Painful but Necessary

Photograph Source: Al-Qabas

Transition is always hard on a nation. It can be frustrating, controversial and downright painful. Especially, when the people have been used to something for so long, that the impending change seems to threaten their way of life, this is when the hurt really runs deep. Well look out Kuwait, transition is here and we should get ready for it.

Friday's events at the tribal primaries held by the Awazem witnessed a clash that can only be described as colossal by Kuwaiti standards. After all, we are not Egypt, or Syria, or even France that witnessed a series of riots that had the country petrified. This is Kuwait, and we are Kuwaitis. Historically, we are used to having loud mouths and being in a state of perpetual disagreement with our beloved Government. Beloved, is without any sarcasm or down talk. After all, if Kuwait is the body, then our Government is the brain and our Parliament is the heart. Even though they might not see eye to eye, they each know deep inside that one cannot exist without the other. However, there are people out there that stand to benefit from disrupting this balance.

After the dark events of Friday the 11^th, there has been an ongoing debate of whether or not the entire situation was mishandled. Many say that the Ministry of Interior should have sent a negotiator without the "provocative" show of force that was present outside Diwan Ghanem Al-Mee. Others say that since the results had already come out, and the primaries were in effect over, the police should have not bothered showing up and just arrested the key individuals later that day. After all, they cannot prevent something that has already happened. Then there are those that say the entire premise of the Government attempting to stop the primaries is unfair towards the tribes because the "blue blood" political parties which are located in the inner circles of Kuwait have already succeeded undergoing their own primaries without hindrance. Terms such as "blue blood" and "inner/outer" have been thrown around often these days. I suppose its part of the transition.

Well Kuwait, if I were to have a message, if I were in a position of power, if I could say one sentence in hopes that all citizens can be united under such a message it would be this:

"Transition is hard and painful, but it is necessary and will make our nation stronger as long as we show patience, perseverance and most of all, wisdom."

Its not Voltaire or Aristotle, but it is exactly what we need to remember as Kuwaitis. What the police did that day and how they handled that situation was necessary to maintain the law and order of a nation. Make no mistake, just because we can see our Ministers without taking appointments in their Diwans and just because Members of Parliament are the same people that we have over for dinner and a game of "coat" does not make us any less of a nation. The prestige and power of the law must be secured. Yes, it is painful to see what we saw for both those who support the tribes and those who support the police. This is what transition is all about and if Kuwait has been lax and negligent with enforcing the law in the past, it is clearly changing that in the present.

As a citizen, I feel an obligation and a national duty to support our boys in blue because they have been supporting me for so long. It is because of them that our doors stay unlocked at night. It is because of them that we are able to feel secure, being a minority in our own country. They guarantee our freedoms and our rights, and preserve the prestige of our government. Today, they need us more than ever before. The transition we are facing is hard and painful on all involved. All I ask is that we remember that we are a nation, and a nation we shall forever remain.