Etheridge continued, “Sourcing is the second most important” phenomena adversely related to censorship “as faced by the press in Kuwait. Here in Kuwait there are just so many sources who refuse to allow journalists to use there name—even public officials and figures who should be responsible to the public.”
Etheridge then provided the example of how it took her newspaper over a month to badger and persuade officials at the Ministry of Education to create and release documents—and to make official statements about the ministry’s recent changes in school fees (mandated by that same ministry) affecting the majority of schools in Kuwait. (See: http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=NzM4MTA1NDU1
In most countries this sort of news story would have been a straight forward report. The appropriate ministry in most any land would simply have released to the press in a timely manner the new rates affecting the majority of schools in the 2008-2009 school year. The problem here is that the government and society desires a veil of secrecy over the greater part of information in the public domain.
In this case, by the end of May most of the ongoing enrollment for this 2008-2009 period in Kuwait already was over, but still the government ministries involved had neither notified the schools nor the hundreds of thousands of affected parents and students as to what the new fees to be charged would be. In short, the KUWAIT TIMES staff found that the Kuwaiti Ministry of Education had trouble finding any official or office that was willing to go public on these important changes affecting most of Kuwaiti school children.
In other words, rumors and secrecy rather than responsible officials and accountable sources rule the day throughout the Kuwaiti bureaucracy—rated one of the least transparent governments on the planet.
NOTE: Some Kuwaitis, such as those involved with the local Transparency International chapter are pushing for reform and the government under the Emir is pushing for greater transparency. Kuwaitis should see this web site if they wish to get involved with the newest reports: http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/promoting_revenue_transparency/in_english/companies_report_2008 ]
Etheridge added, “Likewise, even people in the street will often not give their name when we our doing an [otherwise innocuous] survey.”
This was exemplified by a recent KUWAIT TIMES survey of the ex-pat community in Kuwait on a proposed new law in Kuwait—an outrageous bill which would segregate hospitals officially in practice throughout Kuwait. That is, the new law proposes that one section of the hospitals be for Kuwaitis only to use—while all other 2-million plus ex-pats would be required to go to another entrance.
Etheridge noted, “Many, many ex-pats refused to put their names alongside their opinions during the interviews on this topic.”
All-in-all, expatriates seem to quickly learn how life functions in Kuwait. Don’t attach your name to any of your opinions!
Later, one audience member commented, “Many readers [in Kuwait] could care less if you don’t quote the name of the source because they understand the context of Kuwait”, i.e. a place where anonymous sources are preferred.
This is partially the result of archaic laws and societal practices by which (1) victims, especially women who are victims of crimes, rape or violence, may refuse to give their names out of fear of staining their family’s name.
The legal system allows the police officer taking the claim of abuse and throw the report into the garbage if the victim refuses to give his or her name. In Kuwait this means that the sometimes lackadaisical police in the country are not obligated to even go to the crime scene and investigate or interview parties where the most obvious of disturbances or crimes have apparently taken place.
THE ADVERTISERS
According to Etheridge, the third major problem is one that most every newspaper around the world has to face each day. This problem has to do with advertisers and advertising.
Etheridge claims that the fact is: “We can’t print without them [i.e. advertisers].”
