Air Raid Sirens - Kuwaiti Style!

I received an email at work from the PR dept. stating that there will be testing of the air raid sirens by the civil defense.

As usual... the wail of those sirens brings me into a huge discomfort. Its not like I am scared of the sound or anything... but its annoying!I mean Kuwait's been through a number of crises, and those tests well hmmm they are good, but would they ever be effective and used right in case of emergency or crisis??

We have been hearing them during the American-Iraqi war numerous times. They go on indicating that danger is approaching or already happened and then within few minutes another one goes on indicating that the coast is clear and the danger has passed!! Come on!!I mean a lot of air raid siren kept us on the edge during that time, until people here got so used to them that if they were shopping in mall or walking in the street.. They just go on normally when the sirens wail... and would not really run to near-by shelters!

I know that some people in the beginning would jump and freak each time the sirens go on... they'd run to the shelter with their gas masks and protection gears! And sometimes don't even get to the shelters because the danger siren is followed shortly by an "all-clear" siren!!And when real danger occurs, you don't get the warning! Actually we never get an "in-advance" or "approaching danger" sirens.. Usually they're like the danger occurred already... people! Your on your own.. You're screwed!! LOL... even better NO SIREN at all when REAL DANGER had occurred!!

I still remember the CNN reporters joking about it at the time, once there was this reporter talking about the air raid siren system in Kuwait when a siren went on while he was on air and he was like: "see, its supposed to indicate danger.. but no serious danger had actually occur" and he just didn't move or run to a shelter.. and also when a missile did really hit Soug Sharg, a popular shopping mall in Kuwait, late at night! No sirens went on, but I remember I was watching a movie at home with my sister and brother in-law.. When a loud crashing/explosion- sound accompanied by the house windows shaking and rocking, which terrified the hell outta me! I was like WHAT WAS THAT!

We kept switching channels to find out more about it... but No! No! No!No air raid sirens no nothing just a crashing loud explosion noise!So to conclude it all... the actual air raids in Kuwait tend to be very brief and useless in actual crisis and annoying/disturbing when they're tested!

Viva Koweit! (I don't know why I said that in French... but what the hey! its my blog and I will cry if I want to :-p