2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003
The Kuwait Writing Club in collaboration with the Cultural Club at GUST will be hosting a literary night next Thursday. Members of the Riyadh Writing Club, Shurooq Amin, Sons of Yusuf and Nada Faris will also be attending as guest performers.
Date: Thursday, April 18, 2013
Time: 6PM to 8PM
Location: Gulf University for Science and Technology, Hall W6-200
For more information visit the event Facebook page [Here]
Yesterday I posted the picture above on my Instagram account of a new tshirt I had ordered online. It took me a month to get the tshirt because it was on backorder and so when a friend of mine pointed out that a local fashion store was selling a locally printed version (i.e. imitation) I got upset for two reasons:
1) If its a good creative idea you support the designer who came up with the idea and you don’t get a local printshop to reprint the design for you
2) The store that was selling the fake tshirts (I won’t mention the brand and any mention of the brand in the comments will be deleted) is actually a very well respected brand and one that I actually liked
So I visited their Instagram account and found the tshirt listed for sale there and in the comments I read the following:
The tshirt was by a local designer and not the official one in NYC so I left the following comment:
To my surprise instead of them apologizing for selling imitation goods they responded with the following comment:
I stayed diplomatic and responded highlighting the fact that they themselves said it was by a local designer and not that they had permission from the official brand to reprint it in Kuwait. I also tagged my friend Fajer the lawyer in the comments so that she was aware of the situation as well. A few moments later they deleted all my comments and blocked me from their account.
I decided to contact the original designer just to make sure I hadn’t made a mistake and turns out I hadn’t. According to the designer who created the orignal tshirt she never gave anybody permission to sell or reprint her tshirts. In fact the local store was sent the following email to cease sale of the tshirts:
VIOLATION OF TRADEMARK – Remove Immediately
We have been notified that you are in violation of our trademark ‘Ain’t Laurent Without Yves’. Please immediately cease sale of all materials with our trademark logo on it; Should you continue to sell these items we will pursue severe legal damages for profits lost.We never gave you, or any other vendor permission to sell our product with our slogan on it. Your claims on twitter are false and are damaging our brand.
The reason I am pointing this situation out is to discuss how criticism is handled in the region. Even when I was right I got attacked and a lot of other people do too. We should be able to have freedom of speech and criticism actually helps companies (and people) to know how they can improve. People in the region need to calm down and start accepting criticism.
If you’re interested in the tshirt above you can purchase it directly from the original designer at whataboutyves.com
Sami Alramyan, a photographer based in Kuwait was recently featured on the photography blog EyeEm. Sami does a lot of black and white street photography and recently represented Kuwait for the second year running in “The 24 Hour Project“.
You can check out his photos [Here]
You can check out the feature on him [Here]
Check out the interview above of local musician Zahed Sultan by O2 Academy TV in London. [YouTube]
Did anyone feel the earthquake a few moments ago? (around 3pm)
Update: Confirmed, an earthquake hit Southern Iran awhile ago with a magnitude of 6.2 [Source]
THE QUESTION
Hey Fajer, I work for a private company in Kuwait and the company has my passport (and other employees) and refuses to keep it with us because they’re afraid we might leave the country. Do they have a right to keep our passports? I was told they don’t but I’m afraid if I make a big issue out of this then I might get fired.
THE RESPONSE
So this question/answer is only for private company employees
Do employers have the right to keep an employees passport?
No, No and NOOOOO!
This is a very common question, at work and now from my readers on the blog.
Why is it illegal?
The Ministry resolution number 143/A/2010 says in (Article 1) “It is prohibited for private sector employers and oil sector employers to hold traveling documents of their employees”
Then (Article 2) mentions a punishment from the labor law for employers in the private sector who do not follow (Article 1). The punishment mentioned in (Article 141) from the labor law is as follows:
“In the event where the violator does not remedy the violation within the specified period, he shall be subject to a fine of not less than KD100 and not more than KD200 for each of the workers who are involved in the violation. In the event of recurrence within three years from the date of the final judgment, the punishment shall be doubled.” This means that your employer will get fined KD100-200 for keeping your passport.
Can you get fired?
No, No and NOOOOO!
You can not get fired except for reasons stated in the law which I won’t get into now but basically non of them is for telling your boss to be legal.
