The seven months of brutal Iraqi occupation of Kuwait from August 2, 1990 to February 26, 1991 affected each and every aspect of Kuwaiti life. Human, social, economic and environmental losses that Kuwait suffered were colossal.
Loss of Life
The Iraqi invasion caused widespread damage across Kuwait.
Kuwaitis paid the highest human price relative to their population.
An estimated number of 439 foreign nationals, 118 Kuwaiti soldiers and 113 Kuwaiti civilians were killed. Kuwait’s human loss was proportionately equivalent to about 400,000 Americans or 100,000 British.
The widespread landmines, estimated to be 2 million (92.4 mines per square kilometre or 1.1 mine per Kuwaiti), left many more dead and physically disabled.
Social and Psychological Damage
The use of coercion by Iraqis left a permanent scar on the Kuwaiti people. All kinds of crime and torture were perpetrated by the aggressors against civilians — women, men, children and the elderly.
A list of methods used by the Iraqis, drawn by the Amnesty International, reveals the extent of torture inflicted on innocent Kuwaitis. These methods and their intentions were devilish. The methods included fracturing limbs and ribs, administration of electric shocks, burning naked body parts, pouring acid into the eyes eventually leading to blindness, subjecting victims to mock trials, etc. The Iraqis denied medical care to the Kuwaitis unless they changed their nationality to Iraq, a clear case of human rights violation.
Public places such as hospitals, schools, parks, museums etc. were used by the Iraqis as detention and torture centres. On their retreat, Iraqis took away hundreds of innocent civilians as hostages and subjected them to torture in Iraqi jails. Many of such prisoners of war are yet untraceable.
Memories of such incidents continue to haunt Kuwaitis till date. Kuwaitis continue to suffer from emotional disorders such as depression, sleeplessness, anxiety, nightmares, absentmindedness, etc. Recalling the days of horror is a traumatic experience for them and Kuwaitis are doing their best to put the trauma behind them.
Destruction of Health Care Facilities
Once the centre of excellence, the health care sector was worst hit. The Iraqis destroyed primary health centres, super-speciality hospitals, in fact the total health care infrastructure. Looting, rioting and lack of health staff caused a total collapse of the system. The impact on the public health was most severe, as many diseases could not be controlled. Statistics reveal the high prevalence of infant mortality, cases of miscarriages, underweight babies, abnormal foetus, heart diseases etc.
Economic Damage
Oil is the lifeline of Kuwait’s economy, constituting about 90 per cent of its exports. The widespread destruction, especially the burning oil wells, was the primary reason for the paralysis of the Kuwaiti economy. The gross national product dropped more than 70 per cent from August 1990 to February 1991.
Twenty-five of the 26 oil-gathering centres suffered massive damage. The pipeline network was nearly crippled. The refinery at Mina Abdullah terminal suffered heavily. The main control room was completely wrecked. Six of the 81 gas stations were completely destroyed. The fertiliser plant was severely affected. Oil wells and other Kuwaiti industrial installations, which formed the backbone of the Kuwaiti economy, were particularly targeted to inflict maximum possible damage.
The Iraqi occupation also crippled Kuwait’s banking sector. During the occupation, the banks and their funds were at the mercy of the Iraqi forces. Studies reveal that banking activities, financial services and insurance dropped by 23 per cent after the liberation compared with pre-occupation.
The invasion also wreaked havoc on the real estate, civic amenities, communications, and transportation sectors. Kuwait Airways Corporation too suffered huge losses as the Iraqi invaders looted 15 of their 23 aircraft – an estimated loss of $ 1.2 billion. The already limited farming business also suffered heavily and irrigation works too were badly hit. Most fishermen lost their boats resulting in huge losses, fishing being one of the major business activities.
Most of the colleges of Kuwaiti University were burnt. Serious damage was also inflicted on the Kuwaiti Institute for Scientific Research (KISR). During the invasion, the Iraqis caused widespread damage to the state-of-the-art facilities of the Ministry of Information — damaging studios, equipment, printing press, TV towers, etc.
Environmental Damage
In the face of imminent defeat at the hands of the allied forces, the Iraqi troops set ablaze hundreds of oil wells across Kuwait, thereby resorting to a new type of terrorism – environmental terrorism.
The daily burning of three million barrels of crude oil created half a ton of air
pollutants that filled the entire atmosphere with heavy smoke and hid the sun. Evaporation of the spilled oil also added toxic chemicals in the atmosphere. The water cycle of the Gulf was affected and the average temperature too changed sharply. The quantity of bacteria at the seashore level increased significantly leading to inadequate availability of purified drinking water.
The Kuwaiti desert still remains littered with hidden mines, which are being discovered now and then. The oil lakes, created by flowing oil wells, have had severe effects on soil, plants and underground reservoirs. The gallons of oil spilled in the Gulf have already threatened the oceanic marine ecosystem.
As a result of the horrifying effects of war on the Kuwaiti environment the United Nations has declared November 6, the day the oil fires were finally extinguished in Kuwait, as the International Day for Preventing the Use of the Environment in Military Conflicts. The Day is a reminder of the suffering that Kuwait underwent and the need to create awareness about the issue at a global level.
