Monday, November 10, 2014

Kuwaiti Bedoons (No-Nationality) now to become African???

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.

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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.

2 comments:

AmericanGirl said...

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.

Desert Girl said...

AG - Sigh.

I 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.