Usually I call my Arab and foreigner friends and colleagues who were born in Kuwait "Kuwaiti Expats". I consider every person born on this land a Kuwaiti by birth. Regardless of his nationality, color or religion they are Kuwaitis just as those with deep family ties to this land. What there is no room for is racism.

I remember a story from 2004, when Canadian authorities arrested a computer engineer who carried Canadian Nationality on charges of being a member of Al-Qaeda. At that time International News Agencies, including The BBC and CNN reported the nationality of the suspect as follows: “The arrest of a Canadian engineer of Kuwaiti origin on charges of being a member of Al-Qaeda”. At that time I was the head of the security department at the Al-Anba Daily, and I started calling the ministry of interior leaders searching for this accused Kuwaiti. The answer I got was that there is no Kuwaiti citizen carrying this name reported by news agencies. After an extended search, I discovered that the man was actually of Palestinian origin, born in Kuwait in 1957,and left Kuwait for good in 1970.So although he had been living outside of Kuwait for nearly forty years- the international community still considered him to be Kuwaiti.

And this goes to all expats who were born in Kuwait. They are Kuwaitis by birth, regardless of the citizenship law. The same thing also is applicable to the “bedoons”. The bedoon story is much deeper and complicated, requiring more research. Everyone born on this land however has a right to it in one way or another. This right is imposed by humanity as well as laws. Some logic states that any expat born in Kuwait must renege his Kuwaiti status at the age of 21. At that point he is required to look for a sponsor to complete his life on the land he was born on. May be his luck throws him to a residency trader, who sells him a fake residency at a bogus company. Why aren’t “Kuwaiti Expats” not given the right to sponsor themselves as a sort of “living application” to the principals of birth right? Why are they not treated as an exceptional case as per their security records and how clean those records are.

It should be noted that most expats have very clean records, otherwise they would have been deported. Why hasn’t the ministry of interior opened the files of article 24, allowing expats born in Kuwait to sponsor themselves. I am not saying give him nationality, although he had the right legally to apply for it as per one of the law articles. I’m merely suggesting we give them exception to sponsor themselves and the right of govt. education for those having honor grades. They are Kuwaitis by birth; they know the laws, the language, the national anthem from start to finish, the geography, the customs. We should give them exception in residency and medical treatment and education as they are logically and humanely the sons of this land. Having a liberal policy like this would show the rest of the world how advanced and forward thinking we really are. — Al-Watan

By Thaar Al-Rashidi