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It’s Unfair

A couple of days ago a new announcement was made that only vaccinated citizens can travel. Expats on the other hand (and they made this part very clear) are still banned from entering Kuwait. Keep in mind most citizens would most likely travel for leisure purposes while most expats would travel for family reasons. A lot haven’t seen their loved ones since the start of the pandemic, I haven’t seen my dad for two years but I know of people who haven’t seen their wives or kids for as much.

I’m fully vaccinated now with my two shots which is great. I have the immune app and I’m all green and on the Mosafar website, my vaccination circle is also fully green. Yet if I fly out of Kuwait I can’t come back in because I’m an expat?

I was annoyed but I had decided a couple of weeks ago that I wasn’t going to post about this stuff anymore. Citizens are equally upset by these bizarre decisions and they’re all being very vocal about it on all the social media channels. So I left it at that.

Then last night, my sister calls me from Lebanon and tells me my dad has fallen ill. He’s fully vaccinated so I don’t think it’s covid, but he’s old and frail so I don’t know. This morning I wake up to a message saying things have taken a turn for the worse and they had to admit him to the ER.

So now I have to make a choice.

  • Fly out to Lebanon as soon as possible and get stuck outside Kuwait for months. I’d have to decide to leave my friends, my job, my blog, my life, (everything basically) and be uprooted for an indefinite amount of time.

  • Or, stay in Kuwait and possibly never see my dad again.

This rule isn’t just unfair, it’s illogical and unrealistic and because of it, I’m unable to do the right thing which is to be with my dad and family, especially when I know I’m needed.

Note: I just want to add that I wasn’t planning on publishing this post. I originally wrote it as a way to vent and self-therapy. I don’t like sharing personal parts of my life so it feels very awkward putting this out there but I just felt that if this post somehow helps change the rule, even if it’s a very small chance, then it’s worth putting it out there. Thank you for your messages.

Update: My dad is doing a lot better now, thank you everyone again.

103 replies on “It’s Unfair”

I am very sorry to hear this, go to your father he is more important. My gov, parliment and high officials in different ministries should feel ashamed of their incompetence. I hope your father recover and a long healthy life.

I agree with Ahmad, life can be very difficult, but you have restarted your life once before….God bless ur dad with good health Mark, but please visit him….it’s something u gotta do….but then again …it’s all ur choice, based on my personal experience….I’d say just go meet him…hold his hands…be there! Take care Mark, hope it all works out for u.

Go see your dad !!
Im sure Essa will be having some kind of Wasta to get you back, this is the least he can do for you

Go to your father.
This travel ban most likely will end sometime after eid so taking a month off will not be the end of the world.

This post was hard to read. Praying for your dad, Mark.

Honestly am sick and tired of these anti expat rules that keeps popping up almost everyday. If an expat is fully vaccinated, why shouldn’t this person be allowed to travel whereas citizens can?!! No logic just pure idiocy.

Oh and before anyone comes for me with the standard “if you don’t like it here then gtfo”, don’t worry, wont be here for long. I already have an exit plan 🙂

First i wish a speedy recovery for your dad .

I think you should go to your dad because he’s an important person for you and the decisions for the corona changes every week so maybe you can come back as soon as possible.

Hope your dad gets well soon….And yeah , you`re right, Kuwait, in its entirety, doesn`t make sense anymore…It`s just on slide going downwards, in terms of everything.

This is sad. This is unfair. This is terrible. However, many countries around the world completely lost their minds and made lots of illogical decisions including the country of Canada, where I live now and it all doesn’t make any sense. The good news is, it looks like many countries will start to re-open after getting a specific percentage of their population immunised. I expect this to happen to Kuwait soon, probably within a month from now, hopefully.

I wish you all the best of luck and I truly hope you will be able to see your father soon.

Not sure how you can compare some of Canada’s decisions to barring more than half the country from leaving/re-entering if they’re fully vaccinated.

1st I wish you father a fast recovery
2nd, you are an Expat and will always be that, and what you are expected to be is an asset to this country , if you cannot be , leave and go away, your feeling and you personal life don’t count when you are an expat .

We wish your father a fast recovery.

I know one thing that jobs and other stuff goes and come but family, don’t!

Stay strong and safe.

