The region has once again been plunged into a war — the third in less than two decades. First there was the war between Iraq and Iran in the 1980s and then the second one resulting from the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Now we are in the first phase of a third war, which this time aims at removing Saddam Hussein from power.
In all three wars, Saudis have been directly or indirectly affected but this time they have reacted differently to the war being waged just across their border. In the last Gulf War of the early 1990s, Saudis took all necessary precautions, filling their houses with huge quantities of food and other supplies. In some houses only a small area was left for human use with the other rooms stuffed to the ceiling with things that might be needed.
Thirteen years later the situation is totally different. Conspicuously absent from living rooms, store rooms and kitchens are the crates of biscuits, cheese, jam and cream and the sacks of rice, sugar and other supplies that were so common during the 1991 war. In those days, some families even preferred to remain crammed into one room with windows and other openings tightly sealed for fear of Iraqi chemical attacks. In those days Saudis learned for the first time that civil defense means more than extinguishing fires and whistling air-raid sirens.
All that is now memory — and fading memory at that. It is seldom now that anyone talks of those days when Iraqi Scuds were fired at Saudi cities. Even those who remember the times will tell you with a smile that they overreacted. During the war for the liberation of Kuwait, many Saudi families left their homes in Riyadh and other cities of the Eastern Province in what looked like a mass exodus. They headed inland for their ancestors’ homelands in remote towns and villages or to other areas where they had relatives. People at that time thought those areas were safer than where they were living.
Today, however, Saudis are reacting indifferently to the war being waged against Iraq — not because they don’t sense or appreciate the dangers but because they have become more aware of possible political and other repercussions of the crisis on the public and the country in general.
It is important to note that when the whole world was talking of chemical and biological weapons, very few Saudis bothered to buy gas masks and not a single one rushed to seal the windows. If one conclusion is to be drawn from the current crisis and any possible effects on the Kingdom, it is this visible high sense of awareness shown by the public.
The media, especially satellite television, must be credited for helping to develop and foster these feelings. Saudis today are more aware of what is happening around them and know things which they were totally unaware of in the past.
Arab News From the Local Press 25 March 2003
