Dubai, from pearl fishing villages to  the extravagance of mammoth projects

Slavery and worker exploitation through time

Danilo Anton

In the fourteenth century Moroccan traveler and narrator Ibn Battuta, who toured the cities and territories of Shiraz, the oasis of Al Hasa and Al Qatif, the island of Bahrain (which in ancient times was also known as Awal), the Strait of Hormuz and Oman, confirmed the existence of the thriving activity of pearl fishing in the coastal areas of the Persian/ Arabian Gulf.

When the Portuguese explorers arrived in the sixteenth century and established several strong (in Bahrain, Al Qatif, island of Hormuz and Muscat), and later, when the area came into the British sphere of influence, the pearl extraction continued to be the main economic support of the seaside towns of the region.

From the seventeenth to the nineteenth century pearls banks continued to be exploited in the islands of Bahrain and Dalmah (near Abu Dhabi), in Abu Musa, in Hormuz and the Lavan-Kish archipelago.

Due to excessive extraction oysters in the shallow intertidal zone it was necessary to extend the extractive dive to deeper waters (10 meters) with the consequent risk for divers ..

Diving was made from small wooden boats (called "dhow"). Usually it was required to perform 50 to 60 dives per day. They were sunk with heavy stones to facilitate diving and in depth the divers had to collect as many oyster as possible before returning to the surface. The use of slaves for the extraction of pearls off the coast of the Persian/Arabian Gulf continued until the twentieth century. In 1930 there were still several thousand slaves in the Trucial States (now the UAE), Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.

The Gulf in the XXI century

Things have changed in the Gulf emirates since the days of pearl divers. The cause was the influx of financial resources due to the exploitation of local oil deposits.

Small villages of traditional fishermen, who had just a few hundred or a few thousand people, were transformed into modern cities with hundreds of thousands and even millions of people. The Emirate of Dubai, which was a tiny community in the early twentieth century, today has 2,300,000 inhabitants in an area of ​​4,100 km2, Abu Dhabi has a population of 870,000, 700,000 and Bahrain Sharjah 700,000, much larger than the small size of these villages in old times. Today's the Gulf cities are built with abundant resources, large housing developments and bold projects requiring huge investments.

Dubai's case is symptomatic. This emirate possesses the world's tallest building (Borj Khalifa 828 meters), the world biggest mall (Dubai Mall), the most fruitful source (Dubai Fountain), extensive artificial islands (Palm Jumeirah and World Islands) is , the "only" seven stars that exists (Burj el Arab) hotel and a metro and numerous streets, canals and bridges.

One wonders how this wasteful extravagance was possible from that modest beginning. The answer lies in the fact that Dubai is in the heart of the most important world oil production region. Its geopolitical and geographical position has allowed it to concentrate financial surplus raised by neighboring countries and by bold business marketing strategies at regional and global level.

Without going as far as Dubai, other Gulf cities have also established particularly onerous urban, commercial and industrial projects.

To carry out these projects, the region has been able to count on abundant cheap labor from densely populated and poor countries in Africa and Asia, such as India, Nepal, Pakistan and the Philippines.

Despite this apparent wealth, the workers who built and work in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and other Gulf cities are often in semi-slavery conditions.

 With long-term contracts, harsh working conditions, with part of their wages and passports withheld they have become virtual hostages of a situation from which they can not escape. In the Persian Gulf slavery has taken new forms but did not disappear.

From "Chronicles of the Human Adventure" Danilo Antón, Piriguazú Editions.

Blog in Spanish: 

daniloanton.blogsppot.com

Slaves and semi-slaves in Gulf societies
Danilo Antón

Societies in the Persian Gulf or Arabian Gulf (as it is also called) seem to be predestined to operate based on the exploitation of slave (as it was historically) or semi-slave labor (as it is today).
For many centuries coastal communities based much of their income on the extraction and sale of pearls. For this they used slaves who had to constantly dive to collect as many pearls as possible. The task was so hard that divers could not resist more than a few years. 
At present the heavy work is carried out by immigrants from Asian countries. These workers live and work in conditions of semi-slavery. They live in unhealthy constructions, with poor food, without rest or labor benefits, with arbitrary payment (or not) of  wages and without freedom to be able to return to their countries because in the Gulf countries the employers retain the passports of their employees. 
Here is a brief historical review of life in Gulf Coast communities.

