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the Train
2009/06/30  2:07:11 PM

There's no consolation for missing the train.

The train howls every time it goes somewhere. We can all hear it, yet not many have seen it, let alone have boarded it. Some of us have been waiting for it for some time, and some have even tried to chase it.

Elusive transport of the mind, the mechanical cerebral switch that tells us we have arrived. Where does one find such a button, flag, train? How does one board (one foot at a time)?

Are we so alone that we do not see the others waiting next to us? are we so fearful that we think associating with more of the same will leave less bounty to be had? What is the point of this vertical real estate if we do not have others to share with?

It seems that we're all waiting for the same train to arrive, but no one knows which station. Still we hope that it finds us. Still we dream that we picked the right one and that somehow in some lottery of life we managed to be at the right place at the right time.

It's a lottery if you dont know how it works.

-Blademonkey

the song
2009/05/21  4:06:26 AM

sometimes its worth looking through, sometimes it's worth looking at.


I wrote the song to make her dance,
a wishful tune that never ends.
I wrote the notes to make amends,
to take back all of what offends.

I watched in awe at her asleep,
into a world of something deep.
The thought of which i had to keep,
as my hands mimicked her in leap.

I sat and thought "what would happen,
if the flower found its garden?"
The fierce gardener's eye in loom,
Waiting again to see that bloom.

Yet again i saw it dimming,
antonym of my own wishing,
I knew the work had been in vain,
since I had caused her too much pain.

I knew the day would be around,
when someone else would have her found.
The hopes of which i carry with,
that happiness is not a myth.

The song is her and she is it,
such a morose and gentle fit.
the tune is me and i admit,
it is a repetitious bit.

but i alone can have this dream,
that in some way it would not seem,
to linger on the conscious mind,
of that flower i know i find.

a gentle nudge in that direction,
was key to my own perception.
it seems that now it is in time,
that no more words could hold in rhyme.

no matter who the gardener,
the piece is a mere reminder,
A dance in that fictitious room,
where once I made a flower bloom.

Farewell.

-Blademonkey

i don't presume
2009/03/04  3:40:24 PM

I'm lucky in that I haven't had to update this site in years. I don't know how long it has been. It was never supposed to be about me. This was not a blog, this was supposed to be a better controlled version of half bakery.

Somewhere along the lines, the vision got blurry. The suggestions increased, which were good, but the site never grew to it's original inception. Shortly thereafter the content was solely dependend on the one person that has no content to offer, your truly. It became a tax.

We see this trend elsewhere. A few years ago, social-networks had amazing appeal to them. It was going to revolutionize the way we thought and the way things were done. Sure enough it did, and things were done differently. To quote the person who's name i dont know "We have these amazing tools, amazing things are happening everywhere else, and no one is happy".

Is everything a tax now? Did we forget to automated the mundane things and chose to automated the cool things? why are we microblogging? I don't have a bone in my body that assumes that anyone is interested in anything i have to say in a "blog" if they can just as well read it from my status message.

It seems perhaps the vision always gets blurred. the question is, how do I fix it. Not we, not you, but me, how do I get to the point where i can make a change. How can I change the things that I feel i can change for the better? Why should I think i matter amongst the rest? I'm not the only one to think about it, and I'm not the only one to write about it. Perhaps I'm the one that hasn't followed through.

Sure, I can go for the guts and glory, go for that charity that makes a HUGE reported donation to people who are starving. How do i know for sure. How can I assert that the change that is claimed is in fact going on. How can I confirm to myself, and later on to my family, that I am trying to make it better place, and that I will find a way to improve my way, or do so already.

I for one don't like answering to anyone, that's not new. eventually, I will have to answer to those I want to teach, "if you knew, why didn't you do anything about it?". I don't want to be speechless, and even more, i don't ever want that question to have to be raised.

so you all tell me, how do i make it better? ALL of it. You pick the topic and YOU tell me what needs to happen.

-Blademonkey

Honorary Dork
2008/10/29  11:40:06 AM

Kaya Taulbee is an official honorary member of the Dorkside. Welcome newly appointed dork. {= D

-Blademonkey

Venture
2008/08/01  4:30:41 AM

a brief venture into a specified abstract...

It's been interesting. Nothing ventured nothing gained doesn't really map one to one in an expectations game. The unaccounted tally of unshed conventions, not personally but from others, seems to be the real roadblock. There's a sense of uncertainty that most are afraid to pierce, perhaps for good reasons, but still fear. yet another judgment.

It rough to realize that you end up being the person you didn't want to be. Somewhere along the way, you have to shed all of the rust until you're left with the core. Or at least a core you had self perpetuated before the distractions, before the bias, before the fear. Can it be that I do not remember beyond the fear? that seems right, but I try to look past it.

It takes something of a better person, ironically a judgment, to put you back in place. That's rather easy if you put yourself down enough, you'll find positive value in everyone. Though, only a few can speak straight to the heart. Few have gone through the same path. And fewer still you would follow. Why is it we hold those few in such high regard? Perhaps to be able to return the favor to another from that opposite perspective, some day, one day. Perhaps there's something else, and it has yet to be defined (oh how i love the safety of the obscure).

realizing that your perceived value differs greatly from what you end up contributing will humble you. Specifically if what your contributing seems to be misdirected, or at least, misunderstood. The issue then is somewhat of a communications marketing campaign that fails when you don't have reality checks. The harsher the reality checks the better your algorithm for shedding the unnecessary.

seems to become old pretty fast. I think perhaps you have to learn from the greater minds. Why is it that the simple answers don't make me feel like they are simple. Am I just looking for complexity and not happy when i don't find, or rather entropy? Perhaps it's time to narrow the filter of the social experiment and aim for accuracy.

The simple answer echoes in the back of my mind, "maybe you try too hard". Maybe so, but I'd rather have this side of the extreme than it's apathetic twin. I spent a lot of time on behavioral predictions and conclusively realize that it's more based on the presence of effort (and it's driving force) than the comparable "revealed preference".

perhaps, the doors can stay open, perhaps i can unfilter the windows to the outside. Can't see my own reflection, but I can trust the projection that others see. Maybe that's the trick, or as one would have told me: Maybe, there's no trick. It's just really really simple and you're over thinking it.

Perhaps i don't have the prerequisites for this lesson . . .

-Blademonkey
 
EchoBinary
11:30 5/28/2009
How much net could a telnet tell if a telnet could tell net?

