Expat parents feel the pinch of rising cost of living in Kuwait – Living the low life
A five-member family living in Kuwait, whose total income is less than KD 1,000, is considered as living under the poverty line, according to the United Nations criteria based on the average per capita income of an individual living in Kuwait
The increasingly high cost of living, coupled with certain measures taken by the government that have negatively impacted the expatriates, parenting in Kuwait is becoming ever more challenging, particularly for expats.
Rene is a Filipino expat worker, whose wife works at a beauty salon. He works as a nurse in a private clinic, drawing KD 400 as salary, while his wife brings home KD 200. There was a time when the couple wanted to keep their two children, aged nine and three, with them in Kuwait, but with an increase in tuition fees and rising cost of living, he decided to simply send them back to his native land, the Philippines. "I want to save some money and set it aside so that I can start a business some day.
If they had continued to stay here, I could have been able to afford it, but then there would not have been anything left for the family or future plans by the end of the day," he lamented. "I cannot even save a single dinar as most of my wife's salary and mine is just enough to fulfill the needs of the family.
I could save nothing even after working for years here," he said. From school fees to food, paying for nanny and house rent, he would spend all the money. So much so that he could not even afford to buy a new pair of shoes for himself, he stated. "My God, I need to ensure the survival of my family. My wife is already fed up because we cannot even save a penny.
So, I told her to just return and join my children while I work here. It is really very hard to convince her. I love my family, and want them to stay with me, but if the situation continues as it is now, I think, it will be more practical for us to simply live separately," he said. If Rene's family chooses to stay back in the Philippines, he will be able to save some money from his salary. "Even though both of us are earning KD 600, most of the money goes towards housing needs. Since I have two children, most of the flat owners will not accept room rentals, leaving me with little choice but to rent the entire flat which would cost me KD 240.
How much will then be left out from KD 600? We will have half that money, and will have to make do with that much amount. We have to eat every day, pay tuition fees for my child, and pay some amount to my other child's nanny.
How much is left with me? I will have to seek financial help from my colleagues," he admitted. In a study published in the local media, it was reported that a five-member family living in Kuwait, whose total income is less than KD 1,000, is considered as living under the poverty line, according to the United Nations criteria based on the average per capita income of an individual living in Kuwait.
The UN criteria for calculating poverty considers such families whose income is 60 percent below the average national income to be living under the poverty line.
The average family income was calculated as being KD 1,850, and 60 percent of this amount comes to KD 1,000, the level considered the poverty line for a five-member family in Kuwait. Even some Kuwaiti families have been complaining about the ever-increasing cost of living in the country. Abu Tariq has four children from his second wife. "Even as we receive some food from the government, it is never enough. I earn slightly more than KD 1,000 from my government job, and receive some amount for my small children, but it turns out to be little. I have my own family villa.
My son and a daughter from my first wife are also working now and have their own families as well, but considering the increased cost of almost everything in Kuwait, KD 1,000 for me is really not enough," Abu Tariq pointed out. Musaffar, a Palestinian, also had a similar complaint. "My children are already in college, and considering the high tuition fees charged in college, my salary is never enough. So, I accepted some part time jobs to help me out with the expenses.
Hamdullah, I am surviving but am really suffering. We have already given up on some of the luxuries that our family used to enjoy, like eating in expensive restaurants or traveling. No more can we indulge ourselves like this; in fact, we have completely stopped eating out," he said.
By Ben Garcia, Kuwait Times Staff
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