The Blackwash
Making cultural & historical commentary on social issues. Laundry is the only thing that should be separated by colour!
The Blackwash
Beyond the Glamour: Dubai's Overlooked Historical Realities
While Dubai today is synonymous with luxury and innovation, its history tells a different story. The pearl diving industry, once the economic lifeblood of the region, was fraught with peril and exploitation. In the episode, we discuss the narratives that gloss over the significant contributions of enslaved Africans to the region's economic development. Drawing from Finley's "Ancient Slavery and Modern Ideology," we argue that Dubai qualifies as a genuine slave society, emphasizing the crucial role African slaves played in the pearl diving industry. We also scrutinize how slavery persisted even after the pearl industry's decline and its official abolition, with slave owners receiving compensations during the transition to an oil-dependent economy. Tune in to uncover the grim realities that have shaped modern Dubai, challenging the often celebratory stories of its transformation from rags to riches.
What's going on, people, and welcome to the third episode of the Black Wash. It has been one month since my last upload and the reason for that is because I went to Dubai for my uncle's 60th birthday. Now, if you know me and my content, dubai isn't typically the type of place that I would normally go, as I tend to go to black majority countries because it helps to inform my work. But on this milestone occasion, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to celebrate my uncle's 60th birthday, and a celebration was had. I went with my cousin, my cousin's dad, as I mentioned, my uncle and my uncle's best friend, ie my cousin's godfather. So it was an intergenerational lad's trip. If you have not had one, I highly recommend.
Speaker 1:And on a carnal level, it was an intergenerational lad's trip. If you have not had one, I highly recommend. And on a carnal level, it was great physically, every day being amongst sporty men. We did badminton, practically in the dark, we did golf, we did paddle, etc. And the Dubai lifestyle really encourages physical activity because the places are open so late. So all of these activities we did took place at like 11, midnight, etc.
Speaker 1:And then, on a spiritual level, for me, what I call navigating the maze of black masculinity. It was great to be around black men of different generations as, statistically, as I mentioned in my last podcast episode, the lone parent household for Afro-Caribbeans in this country sits at around 60 to 63 percent. So, as someone who is fatherless on a spiritual level, I absorbed, I soaked and I was blessed not only to be of my cousin, but my uncle and my cousin's godfather, my uncle's best friend from young you know. So I say that to lay the foundations. Although it's not a place that I would normally go to, I often find myself saying, not to be so righteous, minded that I'm of no earthly good.
Speaker 1:Now, beyond the carnal and the spiritual, let's move on to the reason why we're here, the historical, because, of course, I used this opportunity to dig deep into dubai's black slash african history from the early to late modern period to inform what we see in dubai and the uae today. So when I asked my ig and tiktok live audience which is now every every Sunday at 9pm, if you want to be involved in these conversations live when I asked them what are your associations with Dubai, they said the following things. They said oil, wealth, nice weather, shakes, tourism, hotels, and I wrote down rags to riches and the Burj Khalifa, which is one of the tallest buildings in the world. Although the majority was overwhelmingly positive, some people did mention a few words that have negative connotations, such as the word exploitation. However, no one mentioned what we're here to discuss and deep dive into today, which is Dubai, the pearl industry.
Speaker 1:So, to start this journey, to start this investigation and to start this deep dive, of course I started looking at resources and books, and one of the things that I love to do is I love to buy books and history books from said country, and in the UAE it was no different. So I saw a book called From Rags to Riches, a story of Abu Dhabi, and on there it's got a sticker saying all-time bestseller and it is written by Mohammed AJ Al Fahim. Apologies if I mispronounce the last name. So, in terms of my investigation and my deep dive, of course this book and the title on the cover appealed to me. So From Rags to Riches is talking about the economy and A Story Of, so it's talking about the history.
Speaker 1:So immediately I'm thinking the pearl diving industry must be mentioned in this book. And guess what it was? There is a chapter called Pearling Bitter Memories. There is a chapter called pearling bitter memories. So with that title, pearling bitter memories immediately I'm thinking to myself okay, so they're going to be speaking about the exploitation, they're going to be talking about the mistreatment and enslavement of black african people. Now, the pearling chapter wasn't very long it was about five pages or so but I was bitterly disappointed to find that there was no mention of any of the things that I just mentioned. They did, of course, talk about the economy, so they lay the foundations and say that the gulf was one of the most prolific natural pearl producing areas in the world, and then it goes on to say which is a direct quote, that by the 19th century it had become a lifeblood.
