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We Deserve Better

Coming to Bahrain has really depressed me. I have always felt this and I said this the last time when I went to Dubai. Consumers in Kuwait are treated like idiots.

Skyscrapers. In Bahrain they look more like the stuff you would see in Dubai, which is a good thing because they are very modern and futuristic looking. They aren’t rectangular blocks but more like creative spaces. In Kuwait our skyscrapers just look dull. Even places like Water Lemon, Johnny Rockets and Nino’s look wayy cooler in Bahrain. A lot of things seems better designed here.

We also seem to lack luxurious hotels. I briefly visited the Ritz Carlton Hotel here and there really isn’t any hotel in Kuwait I think that could match it when it comes to luxury.

Toys R Us. How is it Bahrain have a huge one and we have a crappy tiny one? How come we don’t have any toy store thats as big as Toys R Us here which by the way isn’t really big compared to the ones in the US and Canada.

I also walked into a tiny bookshop at the Seef Mall. I walked out with 2 books and a magazine. You know when was the last time I bought a book in Kuwait? I think 2 years ago. How come a small tiny bookstore at a local mall had a better quality of magazines and books then Virgin and the bookshop in Muthana combined?

Boring designs, no luxury hotels, small toy stores, and generic books and magazines. It feels like some people in Kuwait think we (the consumers) are not worth the effort. You know why? Because we don’t complain.

75 replies on “We Deserve Better”

You are so right, but I must just add one comment. It was because we couldn’t get so much in Kuwait (and I am not referring to alcohol and pork) that I used to really get excited about getting my hands on my favourite magazines, and finally get hold of a book that I had been after for ages. If nothing else, you do (I did) learn to appreciate things more.

Its not just becuase we don’t complain its also because some people in Kuwait dont know any better. For example look at the clothes they wear, whatevers in stores and on the rack you will see on peoples bodies (no matter how ugly it is).

So if people continue to buy this “crap” thats being sold in stores, why would the stores try to improve? They just say keep the crap coming… People are buying it.

what’s so great about 2010?!

Anyhoo, I hear yah bud. I know exactlly what you are talking about. To tell you the truth, fuck the parliament! Our Amir should be able to do whatever he wants because he KNOWS what his country needs! All of these morons in the parliament are slowing things down and taking us back to the stone-age.

You know why? Because we don’t complain.

What a load of crap- its because there is NO co- operative local innovation whatsoever. People need to work together to make Kuwait a better place instead of all this infighting.

Hey mark,
i really don’t like ur commenting.. well its my oponion and i know u don’t agree.. i really think that there are many pros and cons about kuwait, but i don’t think that Bahrain is comparable to kuwait.. i mean look at the people’s houses and life style over there!! at least Kuwait is modernized! but i do agree with u that we don’t have places where we can find the magazines and books that we want!!

You don’t judge a country by their hotels n all that.. I for one don’t really care about the hotels, seriously do we have tourists coming here a lot? Why don’t u compare governments, income? We’re way more developed and better! Rulers? Way better.. And about books and movies and all: censorship! Kuwait is kinda strict about that..

well.. i’m not trying to be rude and i understand what u mean! but every country has a share of bad things even america! but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t complain, we should slove the problems we have!!

Zaina: government is better and income is better fine, do you want to stop there or try to make other things better also? this is what i am talking about, why stop, why can’t we keep asking for other stuff to be improved.

fa6ma: You really shouldn’t take what i wrote literally. a small toy store doesn’t mean a country is a failure. this is not my argument. my argument is that “We deserve better” and we do need to solve this problem and one way is to make companies aware that we have a problem with them.

if you don’t tell them something is wrong how will they know that something is wrong?

and Sir Eddy decides that Mark should be king, suddenly a big cloud appears over Eddy’s head, should Mark really be made king? He’s going to make Alcohol legal and porn sites legal to, O WHAT THE HECK! LET HIM BE KING!

I have to say that a lot has to do with the backwards government regulation! They make laws on things that they have no idea about, and no previous experience. They intervene in things that slow progress and make things difficult for people.

Zaina being one of the richest countries in the world how come Kuwait doesnt have a decent hotel, and why shouldnt we have tourists? There has been a lot of expansion in small hotels, but no real full five star hotel available. The Sheraton is considered the best and its abysmal! We refused the Four Seasons the land they wanted because a certain people didnt want their view blocked by an amazing hotel! The opportunity of the country is sacrificed for the needs of a few. Thats what sad!

I cant even by a decent magazine without some random marks in it! Reqaabah is useless and dumb!

We need improvements, we need services

To all the future comm enters .. please keep in mind that he has lived his whole life in Kuwait and sees it as his home. This post is meant in a productive way to inform the Kuwaiti consumers on the lack of progress our country has made.