I want everyone to know the following for any labor law violations by your employers in the future:
– There is a hotline you can call (no one picked up when I called) 128
– There is a site where you can file a complaint (no one replied to me yet) https://www.mosal.gov.kw/
– There is also an NGO organized by Bibi Nasser called Social Work Society of Kuwait located in mishref www.q8sws.com Tel: 25375031 they might be able to help you with issues, even though most of their work is for domestic and construction workers
– According to the labor law, if you have a complaint against your employer, the Minstry of Labor and Social affairs will look into it before it gets to court and will try to resolve it
– If it does go to court, the court has exempted laborers from any court fees
– I sat with officials 2 weeks ago from the Minstry of Labor and Social Affairs for a research paper by John Hopkins about domestic workers in Kuwait and their rights. The officials I met with told me that an employee who’s passport is held by their employer can come in if he or she really needs to travel and get a paper from them that will allow the employee to travel
Fajer Ahmed – Legal Counsel
Have a Kuwait law related question? Email me at [email protected]
The legal opinions expressed in this post are those of the author Fajer. Opinions expressed by Mark or any other writer on mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com are those of the individual’s and in no way reflect Fajer’s opinion.
I missed it the first time when they held it back in February.
Location: Marina Crescent
Date: April 25 to April 28 2013
Time: 9AM to 1PM and 4PM to 9PM
Cost: KD20
You need to book from now if you’re interested by calling 94004335
For more information visit their Facebook page [Here]
via wainmaaro7
Back in January a challenge race took place in Kuwait and the video of the event just finally got uploaded. I was planning to take part but ended up traveling, glad I didn’t though since the event looked grueling and I don’t think I would have made it anywhere near the finish line. [YouTube]
The car is out of the box and ready to be showcased starting from tomorrow at the Historical, Vintage & Classic Cars Museum of Kuwait. The car is #1 of 7 and is currently in Kuwait as a show of support to the Arabian automotive achievements. As I mentioned last night, this car is extremely rare so this might be your only chance of ever seeing one.
For more information visit the Historical, Vintage & Classic Cars Museum of Kuwait Facebook page [Here]
Thanks Zak
AGi architects – General Department of Information System, Kuwait from AGi architects on Vimeo.
I honestly have no idea what the General Department of Information System are in charge of but this is the design that got approved for their new offices and I think it looks really beautiful.
The project is based on three principles: representativeness, security and functionality, turning the complex with a total gross area of 135,482 sqm into a strong civil icon representing Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior Affairs.
Building design aims for the clear transmission of a conceptual duality it derives from: technology, innovation and transparency on the one hand versus strength, stability and security, which are inherent to the Ministry of Interior Affairs that will occupying the building, on the other.
This concept is driven in the building by two contrasting layers that are superimposed onto one another. From afar the building is perceived as a light volume elevated from the ground floor, becoming a landmark in the urban landscape for the citizens, while a closer approach will show the massiveness of the stone plinth, a lower part of the building that is opened to the public the main gates and lifts from ground to hold the upper levels lighter glass structures that house the offices of the various departments.
You can also check out some 3D renderings of the building on the AGi Architects website [Here]
The Dubai Comic Con was held this past weekend and the Dubai based Brownmonkeys design collective designed some cool posters merging the Gulf culture with Western characters. My favorite was the Beavis and Butthead poster above.
Check them all out on the Brownmonkeys website [Here]
Arabia’s first super car the Lykan is going to be on display at the Historical, Vintage & Classic Cars Museum of Kuwait. The car will be on display for only 7 days starting from April 9th to April 16th. It’s a super rare car so this might be the only chance you’ll ever have at seeing one. For more information visit the Historical, Vintage & Classic Cars Museum of Kuwait Facebook page [Here]
A new Brazilian restaurant called “Rio” is opening tomorrow in Kuwait City right next to Ubon (in Aljawhara Tower). I haven’t tried it yet but a friend of mine who went to a tasting did and told me the food wasn’t bad and the interior made him feel like he was dining in Manhattan. They’re soft launching the restaurant tomorrow (Monday) and they’ll be opening from 7PM to 11PM.
Thanks Ali
Photo above by @humaidhi
Smash Burger are opening a new location, this time it’s in Salmiya and down the street from AUK. They’re actually opening in the same location where Organica Fish & Chips used to be before they closed it down.
K’S PATH are going to be holding their first ever cat show at the end of this month. There will be a lot of fun competitions, different vendors and great prizes to be won. All proceeds support K’S PATH programs.
Registration Closes: Tuesday, 23rd April 2013
Event Date: Saturday, 27th April 2013
For more information visit their website [Here]