Categories
News Strange

Cops arrest expat for complaining about dust storm on TikTok

This has to be the most bizarre story to come out so far this year. I first heard about it a couple of days ago but then yesterday Associated Press published the story and so got picked up by the international media.

An Egyptian expat posted a video on TikTok during the dust storm last week complaining about the weather. That video caused him to get arrested and legal action will be taken against him. Arrested over a video complaining about the dust storm!

I just watched the video and can’t figure out what in it would cause him to get arrested. There isn’t anything in the video that should get him in trouble, the worst thing the guy said is that it was a shitty morning. I’m not gonna embed the video here because I don’t know anymore what can get someone arrested or deported, but here is a link to it, it’s still up on his TikTok account @ahmed_krombo. The guy seems like a chill dude based on his tiktok videos so whats going on? Why all this drama? I’m so confused.

70 replies on “Cops arrest expat for complaining about dust storm on TikTok”

Debatable in context, there was a similar direct comment against the unfairness of travel ban between expats and citizens by a spanish (?) Lady.
We did not see or hear any action taken against her.
Race perhaps??? Its sad to see different yard sticks for different people.
Citizen who are vaccinated can travel to destinations mentioned but an expat cannot travel to the same destination and return.
And the delta variant has hit Kuwait because a parcel brought it down! Common !! If it was an expat who had contracted it, they would even have mentioned the genome mapping of the concerned expat and not some random parcel !!

aaaand BBC and WAPO etc have all picked up the story already. how cringeworthy and embarrassing. Definitely the wrong kind of fame

Yeah but can’t go to a country and say in example goodshitty morning Finland or good shitty morning Bahrain .

There will always be official that are against it

Even if some don’t mind it

Yes, you absolutely can post a video saying “Good shitty morning Finland”, and nothing will happen to you.

Yes. I find it terrible when people live in Kuwait and compare a good day by saying ohh it feels Iike I’m in Turkey. What the hell are you talking about? Kuwait is Kuwait not Turkey and making cheap weather comparisons is ridiculous. Similar to this douche who thought it would be entertaining to complain about dust in the air. It’s a beautiful desert country ofcourse there will be dust in the air a few days a year. Deport? I think they should go to Egypt and disgrace him there for being an idiot. He will stand in Cairo and say oh today feels like I’m in London. What??LMAO

i think you need to chill… the guy was just posting an update on his tiktok about the weather. No big of a deal in it bro.

I find people like you terrible. The weather was shitty like it or not and it doesn’t matter if its Kuwait, doesn’t matter if its a desert. No need for drama. Imagine you’re in London for vacation and you post a tiktok complaining about the rain and then get deported back to Kuwait because of your tiktok video. Ridiculous.

Could agree more. He is terrible (and that’s being very polite about it). Also the weather was objectively shitty, it was one of the worst dust storms in memory. When I was in Toronto as a student I complained all the time about the shitty winters (Canadian winters are objectively shitty). Only difference is I didn’t get deported. What a crock of shit.

+1

PS: Mark, I noticed someone in another post asking for the “Like” button. (no need for dislikes!) I second that or would it discourage interaction in the comments section?

Thank you! <3

Mark, really? You don’t understand it? There is an effort to make ex-pats get the hell out or not come back. And the virus is a perfect time to put this is action. Mark, this ex-pat pressure was even going before the virus. Embassies are aware.

Dude take a chill pill and calm the fuck down..
You must be extremely fragile if one guy talking about the weather has upset you this bad.
You should stay off the internet for a good long while if that’s the case.

This isn’t about the weather and your comment is in poor taste.

Maybe focus on the things you like about your country instead of getting triggered over comments about the weather.

i hope you dont get arrested for posting this. I dont know kuwait law anymore. some times they talk about new law and before approval authorities start implementing this like it is already approved. WTF

While the reasons why are many and have been piling up for ages, particularly since the onset of COVID Kuwait is not inclined to deal easily with Egyptians when their goal is to begin reducing their numbers…a move which has overwhelming support from Kuwaiti citizens. It probably isn’t the time to be acting out in any way in Kuwait if you are Egyptian, or really any expat who isn’t providing some important function here. Hope he enjoyed his little Tik tok fame moment. Tik Tok antics are going to get a lot of people sent home for being silly.