Hey Mark, hope your dad gets well soon.
Like many people, I’ve been trying to get back home since January 2021, had to reschedule my flight three times and pay 50kd more each time to do so over the already expensive ticket, even though it’s not my fault, only to get a refund at the end when Kuwait announced they wouldn’t let expats in anymore. I am unable to get vaccinated where I currently am since I am a tourist. If Kuwait happens to announce that only vaccinated expats can enter, I have nowhere to go, and don’t even have family in my home country. I’m patiently waiting to see what hostile rule they come up with after Eid.

Leave! Kuwait and everything in it is not worth it. Its going from bad to worse. You will feel like a total idiot when they eventually kick you out of here for any sacrifice you ever made for this country or any of the billion times you rabidly defended it.

I’d go see my father first and not overthink what the rules are in Kuwait. You are fully vaccinated and the rules will be changed soon enough for expats to travel. You’ll figure out a way to come back here but you will never get back these days if something were to happen to him.

I have been in Kuwait for almost 30 years (I’m 34) and my father who is over 60 has to leave because they don’t want “old people” here apparently. Of course my father has been here much longer than me. He made friends here, built things here, he spent his entire adulthood here, contributed to this country. He told me once, “this country can never be our home son.” with a certain disappointment in his voice. I remembered that yet I still got attached to this land. How could I not? Everything I have ever known is in this country. My entire life.

Today Kuwait sees us “expats” as a threat of some kind. None of the laws are making sense anymore. I loved this country but what my father told me all those years ago was so true. Kuwait will never be home. At any point the government could come up with a new law and those of us delusional ones who thought of this place as home, will find ourselves looking at the world through a broken lens and wonder what the hell just happened.

I share this with you because I can feel your attachment to this country. I understand how hard it is to leave your life behind even for a little while when faced with uncertainty. But what happens when the government makes a new law or for whatever ridiculous reasons you get deported like so many expats since the last two years? I want to tell you what my father said to me all those years ago. This country will never be our home. At a certain point we’re going to have to let go of our attachments and find a place where we’re accepted. And not wake up one day to feel completely alienated, humiliated and thrown out of the very place we called home. I don’t care who you are, if you are an expat, this is a very possible reality.

Leave and establish yourself elsewhere before it’s too late! You sound really smart – many countries would be glad to have someone like you contributing and they certainly would reward you more for your efforts than Kuwait ever will.

Thank you. I appreciate your kind words and yes I do have an exit plan. So do others as I can see from the comments and many of my friends. Too bad, those of us who grew up here have a real attachment to this country. I know very smart people who have left and built very profitable businesses outside. If given rights to aspiring expat entrepreneurs, maybe some sort of PR and business ownership, I think “expats” could have skyrocketed this countries growth.

I guess I am just fantasizing a reality that will never happen. I believe it may already be too late for Kuwait to fix it seeing their actions. The situation is on a downward spiral and it’s hard to see that. I wish Kuwait the best for its future but we definitely don’t belong here anymore.

Oh Mark…was difficult reading this article. So sad that you n many others, have to be put in a situation like this. I pray that your dad recovers well and soon. We foreigners are facing so much stress already, because of the pandemic, n on top of it, we get this senseles travel ban. May God guide your thoughts and show u the right steps.

Hope you dad recovers. I am also supposed to get with my family in June who are coming from different parts of the world and this is pissing me off to no end. It also made me firmly decide to finally start seriously working on leaving. As far as I know there is no other country in the world that is doing this.

I also expect this post will get removed soon.

P.S. Get someone to register you as his maid, you’ll be able to come back then, ha-ha.

I wouldn’t choose Kuwait over anything let alone my Dad. May he get well soon. Run away from Kuwait. It’s a trap.

Hope you dad recovers soon.

It is a sad situation all round the world when we don’t have our freedom of movement. People only tend to speak up when they are affected by some of this silly decisions. A lot of the expats face these kind of difficult decisions on a day to day basis and not as privileged as the people who visit this blog. I request those of us who can make a change, let those unprivileged people also live life a lil bit stress free. Why does our govt always want to test inhumane policies on this unfortunate group of people!

My prayers are with your dad.
Guess what this how it is like it or not.
I can’t tell
You you what to do.
What I can tell you is that never forget this.

What is happening to you don’t let it happen to your kids.plan today for your future and when time
Comes you are ready.

