The Bedouins of Kuwait 1988-90

My wife Shirley writes:

It was a privilege to get to know some of the Bedouins of the Al-Murrah tribe when we lived in Kuwait in 1988-1990.  Another American family had lived many years in Kuwait and introduced me to the Bedouin women.  They showed me the clothes we needed in order to visit the Bedouins respectfully.  All children under twelve went with me to the women to visit while Jim went to visit the men.  We were accepted since Jim was their doctor at the hospital in Kuwait City.

I tried to learn Arabic, and although I took classes, I never got beyond simple greetings.  We were never able to communicate verbally in Arabic, but the Lord provided other means.  The young girls among the Bedouin who attended school were all able to speak English.  The children and I would go the one and half hour each way trip into the dessert to visit then about twice a week.  They did not question why we would want to be their friends and come to sit with them in very modest homes without air conditioning.   They considered themselves a superior people who took great pride in their way of worship and the life they led.  They accepted us as Christians believing that we did not yet have their superior understanding.

The women drank tea together with me.  As I got to know them better they would take off their coverings. Although they also allowed me to photograph them without their niqab, I would never betray them by showing these photos to others outside our family.

Our children joined their children playing in the desert, antagonizing snakes and other desert creatures.

They allowed me to help pick the bugs out of the rice for dinner.  As we got to know them, the elder among the women (Um Salem) allowed me to take her and some others in my car to go shopping.  I left the children in God’s care with the other Bedouins as we went to the souq to shop.

The peak of our relationship was when we were invited to be a part of a wedding of one of the girls.  They had a special dress made for me and told me what to get for the children.  Jim celebrated with the men while we danced with the bride.

The Bedouins knew how to rejoice and find joy in living.  They welcomed strangers because they were confident of their position in life.  They considered themselves a richly blessed people.  They were able to show hospitality to strangers because they knew they had much to give.  Wilfred Thesiger, who lived among the Bedouins of the Arabian Peninsula, wrote of them in Arabian Sands, “I shall always remember how often I was humbled by those illiterate herdsmen who possessed, in so much greater measure than I, generosity and courage, endurance, patience, and lighthearted gallantry. Among no other people have I ever felt the same sense of personal inadequacy.” I find it sad that the Bedouin way of life is fading away in the name of progress.