He was exactly one hour late for the interview.
"The Emir was leaving his palace so they closed all the streets," he explained.
He arrived wearing a Thobe, making it all the more official.
He has written many articles on Qatari history and Pearling. They, along with any other related literature, are in Arabic; so he is having some of this literature translated for me. He is itching for someone to share his massive amounts of information with. After I emailed and asked for a time to set up an interview, he met with the Ministry of Culture and was given permission to access to anything he might need to help me with this article.
Whatever I wanted to get out of this interview, I got it, and much more (with the exception of a personal diving tour with underwater camera equipment- but don't think I didn't ask).
The history of Qatar, and most of the gulf, is incredibly complicated. And after 2 hours, I think I might have a little piece of the puzzle figured out.
Qatar, before the Al-Thanis (current Royal family), were ruled by a tribe called Al Khalifa until till the early 1900's (don't quote me on the dates just yet) before they were overtaken by the Al Thanis. The Al Thani tribe came from a tribe known as Tameem. The Tamimi tribes were quite possibly the biggest in Arabia. Their members numbered in the millions. About 100 years ago, the Tameem tribe, along with many other tribes, went to war with King Abdullah Azziz Ibn Saud (Saudi Arabia) under a man called bil Khathleen (this spelling is WRONG). The reason for this war is too complex to go into; (something about a Mohammad bin Abdul Wahab and the Wahabi teachings, which have since been renounced due to their speculated promptings of the jihad...) basically it was a religious dispute (shock) and I fear that some of you may have already lost interest.
Back to the war-
King Saud only had about 300 men, and his enemies knew this. The only reason that King Saud was so respected was because he had Islamic scholars behind him and therefore gained fear and respect from most of the Arabian Gulf. But the tribes went to war nonetheless, expecting an absolute victory while outnumbering the Saudi army by thousands upon thousands. What they didn't know was that King Saud had made a pact with the British, and was supplied with machine guns, while bil Khathleen's men had only swords. The tribes were massacred by King Saud's men. The tribesmen and warriors remaining (those that didn't surrender their allegiance to King Saud) scattered all over the middle east. The Tameem tribe went to Qatar, where they defeated the current ruling tribe, Al Khalifa, on Zubara fort. The Al Thani family was only called Al Thani after Jassim bin Mohammad Al-Thani (al Tamimi) fought and won al Wajba war against the Ottomans (1890's) and gave himself a new name to differentiate himself and his ruling tribe from the previous Tamimis. Wikipedia begins its history of Qatar with the Al-Thani tribe. (Although, Mr. alMeer said that he was going on Wikipedia tonight to fill in the gaps).
Still awake?
The Tameem tribe (now Al Thani) were an absolutely fierce people. There is an Arabic saying that goes, "if it wasn't for Islam, Tameem would have eaten all Arabic tribes."
Before Islam, the Tamimi defeated Persia 10,000 soldiers to 100,000.
Even the the Prophet spoke of the Tamimi tribes as very strong and feirce people.
If a member of a Tameem tribe has a son that is killed in battle, the parents would take the news with great honor and would celebrate the event.
"they killed for fun" says Mr. Almeer.
If they were thirsty they would kill their camels and take the water from their stomachs.
For energy, they would mix sand with water, AND THEY WOULD DRINK IT. (holy mother of all bad asses). Apparently there are some minerals in the sand that can provide some kind of sustenance.
The Tameem existance was a wretched one. Qatar is an absolutely dry country, and it took a certain kind of person just to try and survive here, let alone succeed. Pearling and fishing (and moving) were the only means of survival for many of the inhabitants here.
Majd Almeer comes from generations of Pearlers. He comes from both the poor and the rich side of Pearling, making his information all the more objective. His father's father was a Tawash, a wealthy trades man and buyer of pearls. His mother's father, on the oposite side of the spectrum, was a poor pearl diver. The Tawash would meet the boats in the water as they sailed to shore from a season of pearling, and he would buy the pearls from the captain aboard the ship. The Tawash would buy the pearls while on board the ship so the that divers wouldn't get cut out of their share of the money.
The Tawash were born wealthy, and with this wealth they would buy pearls, and take them to India, or other places where they would trade them for other goods. To my surprise, pearls were traded, not sold. And the pearls themselves didn't make anyone wealthy (at least not in the gulf); they were bought by people who were already rich. The divers themselves would make little to nothing, living off of peanuts while working the hardest and facing the most danger.
Each man, while diving, was attached to a rope that was held by another man aboard the ship. Many ropes were cut during the dives either by rocks, sword fish, sharks, and other things. If the rope was cut, the diver had to swim his way (10- 20 meters) to the surface- a very difficult thing to do with no air in your lungs.
The last man that I interviewed (the pearl man) told me that giant clams (dr. doolitle style) would literally close on the divers and prohibit them from re-surfacing.
I didn't believe him.
But apparently this DID actually happen- Mr. Almeer told me of a man that died in the sea while diving for pearls because a giant clam closed on his arm, and he lost too much blood. He said they have tiny little teeth, and when they shut, they can't be opened.
There was at least one singer aboard each ship. The singers were also divers, and their renowned voices were attributed to their ability to hold their breath under water for so long.
By the end of the interview, Majd Almeer was telling me folklore and (get ready) literally singing me songs of the pearl divers.
He sang one that was about the mothers who would lament for their sons and husbands as they boarded the ships. He translated the song, which was truly heart wrenching- and told me that his mother (whose father was a pearl diver) used to cry every time she heard the song.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I got a little teary eyed.