Coz here things ain’t going to change forever.

Take care bud

This is such an important point that you raise – thank you. Too many expats are only concerned when it’s their turn to be picked on – they can put up (and profit from) the abuses committed until it personally affects them. There needs to be solidarity, the privileged need to stand up the marginalized or their complaints are hypocritical.

There are senior students who are outside Kuwait and their final exams is not online and they dont let them enter too !!
all the school year they were studying online and now for final exam they decided to make it in person and students who are outside dont let them come back and they didnt provide another solution for them yet.
its really really sad situation and hope your father get well soon.

I Have the same issue but with my mother she got sick and they need me and if I leave I will stuck outside.
Other reason that keep me here in Kuwait is job salary to keep paying the huge medical bills
My opinion, Go to your father if you can.
Hope he recovers soon.

Well praying for your dads speedy recovery while I’m playing for my dad’s recovery too, last year I left Kuwait in Feb and was stuck in my country till Dec n came via Dubai so scared to go back now and I agree with most people that it’s really going bad here and we will never be able to consider this as our country with all these idiotic rules popping up everyday, take care n do what u feel right.

I am sorry to hear about your dad and I know it’s a tough choice to make. I hope the rules in Kuwait change for the better and you get to see your family like we all would want to.
Most of us expats have genuine reasons to travel and not just go to Dubai to celebrate New Years and come back.

Thank you for posting! It really has been on my mind as well, we ARE born and brought up here in Kuwait, my life is here, but I do have family outside whom I’ve not met for 1.5 years. A frail grandma, cousins, things need attending to: a property which was midway into construction, the list goes on; What’s worst is people who work here and can’t return for months; they might have gone to visit a sick family member, or to attend to important matters at home. IT IS SO SO SO UNFAIR! people like us who spend over 30 years here..why can’t we come back home!!!!!!! what can we do to change this? How can we all collectively help? I feel so helpless, but i really would want to do my part in changing this situation. other GCC countries allow their residents to come back, so why not us?

First of all, My thoughts & prayers goes to your family, Kuwait is country with different laws just like every other country, Some laws make sense to you some laws don’t, I advise you to stop criticizing the country laws and respect them instead if you’re a resident please obey and respect the laws of land, That said you have free will to do as you like, If it was me I’ll fly immediately and see my father, But again that’s me, In life there’s no such thing as a perfect or convenient scenario where we are fully satisfied or get everything that we want.

By every other country you mean Israel? They’re the only other country accused of apartheid (google the meaning)

Yes, the whole point is to express ourselves to change rules that are xenophobic, dont make sense and are clearly discriminatory. If the intention of the country is to keep out new variants, then the logical thing to do is to close the airport down completely, not to only single out residents and restrict our movements while Kuwaitis can come and go as they please…how does this selective rule based on nationality keep out variants?

The whole point is to express ourselves hoping someone reads this and maybe changes rules that are xenophobic, dont make sense and are clearly discriminatory. If the intention of the government is to keep out new variants, then the logical thing to do is to close the airport down completely, not to only single out residents and restrict our movements while Kuwaitis can come and go as they please…how does this selective rule based on nationality keep out variants?

How can you ask anyone to respect laws that don’t respect people and their dignity, and that are CLEARLY unfair and illogical?!

I’m Kuwaiti and Mark is my friend, and I’m BURNING WITH RAGE after reading this post!

Speedy recovery for your father.
Aameen.

Just wanted to share my side of story. a month ago my mother-in-law got sick (in her home country) later we came to know that she got COVID-20. From here my wife tried her best to facilitate her mother with all medical requirements. Her sister was on her way back to Kuwait via Dubai when suddenly Kuwait shut its doors and she got stuck and at same time her mother got sick. She tried to travel back from dxb but her PCR result came Positive.
My wife wanted to travel from here but we all knew that she will not be able to come back soon and she will loose her job. so after suffering two weeks in hospitals her mother passed away. She did not get a chance to visit her mom when she needed her most JUST because of Kuwait’s unfair decision.

Mark, If you are planning to travel and having enough budget which can support you and your family for few months then go ahead.
BUT if not then try to keep calm and sit here tight and pray for your father’s recovery and support them as much as you can (same as we did)

You are 100% right if you leave then a lot of things will not be with you. You have to leave them behind. All the current setup of life and income, will no longer be with you for a long time. Eventually you have to start from Zero.

