By Ryan Dilley BBC News Online, in Kuwait

"The Mubarakiah restaurant seated 350 and the Jawharah seated another 350," says the 63-year-old, pointing to a rough column of concrete, brick and tile - all that remains of the adjoining dining rooms which were once the pride of the Al-Messilah Beach Hotel.

Just days before the invading Iraqis were routed from Kuwait in 1991, the hotel was ransacked and the restaurants blown up, says Mr Barlow.

"It was a case of: 'If we can't have it, neither can you.'"

Such tales of destruction are common in Kuwait, and like many local businessmen, Mr Barlow never entertained the thought of turning his back on the ruins.

"The hotel was my life. I'd been here since 1976, and anyway, who else was going to give me a job at that age?"

Desert break

Mr Barlow donned overalls to sweep up the broken glass littering reception and drag out coils of barbed wire to discourage looters willing to take whatever the Iraqis had not - and all with a vigour surprising for a man held captive by Saddam Hussein to act as a so-called "human shield".

Mr Barlow, his wife, his son and scores of his Western guests were taken at gunpoint into Iraq and billeted at a factory producing nuclear material - their presence intended to dissuade Allied air attacks.

The hotel restaurants were blown up by occupying Iraqis in 1991

Released before the bombs started to fall, ironically Mr Barlow was debriefed about the site by the very Allied air force planners the Iraqis were hoping to foil.

"I came back to Kuwait on the very first flight from London after the liberation," he says.

Amongst those now benefiting from Mr Barlow's resilience is a group of British paratroopers - frolicking by the diving board during their first break from the desert since deploying along the Iraqi border.

Mr Barlow is good humoured about his previous dealings with the Iraqi military.

Deprived and confused

"The first soldiers to arrive outside had no idea they were even in Kuwait.

"They asked for water, a needle and thread to repair their shockingly flimsy uniforms and then food - they offered to pay, but since they had AK47s I didn't take their money. Of course, they all then started to come for breakfast, lunch and dinner."

These people seem to have forgotten that without America and Britain, Kuwait would be an Iraqi province Tony Barlow Click here for the story of a 'human shield' forced to meet Saddam Hussein in 1990

Of his months of captivity - in harsh conditions only briefly alleviated for a visit by Iraqi TV cameras - Mr Barlow complains most about the uncertainty and the lack of food: "We were on WeightWatchers."

So will Mr Barlow be following the members of the expatriate community who have thought better of remaining in the region during a second Gulf war?

"There'll be some hardships, but we'll weather the storm quite nicely. I don't blame those people with young children for leaving, but I have a business to run and staff to think of."

Even though the hotel is in striking distance of the Iraqi border and with General Hassan al-Majid - the same "Chemical Ali" who gassed 5,000 Kurds in one attack in 1988 - now in charge of Iraq's southern defences, Mr Barlow is doubtful he has much to fear from any weapons of mass destruction still in Saddam's arsenal.

Fanatics

Mr Barlow thinks the likelier threat to his life comes from closer to home.

The Paras are not the only armed guests lounging around the hotel today.

Kuwaiti police have just been deployed to dissuade attacks by what the local papers are calling the "fifth column".

"Fifth column is the wrong word. There are young fundamentalists, spoiled because they've never had to work for a living and given the wrong sort of teaching by some Kuwaiti mullahs," says Mr Barlow.

Like Osama bin Laden? "No, they're not as violent as Osama."

The hotel has become high security as war looms

But "white faces" - as Mr Barlow calls westerners in the Gulf - have died in recent terrorist attacks in Kuwait.

"These people seem to have forgotten that without America and Britain, Kuwait would be an Iraqi province. The risk has increased in recent weeks. In case anyone tries to tail me I change my route to work, and my wife and I alternate which cars we drive."

Even before getting behind the wheel, Mr Barlow checks that no one has booby trapped his vehicle.

"A few months ago I'd have said doing that was silly, but today it seems only sensible."

Guards

So what do the paying guests think of holidaying beside heavily armed police and having to pass check points even to gain entry to the pool?

"We like to be more discreet, but the interior ministry insisted we have the guards. The guests say they feel more secure."

One officer sits on the sand, happily gazing out into the Gulf as holidaymakers paddle in the surf.

Close by, a machine gun toting colleague admires his distinctive blue camouflage uniform in the beach club's mirrored glass.

With a shooting war in prospect, these police must be thankful for such a posting.

