| Jehan S. Rajab
|
I am
really alarmed and upset. I have been talking to a friend who is
involved with what they are going to do with Failaka Island. Maybe
turn it into a holiday type resort? Buildings all over the place,
cars allowed over by the ferry, people wandering round in droves and
obliterating all the numerous antique sites, so that in the end the
island will be just a flat, trampled sand bank with nothing
remaining of its unique atmosphere.
I am not advocating
nothing is done, but the island needs sensitive handling to retain
its rather special atmosphere, not to mention the many sites that
ought to one day be excavated. Already the Al Khadr ‘maqam’ (The
‘maqam’ of the Green man, who is mentioned in the Holy Quran) was
razed to the ground by certain intolerant people some twenty-five
years ago.
There are some holiday houses set up before
the invasion, also a museum in Sheikh Ahmad’s old summer house, as
well as two buildings that used to house some of Failaka’s
archaeological objects. Nothing is wrong with any of them, but
overall development will undoubtedly be a disaster. The old town of
Zor ought to be renovated and the small shops there could cater for
visitors. Maybe a small one gage railway line could even go around
the whole island? People always find such things both interesting
and enjoyable.
Kuwait has very few areas of historical
interest, let alone places with a unique atmosphere, and
‘development’ should not take place in the name of financial
expediency. I can only hope that for once Kuwait realizes they have
a potentially beautiful and remarkable island and treat it with
respect and make it unlike anywhere else in the Gulf.
By
Jehan S. Rajab - Deputy Chairperson, New English School
|