Also – this is Kuwait…where you can get deported for giving someone the “finger”….get fined thousands of dollars for just mentioning someone’s name/misbehavior on Twitter, or posting a candid shot of someone on IG, are we feeling that comfortable to do whatever on Tik tok ? Seems irresponsible to me, particularly if your livelihood depends on you working in Kuwait. It’s not Europe or the USA, people are getting way too comfortable.

Imagine that! People are getting comfortable. What a horrific thing. People have to be uncomfortable here.

My takeaway from your post is, “People don’t get arrested and deported from the country for expressing their opinions in Europe and the USA.”

You’re right, though. No one should ever get too comfortable with the place they live. Governments should do everything they can to make their population feel as anxious as possible all the time.

So your advise for people being stripped of their rights and humanity is “well you’re being stripped of your rights and humanity so you better not even complain about the weather before we kick your ass out” – this is beyond reprehensible, God forbid any expat ever feels comfortable living in your shithole country (and no I do not live in Kuwait).

The thought alone is absurd! A person ranting about the weather got arrested and possibly deported? What kind of logic at work here?

However, when I watched the linked clip, it got me thinking it could related to the fact that the tone indicated/implied it was the country’s fault by saying, “Tammam ya Kuwait! Tammam ya Kuwait! Sabah el 💩”.

It left me shaking my head at both parties… Plus, something doesn’t add up here.

This is really stupid and messed up.

My feeling is this have very little to do with the weather and more to do with the “shitty morning” comment at the end. The fact is that the word for ‘morning’ and the name of the ruling family are the same in Arabic, I can see this easily being taken out of context.

Are people seriously defending that weather clip? Did y’all not hear his tone/delivery? He made it sound like the country, not people, but this land itself had it out for him and he shat on it with his idiotic comment. If my tone sounded as aggressive as that while delivering a joke, I’d apologize instantly and try to explain things. This guy posted a clip that he could’ve instantly deleted or not uploaded in the first place had he listened to his delivery of that sentence.

Most who heard that clip made it into an issue cuz it warranted it. We have numerous people complaining about the weather on a daily basis on virtually every platform without issue. This guy’s sense of humor and delivery landed flat and was offensive regardless of how you see it. It might get lost in translation to non-Arabic speakers, but most who speak the language could understand the issue.

Tone/delivery? Out of 10 people, 6 or more would find it funny or sarcastic, 3 would find it lame, and 1 would find it aggressive. But its a video complaining about the weather, so even if it was aggressive, so what? So what? Forget about any free speech if you can’t even complain about the weather, sarcastically, aggressively or whatever.

You call people out on made up stats and here you are doing it. Many people constantly complain about Kuwait’s weather without issue, as I’ve mentioned. This guy was rude about it towards the country. He’s aggressiveness, purely from that clip, was toward Kuwait. There’s not much to it, as is evident by the official MOI Statement. He could’ve realized it after hearing his delivery, but it didn’t bother him I guess. People took offence. Aren’t we supposed to be nice towards each other and respectful of their countries? I’d never travel to a country, post a clip of me shitting on it and expect no backlash. Being an ass isn’t Freedom of Speech in Kuwait.

This is just another case of “Play Stupid Games Win Stupid Prizes”. He could’ve gotten away with it had not many people brought attention to it or the whims of officials. At the end of the day, it takes 1 official complaint by anyone in the country to the proper authorities to get things in motion when it comes to these kind of “games”. And don’t give me the whole “but others are doing it / doing worse without punishment”. That’s a whole different matter that people frustratingly deal with often. After all, two wrongs don’t make a right.

My stats was in response to your made-up one:

“Most who heard that clip made it into an issue”

Where did you get most from? If you’re making up stats so am I. The guy was complaining about the weather, don’t blow things out of proportion and stop getting upset over random shit. The weather sucked last week, deal with it.

Mate, you’re the one getting upset. Sure, I should’ve used the word “some” which is more appropriate but ffs, get a grip and be polite. You deal with the fact that SOME people took issue and he got punished for it. There is no discussion to be had with your passive aggressiveness. Have a nice day!

Real mature. Don’t you have an original thought to add other than seeking attention? Maybe I’m asking too much from a kid.

BUAHAHAHA, there was no MOST in this case against the guy. MOST of the folks didn’t know, and NO ONE was in its favour because, guess what? This was picked by the international media, of all the things, and highlighted.

