Sawabir
City in Capital Governorate, Kuwait
Sawaber الصوابر Sawabir, Sawaabir, Al-Sawaber | |
|---|---|
City | |
| Province | Capital Governorate |
| Area | Sharq |
| Block | 6 |
Sawabir (Arabic: الصوابر, romanized: aṣ-Ṣawābir Gulf Arabic pronunciation [/isˤ.sˤə.waː.bˤɪr/]) is in an old district in Sharg area in Kuwait City, the capital of Kuwait. It encompasses the sixth block of Sharg. It used to house a huge plot of subsidized apartment complexes and the Ministry of Information headquarters, thus giving birth to many famous media personalities. The Sawabir apartments were demolished in 2019 and as a result, the district is mostly empty nowadays except for shops, mosques, towers, administrative buildings, and few other amenities along its edges.
History
Ṣawābir (صوابر) is an Arabic term that normally means "patient people" or "patient things". It is said that it was named in reference to its hard, rocky soil, making it an unbearable place to live in except for "the patients". Another opinions posits it comes from the name of a fixið or branch of Al-Awazim tribe[1]. Kuwait's first MP and first Minister, Maʿṣūma li-Mbārak, graduated from Sawabir's school[2]. Several prominent Kuwaiti writers, actors, and artists were also born there. The district used to house the headquarters of Kuwait's Ministry of Information as well.
1967 Fires
In 19 November 1967, a major fire broke out in a kerosene storage plot belonging to Ḥasan Ibrāhīm, known locally as Ḥasan Gaz. It was the biggest fire in Kuwait's history up to that point, with some people calling it "The Hiroshima of Kuwait".[3][4]
Sawabir residential apartment complexes
The Sawabir apartment complexes used to be a prominent symbol of Kuwait City[5]. The 22,800 square-metres-government-built complexes, which featured parks, parking, and other amenities had 528 apartments[6] with unique architectural design[citation needed] and used to house mainly people of Hasawi origin and people of Al-Azmi tribe (pl. Awazim)[7]. This has lead to the creation of some of Kuwait' oldest Shi'ite landmarks and places of interest in Kuwait City, including the Imam Jafar Al-Sadiq Mosque [wd] and the Jaʿfari Hussainiya, established in 1912[8]. A few meters away, a Sunni mosque built in 1898 is kept as a historic site.
The was a fire that ignited in complex #10 in August of 2005[9]. Another fire that consumed three floors ignited in 2010, leading to 18 injuries and no deaths. 5 fire stations and more than 100 firefighters participated in the operations. Kuwait's Minister of Housing Ahmad Al-Fahad announced compensated the owners of the damaged apartments with 3,000KWD each.[10] Kuwaiti MPs criticized the government, with MP Ḥussain il-Ḥrēti calling on the government to appraise and find alternative dwelling for its residents.
In 2012, another fire that resulted in one death and 10 injuries (5 of whom were firefighters), with firefighters stating the poor adminstration of the building made their work more difficult[11] This has led to increased scrutiny and criticism over the government's lack of supervision and lax enforcement of regulations by residents.[12].
The government appraised the apartments at 110 million KWD in 2017[13] and completed the demolitions in 2019. Around 34 apartments in the newly-built sea-side area of Northwest Sulaibikhata [wd] were given to Sawabir residents[14].
Iraqi Invasion of 1990-1991
When Saddam Hussein ordered the invasion of Kuwait in 2 August 1990, Kuwaiti Resistance cells were formed immediately afterwards. Owing to the numerous artists and media personnel who lived there, the district played a key role in resisting the occupation using the media. Some of Sawabir residents were active in sending footage of Iraqi actions abroad. Ḥabīb Al-Zaqqāḥ, a Sawabir resident, was caught and executed due to this[15], whereas Tawfīq il-Amīr, KTV's second cameraman and the cinematographer of Kuwait's most-famous film, Bas Ya Baḥar, established the Here is Kuwait (Standard Arabic: Arabic: هنا الكويت, romanized: Huna l-Kuwayt) station with his colleagues at the Ministry of Information to broadcast news of Kuwait to the outside world in the area of Ṣubāḥ is-Sālim[16]. He passed away in September 2021[17].
2015 Bombing
The city is home to the Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq Mosque, one of the country's oldest Shiite mosque's, which was the target of a terrorist attack in 2015, the deadliest terror attack in the country.
References
- ^ https://www.annaharkw.com/Article.aspx?id=933141&date=16102023
- ^ https://www.annaharkw.com/Article.aspx?id=933141&date=16102023
- ^ Al-Qabas newspaper, as quoted in Kuwait-History forums [1]
- ^ Kuwait TV1 via [2]
- ^ https://alwatan.kuwait.tt/articledetails.aspx?id=587337&yearquarter=20191
- ^ https://www.alqabas.com/article/361103-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A9-%D9%82%D9%8A%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%AB%D9%85%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%B4%D9%82%D9%82-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%B1-110-%D9%85%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%AF/
- ^ https://www.annaharkw.com/Article.aspx?id=933141&date=16102023
- ^ https://www.annaharkw.com/Article.aspx?id=933141&date=16102023
- ^ https://www.alqabas.com/article/93477-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%83%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A5%D8%B5%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AD-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%82%D9%82-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AA%D8%B6%D8%B1%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%AD%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%82-%D8%A7/
- ^ https://www.alraimedia.com/ampArticle/190200
- ^ https://www.alraimedia.com/article/359879/%D8%A3%D8%AE%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A9/%D8%AC%D8%AB%D8%A9-%D9%85%D8%AA%D9%81%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%A9-%D9%887-%D8%A5%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%AD%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%82-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%B1
- ^ https://www.aljarida.com/articles/1462146156578802700
- ^ https://www.alqabas.com/article/361103-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A9-%D9%82%D9%8A%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%AB%D9%85%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%B4%D9%82%D9%82-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%B1-110-%D9%85%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%AF/
- ^ https://www.alqabas.com/article/361103-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A9-%D9%82%D9%8A%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%AB%D9%85%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%B4%D9%82%D9%82-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%B1-110-%D9%85%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%AF/
- ^ https://www.annaharkw.com/Article.aspx?id=933141&date=16102023
- ^ https://www.aljarida.com/articles/1630941217974586800
- ^ https://www.alraimedia.com/article/1552853/%D8%A3%D8%AE%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A9/%D8%AB%D8%B1%D9%89-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D8%AD%D8%AA%D8%B6%D9%86-%D8%AA%D9%88%D9%81%D9%8A%D9%82-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B1
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