Pearl divers

The collection of pearl from oysters has been one of the hardest extractive operations in history. Usually slave divers were forced divers to constantly dive to obtain the valuable gems in order to satisfy the greater profits for the local employers and employers.
Since Sumerian times, in Mesopotamia, and at least since the sixth Pharaonic dynasty in Egypt (in the third millennium BCE), pearl collection was the basis of the economy of the Persian Gulf societies. 
At the beginning of the first century BCE, Pliny the Elder, in his book Historia Naturalis considered that the most perfect and exquisite pearls were obtained from the Persian Gulf in Arabia. Shortly afterwards, the Roman-Egyptian historian Ptolemy wrote about the pearl fisheries on the island of Tylos, which was the Roman name of Bahrain.
In the fourteenth century the Moroccan traveler and narrator Ibn Batuta, who toured the cities and territories of Shiraz, the oases of Al Hasa and Al Qatif, the island of Bahrain (formerly known as Awal), the Strait of Hormuz and Oman, Ratified the existence of this prosperous activity in the coastal areas of the Persian Gulf.
In the 16th century the Portuguese established several forts (in Bahrain, Al Qatif, Hormuz and Muscat), and later, when the area fell under British influence, pearl extraction continued to be the main economic support for coastal towns. In the 17th and 19th centuries the pearl banks continued to be exploited in the islands of Bahrain and Dalmah (near Abu-Dhabi), Abu Musa, Hormuz and the Lavan-Kish archipelago.
Due to the excessive extraction of oysters90 in the shallow intertidal zone, it was necessary to extend the extractive dive to the deeper waters (more than 10 meters) with the consequent risk to the divers ..
The dive was made from small wooden boats (called "dhow"). Until the early nineteenth century divers were usually slaves forced to perform 50 to 60 submersions per day. To submerge they were allowed to sink with heavy stones collecting the largest quantity of oysters before returning to the surface91. The use of slaves for the extraction of pearls on the coasts of the Persian Gulf continued until the twentieth century. In 1930 there were still several thousand slaves in the States of the Truce (now the United Arab Emirates), Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.

The Gulf in the 21st Century

Things have changed in the Gulf emirates since the days of the pearl divers.
The cause was the inflow of financial resources due to the exploitation of the local hydrocarbon deposits.
The small traditional fishing villages, which had only a few hundred or a few thousand people, became modern cities with hundreds of thousands and even millions of inhabitants.
The Emirate of Dubai, which was a tiny community at the beginning of the 20th century, today has 2,300,000 inhabitants on an area of ​​4,100 km2, Abu Dhabi has a population of 870,000, Sharjah 700,000 and Bahrain 700,000, far superior to the few dimensions of these villages in old times. The cities of today are cities built with abundant resources, great building development and daring projects that required large investments.
The case of Dubai is symptomatic. In this emirate is the tallest building in the world (Borj Khalifa with 828 meters), the largest Mall of the planet (Dubai Mall), the largest source (Dubai Fountain), extensive artificial islands (Palm Jumeirah and World Islands) , It is maintained that there is the "unique" seven star hotel that exists in the mu (Burj el Arab), as well as a subway and numerous avenues.

UAE: ostentatious luxury and modern slavery

The obscenity of unconscionable wealth

D.Anton
Things have changed in the Gulf Emirates since the days of pearl divers.
The cause was the influx of financial resources due to the exploitation of local oil fields.
Small villages of traditional fishermen, who just had a few hundred or a few thousand people, were transformed into modern cities with hundreds of thousands and even millions of people.
The Emirate of Dubai, which was a tiny community in the early twentieth century, has 2,300,000 inhabitants today in an area of ​​4,100 km2, Abu Dhabi has a population of 870,000, Sharjah 700.000 and Bahrain 700,000, much higher than the small size of these towns in old times. Today's cities are cities built with abundant resources, large housing development and bold projects requiring large investments. Dubai case is symptomatic. In this emirate there is the world's tallest building (Borj Khalifa with 828 meters), the planet's largest shopping mall (Dubai Mall), the most fruitful source (Dubai Fountain), extensive artificial islands (Palm Jumeirah and World Islands) the "only" seven-star hotel that exists in the world (Burj el Arab) a subway and numerous avenues, canals and bridges. One wonders how it has developed this wasteful extravagance from that modest beginning.