EchoBinary
11:29 5/28/2009
Spam Bamp

EchoBinary
11:28 5/28/2009
A novice asked the master: ``I have a program that sometime runs and sometimes aborts. I have followed the rules of programming, yet I am totally baffled. What is the reason for this?''

The master replied: ``You are confused because you do not understand Tao. Only a fool expects rational behavior from his fellow humans. Why do you expect it from a machine that humans have constructed? Computers simulate determinism; only Tao is perfect.

``The rules of programming are transitory; only Tao is eternal. Therefore you must contemplate Tao before you receive enlightenment.''

``But how will I know when I have received enlightenment?'' asked the novice.

``Your program will then run correctly,'' replied the master.

EchoBinary
11:17 5/28/2009
Why are programmers non-productive?
Because their time is wasted in meetings.

Why are programmers rebellious?
Because the management interferes too much.

Why are the programmers resigning one by one?
Because they are burnt out.

Having worked for poor management, they no longer value their jobs.

Blademonkey
10:58 5/28/2009
bump

Blademonkey
10:58 5/28/2009
Spam bump

Blademonkey
10:32 5/28/2009
oh yea, and Mega spam. Someone's wish is about to come true once i figure out how to archive and get my permissions back.

Blademonkey
10:31 5/28/2009
that's a good point, Echo. I'm not sure i could answer that specifically in my case. I'd have to say emotions and state of mind.

EchoBinary
13:53 5/27/2009
it is interesting to consider the kinds of things that arouse creative expressions & outbursts in some & others.

EchoBinary
15:41 5/26/2009
LOL SPAM!

Eleni
12:11 5/14/2009
After Iraqi troops occupied Kuwait in August 1990, hundreds of Kuwaitis and nationals of other countries went missing. The Iraqis were forced out by an international coalition in February the following year, but as the BBC's Christian Fraser reports from Kuwait City, many people have still not been found. Ahmad Esa Matar remembers all too clearly the day the Iraqi soldiers took his 17-year old-boy. "They came early in the morning," he said. "Six o'clock, while Khaled was still in bed." Nineteen years later, the day is fresh in the memory and still painful to recount. "I saw him later that day, in the prison," said Ahmad. "He was tired, they had beaten him around the face. He cried when he saw us. He said he thought he'd be killed. That was the last time I saw him." Does Ahmad think about that day a lot? "Too much," he said. "Every day - for 19 years." Khaled's body was recovered from a mass grave in Samawa in Iraq in 2004. He had been blindfolded and shot in the head. But the return of the body for burial in Kuwait has helped Ahmad and the family to start rebuilding their lives. There are plenty of other families in Kuwait who are still clinging to the hope that their loved ones might yet return. Iqbal still waits for her brother Amman - even though she knows deep in her heart that he is dead. "Hope is what drives me on," she said. "It keeps me strong." But it also twists the agony. "I hate the Iraqis for what they have done," she said. "I have a missing brother and a cousin who was found and DNA identified. How can I ever have any sympathy for the Iraqis?" It is thought that all the prisoners of war were executed within three days of Iraq's withdrawal in February 1991. Saddam Hussein's henchman Ali Hassan al-Majid - otherwise known as Chemical Ali - had ordered that they should be buried in mass graves in different provinces of Iraq. Retrieved and identified "We started with 605 missing Kuwaitis or third country nationals," said Ibrahim al-Shahin, Vice President of the National Committee For POW Affairs. "Now we have retrieved and identified the remains of 236 people, who were brought from mass graves in Iraq and buried in Kuwait. There is no sign of hundreds of Kuwaitis who went missing "The remaining 370 or so are still open files with the International Committee of the Red Cross, listed as missing until it is proved they are dead." The Kuwaitis have built a museum in memory of those who were killed. Around the walls are the portraits of all those who went missing. A piece of black tape has been stuck across the corner of some frames, signifying those who have have been found and returned. Adel al-Abduljader from the Committee for POWs showed me around the museum and the photographs of the mass graves they have excavated. The sites were identified from information supplied by coalition forces and the Iraqi authorities. They are pictures that echo the horrors of the Nazi death camps. 'No mercy' "The prisoners were lined up and ordered to kneel, blindfolded," said Mr Abduljader. "And then they were shot twice in the head. Women and men together. No mercy. "Each row was covered with a thin layer of sand before the next victims were brought forward." The job of identifying the remains is now in the hands of the Ministry of Interior's Criminal Evidence Department. In one case, where three brothers were found in the same grave, they carried out facial reconstruction to identify the remains. "Each set of bones is given its own number," said the deputy director of forensic evidence, Brigadier Dr Fahad al-Dosari. "The number corresponds to a date and place where the body was found. "These are the sites we have excavated so far - Samawa 89 bodies, Karbala 78, Ramadi 25, Amarah 33 and Kuwait 2," he said, going through his list. "On one occasion a doctor who was working with us identified his brother from the bones we had found. " But the team has not returned to Iraq since 2005. The information from the Iraqi government has dried up and it is dangerous to travel without guaranteed protection. "We would go back tomorrow," said the Brigadier. "We have all our tools. We have our team. We are ready." The Vice President of the POW committee, Ibrahim al-Shahin, accuses the Iraqi government of dragging its feet. "We feel the new government in Iraq should really look at this matter more sincerely. "We hear a lot from them in meetings about how they are also the victims of Saddam. We understand that. But we tell them that we are dealing with the Republic of Iraq, which is responsible for locating these mass graves and helping us retrieve these bodies, regardless of which government is in power." UN concern That is a sentiment echoed by the United Nations. Last month, the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, expressed concern that despite some progress the remains of 369 Kuwaiti and third country nationals had not yet been identified. He noted that the Kuwaiti national archives had also not yet been found. In October, Kuwait appointed an ambassador to Baghdad, and is waiting for Iraq to reciprocate. But the POW museum and the importance the Kuwaits attach to honouring and recovering their dead reveals that even today - 19 years on - there is a feeling of injustice. It will linger until all those missing are returned home.

