The Rape of Kuwait > Nadia Al-Hosney (*Nadia's real name is withheld to protect the identity of her family.)

Nadia's babies were safe. She had just received a phone call from Saudi Arabia informing her that her babies and her mother-in-law had crossed the border safely. She breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Nadia and her husband, Mansoor, were leaders in the Kuwaiti resistance movement since the beginning, and they had no illusions about the severity of the punishment if discovered. Feeling encumbered by the necessity to protect their four little ones, they had been less effective in their resistance work. Recognizing that their fears for their children were affecting their capabilities, Nadia and Mansoor made the painful decision to send them across the border into Saudi Arabia. They knew the trip through the desert would be an enormous risk but they felt that occupied Kuwait would become more violent as the days passed. And there was never a question in their minds of cooperating with the enemy. They opted for the danger of the desert.

Nadia felt her heart would break as she watched her children being driven away. Her emotions ranged from great hope to darkest terror. The long hours that she knew her babies were in acute danger were the hardest of her life. Any mother would understand the agony. But now she knew she had made the correct choice. Her babies were safe.

From the very beginning Nadia and Mansoor had worked with other Kuwaitis to help their besieged countrymen. Immediately after the invasion they had called a neighborhood meeting and organized themselves. The country had been emptied of fleeing medical personnel, so they worked in the hospitals and assisted the beleaguered medical staff. There was no provision to assist the orphanages, so they carried food to the children. The service sector of the country had ground to a halt, so they emptied the garbage and helped to bake bread. No task seemed too small or too large.

All Kuwaitis had been angry and sickened when they heard Hussein's false claim that the people of Kuwait had asked for Iraqi assistance in overthrowing the corrupt Al-Sabah regime. While it was true that 30,000 Kuwaitis had petitioned for a reinstatement of the Parliament, there had been no talk of overthrowing the government. The Parliament had been dismantled in 1986 due to political upheaval later associated with Iranian radicals. With the Iranian/ Iraqi war behind them, some Kuwaitis thought it was time to reinstate the Parliament. The Kuwaitis handled their problems in peaceable ways. Petitions were the style of their land. Meaty-looking men handling guns did not go over well in Kuwait. With defiant pride all Kuwaitis ignored Saddam Hussein's call for them to step forward and form a new government. They laughed when Saddam could not find one Kuwaiti out of 826,586 citizens to head his puppet government.

As the days passed, there was talk in the neighborhood. Everyone wanted to do even more than they were doing to further the cause of Kuwaiti independence. A decision was made to start a political movement inside the country along with the current civilian and military rebellion. It was decided that the women and children would hold peaceful marches. There was hope that the Iraqis would not fire on children.

Without thought of personal danger, Nadia marched with the women and the children. She carried a sign which read: "Kuwait for the Kuwaitis." Other signs read: "God, Kuwait, and the Emir." Nadia knew the purpose of their march. All Kuwaitis were together on this point, without dissension. These women wanted the world to know that the Kuwaitis did not ask for Iraqi intervention in their country. They did not want these men in their country. They walked slowly and purposely in order to avoid confrontation with the armed soldiers. The march progressed without incident. A son of one of Nadia's friends went unnoticed as he videotaped the march for the resistance. Later, the tape would cross the border and be sent to the West. In a peaceful way, a way they thought would be of little danger to the children, the women and children of Kuwait were doing their part.

The men's tasks were more deadly. At night they patrolled the neighborhoods. They set up ambushes and killed Iraqi soldiers. They stole guns and they destroyed tanks. They frightened the Iraqis and kept them from Kuwaiti homes. And, the Kuwaiti men died. As the violence increased between Iraqis and Kuwaitis, the men became concerned for their women and children. The resistance was successful. It had unnerved the enemy. Now, they knew it would not be long before the Iraqis struck back. The Iraqis had made no attempt to attack the armed men of the resistance but they just might strike at the women or the children.

Nadia cannot recall why she was not marching in the demonstration of September 11. Perhaps some other duty had her attention on that day.

The women and children gathered and moved cautiously down the street. They carried the usual signs and Kuwaiti flags. They were peaceful. They looked straight ahead. They chanted. They made no threatening moves toward the soldiers. They were unarmed.

Suddenly, Iraqis swarmed around the women. They opened fire and shot at their legs. One woman was killed. Others were seriously injured. Nadia's friend lost her 21-year-old son that day. While videotaping the march, he was surrounded by Iraqis and led away. He cannot be found. After the attack on the demonstration, many husbands wanted their wives and children out of the country. While willing to risk their own lives, they did not want to witness the deaths of their loved ones. Mansoor wanted Nadia to leave. He told her that she was his weak point. He did not feel free to risk her life. She was the mother of his four daughters. The children would need one parent. He insisted she go to Saudi Arabia and join their babies. Nadia could not bear to leave him but she eventually faced the unbearable. It was the second hardest act of her life.

Nadia carried on her volunteer work in Riyadh. There were many Kuwaiti refugees that needed help. While it was physically safer, she pursued each task as if it were life or death. Her diligence became well-known. She did what she could. And, she waited in vain for some word of Mansoor.

Nadia's eldest daughter confessed pride of her warrior father. She knew her father could never accept waiting outside his country's borders while men of another land claimed Kuwait as their own.

As if she didn't have enough worries, Nadia frets about the Palestinians under Israeli control. She and Mansoor financially supported three Palestinian families. They sent them money for food, rent, and their children's educations. When the Iraqis invaded Kuwait, Nadia and Mansoor lost all their money. As a result, three families in Palestine are without food. Nadia is frantic with worry. In one family, the father is elderly and cannot work. The sons of two of the families are in Israeli prisons and do not have any support. Nadia knows the families will go hungry and the children will have to drop out of school. The repercussions of the Iraqi invasion are felt in the stomachs of Palestinians on the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip.

^ Back to Top ^