Rafi and ‘unknown soldier’

Other Voices

DBy Ahmad Al-Sarraf

uring the Eid Al-Adha holidays, the Al-Qabas daily published my article which I would not like to republish. The subject is related to the biography of the late Mohammad Rafi Ma’arafi, and many of his great works, especially those related to the construction of hospitals and schools in different parts of the world, based on his belief of our need to spend more on education then building houses of worship.

We can perform almost all religious duties at home, without the help of anyone, but it is almost impossible for us to receive treatment outside a hospital without the help of doctors or learn science without going to school, curricula, and tools of the education system.

Although the publication of the article coincided with the holidays and many people were abroad, the response was greater than I expected. A well-known businessman friend contacted me and expressed his willingness to spend large sums of money on any projects that I believe contribute to the dissemination of knowledge.

Another reader also expressed his willingness to spend money on any project related to education. He was shocked to learn about money spent on construction and decor in places of worship while our schools are in a sorry state of affairs.

The biography of the noble man Mohammad Rafi Ma’arafi deserves to be known, especially from the beginning to know how much our forefathers have suffered to build Kuwait and how these honorable people made their wealth and dedicated a large part to the good deeds and progress of the society.

Last but not the least was the decision of the heirs of Ma’arafi to build schools in Pakistan in the names of ‘Abdul-Hussain Abdul-Rida’, ‘Walid Al-Ali’ and ‘Fahd Husseini’.

The idea of building the tomb of the Unknown Soldier appeared immediately after the First World War, when the Allies discovered that many of their soldiers had died while defending their homelands, but their remains could not be identified.

In honor of their memory, France, Britain, Italy and the United States decided to commemorate these soldiers in a special way by burying a symbolically anonymous soldier in the capital of each country, building a memorial around it and celebrating the occasion on a specific day each year.

Despite the fact that Kuwait lost thousands of its men and women in the battles to defend the homeland, starting with the historical battle of Jahra, and the previous and subsequent battles, passing through the martyrs of the Kuwaiti forces who participated in the 1973 war and the martyrs of the Iraqi attacks on the Kuwaiti border, including the AlSamta Police Station and the invasion and the occupation of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein where many died in defense of the homeland and whose remains could not be identified.

Therefore, we need to honor those anonymous soldiers who fell defending their homeland and build a monument in their honor at the Safat Square, for example.

Al-Sarraf

e-mail: habibi.enta1@gmail.com