Eleni
12:10 5/14/2009
After Iraqi troops occupied Kuwait in August 1990, hundreds of Kuwaitis and nationals of other countries went missing. The Iraqis were forced out by an international coalition in February the following year, but as the BBC's Christian Fraser reports from Kuwait City, many people have still not been found. Ahmad Esa Matar remembers all too clearly the day the Iraqi soldiers took his 17-year old-boy. "They came early in the morning," he said. "Six o'clock, while Khaled was still in bed." Nineteen years later, the day is fresh in the memory and still painful to recount. "I saw him later that day, in the prison," said Ahmad. "He was tired, they had beaten him around the face. He cried when he saw us. He said he thought he'd be killed. That was the last time I saw him." Does Ahmad think about that day a lot? "Too much," he said. "Every day - for 19 years." Khaled's body was recovered from a mass grave in Samawa in Iraq in 2004. He had been blindfolded and shot in the head. But the return of the body for burial in Kuwait has helped Ahmad and the family to start rebuilding their lives. There are plenty of other families in Kuwait who are still clinging to the hope that their loved ones might yet return. Iqbal still waits for her brother Amman - even though she knows deep in her heart that he is dead. "Hope is what drives me on," she said. "It keeps me strong." But it also twists the agony. "I hate the Iraqis for what they have done," she said. "I have a missing brother and a cousin who was found and DNA identified. How can I ever have any sympathy for the Iraqis?" It is thought that all the prisoners of war were executed within three days of Iraq's withdrawal in February 1991. Saddam Hussein's henchman Ali Hassan al-Majid - otherwise known as Chemical Ali - had ordered that they should be buried in mass graves in different provinces of Iraq. Retrieved and identified "We started with 605 missing Kuwaitis or third country nationals," said Ibrahim al-Shahin, Vice President of the National Committee For POW Affairs. "Now we have retrieved and identified the remains of 236 people, who were brought from mass graves in Iraq and buried in Kuwait. There is no sign of hundreds of Kuwaitis who went missing "The remaining 370 or so are still open files with the International Committee of the Red Cross, listed as missing until it is proved they are dead." The Kuwaitis have built a museum in memory of those who were killed. Around the walls are the portraits of all those who went missing. A piece of black tape has been stuck across the corner of some frames, signifying those who have have been found and returned. Adel al-Abduljader from the Committee for POWs showed me around the museum and the photographs of the mass graves they have excavated. The sites were identified from information supplied by coalition forces and the Iraqi authorities. They are pictures that echo the horrors of the Nazi death camps. 'No mercy' "The prisoners were lined up and ordered to kneel, blindfolded," said Mr Abduljader. "And then they were shot twice in the head. Women and men together. No mercy. "Each row was covered with a thin layer of sand before the next victims were brought forward." The job of identifying the remains is now in the hands of the Ministry of Interior's Criminal Evidence Department. In one case, where three brothers were found in the same grave, they carried out facial reconstruction to identify the remains. "Each set of bones is given its own number," said the deputy director of forensic evidence, Brigadier Dr Fahad al-Dosari. "The number corresponds to a date and place where the body was found. "These are the sites we have excavated so far - Samawa 89 bodies, Karbala 78, Ramadi 25, Amarah 33 and Kuwait 2," he said, going through his list. "On one occasion a doctor who was working with us identified his brother from the bones we had found. " But the team has not returned to Iraq since 2005. The information from the Iraqi government has dried up and it is dangerous to travel without guaranteed protection. "We would go back tomorrow," said the Brigadier. "We have all our tools. We have our team. We are ready." The Vice President of the POW committee, Ibrahim al-Shahin, accuses the Iraqi government of dragging its feet. "We feel the new government in Iraq should really look at this matter more sincerely. "We hear a lot from them in meetings about how they are also the victims of Saddam. We understand that. But we tell them that we are dealing with the Republic of Iraq, which is responsible for locating these mass graves and helping us retrieve these bodies, regardless of which government is in power." UN concern That is a sentiment echoed by the United Nations. Last month, the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, expressed concern that despite some progress the remains of 369 Kuwaiti and third country nationals had not yet been identified. He noted that the Kuwaiti national archives had also not yet been found. In October, Kuwait appointed an ambassador to Baghdad, and is waiting for Iraq to reciprocate. But the POW museum and the importance the Kuwaits attach to honouring and recovering their dead reveals that even today - 19 years on - there is a feeling of injustice. It will linger until all those missing are returned home.

Eleni
12:09 5/14/2009
After Iraqi troops occupied Kuwait in August 1990, hundreds of Kuwaitis and nationals of other countries went missing. The Iraqis were forced out by an international coalition in February the following year, but as the BBC's Christian Fraser reports from Kuwait City, many people have still not been found. Ahmad Esa Matar remembers all too clearly the day the Iraqi soldiers took his 17-year old-boy. "They came early in the morning," he said. "Six o'clock, while Khaled was still in bed." Nineteen years later, the day is fresh in the memory and still painful to recount. "I saw him later that day, in the prison," said Ahmad. "He was tired, they had beaten him around the face. He cried when he saw us. He said he thought he'd be killed. That was the last time I saw him." Does Ahmad think about that day a lot? "Too much," he said. "Every day - for 19 years." Khaled's body was recovered from a mass grave in Samawa in Iraq in 2004. He had been blindfolded and shot in the head. But the return of the body for burial in Kuwait has helped Ahmad and the family to start rebuilding their lives. There are plenty of other families in Kuwait who are still clinging to the hope that their loved ones might yet return. Iqbal still waits for her brother Amman - even though she knows deep in her heart that he is dead. "Hope is what drives me on," she said. "It keeps me strong." But it also twists the agony. "I hate the Iraqis for what they have done," she said. "I have a missing brother and a cousin who was found and DNA identified. How can I ever have any sympathy for the Iraqis?" It is thought that all the prisoners of war were executed within three days of Iraq's withdrawal in February 1991. Saddam Hussein's henchman Ali Hassan al-Majid - otherwise known as Chemical Ali - had ordered that they should be buried in mass graves in different provinces of Iraq. Retrieved and identified "We started with 605 missing Kuwaitis or third country nationals," said Ibrahim al-Shahin, Vice President of the National Committee For POW Affairs. "Now we have retrieved and identified the remains of 236 people, who were brought from mass graves in Iraq and buried in Kuwait. There is no sign of hundreds of Kuwaitis who went missing "The remaining 370 or so are still open files with the International Committee of the Red Cross, listed as missing until it is proved they are dead." The Kuwaitis have built a museum in memory of those who were killed. Around the walls are the portraits of all those who went missing. A piece of black tape has been stuck across the corner of some frames, signifying those who have have been found and returned. Adel al-Abduljader from the Committee for POWs showed me around the museum and the photographs of the mass graves they have excavated. The sites were identified from information supplied by coalition forces and the Iraqi authorities. They are pictures that echo the horrors of the Nazi death camps. 'No mercy' "The prisoners were lined up and ordered to kneel, blindfolded," said Mr Abduljader. "And then they were shot twice in the head. Women and men together. No mercy. "Each row was covered with a thin layer of sand before the next victims were brought forward." The job of identifying the remains is now in the hands of the Ministry of Interior's Criminal Evidence Department. In one case, where three brothers were found in the same grave, they carried out facial reconstruction to identify the remains. "Each set of bones is given its own number," said the deputy director of forensic evidence, Brigadier Dr Fahad al-Dosari. "The number corresponds to a date and place where the body was found. "These are the sites we have excavated so far - Samawa 89 bodies, Karbala 78, Ramadi 25, Amarah 33 and Kuwait 2," he said, going through his list. "On one occasion a doctor who was working with us identified his brother from the bones we had found. " But the team has not returned to Iraq since 2005. The information from the Iraqi government has dried up and it is dangerous to travel without guaranteed protection. "We would go back tomorrow," said the Brigadier. "We have all our tools. We have our team. We are ready." The Vice President of the POW committee, Ibrahim al-Shahin, accuses the Iraqi government of dragging its feet. "We feel the new government in Iraq should really look at this matter more sincerely. "We hear a lot from them in meetings about how they are also the victims of Saddam. We understand that. But we tell them that we are dealing with the Republic of Iraq, which is responsible for locating these mass graves and helping us retrieve these bodies, regardless of which government is in power." UN concern That is a sentiment echoed by the United Nations. Last month, the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, expressed concern that despite some progress the remains of 369 Kuwaiti and third country nationals had not yet been identified. He noted that the Kuwaiti national archives had also not yet been found. In October, Kuwait appointed an ambassador to Baghdad, and is waiting for Iraq to reciprocate. But the POW museum and the importance the Kuwaits attach to honouring and recovering their dead reveals that even today - 19 years on - there is a feeling of injustice. It will linger until all those missing are returned home.

