Jan 16 - In junior high I did a book report on Kuwait. I don’t remember what I said, but I do remember drawing the flag and talking about it. The current flag colors come from a poem written by Safie Al-Din Al-Hali. He was an Iraqi poet living in the 14th century, and is credited with establishing the pan-Arab colors with the following lines:
“White are our deeds, black are our battles, green are our tents, red are our swords.”
One may notice that these four colors are also used in the Jordanian, Iraqi, and Emirate flags.
Though Kuwait city was founded only in 1613, the area has always been strategic as a control of the Tigris-Euphrates delta. Much of what is now Kuwait is a result of deltaic sedimentation from those rivers, after post-glacial flooding of the Persian Gulf. Trading by sea routes was always the most important game in town prior to the discovery of oil in 1938, hence a picture of a dhow (trading sailboat) on the coins. Kuwaiti sailors have historically been highly regarded for their skill.
One of the things I remember about the Gulf War of 1990-91 was when Saddam Hussain, dictator of Iraq, couched his invasion of Kuwait in terms of ‘regaining our lost province’. I did not look into why he said that until this trip. The background of it is as follows:
During late Ottoman times, the sultans kept local rulers in power but subservient to Ottoman rules. There was a local sheik in Kuwait, which was technically a part of Iraq at the time, but allowed to function in a semi-autonomous manner from Iraq. The British, who also had their hands in this part of the Persian Gulf, were in agreement. Kuwait had always been a bit different, a trading port that received a great deal of traffic from India, prospering where Iraq was unable to do to an unfavorable coastline at the Shatt Al-Arab delta.
After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in WWI, the British asserted control over the region, and again affirmed that Kuwait would be a separate entity from Iraq. Interestingly, this became a flash point for an independence movement, as many Kuwaitis actually favored assimilation with Iraq. Protests to that effect went on between 1930-39, and were suppressed by the British-supported sheik of Kuwait. The movement demanding re-unification was even made into a political party, whose platform was then ignored by both the local rulers and the British.
True independence was achieved in 1961, but for a while Iraq refused to recognize it (Iraqi independence had already been achieved in 1932). They were eventually compelled to do so by the British.
So, in all of this, it is easy to see how invasion by Iraq did not just come out of nowhere. It could well have been visualized, at least in the mind of Saddam Hussain, as righting a wrong. And both its propaganda value and financial potential were significant. It was obviously not seen in a positive light by Kuwaitis at the time it took place, considering how well Kuwait had done for itself as an independent entity since 1938, and especially considering the reputation of the invasion’s leader.
After eating expensive croissants, we head to the Salmiya district (25 minute taxi drive) to see The Scientific Center.
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The children’s science discovery portion was good, with more than the usual interactive stations for learning about force, gravity, etc. Also, parked outside in drydock is an old, authentic dhow, iconic for the importance of the sea trade in this region from ancient times.
Eat at a nearby street restaurant for cheap and take the bus back to the east side of downtown. Here we walk a great deal to get out to the shoreline. It is always possible to get places on foot here, it just takes time (and Google Map directions) to find the best way to do it.
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We walk for a long way along the corniche, from the water towers to the Kuwaiti Fresh Fish Market, where we get some fruit that is way overpriced.
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So the Gulf War, mentioned earlier, was the invasion and subsequent expulsion of Iraqi troops by Allied forces. The allies in this case were a broad coalition of countries, the largest war alliance in any conflict since WWII. It was understood by nearly everyone that Iraq’s invasion was without any merit and looked very much like a pure land (and oil) grab by Saddam Hussain. It is telling that at the time of the invasion, Iraq actually owed Kuwait about $14 billion for loans procured to fund Iraq’s previous war with Iran.
Big storms tonight, with plenty of lightning.
Kuwait