Kuwaitization is not a luxury but a necessity

Years ago, an Arab resident visited me. At the time, he was an employee in one of the important government departments. Without me asking him about his position, he began speaking with a degree of resentment and irritation about his ministry, saying: “They are bringing in young Kuwaitis who demand that we train them to work, so they can replace us in our jobs.”

This expatriate is not the only one who has said, or said things like this. Some expatriates consider their stay in Kuwait as permanent residency and view their employment or job as an acquired right. Therefore, it was natural, and expected, that they would become upset and angry at the Kuwaiti government for taking a decision that affects expatriates in the Ministry of Education, and the teachers who are being made redundant in a chaotic manner. This is because the majority, if not all, of them have structured their lives around permanent residency or permanent employment. They never imagined that they came to this country on work contracts, and that the employer—which is the Kuwaiti Ministry of Education—has the right to terminate their services if necessary, just as it has the right to renew their work contracts if needed.

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This is not bound by timing or the employee’s circumstances. The government is not a charity organization, because its responsibilities are greater and broader than addressing specific cases. Unemployment is not a phenomenon unique to any particular country. Kuwait, for example, despite being a small and developing country, is currently suffering from a surplus of unemployed citizens. There are currently around 40,000 young people without jobs, most of whom hold university degrees. So, who deserves employment: the unemployed Kuwaiti citizen or the expatriate sponsored by his government?

Some countries seek to get rid of their citizens in any way possible, while in other major countries, governments encourage families to have children. In a superpower like China, with a population of 1.4 billion, the government encourages families to have children.

Singapore, this small country whose area is roughly the size of the capital city of Kuwait, and whose population exceeds seven million, has a government that encourages its citizens to have children. India, Russia, and others urge their citizens to have children. So why do some of our countries want to get rid of their citizens? Why push them to take risks and endure hardships on rubber boats to cross to the other shore? Are red carpets rolled out for them, or do they suffer humiliation and loiter in the streets, eating food scraps from garbage bins?

Unfortunately, some Arab youth who risk crossing seas to the other side of the ocean are intelligent, but their opportunities in their home countries are nonexistent. Thus, we find them risking their lives, hoping that in Western countries they might find honest livelihood and the humanity that is absent in their homelands.

Finally, it must be stated that Kuwait is not a destination for external migration. Although Kuwait still attracts foreign labor, it is not for all types of jobs. Kuwait’s need for foreign labor is declining; what was acceptable yesterday may not be suitable for tomorrow.

A Kuwaiti journalist