Decision is yours.

You reminded me of the time my dad actually passed away and I just got a new job here in Kuwait. I was unable to attend his funeral as my residency was being processed and I was on an extension visa. That was a good slap on the face as to reality wise what it means to live here. I was born here so I understand what you going through.

I just wanted to say leaving Kuwait is inevitable just like paying tax in other countries or might I say death. It is just a matter of time unless they come up with new strategies to make expats a part of the country. It is a little to late for that though. Most expats are working on an exit strategy and it will be hard to replace them.

What is hilarious is the fact expats holding valid visas are unable to return to the country whereas this is unheard of in our neighboring countries who also have a big expat population. Why do we feel this way as expats in Kuwait and carry on being here beats me. We are just playing a wait game. Kuwait is an amazing country with huge potential but it is slipping away each time an expat who contributes to society leaves for better pastures. I wish Kuwait all the very best for the good citizens who are here when we are gone as they deserve a better Kuwait for their future. Kuwait will always be part of us no matter where we heading bro 🙂

Hey Mark,
Inshalla your dad will get better soon 🙏🏻
We can all relate to what you have written… I think many feel the way you do, and actually living this dilemma on daily basis.
True, we have chosen to work outside our countries, and we have chosen to sacrifice our family moments in order to give a better future to our kids, yet, we are sharing our expertise with this country, and we always aim for a mutual benefit…
lately, it’s not the case anymore, unfortunately, and, the fact of not having a choice, is very frustrating and depressing.
I really hope our opinions and voices are heard, we are really suffering on many levels, not to mention the agony of our kids who are constantly anxious and depressed.
We mean no offense to anyone, but some fairness won’t hurt 😞

Our prayers and best wishes for your dad Mark . Hope he get well and recovers soon.

My opinion is you should go.. you get only that one chance, You have the means to do it so you should use it. You dont wants live the the regret and the question of what if ?? Or I should have ..

. As for coming back and the job and everything else. These things have a way of working out . You never know they might actually change the rules.

Also you are Canadian and you are going to Lebanon which isn’t t really a big Covid hot spot at the moment. Thank your stars you aren’t Indian or going to India. In which case considering the situation what it is there right now your chances of coming back even if there were to be some changes would probably be slim to zero

You dont want to live with the the regret and the question of what if ?? Or I should have ..

Sorry..

Glad to hear that your dad is getting better. I hope the situation gets better and you can go and see him.

Don’t risk it. Don’t go.

If your dad was able to speak, he’d tell you to stay put and save your job and residency in Kuwait.

These are tough times. Keeping a job and making a decent living these days is what matters most.

Survival and longevity my friend.

Only you care about you.

I hear you Mark My moms 82 in hospice saw her last Nov. Dad 86 in nursing home. You should be able to get back in in Aug so go.

This policy is only to be able to get rid of Expats.
Short sighted in my view

” I’d have to decide to leave my friends, my job, my blog, my life, (everything basically) and be uprooted for an indefinite amount of time.”

Everything that you mentioned above can be replaced with something better but no amount of money can grant you a wish of turning back time and being by the side of your sick dad.

We are here like in prison. And I think it should be reported as human rights violations to the world organizations. I personally would like to have a vaccine but still waiting for sms from Dec.
and I understand people who are against vaccinations due to personal fear and belief. Not all Kuwaitis would like to be vaccinated. And definitely government will allow them to come back and quarantine in the hotel. For expats it will be only the ones who are vaccinated but only God knows when the travel ban is lifted. And what will they do with those stranded abroad? Will they allow expats vaccinated in their countries to enter Kuwait?

My thoughts and prayers goes out to your Father, wishing him a speedy recovery.

If I were in your shoes I wouldn’t question it for a second to be away from my beloved ones in such a difficult time due to such unfair regulations.

I guess a lot of these regulations will ease up now beginning of summer just like last year. So go and everything else will fall into place later.

Mark,

Best of luck, and god be with you and your family. Prayers to your dad.

