difference,” said the official.
TELEVISION FEATURE, DOCUMENTARIES
One selection from the TIP program is a full-length feature movie entitled Human Trafficking. It was produced in 2005 by the Lifetime Channel and stars award-winning actors Donald Sutherland and Mira Sorvino. The movie tells the story of unsuspecting individuals who are lured into an international sex-trafficking ring by ruthless criminals. The movie follows the investigations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents (played by Sorvino and Sutherland), who break up an international human-trafficking ring and rescue victims.
The TIP’s office has arranged for Human Trafficking to have subtitles in French, Portuguese, Mandarin, Russian, Romanian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish and Ukrainian. (See related article.)
Another offering is called Sex Slaves, a program produced by public television station WGBH in Boston. It was shown on the Frontline public affairs TV series in February 2006 and portrays how five women from countries in Eastern Europe and Turkey were duped into sexual slavery, beaten by traffickers and “pimps” and sexually exploited for profit.
Three documentaries, presented by the Washington-based nongovernmental group Free the Slaves, concern labor trafficking in the United States and India. The documentaries are called Dreams Die Hard, Freedom and Beyond and The Silent Revolution.
The documentaries drive home the message that modern-day slavery exists nearly everywhere in the world, and that the U.S. government is working to eradicate the problem and rescue victims at home and abroad.
The documentaries also show that “bonded labor” in South Asia is an all-too-common form of slavery, which is “passed from generation to generation.” Bonded labor refers to employers that give high-interest loans to workers whose entire families then labor at low wages to pay off the debt. It is considered the least known and most widely used method of enslaving people worldwide.
The documentaries also show that it is possible for victims of modern-day slavery to regain their freedom.
MAJORITY OF VICTIMS WOMEN, GIRLS
The State Department says an estimated 800,000 people are victims of transnational human trafficking each year. The vast majority of the victims are women and girls. Trafficking victims, who are frequently from rural areas and have little education, are tricked into traveling abroad for what they are led to believe are better job opportunities.
The U.S. government maintains that human trafficking deprives people of their basic human rights and freedoms and has serious public health implications, including the spread of HIV/AIDS. Human trafficking also fuels the growth of organized crime.
Since fiscal year 2001, the United States has funded more than $448 million for international anti-trafficking projects.
See also the electronic journal article, "2007: The Year of Abolition."
More information about human trafficking is available on the State Department Web site.
Additional information on human trafficking films in available on the Web site of the nonprofit group Vital Voices Global Partnership.
Further information about Free the Slaves and its three documentaries is available on the group’s Web site.
(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov/)
http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2007&m=June&x=20070608130830X1eneerg0.3753168
Articles and online views on human rights in Kuwait
Key U.S. Allies Added to Trafficking Blacklist
By MATTHEW LEEAssociated PressJune 13, 2007
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration yesterday added seven nations, including several key allies in the Middle East, to its human trafficking blacklist for failing to halt what it called the scourge of "modern-day slavery."
Countries on the list are subject to possible sanctions for not doing enough to stop the yearly flow of some 800,000 people, 80% of them female and more than half of them children, across international borders for the sex trade and other forms of forced and indentured labor.
Among America's friends getting a failing grade were Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar, which along with Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, and Malaysia joined for the first time perennial offenders like Burma, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria in the State Department's annual "Trafficking in Persons Report."
Sixteen states in all — four more than in 2006 — were given so-called "Tier 3" status in the 236-page survey of global efforts to combat trafficking in people, many of whom are seeking to escape poverty in Eastern Europe and South and Southeast Asia and are sold into the commercial sex trade, manual labor, or mistreated as domestics.
Despite the additions, Secretary of State Rice said, "More and more countries are coming to see human trafficking for what it is — a modern-day form of slavery that devastates families and communities around the world."
