(3 min. Read)

Oprah was right: Kuwaitis live like a congregation of Paris Hiltons; most of them anyway.

In case you didn’t know, Oprah has ALLEGEDLY said something along the lines of:

“In Kuwait, Egyptians build the houses, the Indians clean the streets, the Filipinos raise their children, the Indonesians cook the food and the Americans handle defense while they just act like Paris Hiltons.”

In general, Kuwaitis have responded negatively to these comments. Blogs are all raising anti Oprah campaigns, and I have already been invited to about 3 different facebook groups all demanding an apology from Oprah.

But to be honest, I don’t see where all this commotion is coming from. The statement is actually quite accurate. Before you start sending the hate mail, let me try to explain.

1-Kuwait is a dependent nation: Kuwait may have an independent government, but the economy, labor force, and consumer products are ALL dependent on other countries. The point is highlighted quite clearly in that quote. However, in fairness Kuwait is a tiny country with limited resources (other than the huge Oil reserves of course). On the other hand, it is easy to see that Kuwait’s economy would be much stronger if there were a stronger national labor force.

2- Kuwait’s Society is very privileged: Except for the part “Filipinos raise their children” (which is not totally inaccurate), I can’t disagree with the fact that the people of Kuwait have learned to rely on others for everyday chores. That is not to say that this is bad. My opinion is: if you can afford a rest, than why not buy it. In theory, the fact that all the small details of life are left to others to handle in Kuwait, Kuwait’s society is left to develop in the important departments. That’s only in theory though.

3- Kuwait is influenced greatly by the West: and so is the rest of the world. I probably sound like every other conservative Kuwaiti, but the youth in Kuwait have become playing dough shaped and molded by the shallow perspective of Western society. This is a generalization, I know. But you can’t blame for thinking that a lot of Kuwaiti girls try to look and act like Paris Hilton, and a lot of Kuwaiti guys try to look like.. well.. Paris Hilton! I don’t mean this literally, of course, and neither does the original quote. I’m just scratching my head trying to figure out why half the people in Marina Mall or the Avenues look like they just came from an Elton John party in West Hollywood. Having said that, I still believe Kuwait’s youth are capable of achieving great success if guided in the right direction.

I seriously doubt that Oprah said those things (she’s not that stupid), but nevertheless, it gave us a chance to reflect on our society, and how the rest of the world perceives us.

So what does everyone else think? Is Kuwait really as described in that quote?

Note: I’m not defending Oprah, I actually resent her, but more on that later.