Know Your Country: Sheikha Badriya al-Sabah Speaks of Kuwait

"Know your country," "A piece of your history," "What you should know about the sister countries" — these are the features I delighted to hear, and I used to call my children to listen to them from the Syrian broadcasting station. How often I wished the broadcasting stations of the other Arab countries would introduce similar features into their programs; indeed, how I wished to see, among the resolutions of the broadcasting congress recently held in Cairo, something that would move the Arab League to take up this task by means of publicity and bulletins!!

It is a duty upon us — we who profess Arabism, who carry its torch and set it "above all" — a duty upon us to work in earnest, by every means, to acquaint the Arab countries with one another; not to confine our interest in them to the banquets and feasts we hold in honor of those of their inhabitants who come to summer among our hills; and not to content ourselves with what our newspapers write about their emirs, their immense fortunes, and the sums they spend in buying palaces, gifts, and motorcars — or in the pursuit of "luxury and pleasure."

We must be builders in what we write, criticizing and directing where direction is needed, and praising where praise is due; and our aim, always and forever, must be that our children not lose faith in the Arabs and in Arabism. We want them to be assured that this great nation — which colonialism split into small statelets, nay, into "great nations," driving artificial barriers into borders and into minds, exaggerating the divergence in thinking and in ways of living, and sowing fear, wariness, and mistrust in men's heads — we want this rising generation to believe that this noble Arab nation to which it belongs, now that opportunities lie open to it and the means, in learning and in wealth, are at hand, will rise anew, a living nation, united in its parts and in its hearts; and that the brotherhood and understanding one reads of among presidents and rulers will inevitably be followed, God willing, by brotherhood, understanding, and union among all the Arab peoples.

Is it not a disgrace upon us that our children should know more about France, America, England, and the other lands of the West than they know about the Hijaz, Yemen, Morocco, Tunisia, and so on... And why should our schools, private and governmental alike, not teach the history and geography of these "neighboring!" countries alongside the history of those others — I do not say in its place!

How often I wished my time would allow me to devote myself to gathering information, and to contribute, if only a small, modest share, to that duty of mutual acquaintance whose necessity I have already pointed out.

... It was a happy chance — and many a chance is better than an appointment — that allowed me to make the acquaintance of Sheikha Badriya, wife of the Honorable Sheikh Fahd al-Sabah. Sheikha Badriya calls back to memory the image of those ideal Arab princesses whose names have shone in our history through its various epochs: genuine Arabic speech, a strong and winning personality, a lofty modesty, faith in herself, a keen native intelligence, wide reading, an understanding of the problems of the world in general and of the Arab countries in particular, true depth, and a knowing, expert acquaintance with her country's history, ancient and modern. By her eloquence and the truth of her portrayal she succeeded in carrying me on the wings of imagination to Kuwait, and made me share her pride and exultation in her country's renaissance!

We began our conversation in the usual way, as is only to be expected between two persons not previously acquainted, with talk of the weather and of the summer in Lebanon. Then I asked her to tell us about Kuwait and about Kuwait's great leap forward. And it seemed to me that Emira Badriya, as she granted my request, was repeating to herself, "Talk of it, or talk about it, delights me," for she sat upright in her chair and said:

"I thank you, madam, for your interest in our country and your eagerness to know its condition, and for giving me the chance to say what I should like all our Lebanese brethren to hear. I am sorry to say that whenever I leaf through your newspapers I feel real pain: when they write of Kuwait, they write of and glorify only the men of Kuwait, and pass over in silence the renaissance of Kuwait, the building of Kuwait, the progress of Kuwait — so that often I have stopped reading altogether. We do not wish to be glorified; we wish to glorify our country and raise its name high. We want everyone to know that Kuwait, the land of burning sands, has become, by the grace and bounty of God and by the vigilance and piety of its ruler, a garden in the heart of the desert — a garden for its sons and for its people, where

peace of mind and prosperity fill hearts, souls, and minds!" After pausing a little she went on: "This morning I was in Beirut buying a few things, and it struck me that everyone was speaking French rather than Arabic, sellers and buyers alike, which moved me to make a good many remarks, calling on them to respect their language, to speak among themselves the tongue of their fathers and forefathers, and to leave the speaking of the foreign language to the occasions that require it. We in these Arab lands must respect ourselves if others are to respect us. And there was another sight I shall not forget: the sight of the beggars, among them a thin, wasted mother carrying a thin, wasted, sickly infant — say rather the skeleton of an infant — begging! That, in your country. Your eyes will fall on no such painful sights in our country today. I see you smile? We surpass you, no doubt, in money and in wealth. Yes, God has endowed our land with great riches; but we thank Him, the Exalted, because He gave us at the same time a ruler who is a greater treasure to us than the black gold that wells up in our soil night and day.