"We hope this report encourages responsible nations across the globe to stand together, to speak with one voice, and to say that freedom and security are non-negotiable demands of human dignity, and to say ... ‘No one is fit to be a master, and no one deserves to be a slave,'" she told reporters.
http://www.nysun.com/article/56434
Kuwaitis & Saudis Among Worst Offenders in Human Trafficking
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/6/12/16284/7132
Listen to the Prophets : Modern Day Slavery
http://www.prayforkuwait.com/kwpress/arabic-%d8%b9%d8%b1%d8%a8%d9%8a/modern-day-slavery/
Swept Under the RugAbuses against Domestic Workers Around the World
http://hrw.org/reports/2006/wrd0706/
7 Nations Added to Trafficking Blacklist
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6703120,00.html
Kuwati Company Accused of Labor Trafficking Builds US Embassy in Baghdad
http://www.davidphinney.com/pages/2006/02/kuwati_company.php
Gender and Migration in Arab States
http://www.gender.gcim.org/attachements/Book%20in%20ArabStates.pdf
That's all..... for now.
Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000: Trafficking in Persons Report 2007
http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2007/
12 June 2007
Public Awareness of Human Trafficking Increasing, Rice Says
New Trafficking in Persons Report gives Georgia special praise
By Eric GreenUSINFO Staff Writer
Secretary Rice announces the release of the Trafficking in Persons Report June 12 at the State Department. (Janine Sides/State Dept.)
Washington -- U.S. efforts to raise awareness of trafficking in persons are paying off, and now millions more people know about the global problem, says Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
In introducing the State Department’s seventh annual Trafficking in Persons Report on June 12, Rice said human trafficking until recently was “akin to a global family secret. It was known but not often discussed publicly.”
Rice said that in her travels around the world, she has noticed “a greater desire by our partners to fight this crime and protect its victims.” The United States, she said, is helping to lead a global movement “not just to confront this crime, but to abolish it. More and more countries are coming to see human trafficking for what it is -- a modern-day form of slavery that devastates families and communities around the world.”
Mark Lagon, the new director of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Human Trafficking in Persons, said in detailing the 236-page report that Georgia merited special praise in its trafficking efforts. That nation, he said, has shown “admirable political commitment” to confront the problem. Georgia’s improvement, Lagon said, includes efforts to prevent girls and women from being lured into the global sex trade, where employers turn them into “mere commodities, with their bodies for sale.”
The report, mandated by the U.S. Congress, grouped Georgia for the first time with what is called the “Tier 1” countries -- those doing the best job of controlling human trafficking, prosecuting those involved, and supporting and assisting trafficking victims. Hungary, Slovenia and the Czech Republic are also newcomers to the Tier 1 group.
The report lists 75 countries in an intermediate Tier 2 group -- those that are demonstrating a “significant” commitment to address their trafficking problems but have not yet achieved international standards -- while 32 countries are on a Tier 2 “watch list” for having shown signs of failing to make improvements. The report places 16 countries in the bottom Tier 3 -- those governments that have shown no commitment to meeting international standards.
Lagon said that the list of countries in the Tier 3 group has grown to 16, compared to 12 from the previous year, “due to a lack of effort” by these nations to combat trafficking. Countries new to the Tier 3 group are Algeria, Bahrain, Equatorial Guinea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Oman and Qatar.
Lagon said India stayed on the Tier 2 Watch List for the fourth straight year and was not downgraded to Tier 3, despite the fact that the world’s “largest democracy” has the “world’s largest problem of human trafficking.” The United States, he said, needs to “engage in a very serious dialogue with India” on the South Asian nation’s trafficking problem, since the countries are “two serious democracies” with a “developing alliance.”
The U.S.-India relationship is such, said Lagon, that the “level of communication between our two governments” can “stand some serious, frank talk about a problem like bonded labor or sex trafficking.”
One country that fell off the Tier l list was Ireland, placed instead in a group called “Special Cases.” The report said the presence of “foreign women in prostitution and a growing migrant labor population raise concerns about a potential trafficking problem” in Ireland. Other special cases are the Bahamas, Barbados, Brunei, Haiti, Iraq, Kiribati, Lesotho, the Solomon Islands, Somalia, Swaziland, Tunisia and Turkmenistan.
