I came across a diary from a woman named Thérèse, who was married to a French engineer working on the construction of the Boubyan Bridge. The bridge was built by the French engineering firm Bouygues—the same team behind major projects like the Channel Tunnel and Terminal 2 at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.
According to Thérèse, the French employees lived in a small camp near the bridge construction site, with the Chinese workers in a separate camp nearby. They arrived in Kuwait in 1981 and left in 1982. Each family had its own bungalow, and the camp also included some entertainment facilities like a clubhouse with a swimming pool, game hall, and restaurant.
It was interesting going through all her photos and random stories, since it gave a glimpse into the life of this isolated community in Kuwait.
Even though they lived on the camp, the children still attended the French School in Salmiya. The commute was an hour each way, and at first they used to be transported by bus but later the company got them a more comfortable Suburban. Once a week the mums would be allowed to accompany the children on the ride so they could go shopping or to the hairdresser. Once the kids are done with school, they used to go have lunch at the Le Meridien Hotel, but as customers complained about the commotion the kids would make, the hotel started refusing to serve them.
One Christmas they had Santa Claus come down on the roof of the clubhouse using a construction crane that was on site. The crane driver tried to be funny and dropped Santa Clause partially into the swimming pool which caused Santa to let off a string of expletives in front of the kids. The following year Santa refused to arrive by air and instead opted to arrive on a donkey.
I loved reading these random, mundane tidbits
According to Thérèse, social life was fairly calm, but they had a community and they held parties often, and also shared books and videotapes. They seemed to have made the best of their time in Kuwait, with the only complaint being about the violent sandstorms.
There are too many photos to share here so if you want to check them out, here is the link to the page on her time in Kuwait.
The page is in French, so use Google Translate if you want to read it in English.
6 replies on “Life at Boubyan Bridge Construction Camp – 1981”
Haha! They love that grape juice! Great picture!
If you go through her photos on her website you’ll quickly realize that’s not grape juice 😅
They grape juice recipe is still alive till this day! 🤣. Long tradition!
We all know about the grape juice. It was so popular it was usually on the end cap of an aisle at the Sultan Center with other supplies. Wink wink
You beguile us ever more posting totally arbit stuff around us & adding an element of mystique to it, in the process. I am curious to know if and when the Boubyan bridge was commissioned and if it even exists today.
The pictures of the French engineers and the Chinese contract workers together speaks to a rare kind of susegad (Goan Portuguese) for a fulfilled relaxed way of life. Feels almost surreal 40 years on.
Sandstorms in Kuwait. Well, what can I say?! I know it sounds ludicrous but there was always something vaguely erotic about them and remember I was only a kid back then. Not going to say how old though 😉
I think from what I read it was commissioned in 79 or went to tender in 79 something like that