And thanks for giving voice…another voice…to speak out about policies whose only logic is, “Rules for thee, but not for me.”

our prayers are with your dad, mark.

i’m annoyed at the people who are painting this as an easy-peasy black-and-white choice. it’s not.

you’ve clearly not lived through difficult conditions, and had to make difficult choices. my family and ancestors have lived through wars, famine, and natural disasters, and i can assure you life is not “easy-as-cake whatever-you-want whenever-you-want-it” the way it is for many in kuwait. a lot of expats in kuwait make unimaginable sacrifices just for things you may consider your right: food, water, electricity, healthcare. what’s upsetting is that these insane rules are not tackling war, famine, or natural disaster, or even covid; it’s just xenophobia.

May the Almighty bless your father with health. I personally would travel to my father because if I have the chance I would want to support him and not make him doubt why I didn’t come.
All the best.

You’re absolutely right. These restrictions aren’t fair. I’ve come to realize that the majority of the world has been operating under the guise of democracy but seem to place restrictions that are unwarranted. They are forcing the vaccine and even when you do take it, it seems as if it’s for nothing. Whereas world leaders are traveling around like the world is their playground. I read your comment, this isn’t a poll. Don’t feel pressured by people’s comments and do what is right for you as I’m sure you have always done. You’re right, it’s not a very nice thing to post about personal matters to the world that have vulnerability when you don’t want to but it is what it is. I recognize that you are using writing to let go of your suppressed emotions. That’s a good thing. Sending blessings and love to your family. You will get a call very soon that says your dad is doing just fine. Believe it.

So…Is there going to be shock and disbelief by some when Kuwait again ends up on top of the list of least desirable expat destinations?

Wishing your father a speedy recovery and wishing you patience and grace in this difficult time.

My heart and prayers are with you Mark. In all honesty, it’s easier to say “oh I would definitely go be with my dad etc. ” but in reality a lot has to be considered. If I were you I would stay put. We’re in the middle of a pandemic and it’s not over. Your financial stability ie. job may be of more value if your father were to pass than you being there struggling to find work and stranded in this pandemic world. I would Zoom call everyone and be a real arm to them and open the purse strings to help from here.

I had to bury my father years ago when I was heavy pregnant and unable to fly long distances. I spoke to my father the night before he passed and am at peace with that. I sent my hospital delivery money to bury him. There was nothing I could do other than that and no one expects you to trash your life to be at his bedside I hope. Memories are lifelong, not just the end. What if you leave Kuwait and he starts to recover? And yet you won’t be able to enter again. It’s not about leaving Kuwait, it’s about uprooting yourself from all semblance of stability.

As illogical and unfair as it is, the rules with the airport are out of our hands. Therefore, I would accept them as illogical dumb laws and be there for my father and family virtually and financially.

Stay strong!

Finally a caring, well-thought out comment that makes 100% common sense. I agree with all of the above. God willing your dad will recover soon, Mark. 🙏🏼✨

Thanks for sharing this Mark. My parents are in Kuwait and I’m in the US. I haven’t been able to see them in 2 years now. It is really frustrating and even more frustrating to know that I won’t be able to visit even if there is an emergency. I have been monitoring news in Kuwait non stop to check when the travel ban would be lifted, but as days go by it seems more and more unlikely.
Both my parents are vaccinated in Kuwait and still not allowed to enter the country if they were to exit. Like you, they have lived there for 30 years and can’t uproot their entire life to visit me with the uncertainty of not being able to go back.

I understand with the political situation how hard it must be for you to write this post, but I’m glad you did. I hope this get’s the attention it deserves to end this inhumane rule.

This is sad. This is unfair. This is terrible. However, many countries around the world completely lost their minds and made lots of illogical decisions including the country of Canada, where I live now and it all doesn’t make any sense. The good news is, it looks like many countries will start to re-open after getting a specific percentage of their population immunised. I expect this to happen to Kuwait soon, probably within a month from now, hopefully.

I wish you all the best of luck and I truly hope you will be able to see your father soon.

Sending prayers for your Dad’s recovery.

We shouldn’t wait for the pandemic to end to reunite families.

I lost my mother on 2018. I had just arrive to Kuwait, I was still under “probation period” and I found out about the sad news several hours later after it happened and because I come from South America it would take me more than 24 hours to get home. So making one of the hardest decisions I realized it was not worth going that far, on such an expensive ticket when I had just arrive, because I realized it didn’t change a thing. I was not longer going to ser her anyway. Probably just her corpse.