The report does not exempt the United States from a cataloguing of its own trafficking problem, including women and girls who migrate to America and become prostitutes. An unknown number of U.S. citizens and legal residents are also trafficked within the United States, primarily for sexual servitude and forced labor, the report says.
While the United States is not assigned a tier rating, Lagon said America stands “ready to be judged” on the problem. He stressed that the United States should be seen as an ally against trafficking.
In fiscal year 2006, the United States contributed more than $74 million abroad to fund 154 international anti-trafficking projects in 70 countries. Since fiscal year 2001, Lagon said, the U.S. government has funded more than $448 million to fight a problem in which an estimated 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders each year. Some 80 percent of that total is female, and up to half are minors. (See related article.)
The United States is “not just standing with our arms folded, judging others,” because trafficking is a “transnational problem,” Lagon said. “We offer our hand as a partner to try and solve this problem of modern-day slavery.”
For additional information, see 2007 Trafficking in Persons Report.
Rice's remarks, Lagon's remarks and more information about human trafficking are on the State Department Web site.
(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov/)
http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2007&m=June&x=200706121538261xeneerg0.3716089
08 June 2007
State Department Offers Film Program on Trafficking in Persons
Goal is to raise worldwide awareness of “modern-day slavery”
By Eric GreenUSINFO Staff Writer
Washington -- U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide are arranging screenings for foreign audiences of several films that vividly display the evils of trafficking in persons, the modern-day equivalent of slavery.
This film program is designed to raise global awareness of how trafficking victims are used for sexual exploitation or forced labor, according to the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP).
State’s Summer of Anti-Trafficking in Persons Movies outreach program coincides with the June 12 release of the department’s 2007 Trafficking in Persons Report. The annual report is intended to highlight the growing efforts of the international community to combat human trafficking and to encourage foreign governments to take effective actions to counter all forms of trafficking in persons.
The screenings of the films will take place exclusively through the auspices of the U.S. embassies and consulates.
An official in the TIP office told USINFO June 6 that “it is hard to count the number of human trafficking victims worldwide” because trafficking is a hidden crime that occurs “under the shadows.”
The TIP film outreach program, now in its second year, has gotten a “tremendous response” from foreign audiences, and the high-quality American films have proven “very effective” in raising awareness of the trafficking issue, the official said.
If this program results in saving “even one person from being a victim of trafficking, then clearly we have made a difference,” said the official.
TELEVISION FEATURE, DOCUMENTARIES
One selection from the TIP program is a full-length feature movie entitled Human Trafficking. It was produced in 2005 by the Lifetime Channel and stars award-winning actors Donald Sutherland and Mira Sorvino. The movie tells the story of unsuspecting individuals who are lured into an international sex-trafficking ring by ruthless criminals. The movie follows the investigations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents (played by Sorvino and Sutherland), who break up an international human-trafficking ring and rescue victims.
The TIP’s office has arranged for Human Trafficking to have subtitles in French, Portuguese, Mandarin, Russian, Romanian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish and Ukrainian. (See related article.)
Another offering is called Sex Slaves, a program produced by public television station WGBH in Boston. It was shown on the Frontline public affairs TV series in February 2006 and portrays how five women from countries in Eastern Europe and Turkey were duped into sexual slavery, beaten by traffickers and “pimps” and sexually exploited for profit.
Three documentaries, presented by the Washington-based nongovernmental group Free the Slaves, concern labor trafficking in the United States and India. The documentaries are called Dreams Die Hard, Freedom and Beyond and The Silent Revolution.
The documentaries drive home the message that modern-day slavery exists nearly everywhere in the world, and that the U.S. government is working to eradicate the problem and rescue victims at home and abroad.
The documentaries also show that “bonded labor” in South Asia is an all-too-common form of slavery, which is “passed from generation to generation.” Bonded labor refers to employers that give high-interest loans to workers whose entire families then labor at low wages to pay off the debt. It is considered the least known and most widely used method of enslaving people worldwide.
