shots from Kuwait
In Kuwait the oil and the good times are flowing again for the ruling Al-Sabah family. Five years after the UN and the US military handed them back their country, an extraordinary inside look at the power elite of Kuwait.
Interview with man Man: We don't want to invite Western democracy because some of that doesn't meet with us. 01.11.02
Map of Russia, Series Music 01.18.12
visuals from
church bell story Bell Music
And in post-communist Russia, the church bells are ringing again - the only problem is finding someone to play them.
Series Music
George Negus Negus: Would you believe it's five years ago this week that the troops of the international allied coalition entered Kuwait city to end Operation Desert Storm and the Gulf War. 01.37.06
For the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein the war was a breath taking gamble aimed at making himself the big man of the Middle East. The controller of the quarter of the world's entire oil supplies.
A situation the West, particularly the Americans, could not cop. The result was a 65 billion dollar US led high tech bunfight which left Kuwait with a population of around 1.5 million a smouldering ruin.
Last month after negotiations with the Kuwaiti authorities I travelled to the oil rich shiekdom to see what's happened to the tiny Arab nation that took the West to war.
Tracking shot of Music 02.22.18
burnt out trucks
and garbage, bodies, jets taking off, bombs dropping, map of Kuwait Negus: Back in February 1991, the retreating Iraqis were brought to a screeching halt at a place called Al Mutla ridge. The Allied air attack and massacre killed thousands of Iraqi troops. Kuwait was saved, but the wages of liberation were about to pile up.
Desert, four wheel drive vehicle through desert Needless to say, Al Mutla is now in the annals of contemporary history as the grisly location that saw the end of the 100 day 'Operation Desert Storm' and indeed, the Gulf War itself. 03.13.02
It's just about the only distinctive geographic feature in the 18,000 square kilometres of flat, arid, gravelly desert that make up the oil sheikdom of Kuwait.
Negus drives up, speaks to camera Negus: Today, of course the Iraqi occupation is merely an awful, recurring memory. The oil wells are no longer burning, although the long term environmental impact of the war is still uncertain. And the liberated Kuwaiti's have just about rebuilt their tiny land. 03.42.00
Meanwhile however, the ruling Al-Sabah family is still firmly ensconced, almost unbelievable, the dreaded Saddam is still clinging to power about 400 kilometres away to the north of here in Baghdad - there are still missing persons, war victims on both sides of the border.
And ironically, what is one of the world's richest and most privileged nations could be in economic trouble. In other words, the Gulf War is behind them but the Kuwaiti's are still living with a mass of repercussions from it.
Building under Music 04.33.20
construction
buildings, city Negus: On the face of it, the US-led Allied forces rescued this place from, Saddam Hussein to ensure their oil supplies. It was oil that brought about the destruction of Kuwait City and in less than five years, it's oil that's rebuilt it.
Oil field, men working The Burgun oil field is according to the Kuwaiti's, the second largest in the world. 05.03.14
During the war, millions of gallons were lost here. But today the Kuwaiti government is pumping it out as fast as OPEC will allow - to pay for the war.
Amer Al-Temmey interviewSuper:AMER AL-TEMMEYChairman, Society of Economists Al-Temmey: I would say the whole figure for the war of liberation and the cost of reconstruction would cost Kuwait around $50 billion dollars, and that was a drain on the Kuwaiti economy, a big drain, because we utilised our foreign assets and before the Iraqi invasion Kuwait used to have around $80 billion of foreign assets. 05.27.16
Fire from stack, men watching video, walking along, greeting, Negus with them Negus: Current daily production levels are close to two million barrels and this year, oil revenues are tipped to reach more than 10 billion dollars - more than the Kuwaiti's were getting before the Iraqi invasion. 05.56.14
Song: "When you're smiling, when you're smiling, the whole world smiles at you, when you're laughing, when you're laughing ..."
Negus: Spend an evening these days with Sheik Salem from the Al-Sabah family and you may well ask, War, what war?
