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Did you know Kuwait is ancient Palestinian land that is occupied?
Palestinian expulsion from Kuwait
The Palestinian expulsion from Kuwait or 1991 Palestinian exodus from Kuwait took place at the end of the Gulf War, when Kuwait expelled almost 400-450 thousand Palestinians foreign workers.[2][3][1] The policy which led to this exodus was a response to the alignment of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and the PLO with Saddam Hussein, who had earlier invaded Kuwait. The exodus took place during one week in March 1991, following Kuwait's liberation from Iraqi occupation. The story received little media attention in the aftermath of the liberation of Kuwait.
Since War II, Kuwait economy heavily relayed on foreign workers. Most of these foreigners were employed by the state, for relatively short periods (40 percent stay less than five years). Initially the Arabs constituted the bulk of this force (Palestinian, Egyptians, Iraqis, Syrians, and Lebanese), but since early 1980s the composition shifted toward Asians and by 1985 they were the majority.[2]
Palestinians arrived in Kuwait in three different phases, 1948, 1967 and 1975. In 1990 the Palestinian foreign workers in Kuwait estimated at 400,000[2] making up about 30% of Kuwait's population of 2.2 million.[2][3] Kuwaitis started to fear that Palestinians may exceed them in number. This would mean a serious demographic challenge to the Kuwaiti population. The Kuwaiti government took several measures that aimed at decreasing the entry of Palestinians into the country and making their stay there more difficult. Moreover, Kuwaiti officials started planning to get rid of the Palestinians altogether. The Palestinian official support for Iraq during the 1990 crisis gave them the excuse they were looking for to evict the entire Palestinian community from the country. [4]
Expulsion
The policy which led to this expulsion was a response to the alignment of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and the PLO with Saddam Hussein, who had earlier invaded Kuwait. The expulsion took place during one week in March 1991, following Kuwait's liberation from Iraqi occupation. On March 14, only 150,000 Palestinians were still residing in Kuwait, out of initial 450,000 - many of them fearful for their fate.[5]
In total, Kuwait expelled 443,000 Palestinians.[1]Several Palestinians were killed by vigilante groups including some with links to the royal family.[6] With the completion of the exodus only 7,000 Palestinians remained.[1]
Kuwaitis said that Palestinians leaving the country could move to Jordan, and that most Palestinians held Jordanian passports.[5] No reports of where the Palestinians actually went to after the expulsion have appeared.
Palestinian expulsion from Kuwait
The Palestinian expulsion from Kuwait or 1991 Palestinian exodus from Kuwait took place at the end of the Gulf War, when Kuwait expelled almost 400-450 thousand Palestinians foreign workers.[2][3][1] The policy which led to this exodus was a response to the alignment of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and the PLO with Saddam Hussein, who had earlier invaded Kuwait. The exodus took place during one week in March 1991, following Kuwait's liberation from Iraqi occupation. The story received little media attention in the aftermath of the liberation of Kuwait.
Since War II, Kuwait economy heavily relayed on foreign workers. Most of these foreigners were employed by the state, for relatively short periods (40 percent stay less than five years). Initially the Arabs constituted the bulk of this force (Palestinian, Egyptians, Iraqis, Syrians, and Lebanese), but since early 1980s the composition shifted toward Asians and by 1985 they were the majority.[2]
Palestinians arrived in Kuwait in three different phases, 1948, 1967 and 1975. In 1990 the Palestinian foreign workers in Kuwait estimated at 400,000[2] making up about 30% of Kuwait's population of 2.2 million.[2][3] Kuwaitis started to fear that Palestinians may exceed them in number. This would mean a serious demographic challenge to the Kuwaiti population. The Kuwaiti government took several measures that aimed at decreasing the entry of Palestinians into the country and making their stay there more difficult. Moreover, Kuwaiti officials started planning to get rid of the Palestinians altogether. The Palestinian official support for Iraq during the 1990 crisis gave them the excuse they were looking for to evict the entire Palestinian community from the country. [4]
Expulsion
The policy which led to this expulsion was a response to the alignment of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and the PLO with Saddam Hussein, who had earlier invaded Kuwait. The expulsion took place during one week in March 1991, following Kuwait's liberation from Iraqi occupation. On March 14, only 150,000 Palestinians were still residing in Kuwait, out of initial 450,000 - many of them fearful for their fate.[5]
In total, Kuwait expelled 443,000 Palestinians.[1]Several Palestinians were killed by vigilante groups including some with links to the royal family.[6] With the completion of the exodus only 7,000 Palestinians remained.[1]
Kuwaitis said that Palestinians leaving the country could move to Jordan, and that most Palestinians held Jordanian passports.[5] No reports of where the Palestinians actually went to after the expulsion have appeared.
