National Desert Storm War Memorial, A Celebration, Midst Regional Chaos

By Kumu Gupta 

As we celebrated the opening of the National Desert Storm War Memorial on October 24th U.N. Day , on the National Mall in Washington DC , it brought tears of joy to my eyes to know I played a part , as Special Advisor to the National Desert Storm War Memorial ( Jan -August 2017) in thanking the brave men and women of our Armed Forces who risked their lives to liberate Kuwait from the horrible invasion of Iraq. I had the honor and privilege of watching efforts and work of all involved, over time, in getting this beautiful testament of American strength and valor to be finally opened for the members of the public to see and feel what me and my family have already known personally from our lived experiences.

The  two sculptures of an Eagle and a Falcon , as part of the Memorial architecture, are a perfect symbol of a shared history between the two great nations United States and Kuwait, while the Memorial stands as a permanent history and salute to the incredible Desert Storm veterans for generations to come.

I grew up in Kuwait all my childhood before coming to US as an undergraduate student and my parents were still living there during the invasion, with no news of their whereabouts for a whole month, as phone lines were down and airport shut down. They had to hide in the basement of their building with other residents while Iraqi soldiers went door to door knocking with the butts if their guns. We ( me and my siblings in US) only heard from them after they were driven to Jordan by road and airlifted by Air India to Mumbai. My youngest brother, from Kuwait was visiting us (his sisters) in US at the time  and couldn't go back due to the airport closure. He only had a suitcase of clothes with him. It was a very scary time for all of us.

It's amazing that the opening date of the memorial was UN Day , as the 80th Anniversary of  UN is being celebrated, given that  an international coalition of countries  helped liberate Kuwait. This was the shortest war US has led to victory and I am so grateful to President H.W. Bush for making it happen. 

But wait, it's not all celebration time, as now I am getting frantic calls and Whatsapp messages from my school classmates in Kuwait who are still living there. They are living day to day in the fear of drone and missile strikes to the water system, airport, buildings and other infrastructure in the country. They are woken up in the middle of the night with sirens going off and don't know if it's their building that's going to be hit. And it's the same for some of my classmates in Dubai and other Gulf countries. 

As someone who believes in peace and having lived through the first invasion, 9/11, Boston Marathon bombing and now the aftermath of the various war zones in the Middle East and in the backdrop of the other global conflicts, it's an urgent call for us all , to heed the teachings of our "Elders" Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond TuTu , of peace and non violence , so we can all live as one family. It's what in the holy scripture Bhagavad Geeta is said "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" a Sanskrit phrase that means "the world is one family".

On this Veterans Day, as I humbly bow down my head in immense gratitude to the Desert Storm warriors, especially during America's 250th Anniversary ( oldest democracy in the world) , at the same time I raise my hands and heart in prayer to the Almighty for all wars to end and we have global peace for all of humanity. 

Image : Kuwait Towers by the sea near my home in Kuwait City