Negus sitting with man, men greeting others, Negus walking into room full of men But when they held out their hand to the Allied forces to save them from Saddam they also promised democratic reforms and an end to what many saw as their profligate lifestyle. But even now, five years down the track, members of the ruling family are anything but apologetic about their tardiness on this score. 06.43.20
Interview with Sheik Al-SabahSuper:SHEIK SALEM AL-SABAH Former eputy Prime Minister Sheik Salem Al-Sabah: Let me say this, the Kuwaiti's have accepted us to rule the country with them for 300 years. And that by itself is a confirmation of the continuity of the family ruling the country. 07.14.16
But we don't want to invite Western democracy because some of that meet with us. But the principle is to have continuous consultation among the people with Kuwait, through parliament, through press, through Diwanias.
Room, Negus walking with man through building Negus: Your father and his three brothers built this with their own money? 07.51.02
shots of men
playing cards Youssef: Exactly.
praying, talking
Negus: Can I ask you how much, is that a rue question?
Youssef: The value is not important to discuss, it's just ...
Negus: This is amazing.
Negus: For centuries, Arab men have been meeting in tents especially set aside, to relax, play cards and talk about maybe sex but definitely religion and politics.
Negus in garb, men playing cards, building, Negus walking with man, chandeliers It's a sexist and elitist club, with not a woman in sight, but it's what the Kuwaiti's pass off as a democratic forum. 08.30.02
'Diwanias' they're called, the tents are long gone - courtesy of massive petro dollars over the last 30 or 409 years - replace by gilded palaces like this one, privately funded by Youssef Al-Maylem's millionaire father and uncles.
Man speaking with Negus Youssef: We do discuss politically, football, sports, exactly. 08.56.13
Negus: Marriage?
Youssef: Marriage, yes. As I say, social.
Men sitting, walking, Negus with group of men, sitting down with them and talking to one of them Negus: Behind the relaxed laughter of the Diwanias, lie the business links, political contacts and the real power in Kuwait. The Al Maylems aren't sheiks, they just live like them. 09.04.20
On the other side of town in another Diwania, we are witness to Real Politik - Kuwait style.
Man: All speak English.
Negus: This is the high powered?
Man: High powered Diwania, yeah! High powered in every meaning.
Negus: This is where all the decisions are made?
Man: Yes, politically, economically, everybody ...
Men sitting in lines, man speaking to Negus Sheik Salem has invite us to dinner along with a few friends who just happened to be almost the entire political and commercial elite of the country. 09.44.09
Salem: He's the man who's in charge of the stock exchange in Kuwait.
Negus: Good man to know.
Salem: Yes, indeed. But he doesn't give us tips.
[laughter]
Pan down interior white building, Negus walking and speaking to camera, builing exterior Negus: By Western standards Kuwait is definitely not a democracy. But, by the standards of the Arab world, it's a model of political freedom, way ahead of it's Gulf neighbours like Saudi Arabia. 10.03.00
Political parties are banned, and in the elections after the war and opposition-dominated Parliament was elected that's vocal but can be ignored by the Amer and the Government.
Man speaking in Parliament, men seated and listening, people on floor speaking There are 50 members of the National Assembly - from moderate leftists to Islamic fundamentalists. Women can't vote and there are less than 100,000 electors all up, so called 'first class' Kuwaiti's - adult males who can prove that their ancestors resided here before 1920. 10.28.12
In reality, it's an elaborate debating club. Ministers are not elected by parliament, they're appointed and that's the preserve of the Ruling Al Sabahs.
Interview with Sheik Saud Negus: So there had to actually be a change in the constitution for ministers like yourself to be elected rather than appointed? 11.06.10
Super:SHEIK SAUD NASSIR AL-SABAHMinister for Interior Sheik Saud: Every culture has its own different democratic system. There isn't one ideal democratic system in the world but the problem we have here is that every country in the world thinks that any system that's different from theirs is not democracy and any system different than theirs is wrong, is not the right system.
Negus watching Parliament Negus: A good debating point but the fact is that the Parliamentary assembly here has been shut down by the Sheiks on several occasions for years at a time. 11.33.10
Women, shopping Music 11.43.02
plaza, men on
escalator, restaurant, man shopping, people Negus: Kuwait City is a monument to the steel, glass and concrete definition of modern Arab progress. It's full of up market plazas like this one. But on Kuwait's busiest shopping night business is not good. The government is the major employer here and the cost of the war has meant belt tightening all round.
