A Reluctant Guest

This is the first-hand account of Jim Payne, a foreign exchange dealer, who was employed in Kuwait when Iraq invaded.

Iraq’s subsequent occupation of Kuwait and refusal to leave by 15 January 1991, a deadline set by the United Nations Security Council, led to the first Gulf war.

Saddam Hussein faced world-wide condemnation when he kidnapped civilians working in Kuwait and dumped them on strategic military sites. This tactic, intended to deter coalition forces from bombing, became known as ‘The Human Shield’. Those captured were told that they were ambassadors for peace and ‘guests’ of Iraq; to the rest of the world they were ‘hostages’. In a Kuwait terrorised by Iraqi troops, Jim fled his home and spent a month in hiding supported by friends of all nationalities and a particularly brave Kuwaiti.

He was captured by Iraqi soldiers and endured being driven into the desert and blindfolded. Taken to Iraq, he spent three months as a hostage on strategic sites where the threat to life was very real and ever present.

Jim’s story, told thirty years later using notes, poems and letters he wrote during captivity, combines moments of adrenalin fuelled terror with darkly comic interludes.

About the author:

Following a career in foreign exchange both in the city of London and the Middle East, Jim Payne started and ran a successful business. He retired in 2006 and lives with his wife Jude in Essex.

No of Pages: 190 pp

ISBN: 978-1-910996-65-2