When first exposed to the luxuries available in
Qatar, many visitors cannot comprehend how much
has changed in the last half-century. Built virtually
overnight, the city of Doha pays no homage to its forefathers who
risked their lives in the pearling industry for
low colonial wages.
The pearl divers of Qatar endured extraordinary hardships in
order to access their product. Gone for months at a time,
the pearl divers would be forced to forego washing to
conserve fresh water while at sea (which can be very
uncomfortable when diving in salt water), and they had to
survive on a diet solely consisting of fish. If they were
lucky enough to survive their pearl campaigns, they would
return home, sometimes with few pearls, and often severely
malnourished and sick. The pearl divers were then forced to
surrender half their product yield to colonial tycoons who
would sell the pearls for enormous profits in distant
markets.
Being a pearl diver also carried tremendous personal risk.
Physically, the job was demanding and dangerous, requiring
pearlers to quickly free-dive to extreme depths to retrieve
oysters, before being quickly pulled to the surface by
ropes, to maximize their time spent underwater. Due to the
speed at which they plunged and subsequently resurfaced,
many of the divers suffered from the bends (a tortuous
condition accompanied by headaches, hallucinations, brain
damage, and, in extreme cases, death). There was also always
the risk of shark, swordfish, or barracuda attacks.
Qatar often reminisces about the country's pearl diving
origins. However, aside from organizing dhow (traditional
Arab sailing vessels) races and selling inexpensive cultured
pearls from Japan, today's Qatar has little vestiges of its
pearling past.
Nevertheless, it is still possible to purchase local pearls.
With a little patience and clever research, you can steer
clear of cultured foreign pearls to access genuine Qatari
pearls. Of course, these genuine pearls can end up costing a
fortune and, despite being better quality, will not be the
perfectly round pearls society has become accustomed to. In
summary, when visiting Qatar, you will not see pearling
boats and pearls, but you will see the crystal clear waters
they once relentlessly patrolled in search of these precious
commodities.
For more information, see: Pearl Diving in Qatar