i am a few years older than saleh, and of course, everyone who was born before him is older than him. however, we do not hesitate, almost all of us, call him uncle saleh, abu fadala, or abu youssef, as he is from the generation that adored kuwait with sincerity and love and did a lot for the nation. the more some people criticized him and hated his positions, the more those loyal to him r e s p e c t e d him, following the line of abu altayyib al-mutanabbi (915-965): if my blame comes to you from someone imperfect, it is my testimony that i am perfect.
this is the former representative and national figure, saleh al-fadala, head of the illegal residents agency. by his position, he is a controversial figure, and as much as he has fans who respect his work and what he has accomplished, some hate him and do not wish him well, and are waiting for the day when he leaves his work in the agency.
he stands, and behind him is the leadership that appointed him, and which reaffirmed its confidence in him and his abilities, by renewing his tenure, standing in “the cannon position,” defending kuwait’s true national identity, and against all those who have been seeking for years to sabotage it, and many have succeeded in doing so, with deep regret, and it is very possible that the “destruction of national identity” would have been more comprehensive, more general, and more dangerous had it not been for him and the team he works with.
saleh al-fadala is considered a veteran politician. he participated in the parliamentary elections for the first time 43 years ago, and won with a healthy lead, becoming chairman of the parliament’s legislative committee.
then he entered the 1985 elections and won first place, assuming the position of vice president, then continuing his parliamentary career, and winning the election 1992 elections, after the liberation, and he chaired the fact-finding committee about the brutal and unjust iraqi invasion.
he also won the 1999 elections and assumed the presidency of the prisoners and hostages committee. finally, he won the 2006 elections and assumed the presidency of the human rights committee.
this became his last participation in his parliamentary career, and he was then chosen, well deservedly, in november 2010 to be head of the central agency for redressing the conditions of those with unspecified nationality, or what is known as the “bedouin” apparatus, and he was a successful choice, as he was famous for his knowledge of the genealogies of the people of kuwait and its families, and even some of its tribes, and the gates of hell would open in his face, as the more attacks on him increased, the more the patriots’ confidence in him increased.
only an ignorant person would deny that there are cases among the bedouin that deserve to be granted state citizenship, and there are those who have been wronged, for one reason or another, but this is not the work of the central apparatus and is not among the responsibilities of the head of the apparatus, whose work is limited to being an impenetrable barrier against anyone who wants to sabotage the system -- the social fabric of the state, in addition to the sabotage and corruption it has been exposed to over half a century.
uncle saleh al-fadhala is not loved by a well-known group, nor is he voracious towards them, but in the eyes of the overwhelming and right majority of the kuwaiti people, he is considered the barrier who deserves support and praise for what he does, and this is what we have done in this article, and he deserves much more than that.