Moortaza Borsadi fondly remembers his three precious bicycles, his school and the friends he left behind in Kuwait after the tiny Gulf nation was invaded by Iraq three decades ago.
Mr Borsadi, then 15 years old, was among tens of thousands of Indians stranded in Kuwait after 100,000 Iraqi Republican Guards and 700 tanks rolled into the neighbouring emirate on August 2, 1990, overwhelming the 16,000 Kuwaiti soldiers and occupying the country in two days.
"That morning I woke up to empty streets and loud noise…we ran to the terrace and saw a fleet of 50-60 helicopters hovering in the sky like a swarm of bees. We were clueless [about] what was happening until we saw Iraqi flags," Mr Borsadi told The National.
Shocked and confused, Kuwait's largest expat community finally grasped the seriousness of the situation after Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein announced the annexation of the oil-rich country.
The Indian community found themselves destitute as trade and businesses shut down amid widespread looting and destruction of property.
“My father Nuruddin Borsadi emigrated to Kuwait as an ambitious 25-year-old from Mumbai. For 30 years he ran a novelty shop selling Indian jewellery and built a comfortable life for us, but one day the shop was blown up by Iraqis. My father’s hard work was burnt to ashes,” said Mr Borsadi, who runs an advertising film production house in Mumbai.
As the situation continued to deteriorate, panicked Indians urged New Delhi to rescue them.
Over the space of about two months, more than 170,000 Indians were flown home on 488 flights operated by state-owned Air India and Indian Airlines.
Picture taken on August 14, 1990 at Ruwaished showing Arab refugees from different countries waiting for the permission to return to their homelands at the Iraq-Jordan border checkpoint as thousands of foreigners flee the war in Iraq and Kuwait. AFP
August 1990: A training camp for new recruits in the United Arab Emirates, following the country's appeal for servicemen on the 11th August 1990, during the Gulf Crisis. Getty
A reproduction of a picture displayed at the Nasr or Victory Museum in Baghdad shows Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (L) visiting Iraqi troops at a military camp in occupied territory in Kuwait after the August 2, 1990 invasion of the Gulf emirate. Getty
The Emir of Kuwait Jaber Al Sabah (R) walks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak 9 August 1990 upon his arrival for the emergency Arab Summit to discuss Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and the worsening situation. AFP
A French soldier looks through binoculars as he mans an anti-craft gun near Djibouti airport, on August 20, 1990, as French army was deployed in the Persian Gulf since Iraq's invasion of Kuwait on August 02, 1990, leading to a conflict between Iraq and Kuwait and an international military intervention. AFP
A demonstration in Kuwait, following the country's invasion by Iraq at the start of the Gulf War, 4th-6th August 1990. In the centre is the Emblem of Kuwait, adopted in 1962. Getty
A Kuwaiti refugee stands beside his car outside Kuwait City after Iraq invaded 30 years ago. Scott Applewhite / AP
Air India is still listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most people rescued by a civil airline. The operation became the plot for the hit 2016 Bollywood film Airlift.
"It was a sudden emergency and we did not know what we were getting into. It was a war zone, we had fears that we could be shot down,” said Rita Pradeep Nair, a member of the cabin crew aboard the first evacuation flight.
The Indian foreign minister at the time, Inder Kumar Gujral travelled to Baghdad to ask Saddam Hussein’s assistance in the repatriation of Indian citizens from Kuwait.
Gujral went to Washington in the first week of August 1990 to prevail upon the Americans not to launch an attack on Kuwait to oust Iraqi forces in order to ensure the safety of Indians, but US officials declined his request.
Rita Pradeep Nair (in blue jeans and t-shirt) with colleagues against the backdrop of a bombed Kuwaiti naval frigate. Courtesy Rita Pradeep Nair
He then went to Baghdad, first meeting Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz on August 20 and two days later to Hussein to seek safe passage for Indians to fly to their homes, according to Gujral's autobiography Masters of Discretion in which he writes, "Hussein hugged me when I went to greet him".
Pictures of the meeting in which Hussein was wearing his trademark Khaki uniform with a pistol in a holster left New Delhi embarrassed internationally.
As Baghdad ran short of supplies and did not have enough provisions to support tens of thousands of Indian refugees and the United Nations did not want to help Iraqi government with food supplies under US pressure, New Delhi and Baghdad decided to allow Indians to use Iraq as a transit to reach Jordan.
Jordan emerged as a neutral country where the UN, Red Cross and other international relief agencies helped set up temporary camps for Indians before they flew to their homes.
Captain Naresh Kumar Beri was one of the pilots of Air India who flew twice to bring back stranded Indians home after Kuwait was invaded by Iraq on August 2, 1990. Courtesy Naresh Kumar Beri
Initially, the Indian government used military aircraft to airlift hundreds of Indians from Kuwait, but as these planes needed special clearance from several countries on flight routes, New Delhi decided to use civilian planes to airlift its stranded nationals from Kuwait.