Speaker 1:The conditions under which pearl divers worked were indomitable, and it was with considerable dread that Abu Dhabians anticipated the onset of each pearling season. Now, there are two important things that I want to unpack from that quote, the first being it was with considerable dread that Abu Dhabians anticipated the onset of each pearling season. Now, I don't doubt that the Abu Dhabians, the natives, that they dreaded the onset of the pearl diving season. The lives of pearl diving crews were hard, and health problems abounded, ruptured eardrums were almost universal Blindness was not uncommon around seasoned divers who sometimes continued to dive after they lost their sight. Respiratory problems, particularly bronchitis, was common Scurvy. Most captains knew to carry enough lime juice to last the entire season. Skin problems on the account of long hours in the water was widespread and further to that, pearl diving was also dangerous because of sharks and stingrays and most commonly jellyfish that may have been present as divers descended to the sea floor with an aid of a heavy stone. That stone weight was attached with a rope and fitted with a loop to the diver's foot, and with the aid of a hauler the diver would slip his foot into the loop, inhale and descend rapidly to the sea floor, taking the diver to depths of between 50 to 80 feet and would last between one to two minutes. When the diver reached the sea floor, he kept his foot in the loop, reached and maneuvered himself as best as he could and collected as many oysters as possible. So I do not doubt the dread.
Speaker 1:However, what I do doubt and I do question is the historiography, ie the study of history, and the methodology, the interpretation, the extent to which this story from rags to riches has been influenced. Now I can't say for sure what that influence is. Is it a nationalist narrative? Was the omission of enslaved Africans an oversight? Is it self-censorship? Is it state action? I can't say conclusively. However, what is unquestionable is that, when it comes to the pearl diving industry not only in this book From Rags to Riches, but also when you visit their museums in Old Dubai and when you look at their curriculum Dubai and the UAE do not want to be associated with being a slave society.
Speaker 1:But going back to that quote that I shared from the book From Rags to Riches, I believe there's a clue. To recap, the quote says by the 19th century it had become a lifeblood. Now, that word lifeblood irked my spirit a little bit. I'm used to hearing the word lifeline, so immediately I jumped online and I looked for different definitions. One definition said that blood is essential. Another definition said that blood is the most important thing to continue the success and the existence and I infer that word being used lifeblood to speak about the enslavement of black Africans and how they were most important for the continuing success and existence of not only the pearl industry but to set up the Gulf UAE and Dubai to what we see it today the true story from rags to riches before the oil was built off the back of enslaved Africans. Now, anytime you refer to slavery, immediately you're going to get the whataboutisms, often in the form of every society has had slaves, or Africans sold other Africans into slavery.
Speaker 1:However, I want to make a clear distinction here, using the book Ancient Slavery and Modern Ideology, which was written in 1968 by Finlay, and his theory, or his distinction, is that there are societies with slaves, and that's most societies within human history versus slave societies. So societies with slaves versus slave societies. And he says that there are only five genuine slave societies in human history, and he lists them here Greece, rome, the Caribbean, brazil and America. Bear in mind this book was written in 1968. I believe that if this book were to be updated, dubai would be added to that list of slave societies.
Speaker 1:Now, that's a big statement, but I'm going to break it down using Finley's three point criteria, which goes as follows Number one, slaves must be a significant percentage in brackets, greater than 20% of the larger population. Number two, slaves must be essential to the production of economic surpluses on behalf of elites. And number three, slavery must be locatable as a central cultural and economic institution. Let's break that down and go step by step. So let's break that down and start with point number one, which was slaves, must be a significant percentage, more than 20% of the larger population. So in 1905, 28% of the UAE coast was African. Did you know that, zooming out a little bit and looking at the Gulf region in general, 22% of Qatar was African, 25% of Muscat was African and 17% of the coastal regions in Oman and Kuwait were African? Zooming in again on the UAE, in 1905, 28% of the UAE coast was African. If you picture a circle, that is more than a quarter.
