A wedding party in Oyoun, Kuwait became the site of one of the country’s worst tragedies on August 15, 2009. What was supposed to be a happy celebration turned into a nightmare when a massive fire killed 57 people and hurt around 90 others in just a few minutes.
The groom, 36-year-old Zayed Zafira, was getting married to his second wife that day. In Kuwait, men are allowed to marry more than one woman. His first wife, 23-year-old Nasra Yussef Mohammad al-Enezi, was not at the party. She and Zayed had gotten married when she was still a teenager, and they had two kids together who both had disabilities. The wedding followed traditional rules where men and women celebrate separately, so all the women and children were in a big tent near the groom’s family house.
