Expatriates in Kuwait: Where is home and where do they fit in?
Kuwait: More than two million expatriates and over one million Kuwaitis reside in Kuwait. As unemployment among Kuwaitis increases, many experts have begun questioning why Kuwait needs such a high number of expats to work in the country. The ‘Kuwaitization’ law, aimed at increasing the number of Kuwaitis in the work force including the private sector, has led to a decrease in employment of non-Kuwaitis.
The crisis of identity amongst expat workers has become more severe as expat workers are sent back to their home countries. Many expat workers were born and raised in Kuwait and feel they have no other home but Kuwait. Therefore, where do these expatriates fit in and where do they go? Al Watan Daily spoke to several expat workers, Kuwaitis and experts to gain more insight on the identity crisis facing a number of expats.
Professor Fahad Al-Nasser, Director of The Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies at Kuwait University, stated that he considers expatriates who were born and raised in Kuwait to be “socially Kuwaitis.”
“I consider this certain segment of people as Kuwaitis because they are socially involved with Kuwaitis at various levels,” the expert asserted.
To clarify, Al-Nasser added, “Some expatriates have completed their schooling in Kuwait with Kuwaiti students, and they are part of the social network. They do not feel a sense of belonging to their birth country and feel out of place with members of their community; they also face certain conflicts with their family. Therefore, they are socially Kuwaitis, and are part of the Kuwait’s social fabric.”
The expert went on to say that despite the extreme heat in Kuwait, some expats prefer to stay here rather than travel to their birth country. “These people who I consider to be socially Kuwaiti and officially non-Kuwaiti are closer to the Kuwaiti culture than many Kuwaitis; they eat the local food, they share the culture and are basically living the Kuwaiti life. I think if and when the government decides to nationalize certain foreign nationals these people deserve should get top priority” Al-Nasser noted.
The expert further elaborated that these people suffer from an “identity crisis” due to the fact that they, unfortunately, do not belong in their original countries and they are neither totally part of Kuwait which makes them feel alienated.
Al-Nasser expressed his sympathy with these people because they are torn between their birth country and the country they consider home. “Ultimately, they do not belong anywhere; I think if there were a clear law they would be accepted here. Unfortunately, this is not the case and so there is nothing here for their future and their children, so it is better for them to keep ties with their home country,” the expert concluded.
Janet, a Lebanese expatriate, works for a private firm in Kuwait. She arrived in Kuwait in 1993 as an IT specialist and has been living in Kuwait for nearly two decades. She has made a life for herself in Kuwait; however, like many others, she noted that she is torn between two worlds.
“Kuwait has really grown on me and I too have grown on Kuwait. The truth is that Kuwait provides decent services for expatriates. Furthermore, it is a secure and safe country to live in. However, the issue of not been able to own anything in Kuwait certainly reminds me that Kuwait is not my home. Also there is the issue of downsizing on foreign workers in Kuwait which I believe is playing a negative role on the expatriate community,” Janet lamented.
She further elaborated, “Here I am in a country that I have made home, I live in a wonderful apartment, I own a car, I have great friends and so forth, but there is this feeling that haunts me because reality is stronger than fantasy; some day, I will have to leave Kuwait because I have no rights at all in terms of getting a citizenship.”
Janet warned foreigners not to get too comfortable in Kuwait because it could lead to emotional pain. “Living and working in Kuwait is ‘transient’ and this is something that most of us often forget,” Janet remarked.
Emad, a Kuwaiti, who is in his late 40s, stated that the issue of ‘identity crisis’ is a very delicate and serious issue, but is also a black and white issue. He explained that there is a large segment of expatriates in Kuwait who he considers to be more Kuwaiti than some who are Kuwaiti by birth and nationality.
“I say this out of experience, I grew up with some expatriates, we went to school together, worked together and till date we are very close. These individuals are very loyal, I see it in their eyes, I hear it in their voices. They love Kuwait from their heart and I am certain they are ready to protect and defend this country if something bad were to happen to Kuwait,” Emad added.
Emad went on to state that the system in Kuwait encourages its citizens to feel superior over the expatriate community which has negative consequences for the expats. “We are told that we are above everyone else, but are we? Yes, we take pride in our country and our way of life but should that be at the expense of individuals who came to Kuwait to find a better life for themselves because they were driven out of their country as a result of poverty, war and corruption,” Emad queried.
To conclude, Emad said that the only people who are the victims of “our vanity and pride are the expatriate community. Some of them may be innocent, some might not be, but Islam teaches us to have compassion towards the lame, sick and the less privileged but most of all towards our brothers and sisters. I am not accusing all Kuwaitis of being cruel but some of us are and I urge people to ponder for a minute of what would happen if the situation were to be reversed and we needed shelter and warmth from a country. Would the division in nationality make us happy?” Emad ended.
The American University of Kuwait recently conducted a study titled “How Identity is constructed in Kuwait: Analysis of Four Case Studies” by Dr. Juliet Dinkha, Safaa Abdulhamid, Nur Al Huda Abdelhalim.
The following is an excerpt of the study:
Due to cultural identity being such a big part of each Kuwaiti’s personal identity, it is difficult to separate the two and judge foreigners fairly. According to one article, many Kuwaiti children are being raised to operate on the belief that Kuwaitis, due to simply belonging to the country of Kuwait, are morally superior despite being the minority in their own country. It is not uncommon to hear a misbehaving Kuwaiti child justify his actions by using the equivalent of the phrase, “I can do what I want, simply because I am a Kuwaiti.” The belief, stemming mainly from the privilege system, is borne from childhood onwards, though in subtle actions rather than blatant paradoxical phrases. Even if a particular married couple opposes adopting a racist attitude towards foreigners, it still accepts that there’s a nationwide opposition and sometimes manages to commit the same crimes it opposes, simply because the attitude seems so widespread. (Fuzai, 2007).
This topic has been extremely delicate one but touching upon it has unraveled lots of potent, mixed emotions. Ultimately, since some expatriates are constantly reminded that Kuwait is a transient phase, the one thing that can elevate their insecurities is perhaps to keep in touch with their home country, as previously mentioned. Nevertheless, the issue of identity is not exclusive to Kuwait, it is a growing issue as the world becomes more interconnected and as people migrate in greater numbers and in greater speed.