Whenever someone critiques Kuwait’s current economy or society, people reply with personal attacks. That narcissistic attitude will lead to us staying further back while compared to our neighbors.

Criticism is good .. it allows one to view his mistakes and build upon them.

kthekuwaiti: very good point…but it is only natural for any kuwati to defend his or her country when its being critisiced…

this doesnt just apply to kuwaitis…but to all nationalities

judging by ur name id say ur kuwaiti…u might be one of the few who take these comments as constructive critiism…otherwise most people just take it as criticism..

in 2010 the amount of oil left will decrease….gas prices will go up…we’ll pay taxes!!! and we’ll be like the rest of the world…. 🙂

man, the time it hit me consumers are true idiots, is when i went to buy jeans from stores like debenhams, and they only have those ugly “stained” jeans with rips in them….WTF ugly shit. So I go buy a classic jean stlye D&G, and really felt shit about the selection these big brands have.

hotels in kuwait hmmm for who? cant get a visa 😐
toy stores well we had one called kids r us in thajeej in the 80`s and its was 10 times bigger then toys r us in bahrain and another branch in salmiya where alghanim electronics is now but i guess it didnt do well
and about what bahrain has now well the jhonny rockets a nino and stuff it just opened recently there. and its owned by kuwaities like 90% of adliya`s resturants
and about kuwait now well u can blame the kuwaitis because people now only think of them selvs and thier pockets and every one wants to be rich and no one thinks about kuwait
this country has no plans for the future at all they think about now and only now

ohh yeah, ritz the best! it has the finest lobby in the world…I love their service…..a lot of facilites…and great room! and friendly staff…I have corporate deals with them and that makes me get discounted rates…

#1 No need for Luxury hotels where occupancy levels are struggling to stay above 50%. On the contrary there will be a Cerruti Boutique hotel being built in Symphony Mall.

#2 We will finaly have good looking buildings, like the 70 floors Al Hamra tower designed by SOM.

#3 Why buy books in Kuwait when you have Amazon?

#4 We don’t have cool looking places because people don’t appreciate them ex. EDO.

#5 Kuwaitis like to complain about everything and accept it at the same time.

#6 Bad designed concrete blobs in Kuwait are developed by cheap tasteless owners that can’t even know that a shiny golden chandelier and faux greek columns don’t mesh well in Kuwait. Oh and that purple color. In Santa Fe for example, the city forces the residents ti use specific styles, colors and materials which maintains uniformity. This works well in tasteless places like Kuwait.

i totally agree with Mark every thing here in kuwait come with cheap quilty lack of vision and poor maintenance in every aspect of life from head of the government to the doorman in your local grocery shop

life sucks in kuwait !!

Its gonna stay this way if no one starts to complain..
People got used to it this way so whenever they are being questioned they will just say ‘well this is kuwait’ bSs why not change kuwait !

and even if we do complain, whos gonna hear us ??

32 replies and not one of them telling me get the fuck out of kuwait if i dont like it. that alone is a sign of improvement lol

but seriously, because i love kuwait so much and i want it to be the best is why i wrote what i wrote. i always thought bahrain was such a shity place so it really hit me hard when i came here and realized that wait, this place is not what i thought it was.

holla: go rent the movie

But seriously one thing that really cracked up.

“A lebaneese man & wife surviving in kuwait on free cookies, free meals and complaints.”

Hey Mark I just found it very funny. Please Don’t get offended hehe

Sorry mark..But I think ur officially a Kuwaiti when u pre-judged Bahrain and thought it sucked before stepping there!!!!…lol

Facts: Bahrain has one of the oldest economies in the region as banks and financial institutions started way ahead of other GCC and over 85% of the ppl are bilingual (heck even my grandma speaks english and r late amir spoke arabic,english and french fluently) , the first Bilingual School opened in 1900!!! Imagine.. I – a Muslim- studied in a catholic school all my life where nuns were teachers ..and that was back in the years…….so being open to other cultures made it comfortable for expats to live in Bahrain and initiated the tourist boom….

Yes we are not as rich as r neighbours but r main strength is r ppl….eduated ,down to earth (Bahrainis work as janitors and drivers no problem)….and we do have r share of political problems ..

But my point is Kuwait with all the $ can do much better that any country and I think it will happen if- no offence and I do luv q8- ppl started loosing the attitude and stopped calling people either samoon,zalama or babo….

I think the new generation of Kuwait and Kuwaiti blogs are really helping in spreading the word that they are different and can change….

