ALBAWABA - Bidoon activist and poet Mona Kareem said that she arrived at Kuwait International Airport from Lebanon, where she was shocked to know that she was barred from entering the country.
Kareem, 35, shared on Jan. 3 that she arrived at Kuwait airport to see her family, but she was "deported." In a Twitter thread, the poet asked for help from the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait.
انا الان في مطار الكويت ويتم ابعادي
— Dr. Mona Kareem (@monakareem) January 3, 2023
I am at Kuwait airport to see my family and I am being Deported
Please help@USEmbassyQ8
Kareem allegedly said that Kuwaiti authorities asked her to leave on the 10 p.m. flight, or she may face imprisonment.
Although many tried to reach the U.S. Embassy to help the writer, she shared a post declaring that she wasn't allowed to enter Kuwait. She wrote: "'Goodbye Kuwait..again."
Kareem obtained U.S. citizenship and a passport while studying for a doctorate in comparative literature at the State University of New York at Binghamton.
ارجوكم اكتبوا في هذا الهاشتاق. انا لازلت عالقة في المطار بنية ترحيلي او اعتقالي ان رفضت الرحيل.
— Dr. Mona Kareem (@monakareem) January 3, 2023
Still at the airport. Either leave on 10pm flight or get detained
#منى_كريم
A hashtag "#لا_لترحيل_منى — don't deport Mona" trended, as people attempted to make Mona's story a public case with the aim to pressure the Kuwaiti authorities to allow the writer in to see her family.
While others disagreed, saying Kuwait has the right to allow or forbid anyone from entering its territory.
Amnesty International decried the deportation of the Bidoon activist. It said: "This is a mean, appalling, and pointless act of cruelty."
According to the organization, Kuwait’s Bidoon people, many of whom are descendants of nomads native to the area, are held in a condition of statelessness by the government.
