Palestinian exodus from Kuwait (Gulf War)

Many Palestinian lived in Kuwait but left after the 1990 Gulf War. The Palestinian community in Kuwait was a large and important group of foreign residents. From the mid-20th century until the 1990 Gulf War, they played a key role in building and developing the country. At its height, this community was one of the most active and important Palestinian groups abroad, acting as a center for both political activity and economic life. However, after the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) supported Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990, most Palestinians left Kuwait and went to Jordan. This is called the Palestinian exodus from Kuwait. [1]

History and migration waves

Palestinian migration to Kuwait took place in several waves, mainly linked to wars and political changes in the Middle East.

Early presence and first wave (before and after 1948)

Palestinians were already present in Kuwait before the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. By 1936, Palestinian teachers were working in Kuwaiti schools and were known for their high level of education.[2] After the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, a first wave of Palestinian migrants arrived in Kuwait. Many were well-educated professionals such as teachers and civil servants. They played an important role in developing the new state’s government and education system during the early oil era.[3] Kuwait’s so called oil boom led to a demand for skilled workers, and made Kuwait a popular destination for Palestinians.[4]

By 1957, Palestinians made up about 16% of Kuwait’s foreign population. Palestinian migrants during this period were mostly male, with only about 25% of migrants being women. Migration increased further in 1958-1959 when Jordan temporarily allowed easier travel, since many Palestinians had Jordanian passports.[5]

Second wave (after 1967)

After the 1967 Six-Day War, a much larger group of Palestinians moved to Kuwait, especially from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The population grew rapidly, from about 77,000 in 1965 to over 204,000 in 1975. How people moved also changed. Instead of mostly men migrating alone, entire families began to move. By 1975, the number of men and women in the community was almost equal.[5]

Third wave and stricter policies (after 1975)

From the mid-1970s, Kuwait made it harder for people to move there. This is because of wars in nearby countries, like Lebanon and Iraq. The Kuwaiti government feared that regional tensions could spread to Kuwait.[6]

In 1968-1969, the Kafala (sponsorship) system was introduced. Under this system, foreign residents needed a Kuwaiti sponsor (usually an employer) to live and work in the country. Residency was directly tied to employment, meaning that when a job ended, the right to stay also ended.[5]

This system had many consequences for Palestinians. They could not obtain permanent residency or citizenship, and they were not allowed to retire in Kuwait. Adult children also needed their own sponsor to remain in the country. As a result, Palestinians faced insecurity. Unlike many other migrant groups, they often had no clear country to return to.[5]

By 1990, around 400,000 Palestinians lived in Kuwait, compared to about 600,000 Kuwaiti citizens. [7][4] Already before the Iraqi invasion, Kuwait became less welcoming to Palestinians because of economic problems and unemployment.[8] The Iraqi invasion increased these tensions.  

Economic and social impact of Palestinians in Kuwait

Palestinians played a major role in building modern Kuwait:

Government and private sector

Palestinians played a big role in building Kuwait’s government institutions after Kuwait’s independence.[4] In the 1960s, many worked for the government, including senior positions in ministries such as the Ministry of the Interior.[9]

As Kuwait became more modern, the government introduced a policy of “Kuwaitization” in the mid-1960s to increase employment for Kuwaiti citizens.[10] Kuwaitis got higher salaries and more secure jobs than foreign workers, which gradually reduced Palestinian participation in government jobs. By the mid-1970s, Palestinians still had important roles, but their share in public sector jobs had declined a lot.[11]

Palestinians were also active in the private sector, especially in trade and banking. However, their economic influence was limited by law. A 1965 regulation required Kuwaiti majority ownership of industrial companies, and only Kuwaitis were allowed to own banks.[5] Despite these restrictions, Palestinians remained important contributors to the economy, and around 2,000 were granted Kuwaiti citizenship in the first half of the 1960s in recognition of their role in state-building.[7]

Education

Education was one of the most important fields for Palestinians in Kuwait. From the 1930s onward, Palestinian teachers were already working in Kuwaiti schools and were known for their high educational standards.[12] After independence, their role expanded a lot.

By the early 1960s, around half of all teachers in Kuwait were Palestinian.[9] In 1966-1967, they still made up about 49% of the teaching workforce.[5] Palestinians also held government positions in the education sector and contributed to building the modern school system.[4]

From the mid-1960s, the government began limiting access for non-Kuwaitis. In 1965, a quota restricted non-Kuwaiti students to 25% of school enrollment, which was further reduced to 10% in 1967-1968.[5] Secondary schools remained open within these quotas, and Palestinians could also compete for around 10% of places at Kuwait University.[6]

In response to these limits, the PLO established its own school system in Kuwait, often using public school buildings after hours. By 1976, more than 16,000 Palestinian children were enrolled in these schools.[5] However, the Ministry of Education closed them in 1976.