Eleni
12:09 5/14/2009
After Iraqi troops occupied Kuwait in August 1990, hundreds of Kuwaitis and nationals of other countries went missing. The Iraqis were forced out by an international coalition in February the following year, but as the BBC's Christian Fraser reports from Kuwait City, many people have still not been found. Ahmad Esa Matar remembers all too clearly the day the Iraqi soldiers took his 17-year old-boy. "They came early in the morning," he said. "Six o'clock, while Khaled was still in bed." Nineteen years later, the day is fresh in the memory and still painful to recount. "I saw him later that day, in the prison," said Ahmad. "He was tired, they had beaten him around the face. He cried when he saw us. He said he thought he'd be killed. That was the last time I saw him." Does Ahmad think about that day a lot? "Too much," he said. "Every day - for 19 years." Khaled's body was recovered from a mass grave in Samawa in Iraq in 2004. He had been blindfolded and shot in the head. But the return of the body for burial in Kuwait has helped Ahmad and the family to start rebuilding their lives. There are plenty of other families in Kuwait who are still clinging to the hope that their loved ones might yet return. Iqbal still waits for her brother Amman - even though she knows deep in her heart that he is dead. "Hope is what drives me on," she said. "It keeps me strong." But it also twists the agony. "I hate the Iraqis for what they have done," she said. "I have a missing brother and a cousin who was found and DNA identified. How can I ever have any sympathy for the Iraqis?" It is thought that all the prisoners of war were executed within three days of Iraq's withdrawal in February 1991. Saddam Hussein's henchman Ali Hassan al-Majid - otherwise known as Chemical Ali - had ordered that they should be buried in mass graves in different provinces of Iraq. Retrieved and identified "We started with 605 missing Kuwaitis or third country nationals," said Ibrahim al-Shahin, Vice President of the National Committee For POW Affairs. "Now we have retrieved and identified the remains of 236 people, who were brought from mass graves in Iraq and buried in Kuwait. There is no sign of hundreds of Kuwaitis who went missing "The remaining 370 or so are still open files with the International Committee of the Red Cross, listed as missing until it is proved they are dead." The Kuwaitis have built a museum in memory of those who were killed. Around the walls are the portraits of all those who went missing. A piece of black tape has been stuck across the corner of some frames, signifying those who have have been found and returned. Adel al-Abduljader from the Committee for POWs showed me around the museum and the photographs of the mass graves they have excavated. The sites were identified from information supplied by coalition forces and the Iraqi authorities. They are pictures that echo the horrors of the Nazi death camps. 'No mercy' "The prisoners were lined up and ordered to kneel, blindfolded," said Mr Abduljader. "And then they were shot twice in the head. Women and men together. No mercy. "Each row was covered with a thin layer of sand before the next victims were brought forward." The job of identifying the remains is now in the hands of the Ministry of Interior's Criminal Evidence Department. In one case, where three brothers were found in the same grave, they carried out facial reconstruction to identify the remains. "Each set of bones is given its own number," said the deputy director of forensic evidence, Brigadier Dr Fahad al-Dosari. "The number corresponds to a date and place where the body was found. "These are the sites we have excavated so far - Samawa 89 bodies, Karbala 78, Ramadi 25, Amarah 33 and Kuwait 2," he said, going through his list. "On one occasion a doctor who was working with us identified his brother from the bones we had found. " But the team has not returned to Iraq since 2005. The information from the Iraqi government has dried up and it is dangerous to travel without guaranteed protection. "We would go back tomorrow," said the Brigadier. "We have all our tools. We have our team. We are ready." The Vice President of the POW committee, Ibrahim al-Shahin, accuses the Iraqi government of dragging its feet. "We feel the new government in Iraq should really look at this matter more sincerely. "We hear a lot from them in meetings about how they are also the victims of Saddam. We understand that. But we tell them that we are dealing with the Republic of Iraq, which is responsible for locating these mass graves and helping us retrieve these bodies, regardless of which government is in power." UN concern That is a sentiment echoed by the United Nations. Last month, the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, expressed concern that despite some progress the remains of 369 Kuwaiti and third country nationals had not yet been identified. He noted that the Kuwaiti national archives had also not yet been found. In October, Kuwait appointed an ambassador to Baghdad, and is waiting for Iraq to reciprocate. But the POW museum and the importance the Kuwaits attach to honouring and recovering their dead reveals that even today - 19 years on - there is a feeling of injustice. It will linger until all those missing are returned home.

