So many bonds join the six countries of the GCC—language, religion, customs and traditions, lifestyle, and ancestry. You can find a family in one Gulf country with roots and relatives in one or more of the others. Being Gulf citizens we always felt that we are one large community, sharing celebration, victories, sorrows, and defeats. We have long been joined by a common fate. No other crisis tested our unity like the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Since I myself have a Kuwaiti mother, the suffering was quite personal and hit me quite acutely.
The Iraq-Kuwait battle started on the front pages of the daily papers a few months before the invasion took place. All signs seemed to point to the direction of a regional disaster. The Iraqi army was mobilized on the Iraqi-Kuwaiti borders and then-Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein spread lies and sent out threats through the mass media. Still, no one foresaw the terrifying events to unfold as they did.
Kuwait has long been a peaceful friend to all of the worlds' countries, historically lending a helping hand to those in need. Who would ever expect such horror would be unleashed by a fellow Muslim and Arab neighbor?
Darkness loomed as legions of Saddam's evil minions marched into Kuwait through the gently breaking dawn on Black Thursday, the 2nd of August 1990. In their peaceful slumber, the people of Kuwait rested comfortably in their beds, blissfully unaware of what was to come.
My family was on summer holiday in London when we heard the news. I was but a very young child then and couldn't understand what was going on but I vividly remember on the morning of that day I woke up to see my mother crying, she was sitting next to the phone trying to get through to my grandmother in Kuwait to make sure she was alright. All lines were busy and all TV channels around the world were telecasting the latest developments of the tragedy.
I also remember the shock of my mother and her friends when all bank accounts were frozen and they were unable to get to their money. Along with crowds of other Kuwaitis they protested by marching and rallying at Hyde Park and the Iraqi embassy chanting “Free Kuwait! Free Kuwait!”. It was utter chaos.
We soon moved from London to Doha for the duration of those dark months. My mother's family were spread out in different countries—grandmother in Saudi Arabia, an aunt in the U.A.E., another in Egypt and the rest dispersed further. My mother regularly visited them and with patience and virtue, prayed to Allah to reunite them again in the near future.
It is true that Kuwaitis were forced to disperse around the world but they continued to live in a comfortable way, thanks to His Highness, the late Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah who insisted that his people were provided with a respectable level of living wherever on earth they may have been. He made sure they were provided with all their needs until they came back home safe. Even in an unthinkable crises of such large proportions, Kuwait was nothing but generous to its people.
Shortly after the war began we heard one of my uncles and a relative of his were taken captive. The family was tortured with flashing images of suffering and spent many sleepless nights twisting with the pain of the loss until they were returned. My uncle, thankfully, was found but his relative remains missing to this day.
Other countries of the Gulf weren't able to escape the wrath of Saddam Hussein either. He maniacally fired scud missiles at Qatar and Saudi Arabia with the threat of moving his forces into their countries. This made the GCC band together even tighter and because Kuwait had a reputation for being generous and hospitable to all those around it, the "Dera Al-Jazeera" forces were quickly joined by world allies to liberate the peaceful country and return it to its rightful owners.
Fast-forward to March 1991. A few days after the liberation we came back to our beloved Kuwait only to find it in complete tatters. Tears rolled down my eyes as we saw burned oil wells from the plane, many of them still on fire with thick black clouds of pollution blocking out the sun, choking our sky and poisoning all that lie within it. We watched helplessly as our fellow countrymen and women developed severe health complications in the days, weeks, months, and long years to follow.
I remember the destroyed buildings and the warnings on TV to look out for land mines so maliciously left behind. The destruction wasn't only material but also psychological. We were, as a country, shattered in mind and spirit.
Despite all that they had tried to do, they were not able to put out our light. If anything, Kuwaitis emerged even stronger and more determined to restore their country to its former glory. This is our country and we shall not be brought down. It will forever and always be “The Bride of the Gulf”.
So many bonds join the six countries of the GCC—language, religion, customs and traditions, lifestyle, and ancestry. You can find a family in one Gulf country with roots and relatives in one or more of the others. Being Gulf citizens we always felt that we are one large community, sharing celebration, victories, sorrows, and defeats. We have long been joined by a common fate. No other crisis tested our unity like the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Since I myself have a Kuwaiti mother, the suffering was quite personal and hit me quite acutely. 
Other countries of the Gulf weren't able to escape the wrath of Saddam Hussein either. He maniacally fired scud missiles at Qatar and Saudi Arabia with the threat of moving his forces into their countries. This made the GCC band together even tighter and because Kuwait had a reputation for being generous and hospitable to all those around it, the "Dera Al-Jazeera" forces were quickly joined by world allies to liberate the peaceful country and return it to its rightful owners. 