(A half Bahraini half Kuwaiti chick lived in both countries and now resides in bahrain)

country full of books ,hotels ,toys ,nice buildings etc….but any 13 years old Shaikhs can humiliate Me any time any day !!

or a country with F**kd up parliament thats wants kuwait to turn back to the dark Ages a.s.a.p (sadly its the ppls choice)!!

i prefer to stay here and try as hard as i can to make things better. the only 2 fascist that still controls the country are ministry of information ( who holds all the books-DVDs-music in kuwait, and abo Ali & om jasem have the last word of which is good or not for the ppl to see read & hear !! ), and the Customs .

God the MOI remainds me of Terry Gilliam’s movie Brazil

Here is a simple formula for all the morons out there:

Kuwait – The Parliament = FREE KUWAIT

Free Kuwait + The Amir (only) = AMAZING

TweeZ, Remember that if only the Amir rules the country Tons of Projects will start and lots of changes will happen to the country and the law will be More respcetful and stronger….But, maybe rise of gas prices & Tax paying will come to us faster than we imagen !

uhhh, there’s got to be more to life than consumerism, no?

anyway, I think it is funny how the kiwi’s suffer from a form of inbred isolationism that makes them (and most people that live there) feel that the rest of the gulf is a desolate backwater when in fact, we have left them in the dust a long time ago…

would be cool to drive in a road with skyscrapers all around like in the uae, but hey we still got the gulf road ro keep us occupied till the future designs rise ;P

That’s because Arabs, in general, are morons who spend most of their time fighting and bitching and doing absolutely nothing productive about it.

Is it a coincidence that The Middle East has seen some of the world’s most brutal regimes? Iraq, Iran, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon….It’s a feckin joke how idiotic most Arabs are.

Only through education and a new mindset will anything ever change in this region. It’s time that the new generation of Kuwaiti’s and Arabs unite and overthrow these idiots who are holding us in the shackles of the dark ages.

And before anyone wants to have a pop, yes, I’m Kuwaiti.

well i agree that most arabs are morons and many are racist about other people, but its because they are stupid and don’t follow Islam’s guidence and they do just the oppostie. i mean i am 15 years old and i feel bad that many kuwaitis are the way they are! they don’t think of kuwait’s future.. a small example are KUWAITIS who litter kuwait.. we can make kuwait a better place by not littering it, its a small task and yet hard for small mided people

it really sad when i see whole kuwait economy going down the drain , we have the best opportunity in history to develop and improve our economy specially with the current oil prices,

the mean issue is that we need to focus on how to secure the next generation future with strong stable economy which is not easy task to achieve

End the religious brainwashing, secularize the government, allow people to think and believe what they want, respect each other, and we would have a different kind of society. As long as we have people enforcing what we should read, watch, think, believe, etc., we will never change. Education, education, education! We have no city planning (McDonalds, KFC, Applebee’s, etc. littering the seafront; the unmanageable traffic); no plan for the future of our environment (unbelievable rise in cancer rates, polluted skylines and sea, etc.); and our children are obese, diabetic, and getting stupider and more passive by the year. Our values are completely skewed—we imagine ourselves to be good religious folk and yet we are intolerant, xenophobic, closed-minded, unable to accept criticism, selfish, materialistic, and often unethical. Bahrain is changing in a much more careful and systematic way. It feels more like a country with a rich history than a giant Las Vegas strip mall. We have destroyed everything beautiful about Kuwait—our seafront, our old buildings, our culture (which used to include more than shopping). For Kuwait to get off the downward track it’s currently on, it needs to chuck its hyper (and phony) traditionalism, be honest with itself about the future (and about the mistakes it’s made in the past), and accept that it’s going to take a lot of work and a lot of sacrifice to change. Sadly, I think that’s never going to happen. The majority are too conditioned in the other direction and the system of education, where it all begins, is in the hands of those who do not want change.

Mark,

If I’m not mistaken you bought the books and mag at Jashanmal book store in Seef Mall, right?

Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t Jashanmal based in Kuwait?

if U look at it in terms of its potential to have a great consumer economic culture, then yes. Kuwait definitely sucks..

i am saving my big ‘GTFO OF KWT’ till 2010 bc that’s when kwt is gonna R00L and yall jealous haterz gonna DR00L !!!11!!!

hopefully i will be alive by then and not get hit by a black yukon with religion stickers.

borders opened today in mall of the emirates.
Its the size of virgin megastores in kuwait and I think it was fully packed and they had 2 famous book authors from england launching their books and signing them.
the prices are 10 to 15% higher than amazon which makes sense to buy them from here and skip the waiting and the shipping.

holla – lmao

red for now – you’re my hero – excellent

mark – the problem is we’re looking at a point in time. The disaster is that (I’m told) 20 years ago Kuwait was the place to be. Dubai flew past because of visionary leadership…I was there… once in a lifetime kinda thing… then Qatar said we can do that too, only they took the good lessons from Dubai, left the bad ones, and zoomed past. Question: what do they have that Kuwait doesn’t? Money? No. Land? No. US Bases? No. Brains? No. Democracy? Certainly No. So what is it? This has been answered in more than one post above. Now the part that really hurts.. Oman, with half the money, and Bahrain, with no money, have both overtaken Kuwait in many aspects (and I’m not talking Toys R’Us here).