So, yeah, good luck with the future tourism BUAHAHAHA.

Sorry, Mark, this guy sounded just way too LOL.

Another ignorant comment that doesn’t add anything to the discussion. What’s with the rise of clout chasers around here? People should either contribute with thoughtful words or stop themselves from looking like idiots when discussing real issues that affect a persons’ life. I guess that’s too much to ask for here. I’ve written more than enough on this subject, I appreciate everyone who was respectful with their comments towards me, and the rest can simply bugger off.

Future of tourisim…WHAT?!?! Stay classy y’all.

There is literally nothing wrong with his tone/delivery
Are you seriously saying that the punishment fits the crime here? THERE WAS NO CRIME ANYWAY

First of all, his tone is clearly offensive to some, me included. Second of all, I never commented on the type of punishment he received, especially when I couldn’t find an official source for what happened to the guy, other than the initial MOI statement. For all I know, the guy was let go (doubtful but, nothing official yet that I could find). Lastly, the crime was offending the country which, last I checked, was punishable by law.

If a judge/the authorities decide he did nothing wrong, then no harm done. Until then, why are people jumping to conclusions? In my opinion, it was offending. Do we have a ruling yet? No. If he gets away with it, good for him. It won’t change my mind in regards to that clip nor will it keep me up at night. Let the authorities deal with it and then complain if the judgment doesn’t fit the crime.

There is no freedom of speech in Kuwait – otherwise being an ass would most certainly be covered. This is a nonsensical post by a nonsensical person who will blindly defend the most idiotic laws and government decisions. So some people found it insulting – let’s ban him from the country. That is not only pathetic, it’s ripe for abuse. You’d never travel to a country and post an insult to that country? Guess what, you’d probably never do a lot of things that most people do on a daily basis, it doesn’t mean you are the barometer for what should be legal or illegal in a society. Such an egotistical take.

You even make the point “that he could have got away with it” – got away with what? What actual crime was committed? Can you point to one?

How about you read every comment I made before you come at me with your nonsensical reply? You decide to insult me rather than put in the effort of reading every thing I typed which more than covered everything you asked. Children should really keep their thoughts to themselves.

I believe I’ve answered your question to some degree in my reply to Mark. But I’d like to add that I’m not aware of the situation you mentioned so, I’m not comfortable commenting about something I haven’t watched. It sound awful as F* but I honestly have no clue what video you’re talking about.

That’s…what the hell?! Just looked at MOI’s response from the linked tweet and it didn’t indicate anything about deportation or the type of punishment. It only says he got caught and the case against him is being worked on by the appropriate authorities (Court case I’m guessing). As such, your initial comment has no bearing on what I wrote, no offence. Both the weather and cat guys got caught and got/are going to be punished for what they did going by the official statements.

If the cat guy was Kuwaiti, then he’ll be punished here and not deported.

Does this offensive language warrant reporting him followed by arrest and deportation? Why can’t we just say “what an asshole” and move on with our lives?

Quoting myself again:

“This is just another case of “Play Stupid Games Win Stupid Prizes”. He could’ve gotten away with it had not many people brought attention to it or the whims of officials. At the end of the day, it takes 1 official complaint by anyone in the country to the proper authorities to get things in motion when it comes to these kind of “games”.”

As you can see, it can be for a number of reasons. The fact of the matter is, we don’t have the facts. The only undeniable facts here, are the clip he uploaded an MOIs tweet. My first impression of the guy from that one clip was “he went too far”. Would I go as far as to report him? Not really. Would I be surprised if he got backlash that would escalate to the authorities? Again, not really.

The only thing that surprised me was the people defending him and not willing to see why some got offended, and are trying to turn it into a humans rights issue. He put himself in this mess, let him deal with it. You want to sympathize with him, feel free to do so but, don’t shit on others who got offended, and take the opportunity to see where they’re coming from.

Freedom of Speech/Expression in Kuwait is a right to every person (not just Kuwaitis) as long as it conforms to the laws set by the country. I took his outburst as if he was shitting on the country. Clearly others did, and some thought it warranted reporting him. People jumping the gun on what happened to the guy without an official source (provide one please if it exists).

