Absconding

SO, you sign a contract turn up for work only to find that the job was not what you had signed up for. Not only has the job changed, but the agreed salary has been reduced. Naturally you are upset, but you are told firmly that you have no say in the matter and your only choice is to settle in and work out the remainder of your term under the new memorandum of understanding to which you never consented. What would you do?Most people resentfully buckle in under threat and comply. But for those who choose to rightfully complain and ask to be released — they get charged with absconding and end up in jail for months with their passports held by their employers.
Migrante International, a human rights group has recently pleaded with the Filipino Embassy in Kuwait to assist with the release and repatriation of 36 workers who are in jail on the charge of absconding. These men have been in jail for several months and are desperate to return home to be with their families. What is their crime? To protest the terms of a contract that they never agreed to in the first place.Absconding is when an employee breaks the terms of their contract and runs away. Given that Kuwait is a small country it is understandable that there is a desire for some kind of population control. However, how does one protect the abuse of vulnerable workers by unscrupulous employers?
The reality is that the charge of absconding has become the standard ploy whenever an employer decides that they have had enough of their workers. The police are unable to make a distinction between a genuine grievance and an employer who simply marches into a station and hands his employees over for arrest. The police have become unwilling accomplices in solving the problem of unwanted labour. Although Kuwaiti law insists that the employer is liable for repatriating their own workers, in reality, some employers absolve their responsibilities by playing the ‘absconding’ card. The result is overstretched and under-resourced embassies deluged with labour complaints and little means of challenging the process. I can’t help think of the ‘golden rule’ first spoken by Jesus Christ, “Do unto others what you would have them do to you” Is absconding a crime? Sure it is — but who is the criminal?

Magic and Religion

The talk of British television at the moment is magician Derren Brown. Everyone is trying to guess how he accomplishes his amazing tricks. Some simply say that Derren is the real thing - he does real magic!!!

Both Christianity and Islam subcribe to the world of the supernatural. We believe that there is a God and he can do miracles. These are accomplished through prayer and the grace of God. The inevitable result is always the glorifying of God.

Magicians though, just entertain. They bewilder and amuse in equal turn. Ever wondered how magicians accomplish their stuff. Then check out the following. Everything is explained.

Click Here!

Leave the real magic to God.

Learning Arabic

Learning a language is always a rewarding challenge. Learning Arabic is even more so. Here in Kuwait though it seems hard work to learn and . . . expensive.

The AWARE centre do good classes and I recommend them - but they require getting to Surra and if you live far away itis a pain. The other option is to learn online:

I really recommend the following course for learning Arabic. It is instantly downloadable and you can learn at your own pace from your home. Check it out in order to receive ten books aimed at getting you into the Arabic language without blinding you with science.

Click Here!

Another option is an online course called Rocket Arabic which aims to get you going like a . . . erm . . a rocket!!! Check it out here:

Rocket Arabic Click Here!

The Kuwaitis love it when we expatriates try and learn their language. Give it a go.

BTW! My Arabic is rubbish - but I can read it and get a laugh everytime I open my mouth. T'is fun! And actually I am slowly making myself more understood.

Does North Korea execute Muslims as well?

North Korea 'executes Christians'
By Andre Vornic BBC News

North Korea views religion as a threat to its state ideology

Human rights groups in South Korea say North Korea has stepped up executions of Christians, some of them in public.

The communist country, the world's most closed society, views religion as a major threat.
Only the founder of the country, Kim Il-sung, and his son, Kim Jong-il, may be worshipped, in mass public displays of fervour.

Despite the persecutions, it is thought up to 30,000 North Koreans may practise Christianity secretly in their homes.

A report by a number of South Korean groups highlights one particular case of a woman allegedly executed in public last month, in a northern town close to the Chinese border.
She was accused of distributing Bibles, spying for South Korea and the United States and helping to organise dissidents.

Her parents, husband, and children were sent to a prison camp.
Such reports are hard to verify, but North Korea is known to be intolerant of religion - it views any form of alternative social organisation as a competitor for its own, religion-like ideology.
The US government says just owning a Bible in North Korea may be a cause for torture and disappearance.

