'File 5/193 II (B 38) Slavery in the Gulf' [‎7v] (19/475)

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rulers and luminaries of Islam who were originally slaves. To quote Lane-Poole : .
“ While a brilliant ruler’s son is apt to be a failure, the slaves of a real leader ot
men have often pro^d to be the equals of their master." One of the most prominent
members of Jedda^ciety and the most active and influential on committees, over
which he sometimes presides, is a slave. n c
4. This attitude of the people towards their slaves is reflected in the attitude 0 ?
of the slaves themselves. There are many instances of slaves of character and j^ le
intelligence occupying positions of authority, who would have no difficulty whatever 01
in purchasing their own freedom or of obtaining it from their owners on request, F 1,1 !
but who take no steps to do so for the reason that they are entirely satisfied with J T ' S1
their state and see no acquisition of dignity nor other advantage to be gained in
effecting a nominal change in their status. There have been many cases, too, of F 18 ",
slaves who have taken refuge at the British agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. in the heat of the moment, but 111 *
who have changed their minds and have returned to their masters. Cases also occur P 1 ^
quite frequently of slaves who have been repatriated to the Sudan and Eritrea sn ^
returning to the Heiaz in spite of the risk involved. Many cases can be cited of P rn
slaves who left for the Sudan with their owners during the general exodus in 1924
and 1925, at the time of the Hejaz war, and who, voluntarily, and with their eyes a 1
open, elected to return with their masters. This was probably true of the majority a P a
of cases. There are examples, too, of dhows manned by slaves, who trade on the T( F >C
African coast and return to their owners, after several months, with the profits a 0
earned. There are, daily, a number of slaves who pass in and out of the British a FF
Legation itself, coming either for medical treatment or on business, who are fully coil
aware of the opportunities offered for manumission and repatriation, but have not Pf 1
the least desire to avail themselves of them. Some of these cases are obviously 1 e
exceptional, but on the whole they may be taken as indicative of the attitude of the
slaves in general.
5. If a distinction were to be drawn, the slaves in Arabia might be divided
into those who were enslaved as children and have forgotten their people and country,
and those who were enslaved later in life and retain a vivid memory of their homes J
and freedom. The former become more readily inured to their environment and
conditions, not remembering anything better. As a rule they are not dissatisfied te t
with their lot, and evince little or no desire to return to their countries of origin. a jF
Their aspirations, where the opportunity exists, centre on becoming free and being ot 1
themselves slave-owners in the same way as they have seen come to pass in the case of . .
other slaves; to their mind freedom, unless accompanied by assured conditions of life 1111
at least as good as those to which they are accustomed, would normally suggest very VVJ
little improvement in their conditions. The latter class of slaves is the more to be ' n
pitied, and care is taken that no opportunity is given for them to escape and take
refuge until eventually their desire for freedom is broken and they also become int<
inured to the state of slavery. They are not brought to Jedda, but on disembarkation the
are despatched straight into the interior. inq
6. The evidence thus tends to show that in the towns at any rate, especially Go 1
the big towns, where facts can be more easily ascertained, slaves are better off now
than thev have been in recent years, and that their conditions are a distinct improve- of
ment on those, for instance, of the Hashimite regime. Information about conditions can
in the interior is less readily available and more difficult to control, but the exigencies eve
of life in the desert almost compel the Bedouins to treat a slave as one of themselves, nec
That numerous cases of ill-treatment and cruelty exist, both in the towns and all abi
over Arabia, is, however, undoubtedly true; this unfortunately is inherent in any reli
system of slavery, and whatever may be done to ensure humane treatment generally, Kii
these cases will always exist so long as the institution itself is allowed to remain, pov
The fact that slaves are on the whole well treated is all to the good, hut it does not, to j
of course, affect the issue. ass
7. The average Hejazi, as has been said elsewhere, is by nature and opportunity anc
a parasite; his view of slavery as it affects himself consists in a very lively P r a
appreciation of the material advantages of the institution and an equally strong r esi
disinclination to give it up. In the Hejaz and Nejd the most necessary and desirable s i Dl
of all possessions are slaves, male and female. On them depends the Arabs’ comfort, en d
enjoyment and indulgence, respect and dignity. They represent so much capital, cus
and they are to Arab ideas the most paying form of investment. The desire to
possess them is a ruling passion. The townsmen will sell their wives’ ornaments Tn
and jewellery and the Bedouin their beasts of burden in order to possess a slave. Foi
A rich Arab would lose the respect of his fellow-towmsmen if. for instance, he failed rep