But one of the other things I quickly realized is that life goes on. I pray nothing happens to your dad and that he recovers soon. But even if things don’t go as you like, you have to realized that there are tough times in the world ahead. The financial crisis has not yet reached its worst. It would get even tougher worldwide. I don’t know if you are able to do your job abroad, if you can manage to get stuck outside and probably get no salary or get terminated; or if you can afford to find a job somewhere else if you decide not come back.

As tough as it sounds you really need to put things in the balance.

If you can manage to survive outside for 2 to 3 months or even afford to lose your job and relocate here or there or somewhere else then GO. Otherwise as tough and sad as it might be for all reasons then STAY.

I hope that your post gets to the right people in the gvment. Your website is popular round here so it should. And hopefully your story would touch the right hearts and minds so that life improves a bit for all us expats in this country and we can go back home (or somewhere else) and come back and continue to do our job and helping this society. We don’t ask for anything else.

Hey Mark, I’m really sorry you have to go through this, no one is able to make this very difficult decision for you, everyone has opinions, but only you know your situation. You are not alone in these very tough choices that shouldn’t need to be made! You’re right – It is not fair! And we are not given the respect of communication as to why. A lot of other countries have been united in their diversity during this pandemic, but it has only deepened the divide in Kuwait. This is sad. We are here to work, which ultimately contributes to the growth of the economy of a country which has provided many opportunities only to now have the rug pulled out from under us.

Mark, screw everything up … Go to your dad.. you are needed out there.

For the returning back … It may take up to the last quarter of this year.
So, go to your dad and prepare to say for a little bit more time out of kuwait and maybe it’s a good chance to establish a business out there or something else.

I’m so sorry to hear this. I hope your dad gets better.

I think this is a wake up call for you to decide definitively how much further you want to invest in life in Kuwait. In left the UAE at the age of 32 (3 years ago) when I realized that my “home” didn’t really care about me–and the UAE is obviously much better at treating expats than Kuwait. I’ve been in the US ever since. It sucks that I’m away from my family (all still in Abu Dhabi) but it just was the common sense thing to do. I hope everything works out for you and your family.

This is terrible, and such a stain on the Kuwaiti “government” which clearly does not care about expats who have helped to keep the country from falling behind even more.

What’s even more upsetting is that you would regularly not even want to post something that affects so many people in the country – it’s as if anything negative you think about posting must be seriously evaluated and re-evaluated to avoid problems.

I would leave to see my father and never look back – no need to ever return.

Run to your father! There always gonna be another country to live at! I am surprised though that you got fully vaccinated! How did you manage to do so? I’ve been waiting ever since they opened the registration and I am in much older than you!

Go to your father. Nothing about that country makes sense. Go to your father & if you cant get back into kuwait cause they are confused daily then stay in Lebanon with your fam or come to the states where logic still exists. CA does miss ya

Hope your dad gets better soon !!!!! Our prayers are with him and your family ..I agree with most of other people here … Go and see your dad … Family is most important … Request your management for work from home … Since internet is available everywhere these days and zoom being the primary communication protocol Iam sure your management should agree on humanitarian consideration ….

Wish you find the strength to do what’s right, and the peace to live with it after you do. Speedy recovery.

What you have said relates to many and some are also Lebanese facing the same issue and are of our generation.

Don’t waste time as discussions change constantly sometimes in one’s favor.
Try to sort out stuff in Kuwait ASAP and go see your dad!
Get what they need for them from Kuwait so as not to waste time searching for it there.
Sorry for my blunt bold remark but don’t want you to regret it later.

Hi Mark,

I hope your dad gets well soon. You know Mark what you wrote is my worst nightmare – family emergency and I have to make the choice. I completely feel you.

Hope and pray for change.

Yeah it really “hurt” (for lack of a better word) when I read some article about how locals are eyeing trips to different countries for a vacation during Eid.

I unfortunately had covid just 3 weeks ago and I can’t even get the vaccine until July. Meanwhile, back in India, I’ve lost 4 of my close relatives and 2 of them used to take care of my mother and her 2 elder sisters who all got covid and just got discharged from the hospital a few days ago. Its been nerve wracking and all I want to do is go see them before anyone else dies and I don’t know when that’ll even happen.

Ive even lost a long distance relationship because of complications arising out of the distance and the fact that I hadn’t seen my ex in 15 months.