Interview with Amer Amer Al-Temmey: You know, there is a good percentage of the populace that tends to, likes to have it easy. That's because the economy has been set up to be a guarantied economy. Everybody thought that they had a piece of the cake without having to do any real work. Now I think most people realise that they have to you know, toil for that. 12.26.23
Restaurant, people seating, standding, kids, tracking through crowds Negus: Right now, many Kuwaiti's are ruminating that maybe the salad days of cradle to grave welfare, free education and guarantee employment could be coming to an end. Nevertheless, they are still enjoying the fruits of not so much their own labour but someone elses. 12.49.15
Men yelling and talking
The menial work here is still done by so called 'guest workers'. They drive, they cook, they clean and on weekends they congregate around the souk, Kuwait City's covered market.
Negus in crowd walking toward camera, from back, people watching Kuwaiti's are a minority in their own country. Of the total population of one and a half million, only 600,000 are Kuwaiti citizens. 13.36.01
These days, the guest workers are predominantly Egyptians, Bangladeshies, Philippinos and Syrians. But there was a time, not all that long ago, when there were others: Palestinians, close to 400,000 of them.
Television footage of Arafat and Hussein, interview with Saoud, man shooting from In the early stages of the war, Yasser Arafat aligned the PLO, at least politically, with Saddam Hussein. 14.03.15
truck, parade of
cars, flags, people, woman ululating Saud: When Yasser Arafat sided with Saddam Hussein he mad the most terrible mistake of his life and for the cause of the Palestinian people.
Negus: It put the 400,000 Palestinians in Kuwait under intolerable pressure. Rightly or wrongly, they were regarded as collaborators and sympathisers and, post-war, behind the euphoria, there were reprisals. Within twelve months, less than 50,000 Palestinians were left in Kuwait and five years on, the Palestinians remain a sore point with the Ruling Family.
Interview with Sheik SaudSuper: SHEIK SAUD NASSIR AL-SABAH Minister Sheik Saud: All of a sudden now everyone is pro-Palestinian around the world. Why? I just can't understand the whole change of attitude and change of ... 15.05.07
for Interior
Negus: I think because the situation has changed in the Middle East.
Sheik Saud: Well, I think when you talk about ... we have collaborators in Kuwait who are in prison, whether they are Palestinians or any other nationality they collaborated with the occupying power in Kuwait and they deserve to have what is coming to them.
Interview with Amer Negus: But if the Palestinians were hurt, so it seems were the Kuwaiti's - at least economically. 15.36.12
Super:AMER AL-TEMMEYChairman, Society of Economists Amer Al Tammey: They had a very major role in the labour force, they were also were big consumers because they were settled - they used to have their families with them so they had to consume in Kuwait, they spent most of their income in Kuwait. Of course, when they left they had an impact on the economy.
Interview with Sheik Saud Negus: Some people have even suggested to us that the Palestinians were so important to you economically that they were actually the engine room of the non-oil economy. 16.07.07
Sheik Saud: We're not the losers, they're the losers. I mean, the number of workers we had here in Kuwait who were Palestinians they've been replaced by different nationalities so we're not really in a sticky problem here.
Roller Coaster ride, Negus riding, woman and child in front, woman walking with child, interview with woman, Hanima Negus: The Kuwaiti's have suffered too. In the last months of Iraqi occupation Hanima and her husband Mousa conceived their first child -Asra. Just two weeks later, and unaware that the joy of fatherhood lay ahead, Mousa went out to do the shopping - and was never seen again - taken by Iraqi soldiers. 16.26.22
Hanima: He tell me, only ten minutes I go then I come back.
Negus: Ten minutes? And that was almost five years ago?
Hanima: Yes.
Hanima has told her daughter that her father is working in another country. But the cruel reality is, he may well be dead.
Negus: And you'd only been married for a very short time.
Hanima: Yes.
Negus: How long?
Hanima: Three months.
Negus: So three months together before he left?
Hanima: Yes.
