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JAHRA, KUWAIT

Aid distribution spurs disorder in Iraqi town

By Marcella Bombardieri, Globe Staff, 3/27/2003

fter an aid convoy rolled into the Iraqi border town of Safwan yesterday, at least 1,000 Iraqis fought, scratched, and tore at one another's clothing to get at the boxes of food, even as some shouted slogans praising Saddam Hussein. Workers from Kuwait's Red Crescent Society hurled bottled water, bread, flour, tea, and cooking oil into the crowd in an open square near the town, just over the border from Kuwait. Some of the boxes landed in puddles, but most were grabbed by young Iraqi men. Women and shoeless children generally stayed to the side.

Dozens of the men chanted, "We give our blood and our hearts to Saddam." Some of the sentiments were more positive. One man flashed a thumbs-up sign and declared: "We need water. America good, British good."

The melee, recorded by several hundred journalists who accompanied the Red Crescent, hinted at the kind of chaos that may greet US and British occupying forces, as well as humanitarian groups.

The Iraqis were not the only ones capable of massing into a threatening mob. With only a half-hour's notice, the 1,200 journalists in Kuwait were invited to meet at the Kuwait City Sheraton for the trip to Safwan. But the Kuwaiti organizers did not order enough buses and did not allow private cars in the convoy.

Many reporters shoved their way onto overcrowded buses, and many who weren't aggressive or fortunate enough, like this one, were left behind. The witnesses in Safwan said some of the Iraqis complained that the aid delivery, taking place in front of television cameras, robbed them of their dignity and showed disrespect for their culture.

Some Safwan residents said that more food and water was desperately needed. Nabil Ali Hussein, a father of six, said his family doesn't have enough to eat. "We are very hungry. I wanted two boxes, but one box good," he said.

Red Crescent official Hani al-Jazzaf said he told the crowd: " `Please, brothers, sisters, we will bring you more food tomorrow.' But they are afraid we won't come back."