"Sheikh Abdullah al-Salim al-Sabah, as ruler, considers himself — and he has declared this repeatedly, and proved the word by the deed — merely a trustee of this wealth and its steward; and what a good trustee he is! He is a democratic ruler in word and in deed. His one sole care is the happiness of Kuwait and of the sons of Kuwait, his children. You will see him listening to the complaint of the weak and the poor, of the rich and the strong, all alike, and seeing for himself that right is given to every man who possesses a right. On the other hand the people place a blind trust in their government. The source of that trust, of course, is what they perceive in it of total devotion to their happiness, and to the easing of the ways of livelihood for them, through the works, reforms, and building projects it carries out."

I said: Might Her Highness the Emira tell us about these building projects?

She said: "With us the inhabitants, poor and rich, are treated free of charge, at the hands of the most skillful specialist physicians, in hospitals of the most modern construction and equipment. The new hospital whose building we are now beginning, which will open its doors in the near future to hundreds of patients, is among the most modern hospitals in this East; and do not be surprised if I tell you that many of the sick come to us for treatment from the neighboring Arab countries, so high is our medical standard and so good its repute. Nor does our government hesitate to send those of the sick who need it abroad for treatment at its own expense, when that proves necessary.

"As for schools, we have many of them, and we are preparing to open still more. Most are elementary, some secondary, and preparations are being made to build a great university in the very near future, God willing. We send missions abroad, and we do not require their members to take employment in government offices upon their return. In Cairo we have 'the Kuwait House,' to which our students go and where they live. In its schools the government provides the pupils with clothing, food, and the necessary school supplies free of charge, lifting the burden of these expenses from the shoulders of the head of the family. Alongside this we have committees that study the material and social conditions of the inhabitants and give the needy families an annual grant, which they receive at the Feast of Fitr each year. What was distributed this year for this purpose came to the equivalent of seven hundred thousand Lebanese liras. The government also spends on the pilgrims and watches over their health and comfort from the moment they leave Kuwait until their return to it, and places the infirm among them in the home for the aged that we have newly built."

I said: Do you suffer from a housing shortage, and are houses available for all?

She answered: "The government builds sanitary houses and moves into them those who have no houses, each in his turn; and it introduces the necessary improvements into the existing houses, building conveniences and additional rooms as the family grows in number."

After pausing a little she said: "You have another question you hesitate to put — what is it?"

I said: You have guessed rightly. I want to ask you about what we call the women's renaissance in Kuwait.

She said, smiling: "I am sorry to say that our women's renaissance is in its cradle, for our women have not yet had the opportunity of education, that they might take their part in the country's renaissance. But our hope in the future is great: the schools, many as they are, can scarcely hold the girls eager for learning — and we have an abundant number of them — who will be, God willing, the nucleus of a blessed women's renaissance."

I said: One last question, if you will allow me.

She said: "Please — out with your questions!"

I said: Who is directly responsible for carrying out these reforms and for erecting these mighty construction works?

She said: "I could have wished not to be asked this question, so that my talk might remain general, far from the personal publicity I detest. The man responsible is my husband — Fahd al-Sabah!"

From here our talk passed to the Emira's private life, and how I wished that all the ladies of Lebanon could have shared with me in hearing it. Emira Badriya is the model of the virtuous, helpful wife, the watchful, wakeful mother, the wise and attentive rearer of children, the tender lady of compassionate, living heart, and the loyal, faithful friend. And as I took leave of this truly noble lady, I felt it a trust laid upon my neck to convey to the sons of my homeland my impressions, and the pride and hope that stirred in the depths of my soul.