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Restricted enfranchisement is only one of the complaints voiced by those who perceive Kuwait as undemocratic: women could not vote; permits required for public rallies were rarely granted; demonstrators were dispersed by force; political parties were banned. When the parliament was suspended in 1986, the press was censored as well, a particularly depressing action because Kuwait's papers, books and magazines had long been among the freest in the region. Whether it was accurate news from Lebanon or the Arabic version of Sesame Street, it could well have originated in Kuwait.
Still, an interesting anomaly existed. Even before the invasion -- which has naturally caused Kuwaitis to unite behind their leaders -- most of those depressed by Kuwait's democratic failings supported the Emir and Kuwait's system of government. Part of the reason is simple. To a Western eye, the list of authoritarian transgressions is chilling, but to those who live in the Middle East, Kuwait was something of a model of political openness. "The fact is that we could criticize everything, even the Emir, without fear of reprisal," says Abdulatif al-Tourah, a KPC employee. "If you spoke out as freely in other Arab societies as we did all the time in Kuwait, you could be jailed or killed."
If New Kuwait ever comes to exist, the complaints about a lack of democracy may be moot. The Emir has promised to restore the parliament and increase political freedoms in general. No one claims to have spoken to a Kuwaiti who doubts that pledge. "After liberation," says Professor Ibrahim, the Egyptian sociologist, "I foresee Kuwait as an ever more democratic state -- and for that alone it is worth fighting for. But more, you would be fighting for all the principles that the people in the Arab world aspire to."
Unique among refugee communities, Kuwait itself has the wherewithal to rebuild its nation. The estimated $20 billion in physical damage is severe but not an impediment -- and planning and purchasing for the future are already well under way. Assisted by about 50 U.S. Army civil-affairs reservists, the - cream of Kuwait's ministerial employees have been meeting quietly in a downtown Washington office building for six weeks. While Finance Minister Khalifa conceived the project and continues to monitor its progress, the day- to-day work is being directed by Fawzi al-Sultan, a Yale-educated Kuwaiti who has been a World Bank executive director since 1984. Every conceivable need is being addressed. Enough material to equip eight hospitals and a score of clinics, for example, is being purchased from U.S. and European medical- supply companies.
More difficult than the task of physically rebuilding Kuwait are the problems of equity that will arise when Kuwaitis return. "For example," wonders Khalifa, "what is fair compensation for loss? Assume that one person's house was worth $1 million before it was destroyed by the Iraqis and that another's was worth $100,000. Does the government assist both to the same degree in dollar amount or in percentage or what? What's fair? What will wash?"