Woman passing photograph to Hamima and Negus Negus: Hanima's husband is one of the 625 Kuwaiti's missing since the war. And the Government here say they won't be celebrating the country's liberation until they are accounted for. 17.30.20
Tracking shot of desert, UN truck, band marching and playing, people An hour's drive from Kuwait City and you're in the demilitarised Zone on the Iraqi border. 17.42.16
watching
Band Music
Negus: If it's always seemed unbelievable that the world's most powerful international military coalition failed to remove Saddam Hussein - the scene here also has its touch of military irony. The battalion trooping the UN colours is Bangladeshi - one of the world's poorest nations holding the fort for one of the richest.
Negus talking to man as they walk, he explains about a pillar Negus: So last year when there is so called tension building up, there was nothing actually happening here? 18.32.08
Man: As far as we're concerned we have not seen anything within the demilitarise zone.
Negus: Out on the precisely marked border, a jumpy UN official goes into minute detail on the surveying of the disputed frontier.
Man: This is pillar post number 106 and it is done, it is one of the 106 pillar posts across the land boundaries between Iraq and Kuwait. It's about 11 tons weight of cement, about 5 metres in the ground ...
TV crew, man talking to crew Negus: With a lecture for a TV crew with the temerity to point their camera into Iraqi territory. 19.10.01
Man: Excuse me, hello, please do not, I ask you and it seems, no, no, no you are not supposed to ... you see we have to maintain our ...
Director: ... Iraq behind if you stay there, okay.
Negus: And in another touch of strategic silliness, we were proudly shown the Kuwaiti's latest weapon against Saddam's million strong army - they've dug a trench ...
Military men, Music 19.31.24
cinematographer
shooting, ruined buildings, Negus walking along Negus: Saddam Hussein turned this country into a hell on earth. The Kuwaiti's have put out the fires, rebuilt their city and are once again filling their coffers with petro-dollars. But, five years after what he dubbed 'the mother of all wars', Saddam is still there ...
Saud interview Sheik Saud: I think to put it rightly we are stuck with Saddam. I mean, there you have a country that's being run by a dictator, isolated from the rest of the world who still has some military capability. Still threatening us as a small nation and he's still violating all the existing rules of human rights around the world. So what else can we say? 20.15.08
He's a menace, a menace to us, a menace to every country in the world.
In Kuwait the oil and the good times are flowing again for the ruling Al-Sabah family. Five years after the UN and the US military handed them back their country, an extraordinary inside look at the power elite of Kuwait.
Interview with man Man: We don't want to invite Western democracy because some of that doesn't meet with us. 01.11.02
Map of Russia, Series Music 01.18.12
visuals from
church bell story Bell Music
And in post-communist Russia, the church bells are ringing again - the only problem is finding someone to play them.
Series Music
George Negus Negus: Would you believe it's five years ago this week that the troops of the international allied coalition entered Kuwait city to end Operation Desert Storm and the Gulf War. 01.37.06
For the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein the war was a breath taking gamble aimed at making himself the big man of the Middle East. The controller of the quarter of the world's entire oil supplies.
A situation the West, particularly the Americans, could not cop. The result was a 65 billion dollar US led high tech bunfight which left Kuwait with a population of around 1.5 million a smouldering ruin.
Last month after negotiations with the Kuwaiti authorities I travelled to the oil rich shiekdom to see what's happened to the tiny Arab nation that took the West to war.
Tracking shot of Music 02.22.18
burnt out trucks
and garbage, bodies, jets taking off, bombs dropping, map of Kuwait Negus: Back in February 1991, the retreating Iraqis were brought to a screeching halt at a place called Al Mutla ridge. The Allied air attack and massacre killed thousands of Iraqi troops. Kuwait was saved, but the wages of liberation were about to pile up.
Desert, four wheel drive vehicle through desert Needless to say, Al Mutla is now in the annals of contemporary history as the grisly location that saw the end of the 100 day 'Operation Desert Storm' and indeed, the Gulf War itself. 03.13.02
It's just about the only distinctive geographic feature in the 18,000 square kilometres of flat, arid, gravelly desert that make up the oil sheikdom of Kuwait.