I have not been here long enough to judge Kuwait or the Kuwaitis (many seem wonderful) but I travel every week throughout the GCC and (in comparison) Kuwait seems to be standing still if not going backwards.

Now what’s the most amazing part about all this? It’s that Kuwait is the only one with real local newspapers, real outspoken editors, and real freedom of press in the region, and yet all everyone does is write and talk while the wheel spin in place.

Mark,

Criticism on Kuwait has always been a sensitive topic for me, but when its constructive criticism i have nothing against it.

Maybe because ive been a follower of this blog for a long time & i know that u had nothing but good intentions when writing this post.

Anyway, to ppl who are making a big deal out of this, i suggest u give Mark a break, cuz Mark is one of the few ppl with an unbiased opinion.

I suggest u go to Safat and look for someone who really is bashing Kuwait & give them a hard time 😛 Seriously, there are loads of them, ill even provide u with links!

Oh and mark, i linked this post to my first weekly magazine post! :>

we don’t complain…..hmmm…. I dunno about all that. Folks here don;t mind complaining. Well, only for things that can be immediately done.

But I’ll have to agree that many don’t think that their opinion or insistance will make a difference. Expats, I assume. Your average Kuwaiti, I dunno.

BUT I have to say that if you think something could be done better, you do have to go out of your way to let management, administration, government etc, know. You have to take the time. If you don’t, then problems can be ignored. I totally see what you mean.

Man, in my case, I have TRIED and TRIED to get the folks at Nine West here to understand that they NEED to get more size 11 shoes. Anyhow, still having trouble. But now that you have written Mark, I figure I’ll go to the next step and write a letter every month till they get the point.

Thought about writing a letter to gov about speed bumps. NOt all speed bumps here are colored and the next thing you know you are either slamming the brakes or scratching your car 🙁

What division can you write for something like road traffic construction?

Bahrain is clearly superior to Kuwait.
I mean, where did Michael Jackson choose to spend his time? That’s right – not down Kuwait Magic. Couldn’t deal with the perv competition.

TweeZ

You couldn’t possibly be more wrong. You can get rid of parliament, but without VISION and LEADERSHIP we still wont make any progress.

And those 2 ingredients are in very short supply

Zaydoun

with all honesty, you couldn’t even possibly be more wrong than to claim that our dear beloved parliament is fully equiped with vision and leadership. I mean honestly, banning a friggin concert or lagging women’s rights are proponents of vision and leadership? Those are just examples to the myriad of issues that hold back our countries potential.

I think our Amir is fully equiped with a vision to make Kuwait greater than any state in the gulf but our parliament seems to lag that vision.

100% Fonzy. Since the Ghazoo, I’ve recently got back one year ago. I remember what Kuwait was like. Going to people’s houses was our main highlight as kids.
So to return, and see the Aquarium, the Mall, the chains of restaurants, argeeleh places, video arcade for kids, a place to rent bike’s along the sea, Internet usage, Al-Jazira, magazines less sensored (check out a fashion magazine when you get a chance). I remember when there was black marker on every other page 🙁 When cloth choice was really limited.
NOw YOu arrive and have EVERY channel, and I mean EVERY channel available to you…. lol, it’s changed.

But, I totally agree with Mark.
We think companies or govt aren’t listening. That still shouldn’t stop us from doing our share as community members, and raising issues and sharing our concerns for betterment.

Fa6ma, you raised the issue of picking up trash. You’re right. Somewhere along the way people started thinking that caring for the community by participating or raising issues is stupid or uncool. Because no one ever listens man, pass the joint. People tend to get discouraged 🙁

Raising issues and awareness, well, that’s probably what the aim is if we want companies to know what we really want.

In terms of govt., well I’d still have to be educated on the subject.

doesnt the amir have like the last word or something? I mean if he wanted to for example legalize alcohol couldnt he?

Also who is in charge of funding for the public schools and hospitals?

Kuwait used to be better in everythin , the problem is not with the people or suppliers!! everytime somethin new is introduced the islamic Kotla refuses it!!! they are pulling us back ,, now there is no more back .. everyone is moving on forward and we r staying in our place. No complaints will do any improvments. changing the people that are not moving from the parliamont might help. we are in a box that used to have an open sealing. now we r completely closed.. about the Toy’s R us .. we used to have that.. for some reason it’s closed!!!!!!!!!!

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