European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 12, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Katherine Baker prepares to Tell High school students in Lafayette ind., of her escape with her brother from Kuwait after the iraqi invasion of aug. 2. An bringing Kuwait to americans Midwest by Leslie Dreyfous associated press after Katherine Baker finishes telling the tale of her escape from the Middle East an awkward silence spreads across the gymnasium bleachers at Central Catholic High in Lafayette ind. Quot any questions come on no one has any questions a Katherine asks looking out at the teen age audience wilting in Indian summer heat. Katherine sees the kind of wide open midwestern faces she her brother and sister knew As students in Lafayette a Rural City about an hours drive Northwest of Indianapolis. She is trying to reach them with images of Kuwait a modern downtown its ancient Gold souks the arabic Peoples warmth. Telling these students about that foreign faraway life is All she can do now. Because that life As if a Mirage is gone. Like her brother Bill Baker Katherine lost everything on aug. 2, when Saddam Hussein a troops crossed from Iraq into Kuwait. She awoke on that Day to the sound of artillery. She since has slept fitfully if at All. For the Bakers this International crisis is a personal crisis. But More than the financial stability and treasured possessions lost they Are mourning and fighting for what Kuwait was to them. A a she a making the Middle East real for the kids Quot said Steve Eddy a social studies teacher at Central Catholic. Quot some americans feel the hostages deserved to be victims. The kids have asked what americans were doing there  Katherine 37, was a retail manager happily settled in a House near the sea. After 31/2 years in Kuwait she finally had made a Home for her two wrinkle faced pups artwork Antiques and other souvenirs collected Over a decade living abroad. Bill who was on vacation in France when Iraq invaded was a contractor and consultant in Kuwait. In the Middle East head found a place to Start anew after divorcing his wife 11 years ago. He was financially Well off enjoying a porsche and 42-foot Sailboat. Head cultivated an International Circle of friends and an understanding of Arab culture. Quot that country is a Little Gem Quot said Bill 40, his Ruddy and animated face momentarily wooden. A but its gone. That life my loves my boat. My baby  the Bakers have lost their touchstones. They now live nowhere and own next to nothing a pair of sneakers some jeans a few photos whatever Katherine stuffed into her hastily packed bag. Suddenly these Independent world travellers have come Home to bunk with their Middle sister Sarah or maybe with their widowed Mother in Springfield Iii. Young americans have never known War and studies indicate would Likely have trouble finding Kuwait which is one fifth the size of Indiana on a map. And yet since Summers Calm was shattered they have heard daily reports on americans held hostage and soldiers deployed in the Middle East. Quot be aware. Know the world and that it is very Small today a Katherine urges the kids at her Alma mater. Quot i crisis in the Gulf  be Here if it weren to for my kuwaiti  the first student tentatively raises a hand then More follow with questions. They want to know was Kuwait a democracy or a dictatorship what exactly Are american troops Over there to protect would she live there again Katherine is grabbing their attention with a real Story about How accepting people with a different religion looks or culture saved her life. She is talking both about the european friends with whom she touched out the sieges first Days and about the natives who helped her to safety after 12 Days in hiding. At great risk a kuwaiti family shed never met before and May never see again brought Katherine and her German Boyfriend a disguised in traditional Black religious Robes a along in their caravan across the desert. Iraqi troops twice turned the four jeep Convoy Back at the City s outskirts before the group navigated a route out under the desert s 120-degree Sun. Her kuwaiti allies never flinched. The group stopped Only briefly during their four hour dash. Once to pick up a disoriented and dehydrated Arab whose car had broken Down hours earlier. The second time to free a jeep stuck in the Sand. Quot i saw a lot of abandoned cars. A lot. And that s sad Quot Katherine said. Quot i know a lot of my friends their families have  Katherine crouched in the jeeps rear wedged Between Gas cans and her trembling dogs. A two weeks before things were Fine i was living a Normal life Quot Katherine said. Quot then All of a sudden you re running through the desert with a dog hugging  when Katherine finally reached the saudi Border she was not elated. Too Many people had been left behind along with the baby photos letters and other possessions of a lifetime. Quot i feel a great debt to those people Quot said Katherine running a hand through the hair she cropped Short after friends reported iraqi troops were raping women. Quot i owe them my  Bill too feels an allegiance. His friends who helped Katherine escape now Are penniless and Frozen out of their Homeland. Quot we be got to build Back Quot he said. Quot when the doors open Well be  Bill plans to organize a group of contractors technicians computer specialists and others to go in and rebuild when Kuwait is freed a As he is sure one Day it will be. Katherine plans to work with the coming Home committee a group based in Champaign Iii., that is working to help hostages and their families. A Brush it off get on keep Busy Quot says Sarah 38, a professor of radiologic technology at Indiana University. Her Indianapolis Home is a Refuge for Bill and Katherine whose spirits Are bolstered by seeing Uncle Bob eating Corn on the cob sailing and other Hallmarks of childhood Summers. But the Bakers can to wipe their slates clean and begin fresh in the United states. They have brought something of Kuwait Back with them and Are sharing it with whomever is willing to listen. Quot a whole country has been robbed and raped Quot Katherine said. A but crying about it does t do anything but bring everyone a morale  added Bill Quot we just have to pick up the pieces. Start Over again Quot wednesday septembers 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 13