Negus drives up, speaks to camera Negus: Today, of course the Iraqi occupation is merely an awful, recurring memory. The oil wells are no longer burning, although the long term environmental impact of the war is still uncertain. And the liberated Kuwaiti's have just about rebuilt their tiny land. 03.42.00
Meanwhile however, the ruling Al-Sabah family is still firmly ensconced, almost unbelievable, the dreaded Saddam is still clinging to power about 400 kilometres away to the north of here in Baghdad - there are still missing persons, war victims on both sides of the border.
And ironically, what is one of the world's richest and most privileged nations could be in economic trouble. In other words, the Gulf War is behind them but the Kuwaiti's are still living with a mass of repercussions from it.
Building under Music 04.33.20
construction
buildings, city Negus: On the face of it, the US-led Allied forces rescued this place from, Saddam Hussein to ensure their oil supplies. It was oil that brought about the destruction of Kuwait City and in less than five years, it's oil that's rebuilt it.
Oil field, men working The Burgun oil field is according to the Kuwaiti's, the second largest in the world. 05.03.14
During the war, millions of gallons were lost here. But today the Kuwaiti government is pumping it out as fast as OPEC will allow - to pay for the war.
Amer Al-Temmey interviewSuper:AMER AL-TEMMEYChairman, Society of Economists Al-Temmey: I would say the whole figure for the war of liberation and the cost of reconstruction would cost Kuwait around $50 billion dollars, and that was a drain on the Kuwaiti economy, a big drain, because we utilised our foreign assets and before the Iraqi invasion Kuwait used to have around $80 billion of foreign assets. 05.27.16
Fire from stack, men watching video, walking along, greeting, Negus with them Negus: Current daily production levels are close to two million barrels and this year, oil revenues are tipped to reach more than 10 billion dollars - more than the Kuwaiti's were getting before the Iraqi invasion. 05.56.14
Song: "When you're smiling, when you're smiling, the whole world smiles at you, when you're laughing, when you're laughing ..."
Negus: Spend an evening these days with Sheik Salem from the Al-Sabah family and you may well ask, War, what war?
Negus sitting with man, men greeting others, Negus walking into room full of men But when they held out their hand to the Allied forces to save them from Saddam they also promised democratic reforms and an end to what many saw as their profligate lifestyle. But even now, five years down the track, members of the ruling family are anything but apologetic about their tardiness on this score. 06.43.20
Interview with Sheik Al-SabahSuper:SHEIK SALEM AL-SABAH Former eputy Prime Minister Sheik Salem Al-Sabah: Let me say this, the Kuwaiti's have accepted us to rule the country with them for 300 years. And that by itself is a confirmation of the continuity of the family ruling the country. 07.14.16
But we don't want to invite Western democracy because some of that meet with us. But the principle is to have continuous consultation among the people with Kuwait, through parliament, through press, through Diwanias.
Room, Negus walking with man through building Negus: Your father and his three brothers built this with their own money? 07.51.02
shots of men
playing cards Youssef: Exactly.
praying, talking
Negus: Can I ask you how much, is that a rue question?
Youssef: The value is not important to discuss, it's just ...
Negus: This is amazing.
Negus: For centuries, Arab men have been meeting in tents especially set aside, to relax, play cards and talk about maybe sex but definitely religion and politics.
Negus in garb, men playing cards, building, Negus walking with man, chandeliers It's a sexist and elitist club, with not a woman in sight, but it's what the Kuwaiti's pass off as a democratic forum. 08.30.02
'Diwanias' they're called, the tents are long gone - courtesy of massive petro dollars over the last 30 or 409 years - replace by gilded palaces like this one, privately funded by Youssef Al-Maylem's millionaire father and uncles.
Man speaking with Negus Youssef: We do discuss politically, football, sports, exactly. 08.56.13
Negus: Marriage?
Youssef: Marriage, yes. As I say, social.
Men sitting, walking, Negus with group of men, sitting down with them and talking to one of them Negus: Behind the relaxed laughter of the Diwanias, lie the business links, political contacts and the real power in Kuwait. The Al Maylems aren't sheiks, they just live like them. 09.04.20
On the other side of town in another Diwania, we are witness to Real Politik - Kuwait style.
Man: All speak English.
Negus: This is the high powered?
Man: High powered Diwania, yeah! High powered in every meaning.
Negus: This is where all the decisions are made?
Man: Yes, politically, economically, everybody ...
