Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 2, 1991 TAG: 9103020199
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The Baltimore Sun
DATELINE: KUWAIT CITY LENGTH: Medium
Ahmad al Shamali, owner of two electrical equipment stores and a factory that makes confections, turned to the black market and surreptitious trips to Baghdad stores to keep his large family stocked with food.
Lt. Col. Ali al Sharaf, chief of police for Kuwait City's eastern precinct, changed his name and identity card and became a fugitive and resistance fighter.
Iraq's seven-month occupation of Kuwait disrupted the lives of roughly 300,000 Kuwaitis and forced them to decide whether to succumb to the Iraqi army or fight with whatever means they could find.
The presence of Iraqi troops in this small, prosperous country ended up galvanizing a civilian and military resistance effort on a scale few had realized was possible.
It also forced ordinary people to take courage in their hands to defy Iraqi authorities or resort to activities that, under normal circumstances, might be considered criminal.
"We boycotted them, we didn't go to work and every Iraqi law we refused to follow," said Ewaied, one of several dozen people interviewed who chose not to flee Kuwait when Iraqi troops stormed across the border Aug. 2.
Ahmad, the owner of the electrical equipment stores, said the looting of food stores, warehouses and homes forced him and many other Kuwaitis to drive to Baghdad to get large supplies of tea, sugar, flour, rice and other staples that could be distributed to relatives and neighbors.
"You were risking your life, because you were not allowed to carry it in containers," he said.
Food prices in both Iraq and occupied Kuwait jumped. Several people said they paid up to $70 for a carton of cigarettes and 50 times more than usual for a bag of 30 eggs. They had to sell their furniture or television sets to get the cash.
Ahmad and others said they regretted pouring money into the Iraqi economy, but insisted there was no alternative. "If you don't buy, you starve," he said.
Some Iraqi soldiers could be bribed to look the other way in order to stockpile food supplies, Ahmad said. Others recalled paying some Iraqis "protection money" to prevent looting.
"We used to bribe with food to have a good, safe environment," said Aziz, the investment banker. "We'd give them rice, tea, some bread."
Early in the occupation, Ewaied wore a veil to conceal her face, thinking she would be a less inviting target for rape. But she discarded the veil, having become more fatalistic - and more willing to take risks.
"When there's danger, you give yourself up to it. If it happens, it happens," she said.
Food shortages for her family did not become serious until late last year, when many of the packaged goods bought in July and August were beginning to spoil, she said. The bakeries and other factories that cranked up production during the first few weeks of Iraqi occupation had shut down, said several other families who were in similar straits.
The need for a reliable food distribution system was answered by one of two branches of the Kuwaiti resistance that emerged quickly after the invasion. The "civilian" branch had volunteers delivering food house to house and, about every two days, collecting and burning garbage to prevent public health problems.
The other branch was built around a core of seven police units in Kuwait city, each consisting of more than 40 men, Col. Sharaf said.
He said he had to "disappear" after Iraq's seizure of each police station and its roundup of police and military personnel. His wife and family told Iraqi troops that he had fled to Saudi Arabia when in fact, he was moving from house to house.
Maj. Shareda al Fadli, police chief of the downtown precinct, described the chief mission of the "military" branch of the resistance as "shoot and run, cause car accidents and poison food."
He explained that the "shoot-and-run" operations, designed to attack Iraqi forces and demoralize occupying troops, included the use of Molotov cocktails, which would be hurled from highway overpasses to Iraqi military vehicles below.
The poisoning often involved spiking military supplies of orange juice, although both the Fadli and Sharaf would not give any details.
"In one week, every week, about six or seven Iraqi soldiers were killed," Fadli said.
by CNB