There was a case of an Egyptian who was arrested under the same pretenses. If I remember correctly, it took several months or even a year for a ruling to come out. Jail plus deportation after the end of his sentence. I’m not saying that’s what’s gonna happen here. Let’s not jump the gun yet is all. Let me end it by repeating another thing I said: For all we know, he might’ve been let go.

Hi, I just want to put my 2 cents in. I am a Lebanese expat married to a Kuwaiti and been living in kuwait now for 12 years. Been on both sides of societies in kuwait. As an expat I would’ve never been able to record a video like this for the basic knowledge that yes:1. It is very offensive (not the fact that I am complaining about a dust storm) but the language used and 2. Looks pretty much that I am making fun of the country. Being in kuwait I know for a fact that a video like this one someone saw it and notified authorities I would have put myself in a lot of trouble.

That being said, if I would see if from a kuwaiti’s point of view, this individual is being disrespectful to my country, no his case is not the same as the Spanish lady who was extremely polite, extremely respectful and was raising a true cause of racism and segregation that has been unfortunately happening since the start of the pandemic. She was heard, appreciated and her concerns were acted upon with expat and local support alike and we were able to make a change in regulations hence the august rules for expats who have been vaccinated

I am not defending the country nor the actions taken against him. I am clearly stating that the video was very offensive and he should’ve seriously considered that there would be consequences. Him being Egyptian or any other nationality doesn’t make a difference.

But tell me mark could he have said the same things in Egypt? Look at shireen the singer who was banned by the syndicate for making a joke about the Nile water in Egypt.

So you have a background about how “wrong and out of context” freedom of speech can be taken, ESPECIALLY in your homeland where you can’t complain about anything in the way you did to the weather in Kuwait, a country YOU chose to travel to to improve your means of life. At least be respectful.

Why are you asking me if he could have said the same things in Egypt? If you want to compare Kuwait to a place then compare it to somewhere better. Ask me if he could have said the same things in the UK or the USA and I’ll reply to you.

Let’s talk realistically: is it comparable to the US or UK?

Is any Arab country comparable to them or any other forward thinking country?

Since we don’t live in either and you know how things roll in Arab countries all I am saying is he should’ve known better. It’s no different in his homeland, hell it’s ALOT stricter

What? we don’t own the weather, it was a terrible weather day, the hell i happening to this country.

Yes it was. We were all having a very hard time. Allergies, sickness and what not. However none of us had the brilliant idea of going to social media and cursing and blaming kuwait for it. This is how the video sounded. I believe even if it was recorded by a local, actions would’ve been taken. How about when it was done by an expat?

The State of Kuwait is a sovereign country; independent and not occupied by foreign countries. Disrespecting the State of Kuwait is illegal per Kuwaiti law. Similar laws are strictly enforced in Egypt, Bahrain, UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Jordan, and so on. Disrespecting the country often results in stricter punishments in those countries.

In Egypt, many people have been arrested for making “negative comments” about the country including the quality of water in the Nile river. In the UAE, several Emiratis and expats have been arrested for disrespecting the country.

Disrespecting the State of Kuwait has always been illegal in Kuwait but the law was not always enforced. Since the start of COVID, this law has been enforced more frequently.

This Egyptian man is not the first person to get arrested for disrespecting the State of Kuwait.

In fact, over the past few months many Egyptians and Indians have been arrested for the same reason (insulting the country).

The other Arab countries are much much stricter than Kuwait in this regard. If this was any other GCC or Arab country, expats and Bedoon in Kuwait would never get away with posting the things they do online in Kuwait. Let’s be realistic and honest here. I have friends and family in Egypt.

beg your pardon but as a lebanese married to kuwait – you have NOT been on two sides of society in Kuwait. Definitely the top 10 percent MAYBE if not higher.

All i can say is that, a big dust is on its way. God Protect all of us.
Once this dust settles, you wont see any one to deport or complain.

Kuwait is a city place, with mostly city citizens. Some of them are decent people, but most are city. Any expat that has the option to get out of this city place should do so. Their city attitudes will never change because it’s ingrained in their culture and minds. Maybe when the oil runs out they might change, or maybe not, but who the hell wants to stay in this city dust bowl to find out.

I wonder if the above statement has insulted enough people to get me a free ticket home? Let’s call it an experiment.

Leave a Reply to fatma Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *