By Jamal Yeli
KUWAIT, Feb 25 (KUNA) -- Marking the celebrations of Kuwait's 56th National Day, 26th Liberation Anniversary, expatriates share their stories of devotion and struggle inside Kuwait during the 1990 Iraqi invasion.
During an interview with, couple of expatriates who were actually born in Kuwait and lived through the occupation, the suffering, and triumph with their brothers Kuwaiti nationals.
The Palestinian with Jordanian nationality Sahar Mahmoud Issa, the brother of Martyr Ashraf, said she lived during those hard times with her husband and family in Kuwait.
Sahar said that despite the brutality of the Saddam Hussain regime, she refused to leave Kuwait due to her sense of belonging to this land.
"I was born in Kuwait, I completed my education here, my father came to work here in 1960, and all my family have great sense of devotion to this land," Sahar said.
Sahar added that she worked in a hospital as assistance director during the invasion and helped Kuwaitis and expatriates during that time, noting that her love to Kuwait was the main force behind her work at the hospital.
Sahar said despite the dangers and suffering from Saddam Hussain forces, the insecurity and instability, lack of food, power black outs, and medicine they lived through the horror until liberation day.
With regard to her brother, Ashraf, he was among a resistance cell led by Kuwaiti woman Wafaa Al-Aamer.
"My brother worked at a hotel and was occupied by Iraqi high ranking officers, and Ashraf and Wafaa along with others planned and delivered two improvised explosives inside the hotel," Sahar added.
The mission was a success, Sahar said, but after the incident, Iraqi intelligence were able to arrest Ashraf and brutally executed him.
Meanwhile, Jordanian national Moussa Shahada said that he and his wife, along with his five children lived in Kuwait during the invasion and decided to remain even after liberation because of their love to Kuwait.
Shahada added he also refused to leave Kuwait during the Iraqi invasion and lived through all the horror, killings, and destruction of Kuwaiti facilities.
Shahada said he lived in Farwania area, and worked in the ministry of Electricity and Water, noting that his relatives in Jordan kept telling him to return to Jordan through Iraq, but he utterly reject to leave due to a sense of loyalty and responsibility.
On his part, Abdulmenum Al-Sisi, an Egyptian national who worked in the Information ministry, said he remained along with his family in Kuwait during the occupation because of his love for this land.
Al-Sisi said he worked as a correspondent for Egyptian Al-Wafid newspaper and from the first day of the occupation, he had a sense of duty to reports on the brutal regime.
Al-Sisi said he used to provide the newspaper with reports of the brutality of the Saddam regime during the occupation.
Al-Sisi added that his moral duty and sense of belonging to this land was what kept him continuing the coverage of this brutal invasion.
Al-Sisi added one day, during the occupation, he was at the sixth ring road and he witnessed a retaliation attack by Kuwaiti resistance groups targeting an Iraqi military patrol, and he was able to hide and took photos of the attack, and later was able to send them to the newspaper and were published in August, 1990. (end) jy.mb