Speaker 1:According to the book Slaves of One Master Globalization and Slavery in Arabia in the Age of Empire by Matthew S Hopper, by 1905, the value of pearls produced in the Gulf exceeded the production of all other parts of the world combined. And at the peak of the pearl production, the gulf pearl banks were worked by more than 3 000 boats that employed tens of thousands of men from muscat to kuwait. The pearling industry was the largest source of employment in the region and chronic shortages in labor for diving created the demand for slaves and enslaved. Divers from africa became a common site by the late 19th century and were universally regarded as the region's best and most valued divers.
Speaker 1:Coming back to Finley's theory, ancient slavery and modern ideology, point one slavery must comprise of a significant percentage, greater than 20% of the larger population Tick. The UAE meets that criteria. Moving on to point two, slaves must be essential to the production of economic surpluses on behalf of elites. So I believe that the first part of that sentence, slaves must be essential to the production. I believe that I answered that previously with my previous statistics and, to use an analogy, essentially there were not enough hands to the plow and that's why enslaved labor was brought in. But to answer the second part of that sentence, economic surpluses on behalf of elites by the 19th century, arabia and the Gulf had become economically dependent on the export of both dates and pearls, and it was the largest source of employment from 1860 to 1920. Further to that, pearls made up 95% of the national income in the Persian Gulf.
Speaker 1:Now that specifically talks to economic surpluses on behalf of elites. One such elite, as early as 1863, a Sheikh of Doha, qatar, qatar, said we are all, from the highest to the lowest, slaves of one master, the pearl. And that was the case for a while, as the pearling industry in that region reached its zenith around 1912. However, by 1950s the dependency on pearls was replaced by dependency on oil, as oil was discovered and the oil industry became the dominant economic trade. And this may come as a shock to some, but even with the waning of the pearl diving industry, slavery still continued.
Speaker 1:Slavery was officially abolished in the UAE in 1963 and in Oman it was as late as 1971, which was 53 years ago. To put that into context, that is the age of Mary J Blige, naomi Campbell and Taraji P Henson. To go even deeper, what do you think happened when slavery was officially abolished in this region? With the growth of the oil industry, the sheikhs, the growth of the oil industry, the sheikhs compensated the slave owners. Yes, you heard that right. Very much like the transatlantic slave trade, where the slave owners were compensated by Britain. The exact same thing happened in the Persian region, and that is one of the reasons why I say boldly and with chess that Dubai and the UAE is a slave society, not a society that has slaves.
Speaker 1:Now the third point is that slavery must be locatable as a central cultural and economic institution and, as I mentioned previously, on the ground in Dubai, in their museums, in their books, in their curriculum. It's not, and what I think that does is a theory that I've created, called maintaining the slaver's quo, which is a pun and a play on the term status quo, and what I mean by that is without the knowledge. Those who don't know their history are doomed to repeat it. I'll give you an example the word Habibi. I'll give you an example the word Habibi and that word is an Arabic word and it literally means my love, and it's sometimes also translated as my dear, my darling or beloved, according to dictionarycom.
Speaker 1:And when I visited Dubai, we went on an excursion to the desert, and a part of that excursion was driving in a car on the sand dunes. Our driver was a boss and he handled those peaks and troughs like itna nutton. Anyway, he didn't have a great command of English. In order to communicate with us, he used a few universal Arabic words, one of which was the word Habibi, so it was almost like a call and response. So as we went up and down the peaks and troughs on the sand dunes in the car, he would be like Habibi, and the intention was for, obviously, us to say it back. Habibi Sounds innocent enough, right and disclaimer in that situation. I believe it was.
Speaker 1:However, after reading Frederick Bath's Soha Culture and Society Amani Town, I was presented with the knowledge that, after slavery ended, ex-families continued to serve in a clientele capacity for their former masters and to maintain those relationships. It was tradition and it was obligated for ex-slaves to call their masters Habib, and it wasn't until 1970 that the practice had been administratively prohibited. For context, the word Habib means exactly the same thing as Habibi. Bear in mind 1917 was not a long time ago, 54 years in fact. So there will be people living alive today who would have been obligated by tradition to call their masters Habib, and this is the kind of thing that happens when slavery is not locatable as a central cultural and economic institution.
Speaker 1:Essentially, those who don't know the history are doomed to repeat it, and we are.