The answer lies in the fact that Dubai is in the heart of the region's most important world oil production areas. Its geopolitical and geographical position has allowed it to concentrate financial surpluses raised by neighboring countries through skillful marketing strategies at regional and global levels. Without reaching the level of Dubai other Gulf cities have also established particularly onerous urban, commercial and industrial projects. To carry out these projects the region has been able to count on abundant cheap labor from densely populated and poor regions in Africa and Asia, including India, Nepal, Pakistan and the Philippines.
Despite this apparent wealth, the workers who built and work in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and other Gulf cities often live in conditions of semi-slavery. With long-term contracts, harsh working conditions, with part of their wages and passports withheld, they are transformed into virtual hostages of a situation from which they cannot escape.
In the Gulf slavery has taken new forms but did not disappear}..
Reproduced fromj Chronicles of the Human Adventure, D.Antón, PiriGuazú Editions

Dubai, from pearl fishing villages to  the extravagance of mammoth projects

Slavery and worker exploitation through time

Danilo Anton

In the fourteenth century Moroccan traveler and narrator Ibn Battuta, who toured the cities and territories of Shiraz, the oasis of Al Hasa and Al Qatif, the island of Bahrain (which in ancient times was also known as Awal), the Strait of Hormuz and Oman, confirmed the existence of the thriving activity of pearl fishing in the coastal areas of the Persian/ Arabian Gulf.

When the Portuguese explorers arrived in the sixteenth century and established several strong (in Bahrain, Al Qatif, island of Hormuz and Muscat), and later, when the area came into the British sphere of influence, the pearl extraction continued to be the main economic support of the seaside towns of the region.

From the seventeenth to the nineteenth century pearls banks continued to be exploited in the islands of Bahrain and Dalmah (near Abu Dhabi), in Abu Musa, in Hormuz and the Lavan-Kish archipelago.

Due to excessive extraction oysters in the shallow intertidal zone it was necessary to extend the extractive dive to deeper waters (10 meters) with the consequent risk for divers ..

Diving was made from small wooden boats (called "dhow"). Usually it was required to perform 50 to 60 dives per day. They were sunk with heavy stones to facilitate diving and in depth the divers had to collect as many oyster as possible before returning to the surface. The use of slaves for the extraction of pearls off the coast of the Persian/Arabian Gulf continued until the twentieth century. In 1930 there were still several thousand slaves in the Trucial States (now the UAE), Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.

The Gulf in the XXI century

Things have changed in the Gulf emirates since the days of pearl divers. The cause was the influx of financial resources due to the exploitation of local oil deposits.

Small villages of traditional fishermen, who had just a few hundred or a few thousand people, were transformed into modern cities with hundreds of thousands and even millions of people. The Emirate of Dubai, which was a tiny community in the early twentieth century, today has 2,300,000 inhabitants in an area of ​​4,100 km2, Abu Dhabi has a population of 870,000, 700,000 and Bahrain Sharjah 700,000, much larger than the small size of these villages in old times. Today's the Gulf cities are built with abundant resources, large housing developments and bold projects requiring huge investments.

Dubai's case is symptomatic. This emirate possesses the world's tallest building (Borj Khalifa 828 meters), the world biggest mall (Dubai Mall), the most fruitful source (Dubai Fountain), extensive artificial islands (Palm Jumeirah and World Islands) is , the "only" seven stars that exists (Burj el Arab) hotel and a metro and numerous streets, canals and bridges.

One wonders how this wasteful extravagance was possible from that modest beginning. The answer lies in the fact that Dubai is in the heart of the most important world oil production region. Its geopolitical and geographical position has allowed it to concentrate financial surplus raised by neighboring countries and by bold business marketing strategies at regional and global level.

Without going as far as Dubai, other Gulf cities have also established particularly onerous urban, commercial and industrial projects.

To carry out these projects, the region has been able to count on abundant cheap labor from densely populated and poor countries in Africa and Asia, such as India, Nepal, Pakistan and the Philippines.

Despite this apparent wealth, the workers who built and work in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and other Gulf cities are often in semi-slavery conditions.

 With long-term contracts, harsh working conditions, with part of their wages and passports withheld they have become virtual hostages of a situation from which they can not escape. In the Persian Gulf slavery has taken new forms but did not disappear.

From "Chronicles of the Human Adventure" Danilo Antón, Piriguazú Editions.

Blog in Spanish: 

daniloanton.blogsppot.com