Pyongyang's position appears to have hardened on everything from human rights to defence policy and international relations in the last year or so.

It is thought this may be a way to shore up the government through Mr Kim's illness and the process of anointing his youngest son, Kim Jong-un, as North Korea's next leader.

This is Outrageous. When is this stuff ever going to stop?

Manila maid ‘survives’ to tell sadist employer’s torture saga

KUWAIT CITY, July 18: A Filipina household service worker employed by a Kuwaiti family sought refuge at the Philippine Embassy this weekend after allegedly suffering severe maltreatment for almost two years at the hands of her lady employer. Jenny, 41, single and a native of Alabang, Manila was sobbing in pain as she narrated to the Arab Times on Saturday the ‘burning’ torture that her lady employer allegedly did on her. “There was no single day that she did not hurt me. She loved hurting me,” cried Jenny as she showed all the scars and fresh wounds dotting her body. She recounted that her lady employer would usually time her whenever a household task is to be done. “She wants me to finish everything fast, but I’m the only housemaid at home and she has two small kids. We’re staying in a flat with four rooms and with four bathrooms. I do all the household chores, cook, clean, baby-sit and laundry. Sometimes, due to extreme fatigue, I tend to work slowly and she would be very mad at me and the torture begins,” she stated. She narrated that her lady employer had fun torturing her by heating a knife on the stove and once it is scorching hot, she would place the hot knife on any part of the latter’s body leaving burns and blisters.
“I kept on begging her not to do it. I said, enough, enough madam, but she won’t stop until my skin is burnt and blistered. It was horrible. She looked like a devil hitting me with the hot knife. How can a normal person do that?” sobbed Jenny whose wrists, arms, left foot and back were covered with bandage to prevent burnt infection after coming from the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital for treatment. Her ears resembled like a crunchy chicharron after her lady employer burnt them with a knife. “She burned my ears, because there was a time when she called me and I wasn’t able to go to her immediately because I was doing something at the kitchen so she got angry and burned my two ears for not replying to her quickly,” she stated as tears welled in her eyes.
The lady employer also burned her hands and arms with the hot knife for not washing the dishes quickly. “She burned my legs and foot for walking slowly, she burned my nape too and she boxed me on my eye so that I cannot see things clearly,” outlined Jenny. The lady employer also did not spare Jenny’s lips. As she narrated her harrowing experience, she pointed to her blistered, flaking and discoloured burnt lips. “She also hit my back using a water hose and lashed me with the ‘oqal’ of her husband,” she stated, showing her scarred back with newly bandaged burn wounds. The ‘oqal’ is the doubled black cord generally made of tightly woven black goat-hair and sheep’s wool, that is used to secure the ‘Ghutra’ or headdress of Arab men in place.
The lady employer also cut the shoulder-length hair of Jenny leaving her almost bald. “I want to fight back but I was scared because she’s six-months pregnant and I might harm her baby so I endured all the beatings,” she pointed out. After inflicting pain on her, the lady employer would usually give her some cream to treat the burns in various parts of her body. “I really can’t understand why she’s doing that. She would even ask me to wear gloves while washing the dishes to protect my hands and give me hand moisturisers,” she stated.
Last week, the lady employer allegedly threatened to burn Jenny’s eyes and face, prompting the latter to run to the embassy for help. “I finally decided to run to the embassy for help because only God knows, I may not be able to control myself and I might be forced to fight back and I might harm her and the baby in her womb,” she stated. She called first the local manpower agency that recruited her and asked for help but the man from the agency refused to help her. “I told him, please help me, take me out from this hell, but the guy at the agency even scolded me and told me not to go to the agency or he will kick me out of the agency. I called them five times. So I decided to sneak out of the house and go to the embassy” she claimed.
Meanwhile, Philippine Ambassador Ricardo Endaya disclosed that the embassy has already hired a Kuwaiti lawyer for Jenny so appropriate charges will be filed against her lady employer. “I’m still at a loss how a human being can do this to her fellow human being. I hope the Kuwaiti authorities will not close their eyes on this so that justice will be served and the employer should be castigated for committing such inhumane acts,” he stressed. “I want her to be in jail. She should pay for what she has done to me,” cried Jenny as she hopes to go back to the Philippines after getting the justice that she wants.
By Michelle Fe Santiago

