Old house Kuwait

This one is beside Marina Mall. 

 

I wonder what the area looked like when this was built.

Americans working for GLS getting Deported

"Arabic linguists Maher Al Masri, left, and Ramzi Zinnekah wait inside a Kuwaiti jail cell in a photo Zinnekah said was taken by a guard. The two men, U.S. civilians employed by defense contractor Global Linguist Solutions, were detained by local authorities in late May and deported to the U.S. as part of a dispute between GLS and the Kuwaiti company it hired to manage its employees. Both are now back at their homes in the States."

A U.S. defense contractor has barred its employees from leaving Army posts in Kuwait after local police issued arrest warrants for the group, a bizarre turn in a monthslong dispute between the company and a Kuwaiti subcontractor.
 

Nearly 100 American civilians working as Arabic linguists on camps Buehring and Arifjan, two major Army bases in the Middle East, say that since May 31 they’ve been unable to leave either post for medical appointments, personal time or even emergency matters.

 

All are at risk of being deported by Kuwaiti police, who have no authority inside base gates. The deportation threat stems from a legal dispute between their employer, U.S.-based defense contractor Global Linguist Solutions, and the Kuwaiti company it hired to manage its employees locally.

Before the ban, as many as nine linguists were detained outside the gates, held in Kuwaiti cells and flown back to the U.S., according to linguists interviewed and their employer.

 

Both the State Department and the Army say they are powerless to move the linguists out of the country or prevent arrests.

 

“It comes back to us being fugitives,” said one linguist reached at Camp Buehring, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity. “That’s our status in the state of Kuwait.”

 

Kuwaiti law requires all foreign workers be placed on the rolls of a local firm, or “sponsor,” which applies for working visas on behalf of employees and manages some aspects of payroll.

The actual employer is required to hire the services of the local firm.
 
Global Linguist Solutions re-bid its sponsorship contract earlier this year, selecting a new Kuwaiti company instead of the one it previously worked through, Al Shora International General Trading & Contracting company.

 GLS and Al Shora dispute what happened next. Al Shora claims linguists canceled their residency under the company. It charges GLS with using Al Shora to remain legal in the country while trying to transfer linguists to the new sponsor.
 
GLS says it was eager to move employees off Al Shora rolls but was repeatedly rebuffed by Al Shora. The company has accused Al Shora of lashing out after failing to win the new contract.
In March, Al Shora turned over the names of GLS employees to Kuwaiti authorities and declared them absent from work and in violation of their working visas. Curbing immigration violations is a preoccupation in Kuwait, where foreigners account for nearly half the population, many working in the service industry. Full Story

Hubby tells me the Kuwaiti lady won the contract because her sister's husband had wasta, sister got divorced wasta was lost and the sponsor couldn't fix the situation then she found out GLS had put out a bid and a new company won it, which ticked off the old sponsor who then refused to transfer them to the new company and cancelled all of the employees visas and reported them as absconding. Most of them are hiding on base until they can figure out a way to get back home.

This just proves US companies should be careful when dealing with small Kuwaiti companies, there is KRH, DefCon, AC3, MEBS and other big companies that can handle sponsorship a little better but in the end they are all just trying to make a quick buck off the US government. Anyone looking for a sponsor, feel free to ask me about their background.

UPDATE: New story from Fox News.com (link)

The Prime Minister of Kuwait is now being questioned and of course the "new sponsor" who won the contract is none other then (drum roll please) KRH!

This sounds like the beginning of a new movie drama, "Not without my Kuwaiti visa", I crack myself up!

American accidently runs over 8-year old Kuwaiti girl

I heard about this 3 days ago from one of the guys who rides the shuttle bus. An ex-ITT employee now working for SAIC accidently ran over an 8-year old girl who ran out in front of his car. He was held in jail but released as the family said it wasn't totally his fault. That doesn't mean it's over, it just means he is not in jail.

I pray for the little girl and her family. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'oon.



KUWAIT CITY, Aug 24:

A young girl, whose identity has not been disclosed, died when she was allegedly run over by an unidentified American motorist on a road in Faha-heel, reports Al-Rai daily.
Acting on information paramedics rushed to the scene of the accident and took the girl to the Adan Hospital but she was declared dead upon arrival.
The remains of the victim have been referred to Forensics.
The American has been detained at the area police station for interrogation.

You can read about it in Arab Times Online.

Another reason why Americans are not Liked

American eludes arrest in ‘liquor-peddling’ bust; Pakistani, Egyptian ‘deliverymen’ nabbed:

"American eludes arrest in ‘liquor-peddling’ bust; Pakistani, Egyptian ‘deliverymen’ nabbed

KUWAIT CITY, May 21: A team of anti-narcotics officers arrested a Pakistani and an Egyptian for trading in alcohol with 250 bottles of foreign liquor in their possession.
It has been reported the team put an American under surveillance after receiving information that he has been importing liquor into the country and has become popular in the trade over the last years. After gathering enough evidence, the team sent an undercover agent to purchase four bottles of liquor worth KD 270 from the suspect but they were surprised to find the Pakistani and Egyptian in the American’s apartment in Salwa.
The team searched the apartment, resulting in the discovery of 260 bottles of different types of liquor. During interrogations, the suspects told police they got KD 15 for each bottle sold. They were referred to the concerned security department for the necessary legal action.
A case was registered and the authorities have launched a man-hunt for the American."

Now that they have an idea of what this guy looks like they will be putting up check points everywhere and will start harassing innocent Americans. Good job man. I guess he doesn't make enough money contracting???? He has to sell liquor too? Will people ever learn to stop doing illegal stuff? Is it worth a manhunt and losing your job? Wait until they catch the guy and put him in jail. The embassy has no involvement with people, especially those who break this kind of law. I think part of in-processing should be to take all people on a tour of the jails in Kuwait to give them and idea of where they would go if they get caught. A jail cell with 50 other FN men who don't shower, no beds and from what I've heard no food except some rice. If no one knows you're there you will be lost for a long time until someone finds you. No phone calls either.

One guy working for ITT years ago accidently hit and killed an Egyptian worker who ran in front of his car. He was arrested and never heard from for 2 years. Finally after paying blood money he was released and got a job with CSA only to later turn up in the newspaper when he was arrested for drugs. Some people never learn. After that no one knows what happened to him.

I ask everyone, is it really worth losing it all for greed?

US citizen goes naked in hospital

Come on you guys! Gross, eww, eww have you seen some of these contractor guys? It's bad enough to see them with their clothes on but naked? When I came here in 2004 Americans were respected but as the years went by and the contractors started getting caught for fraud, selling drugs and being arrogant and now the Kuwaities have slowly started to hate their presence here. Now the naked drunk guy? This is an all time low! People tend to forget their single actions actually reflect upon the United States as a whole, people here think we are all the same. They don't know that their are different kinds of Americans instead they link us all together. I hope he goes to jail and loses his job and gets deported, serves him right for being a disgrace to the US.



US citizen goes naked in hospital: "US citizen goes naked in hospital
KUWAIT CITY, April 26: A case of indecent behavior has been filed against an unidentified US citizen at the Mina Abdullah Police Station for taking off his clothes in front of nurses at the Adan Hospital, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily.
The man was allegedly fully drunk and the incident happened when he was taken to the hospital for treatment.
It has also been reported the man picked up a fight with the paramedics and the hospital staff at the hospital reception.
When he turned boisterous, the hospital staff overpowered and controlled him."




I hope his nickname isn't Bubba. Yuck!