There have been many things that have pushed me to wanting to leave and I think this might be the final straw.

And yeah I know I wont be missed and you dont need me and I need to go back to my own country or whatever. Save it.

It is truly sad to hear about your situation Mark,

Hoping your father recovers soon!

Here is a Link to another well articulated Note on how the locals can go and come back only from this morning.

The fact that there is no sympathy or even concern towards how bad expatriates want to and at some point even need to visit back home in case of emergencies is ignored is really really inumane.

http://www.arabtimesonline.com/news/kuwaitis-eyeing-overseas-eid-turkey-dubai-qatar-main-destinations/

Please do not reply to my post saying, if you want to leave leave, we expats are very well aware of it, may god forbid you to be in our shoes someday, but if you do only then will you even begin to fathom a part of our miseries.

Firstly – Mark you have my sympathy and I hope that your father fully recovers.

However, I have to say your voice is strong and you really could / should have spoken out on this issue before.

Kuwait’s rules have cost us our marriage, my children, both our careers and I don’t think we’ll ever recover considering our age.

Do the right thing Mark – only you can know what that is……

He is already going out on a limb here as it is. All it takes is one connected lawyer against one wafid and like that his livelihood will be in jeopardy.

Thank you Mark, for speaking out and I’m glad to hear your dad is better.

Your story echoes with many who have valid resident permits and have been restricted from both leaving and entering this country, even now being fully vaccinated.

I’m also concerned about people who are stuck out of the country and have had their residence permits cancelled and have no way of returning to claim what they left behind, notably the gratuity owed to them and their assets. Do they have any recourse?

@ UsedtoliveinKuwait..

I really am sorry to hear about your situation and sympathize with what happened to you and your family, However, I think it is unfair to lay that at Mark’s feet saying that he should have or could have spoken earlier.

Mark is a part of the expat community yes but not some sort of William Wallace Style rebel leader of that community.

His blog is a platform that we are given priveleged access to to voice our opinions within limits and with respect to the law; not for us to raise our voices of dissent against the government in any sort of malicious way.

If by do the right ting .. you are trying to imply that Mark should start using his platform to raise a malicious voice against the government of Kuwait then Sir that is totally unacceptable.

Hi Mark, Hope your dad is fine, I believe family is more important than the Rules ! I am an expat and my dad passed away in January and i flew to see him last time. While coming back, Kuwait changed the rules and i am stuck in Dubai since then. I have written Email to Kuwait Govt to allow me to come back but no response until now. It’s just so annoying that my family is in Kuwait and i cannot enter, I think Kuwait it the only country which has closed the border so long.. Could have allowed % Expat vs Locals in the flight to come back ! This ha created a frustrating environment for Expats and i believe, once corona is nearly gone, people will start migrating. No one wants to live their.

Mark thinking he is above the rules once again, fishing for sympathy and looking for preferential treatment. I wish I had a personal blog where I could lobby citizens of a foreign country I am residing in to help me bend the rules. Us “citizens” travel for many reasons and not just leisure/tourism. Some of us have family abroad, businesses abroad, etc. Stop speaking for us and just speak for yourself.

Sorry to hear about your father, glad he is doing better and hope he makes a speedy recovery.

Hope all this COVID madness goes away and life goes back to ‘normal’

Good to hear your dad’s better. Sending a prayer for all who are separated form their lives ones indefinitely, not knowing when we can see them.

Hi Mark. My mother passed away in November in India. I left my wife and three children here and went to attend her Funeral with no hope that i could come back to kuwait. Believe me, Nothing else matters. Things will change and everything will undergo change. Nothing is permanent.
he who understands that is wise. Its high time, we expats stop trying to correct this country from the so called laws they enact. its their country and let them run the way they want it. I too was under the impression that there isnt a life other than in Kuwait, since i too was born and raised here in kuwait. Just break that spell, jump out ..

Damn man that’s rough to hear. I lost my dad just before covid hit in feb 2020 so at least he wasn’t around to see all this bs. i know if i had to choose i would probably just say fuck it and go see him bc even though i was there with him till his last night, i still miss him and wish i had more time with him bc the last 2 months i spent with him, when his cancer went into overdrive, was no where near enough. That’s good your dad is doing well now so you can worry a bit less but this is still an awful situation leaving expats hanging like this with no resolution in sight…

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