But, within days, the UNSC passed resolutions barring civilian flights from operating from Iraq and Kuwait, making Jordan the only option for the rescue mission.
Ms Nair, 64, said they were briefed about the mission just hours before they took off for Amman.
The sight that met her there is etched in her memory, she said.
"I saw women with children, some of whom were not wearing slippers, had not eaten for days ... I was totally shattered,” said Ms Nair, who took part in six rescue flights.
Moortaza Borsadi was 15 when he fled Kuwait with his mother and uncle after Iraq invaded the tiny emirate on August 2, 1990. Courtesy Moortaza Borsadi
The operation was challenging as many of the evacuees did not have passports and flights were operating without any ground support at the Amman airport because it was an emergency operation devoid of airline support.
During one of the sorties, Ms Nair’s plane was stuck on the tarmac for 30 hours awaiting clearance.
"But people on board were happy to be going back home despite losing everything,” she said.
Air India pilot Captain Naresh Kumar Beri, who flew to Amman in the following days, said it was a race against time as the airport was overrun by people trying to fly home amid fears of war.
"People were all terrorised. It was a different experience because we had time constraints and we had to carry passengers as fast as possible,” Mr Beri, 64, said.
Following several risky evacuation flights from Kuwait, New Delhi sought permission from Jordan to fly to Amman from Basra as many Indians had started fleeing the country by land amid brutal repression by Iraqi forces against any Kuwaiti resistance.
Along with thousands of other Indians, Mr Borsadi fled to Amman with his mother and uncle, travelling in buses organised by New Delhi and wealthy Indian businessmen. His father and brother had travelled to India just a week before the invasion to attend a funeral.
“We stayed for four days at a Red Cross camp in Amman. We had left everything behind. I just carried a VCR player – it was my most prized possession,” said Mr Borsadi.
“I did not want to come back to India because my studies would be affected and I would miss my friends. It was an emotional time but we didn't have a choice,” he said.
UAE v United States, T20 International Series
Both matches at ICC Academy, Dubai. Admission is free.
1st match: Friday, 2pm
2nd match: Saturday, 2pm
UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Rameez Shahzad, Amjad Gul, CP Rizwan, Mohammed Boota, Abdul Shakoor, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Sultan Ahmed, Zahoor Khan, Amir Hayat
USA squad: Saurabh Netravalkar (captain), Jaskaran Malhotra, Elmore Hutchinson, Aaron Jones, Nosthush Kenjige, Ali Khan, Jannisar Khan, Xavier Marshall, Monank Patel, Timil Patel, Roy Silva, Jessy Singh, Steven Taylor, Hayden Walsh
Why are you, you?
From this question, a new beginning.
From this question, a new destiny.
For you are a world, and a meeting of worlds.
Our dream is to unite that which has been
separated by history.
To return the many to the one.
A great story unites us all,
beyond colour and creed and gender.
The lightning flash of art
And the music of the heart.
We reflect all cultures, all ways.
We are a twenty first century wonder.
Universal ideals, visions of art and truth.
Now is the turning point of cultures and hopes.
Come with questions, leave with visions.
We are the link between the past and the future.
Here, through art, new possibilities are born. And
new answers are given wings.
Why are you, you?
Because we are mirrors of each other.
Because together we create new worlds.
Together we are more powerful than we know.
We connect, we inspire, we multiply illuminations
with the unique light of art.
An exchange traded fund is a type of investment fund that can be traded quickly and easily, just like stocks and shares. They come with no upfront costs aside from your brokerage's dealing charges and annual fees, which are far lower than on traditional mutual investment funds. Charges are as low as 0.03 per cent on one of the very cheapest (and most popular), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, with the maximum around 0.75 per cent.
There is no fund manager deciding which stocks and other assets to invest in, instead they passively track their chosen index, country, region or commodity, regardless of whether it goes up or down.
The first ETF was launched as recently as 1993, but the sector boasted $5.78 billion in assets under management at the end of September as inflows hit record highs, according to the latest figures from ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five largest providers BlackRock’s iShares, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisers, Deutsche Bank X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
While the best-known track major indices such as MSCI World, the S&P 500 and FTSE 100, you can also invest in specific countries or regions, large, medium or small companies, government bonds, gold, crude oil, cocoa, water, carbon, cattle, corn futures, currency shifts or even a stock market crash.
This month, Dubai Medical College launched the Middle East’s first master's programme in addiction science.
Together with the Erada Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation, the college offers a two-year master’s course as well as a one-year diploma in the same subject.
The move was announced earlier this year and is part of a new drive to combat drug abuse and increase the region’s capacity for treating drug addiction.
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister. "We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know. “All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.” It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins. Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement. The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