Eleni
12:09 5/14/2009
After Iraqi troops occupied Kuwait in August 1990, hundreds of Kuwaitis and nationals of other countries went missing. The Iraqis were forced out by an international coalition in February the following year, but as the BBC's Christian Fraser reports from Kuwait City, many people have still not been found. Ahmad Esa Matar remembers all too clearly the day the Iraqi soldiers took his 17-year old-boy. "They came early in the morning," he said. "Six o'clock, while Khaled was still in bed." Nineteen years later, the day is fresh in the memory and still painful to recount. "I saw him later that day, in the prison," said Ahmad. "He was tired, they had beaten him around the face. He cried when he saw us. He said he thought he'd be killed. That was the last time I saw him." Does Ahmad think about that day a lot? "Too much," he said. "Every day - for 19 years." Khaled's body was recovered from a mass grave in Samawa in Iraq in 2004. He had been blindfolded and shot in the head. But the return of the body for burial in Kuwait has helped Ahmad and the family to start rebuilding their lives. There are plenty of other families in Kuwait who are still clinging to the hope that their loved ones might yet return. Iqbal still waits for her brother Amman - even though she knows deep in her heart that he is dead. "Hope is what drives me on," she said. "It keeps me strong." But it also twists the agony. "I hate the Iraqis for what they have done," she said. "I have a missing brother and a cousin who was found and DNA identified. How can I ever have any sympathy for the Iraqis?" It is thought that all the prisoners of war were executed within three days of Iraq's withdrawal in February 1991. Saddam Hussein's henchman Ali Hassan al-Majid - otherwise known as Chemical Ali - had ordered that they should be buried in mass graves in different provinces of Iraq. Retrieved and identified "We started with 605 missing Kuwaitis or third country nationals," said Ibrahim al-Shahin, Vice President of the National Committee For POW Affairs. "Now we have retrieved and identified the remains of 236 people, who were brought from mass graves in Iraq and buried in Kuwait. There is no sign of hundreds of Kuwaitis who went missing "The remaining 370 or so are still open files with the International Committee of the Red Cross, listed as missing until it is proved they are dead." The Kuwaitis have built a museum in memory of those who were killed. Around the walls are the portraits of all those who went missing. A piece of black tape has been stuck across the corner of some frames, signifying those who have have been found and returned. Adel al-Abduljader from the Committee for POWs showed me around the museum and the photographs of the mass graves they have excavated. The sites were identified from information supplied by coalition forces and the Iraqi authorities. They are pictures that echo the horrors of the Nazi death camps. 'No mercy' "The prisoners were lined up and ordered to kneel, blindfolded," said Mr Abduljader. "And then they were shot twice in the head. Women and men together. No mercy. "Each row was covered with a thin layer of sand before the next victims were brought forward." The job of identifying the remains is now in the hands of the Ministry of Interior's Criminal Evidence Department. In one case, where three brothers were found in the same grave, they carried out facial reconstruction to identify the remains. "Each set of bones is given its own number," said the deputy director of forensic evidence, Brigadier Dr Fahad al-Dosari. "The number corresponds to a date and place where the body was found. "These are the sites we have excavated so far - Samawa 89 bodies, Karbala 78, Ramadi 25, Amarah 33 and Kuwait 2," he said, going through his list. "On one occasion a doctor who was working with us identified his brother from the bones we had found. " But the team has not returned to Iraq since 2005. The information from the Iraqi government has dried up and it is dangerous to travel without guaranteed protection. "We would go back tomorrow," said the Brigadier. "We have all our tools. We have our team. We are ready." The Vice President of the POW committee, Ibrahim al-Shahin, accuses the Iraqi government of dragging its feet. "We feel the new government in Iraq should really look at this matter more sincerely. "We hear a lot from them in meetings about how they are also the victims of Saddam. We understand that. But we tell them that we are dealing with the Republic of Iraq, which is responsible for locating these mass graves and helping us retrieve these bodies, regardless of which government is in power." UN concern That is a sentiment echoed by the United Nations. Last month, the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, expressed concern that despite some progress the remains of 369 Kuwaiti and third country nationals had not yet been identified. He noted that the Kuwaiti national archives had also not yet been found. In October, Kuwait appointed an ambassador to Baghdad, and is waiting for Iraq to reciprocate. But the POW museum and the importance the Kuwaits attach to honouring and recovering their dead reveals that even today - 19 years on - there is a feeling of injustice. It will linger until all those missing are returned home.

Eleni
12:08 5/14/2009
After Iraqi troops occupied Kuwait in August 1990, hundreds of Kuwaitis and nationals of other countries went missing. The Iraqis were forced out by an international coalition in February the following year, but as the BBC's Christian Fraser reports from Kuwait City, many people have still not been found. Ahmad Esa Matar remembers all too clearly the day the Iraqi soldiers took his 17-year old-boy. "They came early in the morning," he said. "Six o'clock, while Khaled was still in bed." Nineteen years later, the day is fresh in the memory and still painful to recount. "I saw him later that day, in the prison," said Ahmad. "He was tired, they had beaten him around the face. He cried when he saw us. He said he thought he'd be killed. That was the last time I saw him." Does Ahmad think about that day a lot? "Too much," he said. "Every day - for 19 years." Khaled's body was recovered from a mass grave in Samawa in Iraq in 2004. He had been blindfolded and shot in the head. But the return of the body for burial in Kuwait has helped Ahmad and the family to start rebuilding their lives. There are plenty of other families in Kuwait who are still clinging to the hope that their loved ones might yet return. Iqbal still waits for her brother Amman - even though she knows deep in her heart that he is dead. "Hope is what drives me on," she said. "It keeps me strong." But it also twists the agony. "I hate the Iraqis for what they have done," she said. "I have a missing brother and a cousin who was found and DNA identified. How can I ever have any sympathy for the Iraqis?" It is thought that all the prisoners of war were executed within three days of Iraq's withdrawal in February 1991. Saddam Hussein's henchman Ali Hassan al-Majid - otherwise known as Chemical Ali - had ordered that they should be buried in mass graves in different provinces of Iraq. Retrieved and identified "We started with 605 missing Kuwaitis or third country nationals," said Ibrahim al-Shahin, Vice President of the National Committee For POW Affairs. "Now we have retrieved and identified the remains of 236 people, who were brought from mass graves in Iraq and buried in Kuwait. There is no sign of hundreds of Kuwaitis who went missing "The remaining 370 or so are still open files with the International Committee of the Red Cross, listed as missing until it is proved they are dead." The Kuwaitis have built a museum in memory of those who were killed. Around the walls are the portraits of all those who went missing. A piece of black tape has been stuck across the corner of some frames, signifying those who have have been found and returned. Adel al-Abduljader from the Committee for POWs showed me around the museum and the photographs of the mass graves they have excavated. The sites were identified from information supplied by coalition forces and the Iraqi authorities. They are pictures that echo the horrors of the Nazi death camps. 'No mercy' "The prisoners were lined up and ordered to kneel, blindfolded," said Mr Abduljader. "And then they were shot twice in the head. Women and men together. No mercy. "Each row was covered with a thin layer of sand before the next victims were brought forward." The job of identifying the remains is now in the hands of the Ministry of Interior's Criminal Evidence Department. In one case, where three brothers were found in the same grave, they carried out facial reconstruction to identify the remains. "Each set of bones is given its own number," said the deputy director of forensic evidence, Brigadier Dr Fahad al-Dosari. "The number corresponds to a date and place where the body was found. "These are the sites we have excavated so far - Samawa 89 bodies, Karbala 78, Ramadi 25, Amarah 33 and Kuwait 2," he said, going through his list. "On one occasion a doctor who was working with us identified his brother from the bones we had found. " But the team has not returned to Iraq since 2005. The information from the Iraqi government has dried up and it is dangerous to travel without guaranteed protection. "We would go back tomorrow," said the Brigadier. "We have all our tools. We have our team. We are ready." The Vice President of the POW committee, Ibrahim al-Shahin, accuses the Iraqi government of dragging its feet. "We feel the new government in Iraq should really look at this matter more sincerely. "We hear a lot from them in meetings about how they are also the victims of Saddam. We understand that. But we tell them that we are dealing with the Republic of Iraq, which is responsible for locating these mass graves and helping us retrieve these bodies, regardless of which government is in power." UN concern That is a sentiment echoed by the United Nations. Last month, the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, expressed concern that despite some progress the remains of 369 Kuwaiti and third country nationals had not yet been identified. He noted that the Kuwaiti national archives had also not yet been found. In October, Kuwait appointed an ambassador to Baghdad, and is waiting for Iraq to reciprocate. But the POW museum and the importance the Kuwaits attach to honouring and recovering their dead reveals that even today - 19 years on - there is a feeling of injustice. It will linger until all those missing are returned home.

