Wikipedia:
The Comoro Islands or Comoros form an archipelago of volcanic islands
situated off the south-east coast of Africa, to the east of Mozambique and
north-west of Madagascar.
So now my
Bedoon friends (friends who have NO nationality and are not able to obtain
birth certificates for their children) are now African? What does their culture, their history, their decent have to do with Comoros? Nothing. They're Arab. Many have proven DNA links to Kuwaiti family members.
WTF. I
woke up in a foul mood mood this morning and it now just got 1,000 times worse.
This is yet another ridiculous ploy to cover up the Bedoon issue.
Grant those deserving citizenship!
There was a scheme years ago in the 1980's - a deal that some lawmaker set up where Bedoon were supposed to go to an office and apply for citizenship. Turned out to be to another African country. Some were duped into believing that it would be beneficial... until countries like the UK denied entry visas for visitors (and other reasons) and stated that the passports were illegal and had been "purchased." Benifits to Bedoon? ZERO.Who is making money off these deals?
So what are they going to do - round up the Bedoon, put them on trucks and force them to go to the NEW Comoro Islands embassy for processing?
I HATE this....
MP Hits
‘Comoros’ Bid To Paper-Over Bedoun Issue
Lawmaker Warns Government Would
Collapse
KUWAIT CITY,
Nov 9: Director of Citizenship Department Major General Mazen Al-Jarrah’s call
to send Bedouns to Comoro Islands is a very serious issue, says MP Faisal
Al-Duwaisan. The lawmaker warned that if this plan is implemented, it will lead
to bitter repercussions such as the collapse of the entire government. He
pointed out Al-Jarrah’s statement seems to confirm that the government was
lying when it said majority of Bedouns have other nationalities, so they should
be considered illegal immigrants. He argued if the government’s claim is true,
it would have repatriated these people rather than sending them to Comoros.
The
stateless people would be granted “special applications for Comoros’ economic
citizenship,” al-Jarrah told Al-Jarida daily. Those who accept the offer would
be given free residence permits in Kuwait, in addition to a series of
incentives like free education and healthcare and the right to employment,
Jarrah was quoted as saying. (Don't believe the hype, I'm just sayin...)
The process
would start as soon as an embassy for Comoros is opened in Kuwait in the coming
months. More than 110,000 stateless people were born and raised in Kuwait and
claim the right to citizenship in the country.
The Kuwaiti
government, which describes them as illegal residents, says only 34,000 qualify
for consideration for citizenship. The rest are considered natives of other
countries who either emigrated to Kuwait after the discovery of oil five
decades ago or were born to these migrants. In the past three years, Bedouns
have held demonstrations to demand citizenship and other basic rights, and
police have dispersed them using force, arresting hundreds who are on trial for
illegal protests and assaulting police.
A Kuwaiti
lawmaker in April proposed to send stateless people convicted of breaching
public security and protesting to a camp he suggested should be built in the
desert. Comoros is an archipelago state located off eastern Africa and is a
member of the Arab League. Al-Duwaisan stressed the need for a stronglyworded
response from the lawmakers to Al- Jarrah, including forwarding questions to HH
the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak to know if the Central System for
Remedying the Status of Illegal Residents (CSRSIR) is affiliated to the Cabinet
or the Ministry of Interior.
He also
wants to know the truth about the alleged plan to send Bedouns to Comoro
Islands, date of drafting this plan, body which met officials of Comoros to
discuss the issue, details of the agreement between the parties if any,
legality of such action and whether it is in line with international treaties
or not. He asked if Al-Jarrah made the call as an official in charge of the
issue although the CSRSIR has been tasked to address the problems of Bedouns.
He alleged
the Bedoon issue is not part of the priorities of the current Parliament,
accusing some people of using the issue to gain popularity and to serve
electoral interests. He intends to present questions to the prime minister and
minister of interior in this regard. He and other MPs will soon discuss the
possibility of requesting for the formation of an investigative committee or
submit a grilling request on this issue. He then urged his fellow MPs in the
Human Rights Committee to prioritize the issue if they are really keen on
protecting human rights and rejecting injustice.
---
Other Stories:
Kuwait Times, Govt to Offer Bedoons Comoros Citizenship - MP Slams Move, Says Lawmakers were Misled
Ok, but because I am "cheeky," I have started sending requests to my Bedoon friends to invite me to "their country" to do some fishing and relax next to the sea (that is, of course, if there is no coup attempt that week...)
Sorry, but I can't imagine a bunch of Bedoon guys dropped off on a tropical island. That would be like "Dr. Samhan" in reverse. They would probably immediately open a sheesha cafe. And where would you buy banak? Eeek.
---
Other Stories:
Kuwait Times, Govt to Offer Bedoons Comoros Citizenship - MP Slams Move, Says Lawmakers were Misled
Ok, but because I am "cheeky," I have started sending requests to my Bedoon friends to invite me to "their country" to do some fishing and relax next to the sea (that is, of course, if there is no coup attempt that week...)
One of the Comoros Islands |
Sorry, but I can't imagine a bunch of Bedoon guys dropped off on a tropical island. That would be like "Dr. Samhan" in reverse. They would probably immediately open a sheesha cafe. And where would you buy banak? Eeek.
I'm always fascinated when they say "34,000 are possibly eligible for citizenship, but there's over 110,000 who are citizens of other countries". Have they not taken into consideration procreation and its effect on the bidoon population? Are they implying some random dude might be eligible for citizenship but his 14 kids are all citizens of other countries? Oh the silliness is just outrageous. They've allowed this tragic situation to go on for so many decades they've truly lost sight of the reality. What started as a manageable 'problem' with a viable solution has now grown far beyond something that can be swept under the carpet, ignored, and healed with a band-aid.
ReplyDeleteAG - Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI mean, how much more can anybody say? It is so frustrating! All the broken promises and continued residual effects on Kuwait.
And then you get an entirely new crop of expats and Embassy people coming into Kuwait, being fed slanted opinions on a subject which has become "taboo" for them to discuss.
"Oh, I was told that they are all from other countries and just want money from the Kuwaiti government..." Are they all SHEEP? Doesn't anybody read or research anymore? Does everybody just believe what they are "told"?
There aren't enough throat lozenges for the amount of talking I do about it. And the look I get? Similar to the look my sister used to get when she told people she had cancer!
Then, you get well-intentioned (and highly educated people) who try to speak at venues like HARVARD and the Bedoon issue is deemed "too controversial" to speak about! WTF. Et tu, HARVARD!!! Seriously?!
Are people SO afraid of firing an extra synapse by actually thinking? If there isn't an app for it, they don't want to hear about it.
I hope more organizations like Refugees International and Human Rights Watch will take the high road and approach the subject.