By the mid-1970s, the share of Palestinian teachers had fallen to about 25% as part of broader “Kuwaitization” policies. After 1991, Palestinian children were excluded from public education, and subsidies for private schooling were reduced.[11]

Politics

Kuwait provided a relatively open environment for Palestinian political activity compared to many other Arab states. Palestinian organisations were active in both formal and informal political life, but most Palestinians in Kuwait avoided direct involvement in Kuwaiti politics and focused instead on the Palestinian national cause.[4]

The most important political movement was Fatah, which was founded in Kuwait in 1959 by Yasser Arafat and other activists.[13] Kuwait was also one of the first countries to allow the PLO to operate officially, and it provided financial support to the organisation. From the late 1960s, a system was introduced in which 5% of Palestinian salaries was deducted and transferred to the PLO’s Palestine National Fund.[14] [15]

Palestinian students were also politically active, especially at Kuwait University, where student organizations reflected broader Palestinian political movements.[16]

After the 1990-1991 Gulf War, Palestinian political life in Kuwait collapsed. The PLO office was largely closed, Fatah’s presence was severely reduced, and its office was burned. Several Palestinian activists faced harassment and arrests.[14]

The 1990 Crisis and Decline

The period of relative success for the Palestinian community in Kuwait ended in 1990. A major turning point was the position of Yasser Arafat, who supported Saddam Hussein during Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.[17][18] Arafat supported Saddam Hussein because he stood up to Israel and wanted to link withdrawal from Kuwait to the end of the Israeli occupation of Palestine.[19] This decision had serious results for Palestinians living in Kuwait.

Before the Iraqi invasion on 2 August 1990, about 400,000 Palestinians lived in Kuwait.[4] The Iraqi occupation (August 1990 - February 1991) led to the collapse of this community. By December 1990, only about 150,000 Palestinians remained.[20]

During the occupation, the Palestinian community was divided. Some supported Iraq, while others joined the Kuwaiti resistance.[21] Some Palestinians were arrested by Iraqi forces, with up to 5,000 people detained. The existence of pro-Iraqi Palestinian groups also damaged the community’s image among Kuwaitis.[22] After Kuwait was liberated, Palestinians faced violence and punishment. Many Kuwaitis blamed them for the position of the PLO) and other Arab governments that had supported Iraq.[20] Between 400 and 600 young Palestinian men disappeared and were killed, and a similar number were kidnapped by militias and security forces.[23]

The Palestinians that left Kuwait can be divided into three groups: Palestinians that left before the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and could not come back, Palestinians that fled during the war with Iraq and Palestinians that were forced to leave after the war.[24] Most of the Palestinians in Kuwait went to Jordan in 1990 and 1991. About 300,000 Palestinians went to Jordan, and therefore Palestinians made up about 10% of Jordan’s population. Most of this group had Jordanian passports.[25]

Jordan struggled with the sudden arrival of large groups of Palestinians from Kuwait. The sudden arrival of around 300,000 Palestinians led to a 30% rise in school enrollments.[26] Many Palestinians could not find a job in Jordan.[4] But Jordan’s economy was surprisingly able to absorb the Palestinians from Kuwait.[5]

Many Palestinians tried to leave Kuwait but faced serious problems:

Financially, many did not receive the money they were owed after years of work.[27]

Legally, they had to go through difficult identification procedures and often could not get permission to leave.[28] Because of world politics, travel was also restricted: Saudi Arabia refused transit visas for travel by land, and Kuwaiti airlines were told not to sell tickets to Palestinians.[29]

The group most at risk included 15,000-20,000 Palestinians with Egyptian travel documents from Gaza or temporary Jordanian passports, as no country agreed to accept them.[29] This group depended on the Jordanian government being willing to let them live in Jordan.[24]

Recent Developments

After 1991, relations between Kuwait and the Palestinians remained tense for several years. The Palestinian community in Kuwait became much smaller and weaker.[28]

Most Palestinians were not allowed to return to government jobs, and many of these jobs were given to workers from Egypt instead.[28] This was part of a wider policy that excluded Palestinians from work in the government.

Over time, some restrictions were reduced, but the community never returned to its earlier size or influence.[30] Today, Palestinians in Kuwait are a smaller foreign group with fewer rights than before 1990.

Relations began to improve after the death of Arafat in 2004.[17] In 2005, Mahmoud Abbas, who became the leader of the PLO after Arafat's death, officially apologized to Kuwait. This helped restore diplomatic relations.[31] In 2013, a Palestinian embassy opened again in Kuwait.[32] Since then, changing regional politics have led to a more careful and practical relationship between Kuwait and the Palestinian leadership, although the effects of the 1990 crisis are still visible.[31][33]

