charld wrote:
So they feel "photography should be used for journalism purposes only"
How could such a law pass...
Because only one man, the King, says so.
As I recall from one of my teachers who taught in Saudi Arabia for awhile, you are simply not permitted to take photos of people without their permission. Getting it is as simple as going up and asking, and many don't mind, but the candids I've seen from American cities simply wouldn't float there. I'm not excusing the law (I'm a bit shocked, myself), but the culture there is different.
That region of the world is having growing pains with new technology. A few months back, them or a neighbor wanted to ban blackberries.
Many social networking technologies we take for granted and consider benign (well dilligence paid to pedo scum of the earth), kind of conflict with long traditions. Grandmom and granddad did stuff to tradition by the letter. Mom and dad the same thing. Along comes new generation with new gadgets....traditions out the window. FAcebook and blackberry, all a young boy and girl needs to reach out and talk to people mommy and daddy don't want you to. It was the uncontrolled social mingling of boys and girls that spurred the attempted blackberry ban.
Blackberry didn't fly over too well (when over half your country makes it money on exports...and blackberries became like friggin crack worldwide so a hard beast to kill), time to hit facebook. Since not trying to be like china with a special internet (or they can't because pandora already out the box...keeping a man in the dark is easy, showing a man the light then putting him in the dark is hard)....guess they went for the cameras...My take on it anyway.
As for the Kuwaiti people, sad that they have lost more of their freedoms. We here in the USA have been loving giving them away in the last ten years. Airport molestation anyone?
While someone outside in public can be photographed here, as was said earlier it simply isn't cool in Arab countries. Try photographing in a mall in the US, it is private property and many times you get one of their rent a cops in your face. I had a commercial gig to photograph a hair salon in one mall. The manager said I'll meet you here at 7 AM and you have an hour, the management doesn't allow any photography and I could loose my lease if they see you here, they have arrested other photographers. Private property and those are the rules.
