Trini runs from Kuwait

Trinidad-born Monica Dunlop-Johnson, who fled from Baghdad in 1990, is in Trinidad after 12 years of stress suffered due to atrocities she witnessed in Kuwait.

For fear of what may happen in the current war in Iraq, she decided to quietly come to Trinidad to calm down because there were just too many bad and vivid memories of violence and “animal behaviour” lingering in her mind. As a result of the trauma of the Gulf War, Dunlop-Johnson suffered a number of health and mental disorders which resulted in her being subjected to a lengthy period of medical treatment and therapy. She left these shores at 16 for London to study. Later, when her then husband Colin Bertram had taken up a position in the Kuwaiti oil industry in 1980, she moved to Kuwait City, and soon opened her own school teaching English and Chemistry to the wives and children of the Royal families. Dunlop-Johnson told Sunday Newsday: “I had a wonderful life there until the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq in 1990.”

On the first morning of the war, the Japanese diplomat’s wife called her and told her to be careful, not to go outside, since her husband was called to the embassy since 4 am. “While talking, I heard big explosions and couldn’t believe what she was saying so I stayed awake. I heard more shelling and bombing. Nevertheless I went to a shopping complex around 9 am by which time Kuwait was already taken over by Iraq. When I stopped, the Iraqis were so polite that I thought they were Kuwaitis. They lifted the roadblocks for me to pass but on my way to the supermarket, I witnessed an explosion of a news agency as it was bombed”.

She said though the early days of the Gulf War were frightening, the locals were still able to go to the supermarket to get food but after six days, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein decided to hold British and United States citizens and that directly affected her. She was unable to easily get food and became even more scared.  For days she ate grapes while she hid in a loft. Then came the raping of Indians and Filipinos. At that time, her then husband and 13-year-old daughter were back in England on holidays. Dunlop-Johnson remained in hiding while the struggle for food continued. “I thought I was in sheer hell with no electricity while there was a lot of resistance from the Kuwaitis,” she said, adding that most of the horrific crimes were perpetrated during the curfew hours. It was a living nightmare for her but as casualties mounted, Dunlop-Johnson was moved to set up a make-shift hospital in a basement in Kuwait City.

During the ordeal, Dunlop-Johnson also claimed she hid with the Kuwaiti Royal family for three weeks until their home became a target. She was then moved in the middle of the night, back to her home. A few days late,  a Palestinian and two Iraqis came in, demanding everything from her house. “I started crying because the Palestinian was my family’s friend and when I objected to them taking my things, I was threatened with rape,” said Dunlop-Johnson who had no other choice but to allow the soldiers to go away with everything. She was then taken to a Baghdad hotel where other hostages from foreign countries were kept. Dunlop-Johnson, insisting on driving her prized sports car to Iraq, was allowed to do so but on her way she was stopped and her passport taken away for three hours. She had to remain seated in her car in the hot sun. That’s when one of the soldiers tried putting his hand on her leg. She said she hit him. And he responded by hitting her with a gun butt, before allowing her to leave.

When she got to Iraq, Dunlop-Johnson was met by the British Ambassador, Sir Harold Walker whom she said was very helpful. She was able to park her car in the compound and then made to go to the Iraqi hotel with the other hostages from the UK, US, France and Germany. For the three months spent there, Dunlop-Johnson was fed dried bread and tea, had limited movement  while being surrounded by the Republican Guards of Saddam Hussein. Saddam’s son, Oudai, eventually signed her release papers.

After the ordeal Dunlop-Johnson said: “ I am a very lucky woman. God was with me given all that I witnessed in 1990, but I would quicker go back to Baghdad than Kuwait as the Iraqi people are very warm and wonderful people”. Asked how she felt about the role of British and Americans in the current war in Iraq, Dunlop-Johnson said: “What both governments did, they probably had reason to do it but for me personally, I hate wars. I wish there was a better way. I am really sad about it. I wish we could have gotten Saddam out of Baghdad”.