Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The National Psyche
It's easy to imagine that recent events have fashioned a suspicious and bitter mind-set
among Kuwaitis: young Kuwaiti men (together with family heirlooms) snatched from
homes; national treasures ripped from the nation's museum; the Kuwait Towers used for
target practice - these and countless other horrors marked the Iraqi invasion. And then
there was the almost as agonising threat of the same occurring only a decade later.
Despite the trauma, it is a credit to the national temperament that life in Kuwait is char-
acterised not by suspicion and bitterness but by affable handshakes, courteous business
meetings and spending sprees in the capital.
Of course, Kuwaitis haven't forgotten the invasion; indeed, in the past few years, there
has been an increase in the number of memorials and plaques appearing around the city as
if, since the demise of Saddam, people are daring to look back and place the event in a
historical context at last, rather than trying to forget about the possibility of a repeat occur-
rence. Groups of school children can be seen shepherded through the Kuwait House of
National Memorial Museum knowing this was their parents' war and not a threat they
need to feel defensive about for their own sake.
Kuwaitis are an ambitious and sophisticated people, determined to grasp the commer-
cial opportunities that the 21st century has laid at the doorstep of their continuing wealth
but mindful, as Muslims, that what is written will be. As such, there's not much point in
fretting about the future.
Lifestyle
In common with the rest of the Gulf, Kuwaiti people value privacy and family intimacy at
home, while enjoying the company of guests outside. In many instances, 'outside' is the
best description of traditional hospitality: while female guests are invited into the house,
men are often entertained in tents on the doorstep. These are no scout camp canvases,
however, but lavish striped canopies made luxurious with cushions and carpets.
Any visitor lucky enough to partake in tea and homemade delicacies in these '
majlis
al
fresco' may be inclined to think that life in Kuwait has retained all the charm and simpli-
city of its Bedouin roots.
Kuwaitis take a different view, however. Some blame the war for a weakening of tradi-
tional values: theft, fraudulent practice, a growing drug problem, higher rates of divorce
and incidents of suicidal driving have all increased. Others recognise that the same symp-
toms are prevalent in any modern society. With a cradle-to-grave welfare system, where
94% of Kuwaiti nationals are 'employed' in government positions, and an economy that
