DAMMAM, 17 December 2003 — The arrest of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had a special resonance for the people of the Eastern Province who remember how terrified they were by the threat of his Scud missiles during the 1990-91 Gulf War.
“It was traumatic, and believe me, we still shudder with fear,” said Abu Shareef, a businessman in Alkhobar. Fortunately for the people of the region, all but one of the Scuds missed their targets and fell into the Gulf or the desert. But the one that struck accurately caused enormous damage and death.
“I had glass shards in my thighs and cheek through no fault of my own,” said Ali Shahada, a former employee of a supermarket just a few yards away from the US forces barracks the Scud hit. The inhabitants of Khafji were especially happy when Saddam was caught. In mid-January 1991, Saddam’s Republican Guard entered the town and looted it for two days until they were driven out by the Saudi and allied forces.
Ahmed Al-Abki, now a Saudi journalist, was a 14-year-old boy at the time. “We were made homeless,” he said. “The authorities had evacuated the entire area in anticipation of the attack. To my friends and me, Saddam was a demonic force.”
“Our homes had been destroyed, walls had bullet scars and the house had been ransacked and looted,” he said.
Hamed Al-Rowaili - also a journalist - was a resident of the border town of Arar and 17 years old when Saddam attacked his town. “Initially we loved Saddam because the schools closed - but once the sirens sounded and disturbed our sleep, we became very upset.” Al-Rowaili still gets unnerved when he hears siren in a movie or form a passing police car. People like Al-Rowaili and Abki are not simply jubilant over Saddam’s detention but see it as the beginning of a period of growth and development.
“The nightmare is over. His arrest has evaporated the threat of his power and the fear that came with it,” Abki said.
