Kuwaiti women speak on crisis

Three women representing a group called Citizens for a Free Kuwait fought back tears yesterday at a discussion on campus as they detailed the numerous rapes, murders and acts of torture they said are being committed by Iraqi forces in Kuwait. One Kuwaiti panel member, Jamila -- who is withholding her full name to protect friends and family still in Kuwait -- stunned 30 listeners in Houston Hall as she told the tale of a Kuwaiti gynecologist's graphic murder by Iraqi soldiers. She said that while in custody for suspected involvement in the resistance movement, the man was ordered to call his wife to tell her that his captors would soon be bringing him back home. Visibly shaken, Jamila said after letting him out of their van, Iraqi troops opened fire on the man just a few feet from where his wife and two small children were watching. According to the women, acts of violence similar to this one have been commonplace since Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein led the August 2 invasion of Kuwait. They called on the international community to bring an end to Saddam's "brutal aggression" by using any means necessary to force his withdrawal. Ruth Schaeffer, the wife of a Kuwaiti military officer, stressed that the group would prefer to see a peaceful resolution to the Iraqi occupation, adding that they had seen "enough killing." She added that she hoped a rebellion originating within Iraq might form and unseat Saddam, but acknowledged that the involvement of the United States and other Western nations will probably be necessary to end the Iraqi occupation. Schaeffer, an American citizen who had spent 11 years living in Kuwait before she and her three children escaped to Saudi Arabia in September, said she had "mixed emotions" about leaving the place she now considers home. "I had a lot of freedom and a secure place to raise children," she said. "We slept with the doors unlocked every night." The third member of the panel, identified only as Fatima, echoed Schaeffer's praise of Kuwaiti society by pointing out the equal educational opportunies and salaries available to both men and women. "This is the dream now suspended by Saddam," she told the audience in a thick accent. She added that a letter writing campaign designed to convince Saddam to allow Amnesty International and the Red Cross into Kuwait might begin on campus next month. People in the audience said afterwards that they were shocked by the horror stories told by the women. Citizens for a Free Kuwait will continue travelling across the United States to publicize its campaign, group members said.

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