Islamic Art - Through the Eyes of Faith

Geometric patterns, in near infinite variations of pattern and scale are combined with floral and vegetal designs for a reason that exceeds any aesthetic directive: they express something about the world itself.[1]

Islamic art in its two dimensional form, falls into the three genres of calligraphy, geometry, and nature. Entire books can be devoted to each of these genres alone, but it is common in Islamic religious art to find all three present at the same time.

The Grand mosque of Kuwait is full of these triadic surprises and contains beautiful examples of Islamic art. The subject of this article is the small mihrab (prayer niche). There are six[2] identical mihrabs built into the South-West wall. Their function is to serve as the jibla’, pointing the faithful to pray in the direction of Mecca. They also serve as a sound chamber and ‘pulpit’ for a teacher speaking to small groups of students.

The art portrayed in the mihrab is bewilderingly complex, integrating abstract geometrical patterns, swirling leaves, and a wonderful motif of the honey comb[3]. The geometrical patterns are divided from the portrayal of nature (the honey and leaves) by verses from the Qurán written in Kufi script. Framing the top of the mihrab chamber is an outcrop of Isfahan style stucco. It conveys images of stalactites found in a cave[4] and indeed standing inside the mihrab is a cave like experience. You are embraced by the chamber and your view of the vast worship area in front of you is framed by the archway of the entrance.

If you start from the ground up, the richly coloured hues of blue, yellow and brown Morrocan mosaic patterns portray star and circle shapes. There is a complex repetition requires some concentration to discern, though one is subconsciously aware that there is order. which The mathematics under-girding this art form is formidable. Its origins lie in Pythagorean Theorem which was brilliantly applied to an Islamic context by early Islamic philosopher al-Kindi. The geometrical patterns convey a cosmology which reveals the belief that the universe reflect an intelligent design held together in unity by a creator. The early Islamic philosophers believed that part of their task was to discern the patterns and principles which governed the cosmos and in doing so they would learn more of the divine nature. The geometrical designs reflect the crystalline structures believed to be the building blocks of creation[5]. Yet this philosophy acknowledged that as well as frozen shapes there is a fluidity and variety which reflects the work of the eternal divine principle. Think of the snowflake. There is a basic structure and yet within this order is an endless variety of swirling patterns.

This stunning design is then interrupted at head level by the calligraphic words from the Qurán. Then arching over your head is carved a series of honeycomb motifs[6], the familiar hexagon construct framed by an intricate pattern of leaves and plant tendrils.

The mihrabs in the mosque blend the three elements of order, voice and nature. It conveys a theology to the believer of a created world divided by the spoken Word which separates the created and temporal from the sublime and eternal gardens of paradise. The stucco outcrop framing the mihrab suggests that the believer can encounter the divine within the context of our cave experiences.

[1] Jason Elliot. 2006. Mirrors of the Unseen. (Picador:London)
[2] The number six is significant in Islamic numerology. For an explanation see Keith Critchlow’s, (1999) Islamic Patterns.
[3] According to the Qurán a river of honey flows in paradise.(Surah 47.15)
[4] The prophet of Islam received his first revelation of the Qurán while meditating in a cave.
[5] Modern science vindicates this understanding of nature with the discover of the atom cell, DNA structures and so on.
[6] And your Lord taught the bee to build its cells in hills, on trees. . . there issues from within their bodies a drink of varying colours, wherein is healing for men: Verily, in this is a sign for those who give thought. (Surah 16:68-69)

Integration and Identity

Archbishop Gorien of the Armenian Kuwait community (in purple sleeves)

Two enduring images stick in my mind from last week. One was from an event organized by the British Council celebrating its 75th anniversary. In this event Dominic Miller, a renowned guitarist from the West was improvising music opposite the talented Kuwaiti Oud player, Fawzi Al Lingawi. Against a progressive sequence of 6th chords inspired by Chopin played on a classical guitar, the Oud weaved a haunting and magical melody. The unlikely juxtaposition of Western music with Arab music led to a completely unexpected result. It sounded fabulous. Guitar and Oud merged together in an emotional and intense celebration of their different timbres and scales. It worked so well that it bought tears to the eyes of the audience.

