‘Public’ varies from place to place

By HANYA ALKHAMIS

There is a completely different understanding of public information of people’s private records in the U.S. and in Kuwait.

There is a different understanding of what privacy is in Kuwait. Kuwait is a conservative country that has a different idea of what information should be sent to the public and what is sent to designated parties: which include the private sector: ministry of the interior, lawyers, judges and police officers.

The law in Kuwait is French based and includes the Shareaa understanding. The American law is English-based but law of its own with separate ideals and beliefs.

It may be surprising to see and hear that, in the U.S., one can track and view any criminal reports about anyone online. Knowing this, it raised the question of whether or not this option and service is established in Kuwait.

Online information about crimes in Kuwait is not really accessible for the general public, but why not? Privacy is taken into consideration and one can’t view what he or she desires to know about someone. You might be able to have access to some private information if you have “Wasta,” which is an Arabic word that basically means using connections to get what you want, although it may be morally corrupt, it exists in there.