Eleni
12:08 5/14/2009
After Iraqi troops occupied Kuwait in August 1990, hundreds of Kuwaitis and nationals of other countries went missing. The Iraqis were forced out by an international coalition in February the following year, but as the BBC's Christian Fraser reports from Kuwait City, many people have still not been found. Ahmad Esa Matar remembers all too clearly the day the Iraqi soldiers took his 17-year old-boy. "They came early in the morning," he said. "Six o'clock, while Khaled was still in bed." Nineteen years later, the day is fresh in the memory and still painful to recount. "I saw him later that day, in the prison," said Ahmad. "He was tired, they had beaten him around the face. He cried when he saw us. He said he thought he'd be killed. That was the last time I saw him." Does Ahmad think about that day a lot? "Too much," he said. "Every day - for 19 years." Khaled's body was recovered from a mass grave in Samawa in Iraq in 2004. He had been blindfolded and shot in the head. But the return of the body for burial in Kuwait has helped Ahmad and the family to start rebuilding their lives. There are plenty of other families in Kuwait who are still clinging to the hope that their loved ones might yet return. Iqbal still waits for her brother Amman - even though she knows deep in her heart that he is dead. "Hope is what drives me on," she said. "It keeps me strong." But it also twists the agony. "I hate the Iraqis for what they have done," she said. "I have a missing brother and a cousin who was found and DNA identified. How can I ever have any sympathy for the Iraqis?" It is thought that all the prisoners of war were executed within three days of Iraq's withdrawal in February 1991. Saddam Hussein's henchman Ali Hassan al-Majid - otherwise known as Chemical Ali - had ordered that they should be buried in mass graves in different provinces of Iraq. Retrieved and identified "We started with 605 missing Kuwaitis or third country nationals," said Ibrahim al-Shahin, Vice President of the National Committee For POW Affairs. "Now we have retrieved and identified the remains of 236 people, who were brought from mass graves in Iraq and buried in Kuwait. There is no sign of hundreds of Kuwaitis who went missing "The remaining 370 or so are still open files with the International Committee of the Red Cross, listed as missing until it is proved they are dead." The Kuwaitis have built a museum in memory of those who were killed. Around the walls are the portraits of all those who went missing. A piece of black tape has been stuck across the corner of some frames, signifying those who have have been found and returned. Adel al-Abduljader from the Committee for POWs showed me around the museum and the photographs of the mass graves they have excavated. The sites were identified from information supplied by coalition forces and the Iraqi authorities. They are pictures that echo the horrors of the Nazi death camps. 'No mercy' "The prisoners were lined up and ordered to kneel, blindfolded," said Mr Abduljader. "And then they were shot twice in the head. Women and men together. No mercy. "Each row was covered with a thin layer of sand before the next victims were brought forward." The job of identifying the remains is now in the hands of the Ministry of Interior's Criminal Evidence Department. In one case, where three brothers were found in the same grave, they carried out facial reconstruction to identify the remains. "Each set of bones is given its own number," said the deputy director of forensic evidence, Brigadier Dr Fahad al-Dosari. "The number corresponds to a date and place where the body was found. "These are the sites we have excavated so far - Samawa 89 bodies, Karbala 78, Ramadi 25, Amarah 33 and Kuwait 2," he said, going through his list. "On one occasion a doctor who was working with us identified his brother from the bones we had found. " But the team has not returned to Iraq since 2005. The information from the Iraqi government has dried up and it is dangerous to travel without guaranteed protection. "We would go back tomorrow," said the Brigadier. "We have all our tools. We have our team. We are ready." The Vice President of the POW committee, Ibrahim al-Shahin, accuses the Iraqi government of dragging its feet. "We feel the new government in Iraq should really look at this matter more sincerely. "We hear a lot from them in meetings about how they are also the victims of Saddam. We understand that. But we tell them that we are dealing with the Republic of Iraq, which is responsible for locating these mass graves and helping us retrieve these bodies, regardless of which government is in power." UN concern That is a sentiment echoed by the United Nations. Last month, the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, expressed concern that despite some progress the remains of 369 Kuwaiti and third country nationals had not yet been identified. He noted that the Kuwaiti national archives had also not yet been found. In October, Kuwait appointed an ambassador to Baghdad, and is waiting for Iraq to reciprocate. But the POW museum and the importance the Kuwaits attach to honouring and recovering their dead reveals that even today - 19 years on - there is a feeling of injustice. It will linger until all those missing are returned home.

