'Reports of administration for 1918 of divisions and districts of the occupied territories in Mesopotamia. Volume I' [‎99r] (202/470)

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The dispensary is much appreciated by both town and country. The district
contributed liberally to the Red Cross subscription in the summer, the sum collected
amounting to Rs. 9,128/-. The average daily attendance at the dispensary is 97 .
8 . Education : Tuwairij School. —There is an elementary school at Tuwairij
attended by some 40 boys. These are divided into three classes, but there is only
one master. The syllabus used is that laid down by the Director of Education.
The mosque was formerly used as the school building, but a move has been
made to a house in the town, which is more suitable. The house could be turned
into a satisfactory school building by a few simple repairs, which it is hoped will
soon be carried out in part, but the chief need is glazed windows, and glass at
present is next to unobtainable. More books are required.
The school enjoys a grant of Rs. 80 per mensem from Government and receives
a small income from fees.
9. Shabanah. —The past year has witnessed the reorganisation of the Shabanah,
which, from being a purely district force, has developed into a branch of the Hillah
Shabanah, under the command of the O.C. Shabanah Hillah. The most obvious
results of this change have been the weeding out of the halt and the maimed, and a
very remarkable smartening up in the appearance of the men. The Arab has taken
very kindly to drill and undoubtedly takes a legitimate pride in discarding his rags
and tatters in favour of a workmanlike khaki uniform. He has also learnt the
rudiments of discipline, and has consequently become a more reliable tool in the
hand of the Assistant Political Officer.
The attitude of the tribes to the new order of things was at first one of suspicion
—they did not know but that they might be called upon to leave their home
districts and march where required by the English King. In one instance, a
Shabanah filed a petition complaining that the father of a girl who had been
promised to him now refused to hand her over on the ground that he was a soldier
and might be taken away to Bombay or London. Eventually ‘Umran al Haji
Sa‘dun, Shaikh of the Bani Hasan, began to bring his men in, and his lead had a
marked effect. One of ‘Umran’s relatives was appointed Zabit of the Karbala—
Najaf Road Shabanah, which developed into an extremely useful force, and behaved
very well* on several occasions when confronted with superior numbers of the
‘Anizah smuggling grain out of the district.
The work of the road Shabanah consisted almost entirely in road patrols.
Throughout the remainder of the district the work of the Shabanah was that of
district police—the delivery of summonses, guarding crops, assisting Shaikhs to get
in the revenue, keeping gangs of workmen up to the collar on the canal banks.
As was natural in a force which was the direct successor of the most corrupt force
in the world, the Turkish Gendarmerie, there was a certain amount of misconduct
among the Sabanah—their new uniforms and an increasing sense of their own
power under the cegis of the British Government combined to foster in some of
their breasts the idea that the Shabanah was a super-man to whom the ordinary
rules about meum and teum did not apply. The fact also that they were serving two
masters, the Assistant Political Officer, under whom they worked directly, and the
O.C. Shabanah, by whom they were inspected once or twice a month, rather tended
to confuse them. It is, undoubtedly, an unsatisfactory feature of the present
system, but one which at present it is not easy to better. On the whole, however,
the new Shabanah force has been wonderfully successful. It is too soon to foresee
what the attitude of the Arab will be when the first glamour has worn off; the
townsmen will probably always come forward freely enough. Of the tribesmen,
all that can at present be foretold is that, as long as Shaikhs like ‘Umran co-operate
as they do at present, so long will recruits continue to come in.
10. Labour. —There has never been any difficulty as to labour required for
military purposes, and the intervention of the Labour Department was not
required. The district is a compact one and, for ‘Iraq, thickly populated.
11. Miscellaneous : Forests. —During the year a beginning was made of a
forest conservation. All felling of trees was forbidden without permission, which
was only given to meet requirements of Government Departments. A Mamur
Akhshab was appointed, whose duty it was to inspect all fellings, see that no more
than the permit quantity had been cut, and that the tax was duly credited. He
was also expected to inspect the district generally and see that no illicit felling
took place. Four localities were specially protected; Makhallat Island, where
N 2