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Indians in Kuwait calm as war clouds loom By Mridula Krishna, From Indo-Asian News Service Dubai, Mar 17 (IANS) War clouds are again looming over the Middle East. But in Kuwait, where the Gulf war began, the large Indian community is calm and hopeful that a conflict in neighbouring Iraq will be averted. Kuwait, located between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, has around 367,000 Indians while there are some four million NRIs in the Gulf region. But the diaspora in Kuwait seems to be showing no signs of panic yet. The situation is no different in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Indian officials and diplomats say. Indian officials say there was indeed some concern in Kuwait before the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) examinations for Class 10 and Class 12 began March 3. Anxious parents were worried the war might disrupt the examinations. The CBSE was asked to let students from Kuwait travel to India or to some other Gulf state to give their exams. But very few children opted to fly to India, and the exams have gone on well so far, said the Indian source. Local residents said many of the people who had left Kuwait were returning, and the number of Indians now was double what it was since the Gulf war. Some said the fear was probably less this time because most Kuwait citizens think all the action will be in Iraq, unlike in 1991 when Kuwait was involved. In order to help the huge Indian community, the Indian embassy has set up a telephone helplines that operate throughout the week, an official in Kuwait told IANS. Indian officials are regularly holding meetings with community groups on the Iraq crisis. One meeting was held Saturday and some 150 people attended it eager to maintain close touch with the embassy. The Indian government has already assured the expatriate population in the Gulf that it will take all measures to rescue them if war breaks out. During the Gulf War, the Indian government evacuated 111,711 Indians who lived in Kuwait and Iraq from Jordan over a period of 59 days, the largest evacuation of civilians ever done by a scheduled airliner. Around 1.4 million Indians stay in Saudi Arabia alone and close to 1.3 million expatriates live in UAE. In Saudi Arabia, Indian officials said there has been no exodus from the country. Indian officials are urging NRIs to remain calm. Indian diplomats have also met Indians living in Qatar. In January, External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha met Indian envoys from the Gulf countries in Abu Dhabi and asked them to reassure the Indian community that New Delhi will come to their rescue in the event of war. --Indo-Asian News Service _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.goanet.org/mailman/listinfo/goanet