Eleni
12:08 5/14/2009
After Iraqi troops occupied Kuwait in August 1990, hundreds of Kuwaitis and nationals of other countries went missing. The Iraqis were forced out by an international coalition in February the following year, but as the BBC's Christian Fraser reports from Kuwait City, many people have still not been found. Ahmad Esa Matar remembers all too clearly the day the Iraqi soldiers took his 17-year old-boy. "They came early in the morning," he said. "Six o'clock, while Khaled was still in bed." Nineteen years later, the day is fresh in the memory and still painful to recount. "I saw him later that day, in the prison," said Ahmad. "He was tired, they had beaten him around the face. He cried when he saw us. He said he thought he'd be killed. That was the last time I saw him." Does Ahmad think about that day a lot? "Too much," he said. "Every day - for 19 years." Khaled's body was recovered from a mass grave in Samawa in Iraq in 2004. He had been blindfolded and shot in the head. But the return of the body for burial in Kuwait has helped Ahmad and the family to start rebuilding their lives. There are plenty of other families in Kuwait who are still clinging to the hope that their loved ones might yet return. Iqbal still waits for her brother Amman - even though she knows deep in her heart that he is dead. "Hope is what drives me on," she said. "It keeps me strong." But it also twists the agony. "I hate the Iraqis for what they have done," she said. "I have a missing brother and a cousin who was found and DNA identified. How can I ever have any sympathy for the Iraqis?" It is thought that all the prisoners of war were executed within three days of Iraq's withdrawal in February 1991. Saddam Hussein's henchman Ali Hassan al-Majid - otherwise known as Chemical Ali - had ordered that they should be buried in mass graves in different provinces of Iraq. Retrieved and identified "We started with 605 missing Kuwaitis or third country nationals," said Ibrahim al-Shahin, Vice President of the National Committee For POW Affairs. "Now we have retrieved and identified the remains of 236 people, who were brought from mass graves in Iraq and buried in Kuwait. There is no sign of hundreds of Kuwaitis who went missing "The remaining 370 or so are still open files with the International Committee of the Red Cross, listed as missing until it is proved they are dead." The Kuwaitis have built a museum in memory of those who were killed. Around the walls are the portraits of all those who went missing. A piece of black tape has been stuck across the corner of some frames, signifying those who have have been found and returned. Adel al-Abduljader from the Committee for POWs showed me around the museum and the photographs of the mass graves they have excavated. The sites were identified from information supplied by coalition forces and the Iraqi authorities. They are pictures that echo the horrors of the Nazi death camps. 'No mercy' "The prisoners were lined up and ordered to kneel, blindfolded," said Mr Abduljader. "And then they were shot twice in the head. Women and men together. No mercy. "Each row was covered with a thin layer of sand before the next victims were brought forward." The job of identifying the remains is now in the hands of the Ministry of Interior's Criminal Evidence Department. In one case, where three brothers were found in the same grave, they carried out facial reconstruction to identify the remains. "Each set of bones is given its own number," said the deputy director of forensic evidence, Brigadier Dr Fahad al-Dosari. "The number corresponds to a date and place where the body was found. "These are the sites we have excavated so far - Samawa 89 bodies, Karbala 78, Ramadi 25, Amarah 33 and Kuwait 2," he said, going through his list. "On one occasion a doctor who was working with us identified his brother from the bones we had found. " But the team has not returned to Iraq since 2005. The information from the Iraqi government has dried up and it is dangerous to travel without guaranteed protection. "We would go back tomorrow," said the Brigadier. "We have all our tools. We have our team. We are ready." The Vice President of the POW committee, Ibrahim al-Shahin, accuses the Iraqi government of dragging its feet. "We feel the new government in Iraq should really look at this matter more sincerely. "We hear a lot from them in meetings about how they are also the victims of Saddam. We understand that. But we tell them that we are dealing with the Republic of Iraq, which is responsible for locating these mass graves and helping us retrieve these bodies, regardless of which government is in power." UN concern That is a sentiment echoed by the United Nations. Last month, the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, expressed concern that despite some progress the remains of 369 Kuwaiti and third country nationals had not yet been identified. He noted that the Kuwaiti national archives had also not yet been found. In October, Kuwait appointed an ambassador to Baghdad, and is waiting for Iraq to reciprocate. But the POW museum and the importance the Kuwaits attach to honouring and recovering their dead reveals that even today - 19 years on - there is a feeling of injustice. It will linger until all those missing are returned home.

Eleni
12:07 5/14/2009
After Iraqi troops occupied Kuwait in August 1990, hundreds of Kuwaitis and nationals of other countries went missing. The Iraqis were forced out by an international coalition in February the following year, but as the BBC's Christian Fraser reports from Kuwait City, many people have still not been found. Ahmad Esa Matar remembers all too clearly the day the Iraqi soldiers took his 17-year old-boy. "They came early in the morning," he said. "Six o'clock, while Khaled was still in bed." Nineteen years later, the day is fresh in the memory and still painful to recount. "I saw him later that day, in the prison," said Ahmad. "He was tired, they had beaten him around the face. He cried when he saw us. He said he thought he'd be killed. That was the last time I saw him." Does Ahmad think about that day a lot? "Too much," he said. "Every day - for 19 years." Khaled's body was recovered from a mass grave in Samawa in Iraq in 2004. He had been blindfolded and shot in the head. But the return of the body for burial in Kuwait has helped Ahmad and the family to start rebuilding their lives. There are plenty of other families in Kuwait who are still clinging to the hope that their loved ones might yet return. Iqbal still waits for her brother Amman - even though she knows deep in her heart that he is dead. "Hope is what drives me on," she said. "It keeps me strong." But it also twists the agony. "I hate the Iraqis for what they have done," she said. "I have a missing brother and a cousin who was found and DNA identified. How can I ever have any sympathy for the Iraqis?" It is thought that all the prisoners of war were executed within three days of Iraq's withdrawal in February 1991. Saddam Hussein's henchman Ali Hassan al-Majid - otherwise known as Chemical Ali - had ordered that they should be buried in mass graves in different provinces of Iraq. Retrieved and identified "We started with 605 missing Kuwaitis or third country nationals," said Ibrahim al-Shahin, Vice President of the National Committee For POW Affairs. "Now we have retrieved and identified the remains of 236 people, who were brought from mass graves in Iraq and buried in Kuwait. There is no sign of hundreds of Kuwaitis who went missing "The remaining 370 or so are still open files with the International Committee of the Red Cross, listed as missing until it is proved they are dead." The Kuwaitis have built a museum in memory of those who were killed. Around the walls are the portraits of all those who went missing. A piece of black tape has been stuck across the corner of some frames, signifying those who have have been found and returned. Adel al-Abduljader from the Committee for POWs showed me around the museum and the photographs of the mass graves they have excavated. The sites were identified from information supplied by coalition forces and the Iraqi authorities. They are pictures that echo the horrors of the Nazi death camps. 'No mercy' "The prisoners were lined up and ordered to kneel, blindfolded," said Mr Abduljader. "And then they were shot twice in the head. Women and men together. No mercy. "Each row was covered with a thin layer of sand before the next victims were brought forward." The job of identifying the remains is now in the hands of the Ministry of Interior's Criminal Evidence Department. In one case, where three brothers were found in the same grave, they carried out facial reconstruction to identify the remains. "Each set of bones is given its own number," said the deputy director of forensic evidence, Brigadier Dr Fahad al-Dosari. "The number corresponds to a date and place where the body was found. "These are the sites we have excavated so far - Samawa 89 bodies, Karbala 78, Ramadi 25, Amarah 33 and Kuwait 2," he said, going through his list. "On one occasion a doctor who was working with us identified his brother from the bones we had found. " But the team has not returned to Iraq since 2005. The information from the Iraqi government has dried up and it is dangerous to travel without guaranteed protection. "We would go back tomorrow," said the Brigadier. "We have all our tools. We have our team. We are ready." The Vice President of the POW committee, Ibrahim al-Shahin, accuses the Iraqi government of dragging its feet. "We feel the new government in Iraq should really look at this matter more sincerely. "We hear a lot from them in meetings about how they are also the victims of Saddam. We understand that. But we tell them that we are dealing with the Republic of Iraq, which is responsible for locating these mass graves and helping us retrieve these bodies, regardless of which government is in power." UN concern That is a sentiment echoed by the United Nations. Last month, the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, expressed concern that despite some progress the remains of 369 Kuwaiti and third country nationals had not yet been identified. He noted that the Kuwaiti national archives had also not yet been found. In October, Kuwait appointed an ambassador to Baghdad, and is waiting for Iraq to reciprocate. But the POW museum and the importance the Kuwaits attach to honouring and recovering their dead reveals that even today - 19 years on - there is a feeling of injustice. It will linger until all those missing are returned home.

