Desert Storm

Back in Dubai once more after visiting the friars in UAE, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait. It was in Kuwait on Friday night that we thought of President Bush and his Desert Storm, as we experienced the real thing.  A vicious sand-storm hit Kuwait from Iraq and Saudi Arabia about 5.30 pm, blotting out the sun and sending people running for shelter. Because of the volatile political situation in many of the neighbouring lands, at first many of the locals thought that the oil fields had once again been bombed. The effect was much the same as what had been experienced back in the early nineties during the Iraqi invasion - but it turned out to be Mother Nature this time. The following day, clean-up operations began. There was sand everywhere, trees down but, in general, relatively little damage given the ferocity of the wind.
There is instability in many of the countries in the region and uncertainty as to what will happen next.  Communication is limited so it is often difficult to have accurate information, but people keep up their good spirits. Dubai has been badly hit by the recession but Abu Dhabi seems to be relatively untouched.