Embassy honors first director of PLO office in Kuwait
On behalf of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Ambassador to Kuwait Rami Tahboub honored Khairy Saleh Abu Al-Jabeen, the first director of the office of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Kuwait, with an Order of Merit and Excellence on Sunday at Holiday Inn Hotel. “This is the first time in history that a country’s ambassador is honoring the revolution’s ambassador,” Tahboub said.
The Palestinian ambassador praised Khairy’s efforts in helping Palestinians in Kuwait. “You are the one who did not sell his country and people. President Abbas does not forget his loyal people. You supported him and directed us to the right path - everyone should learn from his loyalty,” he said. Jabeen thanked Abbas and Tahboub for this honor and for honoring veteran fighters who served the Palestinian cause with all sincerity and dedication. “It is my honor to be here tonight. My children will remember that our Palestinian president honored their father for being loyal,” he said. Jabeen advised young people to be loyal to their country, work and family “They should remember that ‘living for yourself is not living’,” he added.
“I am in Kuwait since 1948, and there were 35,000 Palestinians here at that time. And they elected me to represent them in this country. I remember when they asked Ahmed Al-Shukeiri, the first chairman of PLO, why he chose me. He answered because the Palestinians chose him,” Jabeen recalled.
Jabeen was born in Jaffa in Palestine in 1924 and graduated as a teacher from the El-Rashidia College in Jerusalem in 1942. He worked in journalism and teaching, making contributions to the cultural and the sports movement. After the Nakba, he immigrated with other top Palestinian teachers to Kuwait, where he contributed to the founding of the Kuwaiti sports movement. He was also one of the first leaders of the PLO.
His most important achievement is the establishment of the cooperative financial fund for Arab employees at the Ministry of Electricity and Water as an alternative to the social security system for Kuwaiti employees, which helped many Arab families. After the Naksa in Palestinian in 1967, he founded PLO schools that absorbed thousands of Palestinian students who were displaced from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. He headed the Jaffa Charity Fund in Kuwait and Committee for the Commemoration of Ahmad Al-Shukeiri. He has written many books about Palestinians. The ceremony was attended by a large number of people from the Palestinian community and Kuwaiti personalities.