Tragedy(ies)

Look at what they're doing to Failaka Island.

You can read more about the project here.

They're going to cut a man-made lagoon right through it. Does anybody else object to these money-grubbing ignorants cutting one of Kuwait's most beautiful and historic sites right in half? Does anybody else object to the fact that they are turning the island that Alexander the Great himself named Icarus into a Disney-style nightmare?

The planners' site shows the client as "confidential". It might be the actual government but if it's not then I have a pretty good idea who the client is. Either way I'm just so sick of these people pretending that Kuwait belongs to them alone and doing whatever they want to destroy our history and natural environment. This is sick. And the worst part is, why is everyone so complacent? Nobody is saying anything about this.

This is Failaka! This island used to be one of the most significant and unique sites in the Persian Gulf, and it's ours. We should be treasuring it, not trashing it. It was sad enough that the government never supported the inhabitants of Failaka after the Iraqi invasion to help them return to the island and restore their life in the town that has existed for centuries. The last time I went to Failaka was in early 2004, right before all these new projects began, and the town was still standing. But it was completely bombed out - houses were burned and covered with bullet holes (remember, the Iraqis used the island as a military base and did a lot of target practice there). It felt like mainland Kuwait back in 1991; it felt fresh. It was 13 years later! How come nobody bothered to restore their life and town after the war was over?

But coming back to now. I'm so sick of these projects. In mainland Kuwait, we no longer have a visible coastline. This is what it used to look like in the 1970s. You all know what it looks like now. As one example out of hundreds, that ridiculous Marina Waves was pointless. Have you ever stood there in the centre of it and looked across the water back onto Salmiya? Do you notice that the current has totally changed direction in that little inlet the site has created? I'm no geologist, but what I did learn from geology in high school plus common sense tells me that this is a disaster for our ecosystem. Shorelines are supposed to move naturally, slowly. So what happens to the ecosystem when you suddenly reclaim land from the sea and push the shoreline back a couple hundred meters? You get thousands of tonnes of fish washing up on shore like we did back in 2001.


But nobody cares. Have you guys noticed the water near the Marina area? It's disgusting. It's thick and murky. But as long as there's Maki, who cares? As long as some big-wigs are making bucketloads of money by the second they don't care that they are completely destroying our environment. And I'm not even going to get started on the illegal fishing that takes place during the seasons when everybody else is restricted from catching certain types of fish for commercial use. (There is a reason this law exists - it's to let the shrimp or fish reproduce and replenish its population so that the species doesn't go extinct before the eggs have had time to hatch!)

Anyway, one more rant and I'll let you go. I'm sure most of you know that they're going to be continuing the "ring" of First Ring Road to cut right through the city centre. Does anybody else object to the idea of having a highway running through the old city centre? Do you realize that to build this, part of the highway is going to run right through or over the Behbehani Complex and Catholic Church (near the Sheraton)? Look at the plans.

Yet another disastrous project. Do you guys know that everytime they dig to build a foundation in Kuwait City (and of course when they build the trenches for this highway) they come across archaeological remains of an old town? Do they know it's there? Yes. Have they seen it when they dig? Certainly. Do they excavate? Of course not. You know that Al-Babtain Library for Arabic Poetry? Huge site under there. And they built right on top of it. You know that new "Heritage Village" they're building near the Dickson House? You know that in order to make way for this new reconstruction village, they tore down some old Kuwaiti houses (i.e. to build new fake ones in their place)? Does anybody else find it hard to reconcile the fact that we try to promote "culture" and "heritage" by building over and/or tearing down the real deal?

They want to turn Failaka into a "resort" and "entertainment" island to promote tourism. Tourists from where? It's going to turn into a hailag island. But hey, as long it brings them money, that's all that matters to them. It just breaks my heart.