| Sumario: | The Kuwaiti people defined themselves during those dark days of the occupation as a society possessing of a resilient personality enabling them to respond to adversity -- an adversity of such magnitude that it most certainly retained many qualities of a cataclysmic situation for many people. Kuwaitis became different people, as individuals and as a society following the events of August 2, 1990. Every Kuwaiti, inside or outside Kuwait during the attack felt the sting of betrayal and a violation of safety, security and well being. The Iraqis were hoping to prevent any human rights violations from being leaked to the outside world and attempted to force the citizens of Kuwait to leave their country. The Iraqis were very much aware of the Kuwaitis being very family oriented and hoped that by cutting off communications, it would demoralize them even more since they could not keep in contact with their loved ones. This was the main reason for many Kuwaitis to leave the country during the invasion. The office also serves as a direct link between the leader of the country and those families. The decree appointed eleven Kuwaiti figures whose experiences are related to the work of the office and entrusted them to administer the institution according to the tasks explained in the decree. The Martyr's Office is interested in highlighting the role of Kuwait's martyrs in defending their country and rewarding them by suitable means. It is also interested in investing the concept of “martyrdom” as a social term which has a powerful incentive in strongly linking the individual and his country. The Office would like to help build the Kuwaiti contemporary character using this concept as a symbol which, can be employed in the development of Kuwait. The administration of the Martyr's Office attaches great importance to the future of the children of the martyrs and provides them with continuous counseling to help them cope and carry out their duties in the society. An Information Center is established in co-operation with specialized departments to serve as a major library for scholars and others who need information about the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the martyrs who lost their lives during the invasion. In 1994 a screening study was conducted that showed around 27.1 % of the population was till dealing with the effects of the invasion experience and PTSD. There are several groups of Kuwaitis that have been most affected by the aggression, and within the adult community the martyrs family members are the most impacted. Next on the graph were members of the POWs families and those who have been detained. The final adult group consisted of members belonging to the families of those who were injured or wounded. Among the general population of children, a study demonstrated that about 40.6% of the children were affected by moderate symptoms of PTSD.(7) It has been clearly established that he younger the children affected, the more severe were the effects of PTSD and the role of the gender had no bearing upon the age group of 7-10 years. The age group of 11-77 years showed that the boys experienced more cases of moderate and severed forms of PTSD. Evidently there is no difference between those that were inside Kuwait and those that were outside Kuwait during the invasion. The specific groups of children that were most affected include the previous category, i.e., children of martyrs, then children of POWs and the final groups consisted of children of those injured of wounded. The children's results match up with the adult groupings.(8) Shortly after the conclusion of the Gulf war, a study by the Amir Diwan(9) revealed the specific ways in which Kuwait children had been most affected by the events of the aggression.
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