Slug Fest

This will gross some people out.

I've never seen slugs since I've lived in Kuwait, then again I haven't been at a place that had greenery and plants. These little fellas came out when it rained and there were hundreds of them. I picked up some of them and threw them in the bushes which totally freaked out the Indian guy at work. They cleaned up the rest before any of the Kuwaiti students got there. I would have left them there just to see who would be man enough to walk past the little creatures without screaming. Man that would have been entertaining.

Happy Hijri New Year

Happy New Year!

Ban on Halloween

MP queries ministers on Halloween celebrations – Practices go against Kuwaiti values
    

KUWAIT: MP Hamdan Al-Azmi made official questions to the interior and commerce ministers regarding the ministries’ efforts to ‘ban’ Halloween celebrations in Kuwait, which he classified as a “negative and foreign phenomenon in the Kuwaiti society”. “Several shops at local malls sold stickers, scary costumes and strange-looking candies in celebration of the so-called Halloween holiday in which celebrators mark the night of Oct 31 with practices that go against our values and principles,” said Azmi in the preamble to his questions to Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khalid Al-Sabah.

 

He called for measures to tackle “Westernization in the Kuwaiti society” and “promoting occasions that are alien to our Islamic faith and social traditions”. In his questions to the interior ministry, Azmi asked which authorities have taken measures against shops selling Halloween related items or any items “that violate our traditions and Islamic faith”. He also inquired about the ministry’s plan to ban selling those items. He also asked Minister of Commerce and Industry Anas Al-Saleh about the ‘failure’ to stop local shops to import and market Halloween-related items in Kuwait. Azmi had made similar statements last week urging the two ministers to take action against what he called a ‘travesty’ of promoting Halloween items locally.

I think this is the first year that almost every business in Kuwait celebrated Halloween, force feeding Muslims pictures of witches, spider webs and pumpkins. The British school my kids attend also participated under the cover of charity, if the students donate 250 fils they get to wear a costume. My kids gave 250 fils but wore normal clothing. I never thought I would have to explain Western holidays to my young children while living in a Muslim country.

 

I figure everyone feels more powere now that the expat populations is double that of Kuwaiti citizens so they pretty much do whatever they want now, at least Saudi Arabia still has some control as they have banned all non-Muslim celebrations. My opinion will tick off a lot of people but there are many people who feel the same as I do. Now it's time to start gearing up for Christmas, I wonder if businesses will try to push the limit on that holiday as well?

 

Will we see Santa and his reindeer?

UAE tells stores like Lulu to write receipts in Arabic

According to Emirates 24/7

Arabic speaking customers will no longer find difficulty in reading bills issued at key shopping outlets in the country as they started to add that language to their billing service in line with a government decision, newspapers said on Sunday.

Companies operating in the second largest Arab economy have also been told to hire Arabic speaking switchboard employees along with their existing foreign workers to communicate with Arab callers.

The Ministry of Economy said some shopping outlets have already started using Arabic language in sales bills and that a deadline has been set for the end of 2013.

“This decision is mandatory and those who violate it after the end of the deadline could be fined Dh100,000,” said Hashim Al Nuaimi, Director of the Consumer Protection Division at the Ministry of Economy.

Quoted by Emarat Al Youm Arabic language daily, he said the decision affects all supermarkets, hypermarkets co-op societies and all other major shopping outlets as well as car agencies, communications firms, hospitals and other establishments.

He said the Ministry would launch inspection drives after the end of the deadline to ensure compliance with the decision.

Nuaimi said the Ministry took that step after receiving many calls from consumers for forcing shops and other firms to introduce Arabic language in their billing service.

“Those calls were justified by the fact that most outlets use English language in their bills while many of them hire Asians and other foreign workers who speak English with Asian accent with Arabic speaking customers. This could mislead those customers.”

Hashimi said the Ministry would meet representative from those establishments next week to discuss the implementation of the decision.

I will have to take a look at my LuLu receipts, not sure if they write in English and Arabic.