Men sitting in lines, man speaking to Negus Sheik Salem has invite us to dinner along with a few friends who just happened to be almost the entire political and commercial elite of the country. 09.44.09
Salem: He's the man who's in charge of the stock exchange in Kuwait.
Negus: Good man to know.
Salem: Yes, indeed. But he doesn't give us tips.
[laughter]
Pan down interior white building, Negus walking and speaking to camera, builing exterior Negus: By Western standards Kuwait is definitely not a democracy. But, by the standards of the Arab world, it's a model of political freedom, way ahead of it's Gulf neighbours like Saudi Arabia. 10.03.00
Political parties are banned, and in the elections after the war and opposition-dominated Parliament was elected that's vocal but can be ignored by the Amer and the Government.
Man speaking in Parliament, men seated and listening, people on floor speaking There are 50 members of the National Assembly - from moderate leftists to Islamic fundamentalists. Women can't vote and there are less than 100,000 electors all up, so called 'first class' Kuwaiti's - adult males who can prove that their ancestors resided here before 1920. 10.28.12
In reality, it's an elaborate debating club. Ministers are not elected by parliament, they're appointed and that's the preserve of the Ruling Al Sabahs.
Interview with Sheik Saud Negus: So there had to actually be a change in the constitution for ministers like yourself to be elected rather than appointed? 11.06.10
Super:SHEIK SAUD NASSIR AL-SABAHMinister for Interior Sheik Saud: Every culture has its own different democratic system. There isn't one ideal democratic system in the world but the problem we have here is that every country in the world thinks that any system that's different from theirs is not democracy and any system different than theirs is wrong, is not the right system.
Negus watching Parliament Negus: A good debating point but the fact is that the Parliamentary assembly here has been shut down by the Sheiks on several occasions for years at a time. 11.33.10
Women, shopping Music 11.43.02
plaza, men on
escalator, restaurant, man shopping, people Negus: Kuwait City is a monument to the steel, glass and concrete definition of modern Arab progress. It's full of up market plazas like this one. But on Kuwait's busiest shopping night business is not good. The government is the major employer here and the cost of the war has meant belt tightening all round.
Interview with Amer Amer Al-Temmey: You know, there is a good percentage of the populace that tends to, likes to have it easy. That's because the economy has been set up to be a guarantied economy. Everybody thought that they had a piece of the cake without having to do any real work. Now I think most people realise that they have to you know, toil for that. 12.26.23
Restaurant, people seating, standding, kids, tracking through crowds Negus: Right now, many Kuwaiti's are ruminating that maybe the salad days of cradle to grave welfare, free education and guarantee employment could be coming to an end. Nevertheless, they are still enjoying the fruits of not so much their own labour but someone elses. 12.49.15
Men yelling and talking
The menial work here is still done by so called 'guest workers'. They drive, they cook, they clean and on weekends they congregate around the souk, Kuwait City's covered market.
Negus in crowd walking toward camera, from back, people watching Kuwaiti's are a minority in their own country. Of the total population of one and a half million, only 600,000 are Kuwaiti citizens. 13.36.01
These days, the guest workers are predominantly Egyptians, Bangladeshies, Philippinos and Syrians. But there was a time, not all that long ago, when there were others: Palestinians, close to 400,000 of them.
Television footage of Arafat and Hussein, interview with Saoud, man shooting from In the early stages of the war, Yasser Arafat aligned the PLO, at least politically, with Saddam Hussein. 14.03.15
truck, parade of
cars, flags, people, woman ululating Saud: When Yasser Arafat sided with Saddam Hussein he mad the most terrible mistake of his life and for the cause of the Palestinian people.
Negus: It put the 400,000 Palestinians in Kuwait under intolerable pressure. Rightly or wrongly, they were regarded as collaborators and sympathisers and, post-war, behind the euphoria, there were reprisals. Within twelve months, less than 50,000 Palestinians were left in Kuwait and five years on, the Palestinians remain a sore point with the Ruling Family.
Interview with Sheik SaudSuper: SHEIK SAUD NASSIR AL-SABAH Minister Sheik Saud: All of a sudden now everyone is pro-Palestinian around the world. Why? I just can't understand the whole change of attitude and change of ... 15.05.07
for Interior
Negus: I think because the situation has changed in the Middle East.
