H I L A L I Y A

It has been 16 years since the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.

The sound of thundering blasts and gunfire shook the country, propelling it into dark and brutal occupation.

This was not a run of the mill invasion; it was a complete annexation of the country from day one.

There were no Red Cross convoys traversing into Kuwait distributing supplies and taking care of the injured.

There were no reporters on the ground covering the killings, torture, and systematic looting of the country’s resources via satellite.

No charities were established to raise money for the Kuwaitis or Expatriates who were caught in the crossfire.

No demonstrations or marches sprouted up supporting Kuwait’s liberation (unless they were organized by Kuwaitis themselves in cities such as London).

And if you were out of Kuwait, it did not matter what you owned, who you knew, how much money you were worth; you were a refugee, forever stuck in no man’s land, fingerprinted and scrutinized wherever you visited.

Today, let’s just keep the above in mind and remember the heroic ones – in and out of Kuwait – who helped unshackle us from those vicious chains.