Is the Sahel app really only in Arabic? I keep thinking there must be an English option somewhere and I just can’t find it because it doesn’t make sense that an app as important as Sahel is only in Arabic. I’m terrible at reading Arabic so I struggle to use the app, so how do people who don’t know any Arabic use it?
Update: Sahel will be coming in English.
40 replies on “Why is the Sahel App Only in Arabic?”
Use another mobile with Google translator using its camera option. Onyl workaround at the moment.
Life Pro Tip: Screenshot the page and then import the photo into the translate app on the same phone.
Yes definitely, but if you want to move thru. Menu’s to find the right option, screenshotting each page would take more time thank using a phone on top of it
Nope. The camera option is better if you have access to another phone.
Lol I was about to say the same thing
Yeah I installed it the first day they announced it. And deleted after 1 minute.
Do you have a source to provide us information if the GOV is planning to launch Sahel Engilish version as it’s is a Major app interlinked with MOI.
I needed a police clearance certificate for my daughter. Managed to create an appointment for fingerprint using the app, and then the police report itself is delivered via the app. It’s great as far as functionality is concerned. Just wish they translate it soon.
They don’t
Learn the language; flies off
Surely, the other option must be to get out of the country.
‘Chuckled’.. usually, people tend to learn a language after x amount of years. Surprisingly Calvin, for the amount of hate you have, I’m shocked you haven’t left yet 😄
Came here to say just that. These same people will say things like ive lived here my whole life and my father too and his father before him but they cant speak/read a lick of arabic or even show interest in the language/culture.
I have a track record of sarcastic comments if you’ve read them on other posts. Speaking of this app, it literally says “SAHEL” on the splash screen in English. If they could do that, why didn’t they add an English interface? Adding it is not that hard either, all they need to do is run those strings in a translator and add a dozen more lines of code for the language switch. Also, you need to know English to use software to develop such apps. Is their source code in Arabic? no. I’m not coming to any conclusion because I’m hoping they’ll update this for the hundreds of thousands of non-arabic speaking residents.
Im just here to play devils advocate and agree that Kuwait should be more English friendly but, if I, a non French citizen/speaker (just an example) were to move to France and live and work there I would have to speak, read and understand French to survive. So why is learning Arabic such an issue?
Adding to all the points I made in a comment below, why invest time and effort to learn the language and culture of a country you will eventually have to leave? Unless I am working full-time with Arabic-speaking colleagues or dealing with them on a regular basis, I cannot justify doing so, let alone for an app that I may use a few times a year.
And if I were an expat in France looking to settle, I do have a reason to learn French because there’s a path to citizenship, so it will pay off in the long run.
It’s hard to be part of local culture here when it isn’t so inclusive to foreigners and the laws are built to sow division. Until then, Translate fills the gaps for me.
Clearly they aren’t qualified enough to work elsewhere & are lucky enough Kuwait is a safe haven for such people. So they end up living miserably & whine for the rest of their lives.. oh well🤷♂️
So the issue is expats and their unrealistic demands and not the fact that an app that is meant for the local population made up mostly of expats is in a language that most can’t read.
To use a simple app, one must learn a whole language.. yeah that sounds logical 👌🏻
Do you have any idea why a lot of non-arabic speaking expats don’t easily learn Arabic despite living here for so long? Because of racial and geographical segregation. Non-arabic speaking expats are so much more likely to live, interact, work and bond with people who can speak English or their own native tongue in Kuwait. Also, they live in areas that are expat dense where English is just as prevalent as Arabic. There is no real need to learn another language as a result, except in the case of this app that may be used thrice a year. Non-Arab expats raised here do not speak Arabic in school nor at home. They only learn very basic Arabic just to pass school tests and then forget about it after they graduate. If locals and expats were given equal rights and co-existed, we’d see a whole new generation of expats who are non-Arab by ancestry but have a good command of Arabic.
Its funny because you make the excuse of geographical location for not learning arabic. However geographical location suddenly is not an issue when it comes to learning/speaking english in the arabian peninsula.
Last time I checked English is spoken globally not Arabic but correct me if I’m wrong
I never said “geographical location”. Maybe you need to look up the meaning of segregation.
I know what segregation means. Maybe instead of trying to be a smartass and telling me to learn foreign words in my country you can go learn arabic instead of whining and complaining that you dont live in a kuwaiti neighborhoo (and by the way you dont need to live with kuwaitis to learn arabic because there are plenty of arab expats that live in kuwait so find another excuse). Please try explaining to me that you’ve never had to deal with an egyptian before for example.
i speak arabic very well (only speak). i am an expat. nobody can make out if i am an expat or a kuwaiti. In normal situation people appreciate knowing their language which is 30% and rest 70% when the situation is not in my favor. All i get is a very lame response ” you are not one of us or kuwaiti so don”t try to speak like us”. As calvin said no expats are welcomed to be part of their culture. try to chill with the kids, they will bully you for being an india. And also many expat are maids living inside a kuwaiti house. they dont speak arabic fluently either. I can request you to be little considerate and think with a open mind
“They” – Expats
“Them” – Expats
“My Country” – That the expats contributed to build
I really hope you do not pass this logic unto your future generations.
