Hooray! At last we became like Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen. A demonstration against the government followed by another demonstration for the government. At one rally you will see with banners saying: “Al shaab yureed iskaat alnizam (the people want the government to fall!)”. Then the other side comes with a slogan: “Al shaab yureed ibqa (...the government to stay!).” There are so many other slogans. Sometimes they are so funny that they are almost like poetry. Some of them are amusing and feel like a part of a theatre performance. Unfortunately, Arabic language is too complicated for me to translate all these slogans chanted by demonstrators. They make them like songs.

It is so sad, guys. Don’t think I am happy to say this. I am saying it out of irony. We all expected this chaos to start happening in Kuwait if the honorable gentlemen in parliament continue behaving the same way they are doing now. We have become the laughing stock of the world. My friends from all over the world call me as if I am in charge or responsible for what is going on. They ask me: “Why are you demonstrating in Kuwait! We all wish to be in your shoes, guys! You work a little and have high salaries.

“Most of you have houses and those who are new graduates are supported by government rents.”

They tell me: “We heard that the Amir gives monthly subsidies for rice, milk, cheese, chicken, tomato paste, sugar etc. You are lucky guys in Kuwait. You pay so little for your electricity and water bills, provided you pay at all. If you have a Hummer, you will fill it up with KD 5. If you are a humble man with an ordinary Toyota or a Honda, you fill it with KD 3. In other parts of the world, you have to multiply this number by 10.”

In Kuwait, we have free schooling and universities. If you are smart and a graduate, you can also apply to be sent on scholarship to Canada, the UK, US or many other places. Healthcare is free. If treatment is not available, the government will send you to the UK, US, France or Germany. Even if you marry, you are given a KD 4,000 grant from the government. If you work in the private sector you are provided with a government salary. Wow! Isn’t that spoiling? So what is there to protest about?

OK, parliament is there to supervise the government. There are many things we need. The basics are there. We don’t have dictators who fill up jails with political prisoners. We don’t have a secret police to crack down on our houses. We say what we want at the diwaniya. There is no feeling of being scared from police or the government or high-level officials. The connection between the people and the government is simple.

Other countries do not enjoy such freedoms. Especially in the Arab world. We can say what we want in parliament and this is nothing new. The press is free and is one of the best in the area. You do not feel suppressed or oppressed in Kuwait and that is a nice feeling. What more do people need? There is no perfect government in the world just like there is no perfect nation. I agree that there are issues which need to be discussed but we have parliament to discuss it. We have proper channels. But what do we do?

We march and destroy even the dome of Abdullah Salem Hall – the place where we should discuss our problems.