2005 Year in Review

Bahrain

I lived and worked in Bahrain during the construction of the Arabdrill 20, the well servicing vessel I was Captain on for the last 5 years of my offshore oil career with Schlumberger. It is an Islamic nation, a kingdom and, in general, a nation closely linked to the US and the UK. Much of the island is home base to the US Navy and Air Force in the Persian Gulf. Consequently Bahrain must tread a cautious path between commercial interests of the West (strategic location plus regional center for banking and petroleum processing) and the more conservative Islamic interests of her people and her larger neighbors.

The rig/vessel that was being built in Bahrain was designed and largely supplied by a shipyard in Texas. The majority of the workforce was of Indian or Pakistani or Filipino origin with just a core group of supervisors from the US. This arrangement is not unusual for any nation in the Persian Gulf where cheap labor is normally imported. Bahrain has a very small population of around 700,000 which includes about 250,000 non-native guest workers. This arrangement is even encouraged by the government by giving Bahraini’s business visas which they can then buy and sell to import labor. Maybe this would be a good model for the US government. Every American citizen could be given a visa or portion of a visa which could then be sold to businessmen who would use them to legally import Mexican (or other foreign) workers to work the low paying, hard work jobs that American’s do not want to do. You could use this money to help pay your income tax.

Many interesting things occur when a large portion of your population is foreign born and effectively not allowed to become citizens. Most Bahraini’s speak Arabic (their native language), English (the language of oil and commerce) and Hindi/Urdu (the language of their servants). Here in the US our Mexican nannies would speak to our children in Spanish, parents and teachers would speak to them in English and they would learn Ebonics from their friends at school. Everyone at the shops and restaurants in Bahrain speaks these 3 languages mentioned above (minimum) so it very easy to get around in Bahrain.

I lived in an apartment (shared with a couple other crew and our opposites on our days off) in Manama the largest city and capital of Bahrain and was given about $35 per day for a living allowance to pay for food. We paid for our maid who came weekly and she would also go grocery shopping for us or do our laundry too. We could buy meals at the shipyard, except during Ramadan, during the work day (which was every day except Friday) and would usually go out to eat at night or have meals delivered. Everything here was available there including McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, Hard Rock Cafe and etc. Most deliveries were made on motor scooters with large cargo racks that could more easily maneuver through small and busy streets. On the street level of our apartment there were a number of small curbside food places that would take your order while you parked or waited in traffic eliminating the need for a drive up window.

Bahrain is not a “dry” country like Saudi Arabia, so alcohol is available to all. In fact Bahrain is sort of “sin city” for Saudi’s who can cross over for a night of revelry on the causeway linking the two nations and return much like our porous border with Canada. The downside is if you return to Saudi intoxicated they send you to a hospital in chains and you aren’t released from custody until properly disciplined. In short, what happens in Bahrain should stay in Bahrain.

Nice beaches, temporary tourist visas available, Christianity is allowed to be openly practiced, all the conveniences of home with a Middle Eastern flavor and a scent of curry. It doesn’t have any pyramids or any particular notoriety, but the chamber of commerce says it was a likely location of the Garden of Eden.

by Marc Adami, Guest Columnist
October 3, 2005