Despite the different musical traditions and experiences of the performers, they were able to integrate their styles together while at the same time maintaining their distinctive identities. The second event was a colourful and riotous celebration by Armenian students. Hosted by the Armenian Archbishop, Dr Gorian Babian, the evening unveiled an exuberant program of cultural dancing and music. Over forty students performed dances not only from their own rich and ancient culture but also from the other traditions embracing jazz, rock n roll and ball room dancing. Songs were sung in English, Greek, French, and Armenian. Celebration speeches were in Arabic, English and Armenian. In short, the Armenian community impressively demonstrated their ability to integrate into other cultures while at the same time remaining rooted in their own distinctive culture and faith.

Integration and identity are core skills required for our world today. The failure to integrate results in marginalisation and suspicion . The failure to be rooted in a distinctive identity leads to fear and insecurity. The Armenian community knows this and they have invested deliberately in institutions which maintain and reinforce their identity. Yet at the same time they have integrated into their host country so effectively that at times they seem invisible - so good are they at learning the languages and functioning in a culture not their own. They are confident, secure and successful and everyone benefits. It is troubling therefore to read of election candidates who are threatened by other cultures and faiths and would seek to suppress them. As Kuwait heads into the elections, I pray that God will raise leaders who will continue the rich and long tradition of a country where diverse cultures and faiths not only meet and co-exist but are also celebrated.

An Islamist talks about religion in Kuwait

Excerpt from an Interview with Dawood Salmon Al Essa.

(Arab Times 11th May 2009)

Q: Religion is fundamentally about beliefs, which differ from person to person. As beliefs are not supposed to be imposed on anyone, don’t you think those who want to live life the way they want to must be given the right to do so? Take for example segregation in universities; those who want to send their children to unisex schools must have an option, and likewise those who want to send their children to coed schools must also be given a choice. Isn’t that a fair deal?

A: We have a clearl scripture sent by God to us. And we have in our midst scholars who can explain that to us. The prophet said that he has taught us everything that takes us close to God, and forbidden us from all that which takes us away from God. It’s easy and simple.

Q: No, what I am asking is that when Islam is clear on issues of Halal and Haram, does it say that these should be enforced on people, irrespective of what they believe?

A: No. Islam does not force people to accept Islam. It just invites people to its fold. If you are not a Muslim you can’t stay in an Islamic country, until you have a contract with the government that you will not spread your beliefs and practices in the society. You can live by your beliefs personally, but it should not be made public. Yes, non-Muslims have rights, but it should not in any way cross the limits set my Islam. For example, if a woman decides to wear minis and walk in the street, then she will be forced to cover herself more modestly. But she can do so in her home.Good and evil have been clearly demarcated in Islam, and evil must be stopped while good has to be encouraged.

Q: But in very orthodox countries, I heard that people of other faiths are not even allowed to practice their religion. Is that justified by Islam?

A: That’s what I said. If you practice your religion, other than Islam, then it’s seen as corrupting the society.

Q: How does it affect the society if a person of a different faith reads his scripture or worships his god?A: From an Islamic point of view, the meanest of all deeds is the worship of a deity other than the one true God. So, when a man practices his faith openly, he could cast a negative influence on Muslims who may not be well versed in Islam, and they in their ignorance might take to this false worship. That can affect them. A Muslim is a Muslim whether he is knowledgeable in religion or not. But when you are not a Muslim and practice a different faith, you can have a negative influence on those Muslims who are not very knowledgeable. If these create problems for non-Muslims, then they are free to go to their country and practice their faith.

Q: But can’t you practice your faith privately?

