KUWAIT: The Virgin Megastore in Kuwait has already announced its closure at the end of the month, but many locals and expatriates voiced out disappointments over the exit, saying Kuwait is virtually 'closing a chance for knowledge.' According to the company's press statement released last Monday, it stated that it is sad to leave Kuwait, but have a commitment to public by maintaining a healthy portfolio of their store. It did not give any reasons for departure. Sources and testimonies from many customers suggested that increasing government censorship led to the decision as almost 60 percent of products they sell are banned in Kuwait.
"Who will be happy if the stuff you need is unavailable and you always fail to provide it? So I think, the decision is just right for their reputation/business," one costumer noted.
In a statement posted in their website Nisreen Shocair, President of Virgin Megastore Middle East and North Africa said, "We thank our loyal customers for their relentless support over the years. We have grown to know you and have appreciated your business. We hope to see you in our other outlets across the GCC, Egypt and Jordan very soon. This has been a difficult decision, but it is one that will allow us to better manage our resources and focus on growing the markets that support the Virgin Megastore business model."
Mona, an avid Kuwaiti reader, is appalled by the manner in which the ministry has been handling censorship here. "Censorship in Kuwait is really terrible. Why should they ban something that is not fully explained to us [public]? Why they should dictate and decide on what to listen or read? The books or album records are there, if I want to read or listen to it, it's up to me, the Virgin Mega Store is not forcing me to read it. In fact, in order for me to read it, I have to spend money to enjoy it," she reasoned.
"Don't ban things without explaining to me the criteria for banning my favorites. Give me a better explanation, maybe I could understand it. We demand the Ministry explain to us why. We are not nomads anymore, we are people living in the year 2012. The world is evolving very quickly and I want to evolve the way the world does, I don't want to be left behind," she added.
Music Master, a leading music distributer in the Middle East, is the latest of many international companies that decided to stop exporting products to Kuwait as a result of the Ministry of Information's strict censorship rules, previous reports say. It is believed that the Ministry of Information has forbidden albums by international selling artists like Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, and Eminem over objectionable lyrical content. But other Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia and UAE have more relaxed regulations regarding books, music and software.
Hussein, an expatriate Arab agreed that unexplained censorship is taking place in the country. "Yes, censorship in Kuwait has become unreasonable already." He recalled an instance when he bought the first two albums of his favorite band from Virgin Megastore last year, but the third album is banned. "The third album was released late last year but to my surprise, I was told that it was already banned by the Ministry of Information. I heard the third record [of the band's album] and I haven't heard anything unwarranted for it to be labeled as inappropriate. There are no offensive lyrics or anything that leaves a bad influence on a listener. But the ministry has banned the album already and there is no way I can find it anywhere in Kuwait," he protested.
The staff from Virgin Megastore confirmed that most products that are in high demand in other parts of the word are unavailable in Kuwait. A computer expert from Pakistan, Aamir feels censorship has a negative impact. "Censorship only drives people to toward internet piracy. The government should be fighting piracy, but they are encouraging people to do otherwise," he said.
Another expat questioned the government's initiative to encourage children to read. "How can you encourage children to read if you censor most of the good books. They should laid down criteria and explain why they should ban any books," he said. "I have some friends in Saudi Arabia, they told me that Virgin Mega Store over there is more lenient; they can find almost everything. They can find records, even those that could be considered inappropriate to Gulf traditions," he said. Ahmed feels that books or records that insult Islam can be banned in Kuwait but books that contain 'expletives' should not be banned, for the sake of banning them. "There must be a reason why expletives are used. We are just being hypocrites. We are use bad words everyday and it's not banned anywhere," he observed.
© Kuwait Times 2012