I am an Asian Expat, I Speak Read And write fluent Arabic, however neither of my family members or friends can do the same, so as per your logic my family and friends should join Arabic classes to use the app?
Believe me when i say, even though i speak arabic etc i choose to speak in english to Govt. officials, for some reason that actually gets me a little more respect than the regular ” yalla yalla”.
Drawing invisibly lines within communities and treating them in an ill manner, even though they have literally contributed to the foundations of infrastructure, healthcare, engineering before the locals had the means to be educated, or even work experience is a form of racism if you are not aware.
As much as many Locals here have the suck it up or go home attitude, We the Expats are still providing the country with experienced individuals across different sectors with the unbelievable segregation practices still in play,
My point here is yes this beautiful country provides us with a livelihood and means to grow, at the cost of bowing your head down and dealing with cold racism on a daily, As much as the expats need these jobs and salaries , this country needs the expertise and experience we bring, It is a cohesive relationship
So if you tell me to do as little as translate an app that we will eventually be mandated to use needs to learn Arabic, then perhaps you need to take a deep think at what kind of a mentality you hold.
So you consider your country a great place for stupid people? Based on your comment, I’m inclined to agree.
I called them and asked them to explain to me how to get a police certificate. they were helpful.
I dont understand that app, I corrected the spelling of my name in the ministry of interior and for some reason there’s no record of my license only car registration shows up in sahel and mobile id :/
https://kuwestions.mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com/31231/is-the-english-language-disappearing-in-kuwait
From the posts here and this kuwestion I realized that most people not only cannot read Arabic but also do not understand Arabic when dealing with people here.
Whenever I go to the MOI offices the first thing they complain about is the fact that most people do not know Arabic and that they should learn the language if they expect any good service. Kuwait is a country where Arabic is the language spoken and mainstream here. I had to learn it as my work requires me to and it is stupid to live here for so long and not be proficient in their local language and culture/traditions.
Not everyone has lived in Kuwait for a long time. There are new expats coming in every day and they can’t be expected to learn the language overnight just so they can use an app or get paperwork at the MOI done.
That is why I am amazed that new expats are coming to Kuwait and get the cultural shock and leave after a few months. Source of information is the classified section and the reasons for them selling furniture for example.
This is mainly an issue here in Kuwait though as in the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and other neighboring countries the local community are fluent not only in English but several different languages.
I hope they do create an English interface for the application. I am still waiting for the day I can go and get my birth certificate in English Lol
I think more Kuwaitis are fluent in English than Bahrainis, Qataris and Saudis based from my experience.
if non arabic speaking people are required to use this app then they should definitely provide the English version. Its just that its not a priority now. Thats all.
Some day the mudeer will change , a new guy will come and he will get it change.
So wait for that Mudeer. Till then Google is God.
They tried adding other language options. But it proved a little Sa’ab.
i hope the team will consider localizing the text in the app to English in a future update for a release version , it may need some effort but it will be beneficial to the usage of the app to all demographics if it is meant to
You do realize that the effort you talk about for the app to be in multiple language here is equivalent to developing the matrix or metaverse right?
Finally someone is talking about this matter. I’ve been waiting for them to add a language option but nothing so far.
I had a HORRIBLE experience with the Sahel app. I booked an appointment to have a document stamped at the Ministry of Exterior. My appointment was from 8 am to 9 am. I arrived at 7:30 and there were already 52 people ahead of me. I showed the guy there my confirmation and he gave me a ticket to wait. There were at least 40 people behind me. HOW THE HELL were we all booked in that one-hour time slot?!?
I waited from 7.30 am until 10.30 in the heat because the waiting rooms were full and my turn still hadn’t come yet. The officer then called on numbers 50-100 to form a line and asked us to show the appointment on the Sahel app and the ticket.
When I tried to look up my appointment on the Sahel app it disappeared. The officer told me very rudely to get out of the line and as I was trying to explain that I had an appointment and based on that I was given my ticket, he literally yelled “GET OUT OF THE LINE OR I WILL TAKE YOU TO THE MAKHFAR AND PUT YOU IN A CELL”. I was SO upset – a grown man who is an engineer with an MBA in my late 30s being yelled at and threatened like some criminal by some lowlife with no education or people skills – it was humiliating.
I called the Sahel app to complain and the first thing the woman said was “didn’t you take a screenshot of your appointment?” I said “no, why would I?” She responded with “appointments on the app disappear an hour after the appointment” WTF!!! Didn’t the officer know that?!?
ALWAYS take a screenshot of your appointment.
I left the Ministry not having stamped my document and not getting my paperwork done. Thankfully, I left the hellhole called Kuwait a week later and I hope every expat gets to as well.
So sorry for your experience Marco. I can totally relate, as I too recently had the misfortune of going to the MOE for getting an attestation done. Went there at 9:30 am and left at 1:00 pm, for getting a stamp, which itself took less than 2 mins to be done.