A: That’s okay. Because then it’s only between you and God. But you can’t come out on the street flourishing a cross and preaching your religion. Such acts are prohibited in Saudi Arabia. Though Kuwaiti law does not prohibit this, it is prohibited in the religion.In Kuwait, they permit people to do whatever they want. This can affect Muslims. But, Muslims here are well grounded in religion and live the correct life. Alhamdulillah.

Q: Coming from a country like India, I enjoy complete religious freedom. India is a secular nation, but more than 80 percent of its population of a billion are Hindus. Yet, I have the right to practice and preach my religion there. So is the case with most modern nations. Don’t you think in an increasingly interdependent world we have to be more tolerant of each other’s faith, at least to be fair to those people who give us freedom to practice our faith in their countries?

A: We have to be allowed to follow our religion wherever we are because Islam is the true religion of God. There is no room for formalities and niceties here. Our prophet (PBUH) is the last prophet and everyone has to believe in him. It’s more a question of right and wrong, and not about diplomacy. Would you allow foreigners to indulge in corruption in your country, just because their countries have treated you well? It’s similar to that. If a country doesn’t allow you to practice Islam then a Muslim shouldn’t go to that country.It’s on this basis, that some scholars say that Sharia does not allow a Muslim to go to non-Muslim lands.

Q: But as a person who has traveled a lot, you have enjoyed religious freedom in countries like the US. Now when a person from America comes here, don’t you think it’s a basic courtesy that we give our guests at least the same treatment that they offered us, if not better?

A: No. As I said, this is not about courtesy. The situation is more serious. It’s about truth and about salvation in the hereafter.

Q: I heard a Hadith that the Prophet (PBUH) once received a non-Muslim delegation and permitted them to conduct their prayers in the mosque. Is that correct?

A: I didn’t hear anything like that. I don’t think this is authentic Hadith.


Actually this man is very consistent in his beliefs and views and I truly respect him for that. However I cannot help wonder what this would mean for the many residents of Kuwait who do practice another religion. There is for example a native Kuwaiti Christian community - how would sharia' law affect them? What do you think?

faith and young people

Jesus once summarised the divine law into two commandments. “Love God and love your neighbour” was his pithy sound-bite.

As the sectarian violence within and between faith communities continue to rage in Iraq and beyond I often speculate as to how we can apply Jesus’ teachings into this arena.

It seems to me that the most effective way is through an educational encounter between young members of different faiths. One project I was involved with in Birmingham was called Young People and Faith. It was designed by an inner city schools worker called Andrew Smith. He drew up an educational program which he felt would help to encounter the ignorance and prejudice which was a daily feature in the life of inner city school students.To see this project in action was a wonderful experience. Two groups of students representing different faiths (on this day it was Christian and Muslim) were to spend the day together. The morning started with ‘icebreaker’ type questions such as “What kind of music do you enjoy listening to?” “What are your favourite movies?” “What do you do at the weekend?” And so on.

They did talk about their religion and described their religious communal life and how they felt and experienced their respective faith. There was no proselytizing but rather a sharing of what God meant to them. There was also a basic introduction to both faiths given by a representative of that faith.

What really united the young people however was their shared sense of injustice and their common concerns about drug abuse, bullying and prejudice.As the day progressed, it was so encouraging to see the atmosphere transform from mutual wariness to a warm and light acceptance. Laughter broke out, jokes were shared. The end of the day was marked by going out to a bowling alley where the two groups mixing freely now, swapped phone numbers and e-mail addresses with promises of keeping in touch. For those young people, barriers of ignorance and hostility had been breached with trust and laughter. It is difficult to be prejudiced against someone who is your friend.

All this was achieved in the space of one day. Clearly it will take a lot longer for the damaged young people in places like Iraq and Palestine. It is not impossible though. For example, summer camps bringing together Palestinian youth and Jewish youth have done much to neutralise the hatred fostering in their young hearts towards one another. It is but just a small step in seeking to “Love God and love our neighbour.”

When the boats come home.

