Amal an inspiration for young women
A dynamic and cultured lady
This is the last in a series of articles on Amal Mijren Al Hamad, a dynamic and cultured lady and ambassador of the GCC countries at the European Union in Brussels, Belgium.
— Editor
desolation made her more impatient to reach home to see her people. Holding her heart in suspense and hoping no harm came to them, on her way her mind was in a jungle of thoughts till finally she reached.
Seeing them alive and well was the greatest joy she ever experienced. As she embraced them the agony of ages burst open the gate of emotions, for a while no one could speak .Reunion with her people brought such a relief in her heart that it overshadowed all the pain and anguish she felt from the moment she left home.
As soon she was back in town she became fully involved with the media.
At the Safir International hotel, though it had been destroyed by rocket, she was surprise to find it teeming with media people from all major world news agencies and reporters. Work was in full swing in spite of the difficulty of working in such a surrounding.
Lidia Qattan
Damaged
The hotel had been heavily damaged by fire and shelling, but it was the only convenient place in town, the least damaged of all the other hotels.
There was no water, nor electricity, nor conveniences of any kind. Everything had to be brought in from Saudi Arabia: food, water and electric generators, along with all the sophisticated equipment for global communication.
Amal found herself amidst that busy crowd and set to work organizing, delegating, and getting things done. By then she had all the experience and the know-how to cope efficiently with her new task. With her heart at rest concerning her people ,she gave all of herself to her job endorsing with enthusiasm her awesome responsibility.
The whole country was bearing witness to the atrocities left behind by the Iraqi invaders and Amal made sure that the world media would get all the help they needed to cover it.
Free to roam about every reporter could discover the full extent of the horror left behind by the retreating army.
The burning of the entire oil field with 735 wells on fire was obvious to everyone, but other atrocities were soon discovered in schools, in hospitals, in agricultural sites, in private and government premises, at the equestrian club, even at the zoo were the numerous carcasses in burned cages testified to the terrible end of those poor animals.
Among the excursion in which Amal accompanied her guests was “Al Motla’a”, an area near Jahra nicknamed “Valley of Death”; there an entire Iraqi army contingent was destroyed, while trying to escape during the early hours of February the 26th (1991)
Bodies were scattered everywhere among burned vehicles and stolen goods of every description. The scene was so appalling that, in spite of everything that had been done to her country and to her people, Amal was moved to compassion for those young men who died for the madness of a man obsessed with power .
Great caution was taken in reaching the wells on fire because landmines and boobytraps were lurking everywhere around them. Indeed not only landmines were planted throughout the oil field; thousands were spread-out along the shore, in public gardens, in schools, in public and private buildings in town and in the desert.
Children were the first victims, but after decades since the liberation and in spite of an extensive mine sweepings carried out throughout the desert, many are still lurking to claim unsuspecting victims.
In the aftermath of the liberation scores of problems needed immediate attention to enable life to return to normal, the greatest challenge the extinguishing of the wells and re-establish vital commodities. Hence, while the world media was in town reporting what was going on, Amal was on the job.
Only when things became more settled and the Ministry of Information was reorganized, Amal could reunite with her family and start living a normal life again.
For her outstanding dedication and involvement in the cause of her country during the invasion and in the aftermath Amal Al Hamad was promoted to Assistant Undersecretary for International Media at the Ministry of Information; then she became Asst Undersecretary to the Minister of Information and finally she was chosen Ambassador of the GCC countries to the European Union .
In the summer of her life Amal Al Hamad has achieved what few ladies in her country have been able to achieve. But her success at work is not all she is credited for; as a mother she is a good example to all career women in the region.
Concluded