Speaker 1:We are maintaining the slavers quo, for example, in our music. If you type the word habibiibi into Spotify, you will find that there are songs by Steph London and Shaggy using that word. Now, I know some people will be team reclaim, as in the meaning has changed, time has moved on, language evolves and I know that there will be some people that will be team denounce. I want to honour my ancestors. I want to honour black Africans. I want to honour those who were previously enslaved, and this is a common place for the black diaspora. I can think of several words that are rooted in slave societies that we've had to reclaim and remove the power from, and whether you agree with the modern day usage of some of these terms, words such as the end word or Pitney, for example. At least the history is there and evident for you to make your own informed choices.
Speaker 1:However, with the word Habib and the word Habibi, it's not readily locatable and chances are the majority of people are reciting this word without knowing its true history and its context. Today, it is not hard to find stories from Africans and South Asians who have arguably replaced or revived traditions of servitude in the Gulf. And although slavery is no longer acknowledged as an institution and hasn't been since the 60s slash, 70s, old patterns of dependency and clientelism still endure. And not only do they endure, but they thrive, because slavery must be essential to the production of economic surpluses on behalf of elites. So you may be thinking Cain, why are you telling us all of this? Because when you think of Dubai and the UAE, chances are many people equate their wealth to oil. However, today, people equate their wealth to oil. However, today, the oil industry only accounts for less than 5% of their revenue and 22% of their revenue is from real estate, and one of their top investors is the UK. Now, I couldn't find any statistics breaking down the UK investment racially. However, I can see that my community readily invest in Dubai.
Speaker 1:Now hear me on this. That's not necessarily a problem. However, when you type into Google Dubai futurism, what comes up is real life pictures of their real life buildings and their real life museums. Do so now. However, when you type in afrofuturism, which is a well-known term and concept, what comes up is artwork prints, pictures, wakanda forever. Black panther, dubai achieved part of their futurism off the back of the pearl diving industry, ie off the back of enslaved Africans, and this narrative sounds oh so familiar. The question is, what are we going to do about it? Are we going to maintain the slaver's quo or are we going to build our own?
Speaker 1:What I'll leave you with is the humanisation, the testimonies of runaway slaves who sought British protection in the 1920s. We'll start with someone called Almas, a 38-year-old pearl diver in what's known today as the UAE. He recalled being kidnapped in East Africa by a man named Saeed when he was eight years old, he was taken and engaged as a pearl diver. Feroz, a 40 year old man, had been kidnapped from Zanzibar as a boy by Ali bin Abdullah and was sold at Soha around the 1890s. He served a man called Sayyid of Soha for several years until Saeed died, after which he was sold by Saeed's son to Majid Rashid of Dubai, for whom he worked for for 10 years. After Majid died, his sons mistreated Feroz and eventually decided to sell him and the date farm and split the inheritance. At that point, feroz ran away, or this one. At the turn of the 20th century, a six-year-old boy named Ishmael was kidnapped from his hometown in Zanzibar and carried away to Arabia. Five years and two owners later, ishmael found himself in Dubai and was sent to the Pearl Banks each season and was forced to dive for pearls. In March 1931, when Ishmael was nearly 40 years old and had spent two decades of gruelling work as a pearl diver, he stole one of his master's boats and fled with four other enslaved divers to the British naval port.
Speaker 1:And lastly, I'll share this short extract from the Gazetta of the Persian Gulf 1915. It starts by saying In 1896, fire broke out in Dubai. Districts totally destroyed. The following year, more fires broke out. A female slave was caught in the act of starting one such blaze and was put to death. That's all we know of the female enslaved person. Her protest, for me, puts a different meaning into Sade's song Pearls. When I listen to the lyrics now, it means oh so much more to me. I couldn't find online why Sade wrote that song, so all I can do is speculate about the connection, but when I sing the lyrics I feel it.
Speaker 2:There is a woman in Somalia Scraping for pearls on the roadside. There's a force stronger than nature Keeps her will alive. This is how she's dying. She's dying to survive. I don't know what she's made of. I would like to be that brave. Honor thy ancestors. Thank you for listening.
Speaker 1:How would I to be that brave Honor thy ancestors. Thank you for listening. This has been the Black Wash.