Sheik Saud: Well, I think when you talk about ... we have collaborators in Kuwait who are in prison, whether they are Palestinians or any other nationality they collaborated with the occupying power in Kuwait and they deserve to have what is coming to them.
Interview with Amer Negus: But if the Palestinians were hurt, so it seems were the Kuwaiti's - at least economically. 15.36.12
Super:AMER AL-TEMMEYChairman, Society of Economists Amer Al Tammey: They had a very major role in the labour force, they were also were big consumers because they were settled - they used to have their families with them so they had to consume in Kuwait, they spent most of their income in Kuwait. Of course, when they left they had an impact on the economy.
Interview with Sheik Saud Negus: Some people have even suggested to us that the Palestinians were so important to you economically that they were actually the engine room of the non-oil economy. 16.07.07
Sheik Saud: We're not the losers, they're the losers. I mean, the number of workers we had here in Kuwait who were Palestinians they've been replaced by different nationalities so we're not really in a sticky problem here.
Roller Coaster ride, Negus riding, woman and child in front, woman walking with child, interview with woman, Hanima Negus: The Kuwaiti's have suffered too. In the last months of Iraqi occupation Hanima and her husband Mousa conceived their first child -Asra. Just two weeks later, and unaware that the joy of fatherhood lay ahead, Mousa went out to do the shopping - and was never seen again - taken by Iraqi soldiers. 16.26.22
Hanima: He tell me, only ten minutes I go then I come back.
Negus: Ten minutes? And that was almost five years ago?
Hanima: Yes.
Hanima has told her daughter that her father is working in another country. But the cruel reality is, he may well be dead.
Negus: And you'd only been married for a very short time.
Hanima: Yes.
Negus: How long?
Hanima: Three months.
Negus: So three months together before he left?
Hanima: Yes.
Woman passing photograph to Hamima and Negus Negus: Hanima's husband is one of the 625 Kuwaiti's missing since the war. And the Government here say they won't be celebrating the country's liberation until they are accounted for. 17.30.20
Tracking shot of desert, UN truck, band marching and playing, people An hour's drive from Kuwait City and you're in the demilitarised Zone on the Iraqi border. 17.42.16
watching
Band Music
Negus: If it's always seemed unbelievable that the world's most powerful international military coalition failed to remove Saddam Hussein - the scene here also has its touch of military irony. The battalion trooping the UN colours is Bangladeshi - one of the world's poorest nations holding the fort for one of the richest.
Negus talking to man as they walk, he explains about a pillar Negus: So last year when there is so called tension building up, there was nothing actually happening here? 18.32.08
Man: As far as we're concerned we have not seen anything within the demilitarise zone.
Negus: Out on the precisely marked border, a jumpy UN official goes into minute detail on the surveying of the disputed frontier.
Man: This is pillar post number 106 and it is done, it is one of the 106 pillar posts across the land boundaries between Iraq and Kuwait. It's about 11 tons weight of cement, about 5 metres in the ground ...
TV crew, man talking to crew Negus: With a lecture for a TV crew with the temerity to point their camera into Iraqi territory. 19.10.01
Man: Excuse me, hello, please do not, I ask you and it seems, no, no, no you are not supposed to ... you see we have to maintain our ...
Director: ... Iraq behind if you stay there, okay.
Negus: And in another touch of strategic silliness, we were proudly shown the Kuwaiti's latest weapon against Saddam's million strong army - they've dug a trench ...
Military men, Music 19.31.24
cinematographer
shooting, ruined buildings, Negus walking along Negus: Saddam Hussein turned this country into a hell on earth. The Kuwaiti's have put out the fires, rebuilt their city and are once again filling their coffers with petro-dollars. But, five years after what he dubbed 'the mother of all wars', Saddam is still there ...
Saud interview Sheik Saud: I think to put it rightly we are stuck with Saddam. I mean, there you have a country that's being run by a dictator, isolated from the rest of the world who still has some military capability. Still threatening us as a small nation and he's still violating all the existing rules of human rights around the world. So what else can we say? 20.15.08
He's a menace, a menace to us, a menace to every country in the world.