KUWAIT CITY, 6 March 2003 — Anelyn Torino and her husband, Marciano, are confident the looming war with Iraq will not affect their lives, though they — like many other foreign workers in “front-line” Kuwait — are taking few chances.
The two Filipinos are stockpiling bottles of drinking water under their dining table and five-kilogram (11-pound) bags of rice in the bedrooms of their tiny apartment in downtown Kuwait City.
They have purchased duct tape to seal their windows and applied to the Philippine Embassy for gas masks in case of a chemical attack.
Even so, Torino said, she has no plans to abandon her home of 13 years, where she can earn a better living than in her native country. “Everything here is normal,” she said. “We are not going home.”
Like the Torinos, most foreign workers expressed little concern when interviewed this week as the diplomatic wrangling continued over whether to use military force against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein over UN disarmament demands.
Still, there are signs of worry. Currency traders in Kuwait have noticed an increase in exchanges as many of those workers send money home.
That’s what Bert Enriques does. The Filipino earns 100 dinars (333 dollars) a month working at a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant, one of many American fast-food chains here. “I send it home more quickly, just in case,” he said.
Other workers were afraid to speak when approached by a reporter, and Torino said she, her husband and her friends have experienced greater scrutiny by Kuwaiti police.
About 60 percent of Kuwait’s population of 2.2 million are foreign workers, mainly from Egypt and south and east Asia.
Asian embassies say they have all drawn up plans for aiding their nationals in case of war, with some preparing to evacuate citizens who want to leave amid concerns Saddam might use the chemical and biological arms he is alleged to possess.
Manila has perhaps taken the most steps to protect the 60,000 Filipinos working in Kuwait.
Many workers are using printed guides obtained from the embassy in their emergency preparations and the Kuwaiti government has handed out pamphlets on how to behave in an emergency situation.