The documentaries also show that it is possible for victims of modern-day slavery to regain their freedom.
MAJORITY OF VICTIMS WOMEN, GIRLS
The State Department says an estimated 800,000 people are victims of transnational human trafficking each year. The vast majority of the victims are women and girls. Trafficking victims, who are frequently from rural areas and have little education, are tricked into traveling abroad for what they are led to believe are better job opportunities.
The U.S. government maintains that human trafficking deprives people of their basic human rights and freedoms and has serious public health implications, including the spread of HIV/AIDS. Human trafficking also fuels the growth of organized crime.
Since fiscal year 2001, the United States has funded more than $448 million for international anti-trafficking projects.
See also the electronic journal article, "2007: The Year of Abolition."
More information about human trafficking is available on the State Department Web site.
Additional information on human trafficking films in available on the Web site of the nonprofit group Vital Voices Global Partnership.
Further information about Free the Slaves and its three documentaries is available on the group’s Web site.
(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov/)
http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2007&m=June&x=20070608130830X1eneerg0.3753168
Articles and online views on human rights in Kuwait
Key U.S. Allies Added to Trafficking Blacklist
By MATTHEW LEEAssociated PressJune 13, 2007
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration yesterday added seven nations, including several key allies in the Middle East, to its human trafficking blacklist for failing to halt what it called the scourge of "modern-day slavery."
Countries on the list are subject to possible sanctions for not doing enough to stop the yearly flow of some 800,000 people, 80% of them female and more than half of them children, across international borders for the sex trade and other forms of forced and indentured labor.
Among America's friends getting a failing grade were Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar, which along with Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, and Malaysia joined for the first time perennial offenders like Burma, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria in the State Department's annual "Trafficking in Persons Report."
Sixteen states in all — four more than in 2006 — were given so-called "Tier 3" status in the 236-page survey of global efforts to combat trafficking in people, many of whom are seeking to escape poverty in Eastern Europe and South and Southeast Asia and are sold into the commercial sex trade, manual labor, or mistreated as domestics.
Despite the additions, Secretary of State Rice said, "More and more countries are coming to see human trafficking for what it is — a modern-day form of slavery that devastates families and communities around the world."
"We hope this report encourages responsible nations across the globe to stand together, to speak with one voice, and to say that freedom and security are non-negotiable demands of human dignity, and to say ... ‘No one is fit to be a master, and no one deserves to be a slave,'" she told reporters.
http://www.nysun.com/article/56434
Kuwaitis & Saudis Among Worst Offenders in Human Trafficking
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/6/12/16284/7132
Listen to the Prophets : Modern Day Slavery
http://www.prayforkuwait.com/kwpress/arabic-%d8%b9%d8%b1%d8%a8%d9%8a/modern-day-slavery/
Swept Under the RugAbuses against Domestic Workers Around the World
http://hrw.org/reports/2006/wrd0706/
7 Nations Added to Trafficking Blacklist
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6703120,00.html
Kuwati Company Accused of Labor Trafficking Builds US Embassy in Baghdad
http://www.davidphinney.com/pages/2006/02/kuwati_company.php
Gender and Migration in Arab States
http://www.gender.gcim.org/attachements/Book%20in%20ArabStates.pdf
That's all..... for now.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
TIME TO CLEAN OUT THE CLEANING COMPANIES
Ok I'm not going to pretend that I know anything to do with business. I don't even care to know, what I know though is that I've been going to the hospitals lately to visit family and friends. In my visit I saw A LOT of cleaners cleaning CONSTANTLY!! As you all know all of them are asian expats usually from Indian Sri Lanka or Bangladesh. I had the chance to speaks with a few of them in 3 different hospitals. ALL of them get paid a monthly salary of 20kd, THIS VIOLATES LABOUR LAWS IN KUWAIT. Now as I said I don't know anything about business but what I know is that the big profit made from companies that underpay their workers is TRASH. The Cleaners I spoke with worked for Al Abraj Cleaning Company and Al Nusif Cleaning company and a third company that I couldn't remember or look up- something al azrag- if I recall.
