A tour was organized of one of the shelters in Mishref, which houses a large number of expatriates, who are residency law violators and have taken advantage of the amnesty granted by the Ministry of Interior which allows them to leave the country without paying fines and having their travel sponsored by the Kuwait Government.
The Director of Security Relations and Media Department, Brigadier Tawhid Al-Kandari pointed out that the residency law violators in shelters built for them enjoy a decent life including meals, treatment and all their needs. He emphasized, “Our visit comes as an affirmation of the principle of transparency of the Ministry of Interior to inform human rights organizations on the conditions of these communities”.
The human rights teams have expressed their satisfaction for providing the expats with all their needs before they leave for their countries. Al-Kandari says he hopes the respective countries will speed up the process of evacuating their nationals so that they do have to stay long in the shelters.
He stressed that Kuwait is a humane country and these expats are our guests and they enjoy full care.
With regards to the ‘disturbances’ caused by some in shelters, Al-Kandari explained, “We cannot call these disturbances ‘riots’, because they were expressing their feelings and raising their voices and protest through some channels to send their messages and demands to their countries’ governments to facilitate their departure procedures without delay.”
He added. “However, legal measures have been taken against those who incited some violators and caused some in the gathering to take appropriate punishment towards those who are trying to destabilize the security of the homeland.”