Do you live in the Gulf region? Are you preparing for war? Send us your experiences.

When your work is here and this is your means of supporting your family, the choice is not that clear. Should we decide to go back, what are we supposed to do? No guarantee of a job and certainly no financial support from the government. The Kuwaiti people have always been supportive and generous. No doubt the West will also be at risk which is why I have more concerns for family I have left behind.
Steve, Kuwait

My Kuwaiti neighbours will look after me Nick Smith, Kuwait

I'm still in Kuwait. We are very well protected here. However I have prepared a safe room just in case. I'm not worried about any internal terrorist attack. My Kuwaiti neighbours are very supportive and will look after me in case of any trouble.
Nick Smith, Kuwait

My wife and I live in Abu Dhabi in the UAE and parents and friends are still planning visits to us. While international media has focused on potential terrorism, it is important not to forget that I can leave my car running and pop into a shop without it getting stolen; I can return from a holiday without thinking "Has my house been burgled?" and violent crime is virtually unheard of. We will follow embassy guidelines and keep a lower profile. The majority of people in this multicultural and multi-religious community simply continue to live and work together in relative harmony. It is a shame that many people tar the whole Middle Eastern region with the same brush.
Paul Kirkby, United Arab Emirates

Here in Kuwait many of us have decided not to leave as we all have our lives here. It is fine for the UK to advise us to leave however when your work is here and this is your means of supporting your family sometimes the choice is not that clear. Should we decide to go back what are we supposed to do? No guarantee of a job and certainly no financial support from the government so that limits choices for those who have made their lives here. The Kuwaiti people have always been supportive and generous and though there is a minimal risk vigilance during this time is required and no doubt will be practiced by all those concerned however the risk will be there now for some time to come and no doubt those countries from the west will also be greatly at risk which is why I have more concerns for family I have left behind.
Steve, Kuwait

I'm still in Kuwait. Like Mr Barlow, I doubt that Saddam has the ability to attack Kuwait. We are very well protected here. However I have prepared a safe room just in case. I'm not worried about any internal terrorist attack. My Kuwaiti neighbours are very supportive and will look after me in case of any trouble.
Nick Smith, Kuwait

I have been in the Middle East for 18 years. I have my family here, wife and four children. Our business is here and our life. This is our home. During the last "war" many people just upped and left. I can never understand why responsible expats are so blatant at grabbing the good times and running away so quickly when things are bad. I am an Englishman, and proud of it, so when I say "friend" to a man in the Middle East I mean it, through thick and thin, happy and sad, good times or bad times. We shall stay and share whatever comes.
Peter Troth, Dubai UAE

Life goes on very much as normal. It is a pleasure to be here Malcolm Taylor, Dubai, UAE

I have spent most of 37 years in the Gulf and now live in Dubai which is the best home anyone could hope for, with a high personal security, plenty to do, great weather, and a wonderfully welcoming local population. Here in Dubai the luxury beach hotels are still over 60% full, mostly with UK and other European tourists. No matter where I was based in the Gulf, I would not leave on the instructions of the FCO. Following the criticism the FCO received after Bali I believe they are over-reacting by advising UK nationals to leave Bahrain. Life in Dubai, as in most parts of the Gulf, goes on very much as normal. It is a pleasure to be here.
Malcolm Taylor, Dubai, UAE

When in 1991 the last Gulf War started I was 7 and living in the UAE. Of course my parents decided that being 300 miles away from the fighting was not the best of ideas and decided to come back to the UK. The vague memories that I have of the events are of worried faces and tense emotions. I can only think that this is what all the children of expats are feeling now. In my opinion only the foolish will stay in the Middle East during this troubling time as the world awaits inevitable war.
Tom Moore, United Arab Emirates

I live in Bahrain but travel to Kuwait frequently. I have heard the British Embassy's advice to consider my position but like Tony Barlow my life is here in the Gulf. In Britain I have no home, no job and little prospect of finding one as good as I have here. Also my 15 year old daughter is sitting GCSE's this year and it would be unfair to her to uproot her from the only home and school she has known. We do not feel threatened by Iraq, we are aware of possible problems with the Bahraini youth if the war kills civilians but we are taking enough precautions to keep a low profile. I also feel that in the weeks after an invasion of Iraq it is the residents of London, New York and Washington who will be more vulnerable that us who live in Arab countries.
Jackie Beedie, Bahrain

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