My post is based on my personal experience and complaints from the workers of those companies, I would appreciate it if someone (preferably the companies themselves) could clarify/deny this information.
Al Abraj Cleaning :
Ministry of Defense (Squads of the Amiri Guard)
Kuwait National Petroleum Company
Kuwait Oil Company (Internal and external cleaning)
Ministry of Health (Cleaning and transport)
Ministry of Interior (Ahmadi Governorate)
Contract of the Ministry of Defense (Mubarak Brigade and Cooperation and Provisions Brigade)
Contract of the Ministry of Defense (Muhammad Al Ahmad Maritime Base)
Contract of the Ministry of Defense (Ahmad Al Jaber Air Base)
Contract of the Ministry of Defense (Air Defense and Power Brigade)
Contract of the Ministry of Defense (Amiri Palaces)
Ministry of Interior (Capital Governorate)
Contract of the Ministry of Transportation
Contract of the Ministry of Public Health
Contract of the Awkaf Ministry (Capital)
Public Authority for Civil Information
Public Transport Company
Ministry of Interior (Jahra)
Arifjan Camp
Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor
Oil Tankers Company
Real Estate Bank
Union of the Cooperative Associations
Kuwait Public Transport Company
United Gulf Company
AND
Al Masseelah Cleaning Company
Contract of the Ministry of Defense (Ahmadi Governorate)
Contract of the Ministry of Defense (Moubarak Brigade and Cooperation and Provisions Brigade)
Contract of the Ministry of Defense (Muhammad Al Ahmad Maritime Base)
Contract of the Ministry of Defense (Ahmad Al Jaber Air Base)
Contract of the Ministry of Defense ( Amiri Guard)
Contract of the Ministry of Transportation
Ministry of Interior (Ahmadi Governorate)
Ministry of Public Works
Board of Directors
Mr. Jamal Ahmad Al KandariChairman
Mr. Samir Nasser Ali HusseinDeputy Chairman & Board Member
Mr. Yousuf Saqr Abdullah Al FahadBoard Member
Abdul Wahab A. Al MutawaBoard Member
Mr. Sami Abdullah Al Abdul HadiBoard Member
Engineer, Hussein ZamanCEO
Mr. Ken WellsGM, Business Development
Fajer Al- Khaleej Contracting Co. is a subsidiary of Wael Al-Nusif Trading Company
http://www.waelalnusif.com/project.aspx
The following companies are companies I don't know anything about but heard through word of mouth from people of salary violations:-
Al Ahlea Circle Cleaning Company ?
http://www.alahlea.com/home.htm
Kuwait Swedish Cleaning Services Co. S.A.K
http://www.kuwaitswedish.com/home.html
National Cleaning Co.
http://www.ncc-kw.com/en/index.asp
Tanzifco
http://www.tanzifco.com/index2.html
I'm sure they are many more companies and in many other sectors. A family member of mine has a farm and he hires workers from a company to work on his farm. I was visiting a month ago and saw the men working in the fields at around 3 pm. I stopped them from work and explained to them that they can choose not to work at this time but instead work night shifts. I got an angry call from the farm's managment and so I called my family member to explain to him what i've done. He said "Bravo, good job and while you're at it, tell them to leave and find somewhere else to work. I am paying for services and expect to be given service for what I've paid"
It frustrates me to think that I want to make changes and I'm not able to even in my own family. (excluding mom, dad, brothers and sisters) The workers get paid quite well and didn't want to jeopardize their jobs. I was trying to get them to sue the farm.
So the most important thing for any person is to be paid for his services and get paid according to the contract. 20 kuwaiti dinars a month is INHUMANE.
My post is based on my personal experience and complaints from the workers of those companies, I would appreciate it if someone (preferably the companies themselves) could clarify/deny this information.
