A day that will not be forgotten
By Abdullah Buwair
August 2, 1990 is the day a neighbor attacked a neighbor, and overnight Kuwait was at the mercy of the aggressor, who did not care for old or young, and did not differentiate between male or female. They entered Kuwait, a small country that did not attack anyone and did not have any animosity with anyone. A peaceful country with peaceful people whose religion is Islam, while respecting other heavenly religions, as Almighty Allah said: “You have your way, and I have my way” (109:6). The aggressor was a regime of criminality and killing.
At the start of the ‘80s, it took its people to war with another Muslim neighbor for eight years, and as a result of that, the two peoples lost so much between prisoners of war and those killed. Then as the war was over with this neighbor, it resumed its aggression with another Muslim neighbor, which is our beloved country Kuwait, a state with a small area and people, but large in heart and belief in Allah and the message of his Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The aggressor destroyed Kuwait’s landmarks including Kuwait Towers, Seif Palace, Council of Ministers building, information ministry and many houses and buildings.
It did not leave anything intact — even the environment was destroyed, trees burnt and oilwells ignited, as over 720 oilwells were torched. A day that will not be forgotten over the years, as history will continue telling generations what happened as long as life exists. I personally was not spared from the evil of this regime and had a strange incident with its “wardens”. I mention this day to you dear readers and I can never forget it. It was January 17, 1991, and as we were out with my brother and friends, eight of us apart from the driver, who was not a citizen, heading for Jabriya.
When we were near the police station roundabout, there was a house that was occupied by a leader from the regime, and there was a checkpoint in front of the house. A solider stopped us and asked for our IDs. I was sitting in the front seat, so I gave him my ID. He was from the popular army, who were trained to back the regular aggressor army. He kept checking the ID, then said it is forged, claiming I kept it in the sun to make it look old and change its color, threatening my punishment is execution.
They also asked my brother, who was in the back seat, for his ID, which was issued by my brother-in-law who worked for the interior ministry and had the system, IDs and interior ministry seal. The ID had his profession as student, and this made the solider worried. He said if all of you are students, where are the soldiers and the army? Then he kept repeating the same sentence: You are a forger and your sentence is execution, adding that your brother will join us. So I told him to take me and no need to take my brother, so he stopped talking, then started to kick the driver.
He then took me along with the driver to the police station and left my friends because their IDs were OK and they were not in the military. He also left my brother Nasser. While on the way to the police station, he kept repeating the phrase “your sentence is execution”. I hardly could walk, so he asked he driver to enter the police station and slapped him on the face, telling him we are defending you and want to liberate your country, and you are taking a large group of Kuwaitis in your vehicle.
On the way to the police station gate, they had sandbags in front and were singing “welcome Bush” as an expression of not being in fear, while jets were in the skies above them. We entered the station, and at the door I saw crying and screaming everywhere. I think there were some who were being electrocuted, apart from being beaten. This member of the popular army asked me to go upstairs to see the official, and I had to remain in the office until he came. I did not sit until the official arrived, who asked several questions, starting with you are a solider and not a student as you claim; you changed your ID; all of you in Kuwait are from the municipality and school students, so where are the soldiers?
I told him we are a few, Kuwait is occupied, and I am a member of the resistance, and we do not have any weapons. I was wearing a dishdasha and headgear, and had a Cartier wallet and pen, which I gave to the soldier. He said do you know the way out? I said yes, so he said go ahead. This is what happened with me personally, and I was so close to death, if it was not for Allah’s will. There are other incidents that took place with me, and I will mention them in the coming days. May Allah bestow his mercy on our martyrs.
local@kuwaittimes.com
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