References

  1. ↑ Lesch, Ann (1991). "Palestinians in Kuwait". Journal of Palestine Studies. 20: 42–54.
  2. ↑ Zelkovitz, Ido (2014). "A Paradise Lost? the Rise and Fall of the Palestinian Community in Kuwait". Middle Eastern Studies. 50: 86–87, 95.
  3. ↑ Lesch, Ann Lesch (1991). "Palestinians in Kuwait". Journal of Palestine studies. 20: 42–43.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Lesch, Ann (1991). "Palestinians in Kuwait". Journal of Palestine Studies. 20: 42.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Lesch, Ann (1991). "Palestinians in Kuwait". Journal of Palestine Studies. 20: 43.
  6. 1 2 Lesch, Ann (1991). "Palestinians in Kuwait". Journal of Palestine Studies. 20: 44.
  7. 1 2 Zelkovitz, Ido (2014). "A Paradise Lost? The Rise and Fall of the Palestinian Community in Kuwait". Middle Eastern Studies. 50: 88.
  8. ↑ Le Troquer, Yann; Al-Oudat, Rozenn Hommery (1999). "From Kuwait to Jordan: The Palestinians' Third Exodus". Journal of Palestine studies. 28 (3): 38.
  9. 1 2 Zelkovitz, Ido Zelkovitz (2014). "A Paradise Lost? the Rise and Fall of the Palestinian Community in Kuwait". Middle Eastern Studies. 50: 87.
  10. ↑ Al-Nakib, Mai (2014-02). "'The People are Missing': Palestinians in Kuwait". Deleuze Studies. 8 (1): 27. doi:10.3366/dls.2014.0132. ISSN 1750-2241. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. 1 2 Lesch, Ann (1991). "Palestinians in Kuwait". Journal in Palestine Studies. 20: 44–45.
  12. ↑ Zelkovitz, Ido Zelkovitz (2014). "A Paradise Lost? the Rise and Fall of the Palestinian Community in Kuwait". Middle Eastern Studies. 50: 86–87, 95.
  13. ↑ Zelkovitz, Ido (2014). "A Paradise Lost? the Rise and Fall of the Palestinian Community in Kuwait". Middle Eastern Studies. 50: 87–89.
  14. 1 2 Lesch, Ann (1991). "Palestinians in Kuwait". Journal of Palestine Studies. 20: 42–44.
  15. ↑ Anderson, Betty S. (2016). A history of the modern Middle East: rulers, rebels, and rogues. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. p. 344. ISBN 978-0-8047-8324-8.
  16. ↑ Zelkovitz, Ido (2014). "A Paradise Lost? the Rise and Fall of the Palestinian Community in Kuwait". Middle Eastern Studies. 50: 90–91.
  17. 1 2 Zelkovitz, Ido (2014). "A Paradise Lost? the Rise and Fall of the Palestinian Community in Kuwait". Middle Eastern Studies. 50: 96.
  18. ↑ Anderson, Betty S. (2016). A history of the modern Middle East: rulers, rebels, and rogues. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. p. 350. ISBN 978-0-8047-8324-8.
  19. ↑ Anderson, Jack; Van Atta, Dale (August 25, 1990). "Why Arafat backed Saddam". The Washington Post.
  20. 1 2 Lesch, Ann (1991). "Palestinians in Kuwait". Journal of Palestine Studies. 20: 47.
  21. ↑ Ibrahim, Youssef M. (March 14, 1991). "AFTER THE WAR: Kuwait; Palestinians in Kuwait Face Suspicion and Probable Exile". The New York Times.
  22. ↑ Lesch, Ann (1991). "Palestinians in Kuwait". Journal of Palestine Studies. 20: 45.
  23. ↑ Lesch, Ann (1991). "Palestinians in Kuwait". Journal of Palestine Studies. 20: 47–48.
  24. 1 2 Le Troquer, Yann; Al-Oudat, Rozenn Hommery (1999). "The Palestinians' Third Exodus". Journal of Palestine Studies. 28 (3): 39.
  25. ↑ Le Troquer, Yann; Al-Oudat, Rozenn Hommery (1999). "From Kuwait to Jordan: The Palestinians' Third Exodus". Journal of Palestine Studies. 28 (3): 37.
  26. ↑ Lesch, Ann (1991). "Palestinians in Kuwait". Journal of Palestine Studies. 20: 41.
  27. ↑ Lesch, Ann (1991). "Palestinians in Kuwait". Journal of Palestine Studies. 20: 50–51.
  28. 1 2 3 Lesch, Ann (1991). "Palestinians in Kuwait". Journal of Palestine Studies. 20: 51.
  29. 1 2 Lesch, Ann (1991). "Palestinians in Kuwait". Journal of Palestine Studies. 20: 53.
  30. ↑ Lesch, Ann (1991). "Palestinians in Kuwait". Journal of Palestine Studies. 20: 51–53.
  31. 1 2 Zelkovitz, Ido (2014). "A Paradise Lost? the Rise and Fall of the Palestinian Community in Kuwait". Middle Eastern Studies. 50: 97.
  32. ↑ Al-Nakib, Mai (2014-02). "'The People are Missing': Palestinians in Kuwait". Deleuze Studies. 8 (1): 33. doi:10.3366/dls.2014.0132. ISSN 1750-2241. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  33. ↑ Al-Nakib, Mai (2014-02). "'The People are Missing': Palestinians in Kuwait". Deleuze Studies. 8 (1): 35. doi:10.3366/dls.2014.0132. ISSN 1750-2241. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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