This is for Moon
Mar. 4th, 2004 07:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jdmkleini have often, i think, written about buying items here; groceries, clothes, hardware, essentials of every kind. i have always hated to 'stock up' because i have never had a lot of cupboard space, but i have had to re-think my minimalist attitude since being here in Kuwait.
In Kuwait, people hoard things. One wouldn't think that in a country as wealthy as this, hoarding would be a necessity. It shouldn't be. But to understand the why's and wherefore's of this phenomenon, a bit of the work history of Kuwait is in order.
Kuwait became an independent Arab state in 1960. The money in this country is 'new money'. Kuwaitis have'nt been wealthy very long. It is only in the second generation of wealthy people. New money people like flash and show. They care about appearance, not substance. Keeping this in mind then, it is easy to understand that no first class Kuwaiti actually works in the public sector. First class Kuwaitis own businesses in the public sector and they hire third country nationals, commonly known as TCNs.
They hire TCNs because they work cheap. These people come from really poor countries, Sri Lanka, Bangaladesh, the Philippine Islands, India, Pakistan, Iran, and so on. They are paid according to how poor the country is. The poorer the country, the less the worker is paid because the Kuwaiti rationalizes that even if the worker only makes 65 dollars a month here in Kuwait, that is more than he/she could make back in their home country.
Apparently Kuwaitis also equate poor with low intelligence. But that is not the case.
i know this has been a long set-up, but here is the silly thing. The Kuwaiti will put all this money into a store, and then hire TCNs to work it. The Kuwaiti will put a TCN in charge, and just come by every month or so to pick up the profits. But, after the first month or so there are no more profits. Why is this you ask? Because the TCNs get paid so little there is really no incentive to work hard. So, when the stock runs out, nothing more is ordered. For example, a drygoods store has all kinds of dry goods, but runs out of oh, lets say hair combs, just for the sake of the story. The store will have paper clips up the wazoo, and enough nail files for a convict to file his way out of the pen. But there will never be anymore combs.
Ok, now i know you are trying to figure out why, and i am going to tell you.
I have had this told to me by a clerk in a drygoods store.
It won't do any good to restock the hair combs, people will just come in and buy them all again.
Apparently this is NOT just a TCN concept. i have a Kuwaiti friend who is married to a man who snores. She bought him a bottle of an over the counter medicine NO SNORE to help with his snoring so she could sleep. About a week ago i was talking with Nada and she was complaining about Abdulaziz's snoring again. i asked her why she didn't get some more of the NO SNORE and her reply, honest to god, was, "Why? He'll just use it all up."
i don't get this mindset at all.
Silly Arabs.
In Kuwait, people hoard things. One wouldn't think that in a country as wealthy as this, hoarding would be a necessity. It shouldn't be. But to understand the why's and wherefore's of this phenomenon, a bit of the work history of Kuwait is in order.
Kuwait became an independent Arab state in 1960. The money in this country is 'new money'. Kuwaitis have'nt been wealthy very long. It is only in the second generation of wealthy people. New money people like flash and show. They care about appearance, not substance. Keeping this in mind then, it is easy to understand that no first class Kuwaiti actually works in the public sector. First class Kuwaitis own businesses in the public sector and they hire third country nationals, commonly known as TCNs.
They hire TCNs because they work cheap. These people come from really poor countries, Sri Lanka, Bangaladesh, the Philippine Islands, India, Pakistan, Iran, and so on. They are paid according to how poor the country is. The poorer the country, the less the worker is paid because the Kuwaiti rationalizes that even if the worker only makes 65 dollars a month here in Kuwait, that is more than he/she could make back in their home country.
Apparently Kuwaitis also equate poor with low intelligence. But that is not the case.
i know this has been a long set-up, but here is the silly thing. The Kuwaiti will put all this money into a store, and then hire TCNs to work it. The Kuwaiti will put a TCN in charge, and just come by every month or so to pick up the profits. But, after the first month or so there are no more profits. Why is this you ask? Because the TCNs get paid so little there is really no incentive to work hard. So, when the stock runs out, nothing more is ordered. For example, a drygoods store has all kinds of dry goods, but runs out of oh, lets say hair combs, just for the sake of the story. The store will have paper clips up the wazoo, and enough nail files for a convict to file his way out of the pen. But there will never be anymore combs.
Ok, now i know you are trying to figure out why, and i am going to tell you.
I have had this told to me by a clerk in a drygoods store.
It won't do any good to restock the hair combs, people will just come in and buy them all again.
Apparently this is NOT just a TCN concept. i have a Kuwaiti friend who is married to a man who snores. She bought him a bottle of an over the counter medicine NO SNORE to help with his snoring so she could sleep. About a week ago i was talking with Nada and she was complaining about Abdulaziz's snoring again. i asked her why she didn't get some more of the NO SNORE and her reply, honest to god, was, "Why? He'll just use it all up."
i don't get this mindset at all.
Silly Arabs.