Al Abraj Cleaning :
Ministry of Defense (Squads of the Amiri Guard)
Kuwait National Petroleum Company
Kuwait Oil Company (Internal and external cleaning)
Ministry of Health (Cleaning and transport)
Ministry of Interior (Ahmadi Governorate)
Contract of the Ministry of Defense (Mubarak Brigade and Cooperation and Provisions Brigade)
Contract of the Ministry of Defense (Muhammad Al Ahmad Maritime Base)
Contract of the Ministry of Defense (Ahmad Al Jaber Air Base)
Contract of the Ministry of Defense (Air Defense and Power Brigade)
Contract of the Ministry of Defense (Amiri Palaces)
Ministry of Interior (Capital Governorate)
Contract of the Ministry of Transportation
Contract of the Ministry of Public Health
Contract of the Awkaf Ministry (Capital)
Public Authority for Civil Information
Public Transport Company
Ministry of Interior (Jahra)
Arifjan Camp
Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor
Oil Tankers Company
Real Estate Bank
Union of the Cooperative Associations
Kuwait Public Transport Company
United Gulf Company
AND
Al Masseelah Cleaning Company
Contract of the Ministry of Defense (Ahmadi Governorate)
Contract of the Ministry of Defense (Moubarak Brigade and Cooperation and Provisions Brigade)
Contract of the Ministry of Defense (Muhammad Al Ahmad Maritime Base)
Contract of the Ministry of Defense (Ahmad Al Jaber Air Base)
Contract of the Ministry of Defense ( Amiri Guard)
Contract of the Ministry of Transportation
Ministry of Interior (Ahmadi Governorate)
Ministry of Public Works
Board of Directors
Mr. Jamal Ahmad Al KandariChairman
Mr. Samir Nasser Ali HusseinDeputy Chairman & Board Member
Mr. Yousuf Saqr Abdullah Al FahadBoard Member
Abdul Wahab A. Al MutawaBoard Member
Mr. Sami Abdullah Al Abdul HadiBoard Member
Engineer, Hussein ZamanCEO
Mr. Ken WellsGM, Business Development
Fajer Al- Khaleej Contracting Co. is a subsidiary of Wael Al-Nusif Trading Company
http://www.waelalnusif.com/project.aspx
The following companies are companies I don't know anything about but heard through word of mouth from people of salary violations:-
Al Ahlea Circle Cleaning Company ?
http://www.alahlea.com/home.htm
Kuwait Swedish Cleaning Services Co. S.A.K
http://www.kuwaitswedish.com/home.html
National Cleaning Co.
http://www.ncc-kw.com/en/index.asp
Tanzifco
http://www.tanzifco.com/index2.html
I'm sure they are many more companies and in many other sectors. A family member of mine has a farm and he hires workers from a company to work on his farm. I was visiting a month ago and saw the men working in the fields at around 3 pm. I stopped them from work and explained to them that they can choose not to work at this time but instead work night shifts. I got an angry call from the farm's managment and so I called my family member to explain to him what i've done. He said "Bravo, good job and while you're at it, tell them to leave and find somewhere else to work. I am paying for services and expect to be given service for what I've paid"
It frustrates me to think that I want to make changes and I'm not able to even in my own family. (excluding mom, dad, brothers and sisters) The workers get paid quite well and didn't want to jeopardize their jobs. I was trying to get them to sue the farm.
So the most important thing for any person is to be paid for his services and get paid according to the contract. 20 kuwaiti dinars a month is INHUMANE.
Friday, June 1, 2007
VERY IMPORTANT
DOMESTIC LABOUR MUST BE ALLOWED TO HAVE BANK ACCOUNTS!!!!!!!
this helps with incriminating the sponsors that do not pay, and may even clear the names of those accused of not paying.
Our organization is looking into this with the ministry of commerce, love to hear your opinion on this.
this helps with incriminating the sponsors that do not pay, and may even clear the names of those accused of not paying.
Our organization is looking into this with the ministry of commerce, love to hear your opinion on this.
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