Eleni
12:06 5/14/2009
After Iraqi troops occupied Kuwait in August 1990, hundreds of Kuwaitis and nationals of other countries went missing. The Iraqis were forced out by an international coalition in February the following year, but as the BBC's Christian Fraser reports from Kuwait City, many people have still not been found. Ahmad Esa Matar remembers all too clearly the day the Iraqi soldiers took his 17-year old-boy. "They came early in the morning," he said. "Six o'clock, while Khaled was still in bed." Nineteen years later, the day is fresh in the memory and still painful to recount. "I saw him later that day, in the prison," said Ahmad. "He was tired, they had beaten him around the face. He cried when he saw us. He said he thought he'd be killed. That was the last time I saw him." Does Ahmad think about that day a lot? "Too much," he said. "Every day - for 19 years." Khaled's body was recovered from a mass grave in Samawa in Iraq in 2004. He had been blindfolded and shot in the head. But the return of the body for burial in Kuwait has helped Ahmad and the family to start rebuilding their lives. There are plenty of other families in Kuwait who are still clinging to the hope that their loved ones might yet return. Iqbal still waits for her brother Amman - even though she knows deep in her heart that he is dead. "Hope is what drives me on," she said. "It keeps me strong." But it also twists the agony. "I hate the Iraqis for what they have done," she said. "I have a missing brother and a cousin who was found and DNA identified. How can I ever have any sympathy for the Iraqis?" It is thought that all the prisoners of war were executed within three days of Iraq's withdrawal in February 1991. Saddam Hussein's henchman Ali Hassan al-Majid - otherwise known as Chemical Ali - had ordered that they should be buried in mass graves in different provinces of Iraq. Retrieved and identified "We started with 605 missing Kuwaitis or third country nationals," said Ibrahim al-Shahin, Vice President of the National Committee For POW Affairs. "Now we have retrieved and identified the remains of 236 people, who were brought from mass graves in Iraq and buried in Kuwait. There is no sign of hundreds of Kuwaitis who went missing "The remaining 370 or so are still open files with the International Committee of the Red Cross, listed as missing until it is proved they are dead." The Kuwaitis have built a museum in memory of those who were killed. Around the walls are the portraits of all those who went missing. A piece of black tape has been stuck across the corner of some frames, signifying those who have have been found and returned. Adel al-Abduljader from the Committee for POWs showed me around the museum and the photographs of the mass graves they have excavated. The sites were identified from information supplied by coalition forces and the Iraqi authorities. They are pictures that echo the horrors of the Nazi death camps. 'No mercy' "The prisoners were lined up and ordered to kneel, blindfolded," said Mr Abduljader. "And then they were shot twice in the head. Women and men together. No mercy. "Each row was covered with a thin layer of sand before the next victims were brought forward." The job of identifying the remains is now in the hands of the Ministry of Interior's Criminal Evidence Department. In one case, where three brothers were found in the same grave, they carried out facial reconstruction to identify the remains. "Each set of bones is given its own number," said the deputy director of forensic evidence, Brigadier Dr Fahad al-Dosari. "The number corresponds to a date and place where the body was found. "These are the sites we have excavated so far - Samawa 89 bodies, Karbala 78, Ramadi 25, Amarah 33 and Kuwait 2," he said, going through his list. "On one occasion a doctor who was working with us identified his brother from the bones we had found. " But the team has not returned to Iraq since 2005. The information from the Iraqi government has dried up and it is dangerous to travel without guaranteed protection. "We would go back tomorrow," said the Brigadier. "We have all our tools. We have our team. We are ready." The Vice President of the POW committee, Ibrahim al-Shahin, accuses the Iraqi government of dragging its feet. "We feel the new government in Iraq should really look at this matter more sincerely. "We hear a lot from them in meetings about how they are also the victims of Saddam. We understand that. But we tell them that we are dealing with the Republic of Iraq, which is responsible for locating these mass graves and helping us retrieve these bodies, regardless of which government is in power." UN concern That is a sentiment echoed by the United Nations. Last month, the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, expressed concern that despite some progress the remains of 369 Kuwaiti and third country nationals had not yet been identified. He noted that the Kuwaiti national archives had also not yet been found. In October, Kuwait appointed an ambassador to Baghdad, and is waiting for Iraq to reciprocate. But the POW museum and the importance the Kuwaits attach to honouring and recovering their dead reveals that even today - 19 years on - there is a feeling of injustice. It will linger until all those missing are returned home.

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