It's not the suitcase that's filled with nails... It's Kuwait! October 15, 2012
In
her book, titled "Suitcase Filled with Nails", Ms. Wakefield pretty
much nailed the chronic problems that are being inherited and running rampant
in Kuwaiti society. As an arts teacher at Kuwait University, for six academic
years, Ms. Wakefield did an impressive job painting a picture that underlined
the unbiased truth about Kuwait and its citizens. The
kiss-and-kill and downright hypocritical, backstabbing culture of Kuwait--which
is often, if not always, accompanied with systemic corruption and helpless
injustice--is as epidemic to the country as mosquito-borne diseases are to the
Amazon river. In other words, it's a hopeless case, but one that needed to be
aired for the whole world to hear.
Ms.
Wakefield's sense for delivering thoughts to the reader's mind is perhaps one
of the key characteristics that attribute to her personality, as an open-minded
and thought-invoking arts teacher. She is simply brilliant and I began to love
her, even though I've never had the fortune of meeting her.
"Suitcase Filled with Nails" delivers, to the reader, everything he
or she needs to expect from even the shortest of stays in Kuwait. Ms. Wakefield's
struggle with the tribal-driven and Islamic fundamentalist forces, which
opposed her, her work and her students, was a battle that she willingly
accepted to fight, for the sake of her principles and for the sake of those who
she loved and cared about--Kuwaiti or otherwise. Unfortunately, not many
Kuwaitis appreciate the fact that there are many people who are championing, or
have championed, for their rights to become truly free and live in an open
society, where the only thing they have to fear is fear itself. I just hope
there comes a day when Kuwait officially and
formally pays gratitude to the people who at least tried to make a difference,
instead of rewarding fools like Dr. Badr, who wants everything to be his way
and doesn't feel ashamed to lay his hands on servants.
Thank you, Ms. Wakefield, for this wonderful book. I believe you have a gift
for storytelling and narration because you managed to create a visual reality
in my mind, while I was indulging on this book. I always thought of Seattle as the best city to
visit and live in, and now I have an even better reason to love that place.
I hope Ms. Wakefield returns to the Gulf one day. There are some countries that
appreciate art more than Kuwait in this region, such
as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Qatar has a Virginia Commonwealth University arts school in its
education city, a place enriched with top US schools. Qatar also has an
internationally-acclaimed Islamic arts museum, and Abu Dhabi (UAE) is building
an arts museum of its own. I hope Ms. Wakefield gets offered opportunities to
either teach or manage arts institutions in either of those countries.
Hopefully it would make up for the hardship she faced in Kuwait.
"Suitcase Filled with Nails" deserves all 5 stars and more! God bless
you Ms. Wakefield.