“Never surrender your passport to someone to keep!” is advice which is often given to expatriates on arriving in the Gulf. In practice this is harder than it sounds. I know one British employee who was told that if he did not hand his passport over his job contract would be terminated there and then. He reluctantly handed it over and then had the frustrating fight to get it back when he went on his holidays.

Talking through this issue with a Kuwaiti friend, he shrugged and said that it is to be expected that employers keep passports. Even though they know it is against the law! This is a fact. It is against the law for employers to confiscate and keep passports. Passports in truth belong to the governments who issue them and so anyone who needs their passports back should advise their embassy.

It is a puzzle though where this practice comes from. Why is it normative for employers to break the law in this matter so consistently? As a phenomenon it is not unique to Kuwait, it occurs all over the Gulf. One whisper of an answer was suggested to me though the reading of Malcolm Gladwell’s latest book ‘Outliers’. He points to how attitudes and behaviours are preserved in specific cultures and passed on from generation to generation. In his provocative book he explores how this works using the institute of slavery as one example.

So what historical institution emerged in the Gulf which allowed the widespread practice of withholding passports against the employees’ will?

Authors Paul Dresch and James Piscatori in their book “Monarchies and Nations” point to the pearling industry. Pearling has a shared history in all the Gulf states and we can see in this historical institution the patterns and attitudes which shape today’s employers in the Gulf. Dresch and Piscatori wrote that the pearling industry was “built on debt bondage and indentured labour, where historically a diver in debt needed his captain’s release to work for another or face arrest for absconding. The labour market was regulated by freezing the labourer in his relationship to one employer. . . This system of private policing most probably deterred criminal behaviour among expatriates, but it also facilitated criminality among sponsors.” They then go on to explain how sponsors continue this tradition by holding passports.

History is a powerful shaper.. Today the pearling industry has virtually disappeared due to the Japanese innovation of cultured pearls. Yet the old attitudes prevail. The problem is that these attitudes now contravene the modern laws of Kuwait and international law. The boats have come home to a new world where the rules have changed. A law passed in 2007 says that passports can not be held by employers against the employees will. This law needs to be more widely known and enforced.

The scriptures advise “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. . . .For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong.” (Romans 13.1-3.)

Maid Abuse (Again!)

“CAN we help?” is a question a lot of people ask when they hear news of another unfortunate soul who has slipped between the cracks of society. Here is a story of what happened when some friends of mine did try to help. They reached out to a Nepali lady who was injured after jumping out of a third floor window in order to escape her abusive employers. This maid had surgery on her pelvis and spine, was five months pregnant and to add insult to injury was serving a sentence in deportation jail on an absconding charge. (Why don’t they arrest the abusive employers?)
The authorities finally agreed to let my friends buy an airline ticket to allow her to go home. But when it came to processing the paperwork, the officials claimed to have lost the Nepali girl’s passport (it was found in the same drawer where it was originally deposited). Finally on the day that the ticket would have expired, out of desperation, the friends turned up the jail ready to take her themselves to the airport. The deportation staff reluctantly escorted the Nepali maid to the airport, and made sure that their annoyance was expressed by denying the poor girl use of a wheel chair and insisted that she walked the whole way through the airport and immigration in order to punish her. The abuse of this girl continued right up to the moment she boarded the plane.
She was the lucky one! She got out. Others receiving help are still stuck at the deportation centre. Tickets have been bought to allow them to go home, but they have expired because someone, somewhere will not process their paperwork. Hundreds of dinars from those who wish to help have been wasted. Prisoners are losing their minds because they have been stranded in the deportation centre for months. The tragedy is that often their tickets have been bought and paid for by people who have shown acts of charity – but bureaucratic apathy has reduced these efforts of kindness to nought. The tickets expire and dreams of going home are reduced to despair.
Please note, we are not talking about convicted criminals here. We are talking about people who chose to leave their employers under dire circumstances and who want to go home. Can you help? Of course you can. But you need to be committed and determined to see it through. Helping people in Kuwait is not for the faint hearted, but there will be reward and God sees what we do. “The King will reply ‘Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me”. (Matthew 25:40)