"ملف 8/16 تقارير استخباراتية بشأن البحرين" [و‎‎١‎٥‎٢] (٤٣٢/٣٠٣)

and unremitting a campaign of hate against him, He had done
nothing, he asserted, to provoke their enmity, and he could
not understand why they took every opportunity of insulting
him and persecuting his subjects. When the Political Agent
murmured the word "Zubara", the volcanic old Shaikh erupted
again. What had Zubara to do with Bahrain, or Bahrain with
Zubara, he asked: Could he not deal with his tribesmen in his
own way, without interference from outsiders? When the stream
of invective lava had somewhat subsided, it was possible to *
ascertain the immediate cause of the old man's vehemence. He
had recently had occasion to buy some sugar. At Bahrain,
which is a closed market to him, the price is fis 45/- per bag,
but at Dubai, whence he now obtains his supplies, the price is
fis 80/- per bag. The Shaikh loves money for its own sake, and
the fact that the Bahrain embargo on exports to Qatar causes
him financial loss makes him resentful and bitter. Long
after the occurrence of the main explosion, and when the~con-
versation had passed to quite other topics, the Shaikh still
spluttered and muttered whenever there passed through his mind
some momentary thought of the outrage caused to his pocket by
the actions of the irredentist A1 Khalifah.
136. The Oil Companies .
(i) Reference para 124 (ii) of Intelligence Summary No.12
of 1942 in which a very considerable decrease in the activities
of the Bahrain Petroleum Company was reported.
The California Arabian Standard Oil Company have
similarly been compelled to reduce production, and have dis
charged twenty of their Staff Employees. The question of how
they are to return these employees to the U.S.A. is causing
the Company some difficulty. They hope to obtain the use of
a Pan American Airways machine as space is not available in
B.O.A.C. aircraft.
(ii) The readiness of the Bahrain Petroleum Company to
cooperate in matters connected with the War is illustratedby
the following incident. On the evening of the 8th July a
naval vessel arrived off Bahrain with a broken fuel pump. She
could not proceed on her way without the pump being repaired -
and repairs could only be carried out by experts in a well-
equipped workshop. On the morning of July 9th the defective
sections of the pump were taken to Awali, and the Company's
assistance was invoked. Mr. Ward Anderson gave orders for the
job to be taken in hand at once. The pump was repaired with
out delay, and the ship was enabled to proceed on her way the
same afternoon.
t
(iii) Petroleum Development (Qatar) Ltd. are closing down
their operations in Qatar pending the return of more stable
world conditions. It is hoped to find employment for their
skilled personnel with other Oil Companies in India or the
Middle East. A skeleton staff will be retained at Bahrain.
137. Broadcasting .
On the evening of Thursday, July 2nd, Bari (Italy)
announced in their Arabic broadcast that the Duke of Gloucester,
on his recent visit to Bahrain, had promised to give the Shaikh
two Italian guns from Libya. The announcer stated that the
guns had not yet arrived, and added that, at the moment, the
guns would be more useful to the British in Libya than in
Bahrain.
138. Pearls .
Two months of the pearling season have now passed,
and it is possible to give a brief review of the conditions
of the industry. The number of pearling dhows which have
gone out is slightly larger than last year. The price of
pearls in Bahrain is about 15% higher than it was at the
/ corresponding