Postcard from Bahrain – High Society

I’m now in my seventh month in the wonderful Kingdom of Bahrain. It’s a captivating place. Not because of the beaches, because there aren’t many. Nor because it has a host of glitzy tourist attractions and ersatz souks like Dubai, because it doesn’t. Nor even because it has a pristine desert environment interspersed with charming oases and interesting microclimates like Oman, because it doesn’t have these either.

For me the charm of Bahrain is that of its people, who have a character very distinct from that of their neighbours. Friendly, hospitable, and with a great sense of humour, they have embraced their expatriate community with a tolerance rivaled by no other GCC country. As a maritime trading nation, they have seen immigration throughout their history. Bahrainis have a mixed heritage dating from centuries before the discovery of oil in the 1930s– many trace their origins from the Arabian peninsula, Iran and the Indian subcontinent.

Bahrain is not without its problems: periodic political unrest, infrastructure trying to catch up with population growth, divisions between rich and poor, an education system badly in need of an overhaul, pollution and inconsistent industrial safety standards.

But despite these challenges, the Bahrainis remain welcoming hosts to the expatriate population. It takes time to get to know a country and a culture, even in a small island like Bahrain. Anyone coming here to work would do themselves a favour by buying a book called “The Inshallah Paper”. The author is Andrew Trimbee, who arrived in the early 70s as the editor of the first English language newspaper on the island.

Andrew tells a fascinating tale of mucking through against the odds (similar to my experience in 1980’s Jeddah), of outrageous characters within both the expatriate and Bahraini communities, and of the life of a pioneering editor as he totters from cocktail party to royal majlis to factories and refineries in the island’s fast-growing industrial sector. What shines through the book is his affection for the civilized nature of Bahraini society.

Even though I’m a latecomer into this society, for me, much of what he describes hold true today. Perhaps everyone’s a little less eccentric today as the corporate sheen envelopes the island, but Bahrain is still a country where at many levels there is a greater degree of integration between local and expatriate than in many parts of the Middle East. In some respects it’s similar to Jeddah, which has long been a cultural and ethnic melting pot because of its location as the principal entry point for the multitude of pilgrims visiting Mecca for the annual Haj.

One striking facet of Andrew’s legacy is that from the humble beginnings of the Gulf Mirror, which started as a weekly newspaper, the Bahrain English-language print media has blossomed to an extraordinary degree. A population of a million, of which 50% are expatriates and a small minority are mother tongue English speakers, is served by one daily newspaper, the Gulf Daily News and a host of glossy magazines, ranging from business to lifestyle. As a subscriber to the GDN, I get Gulf Insider, Bahrain Confidential, Woman, Fact Bahrain, The Gulf and Bahrain This Month delivered to my doorstep for free. I can also buy Time Out Bahrain and a couple of other magazines devoted to business in the Gulf. They are lavishly produced, packed with ads, and some of them run to 200 pages.

I am truly amazed that all seem to survive and prosper, especially in these straitened times. One common aspect of the Daily News and the lifestyle magazines is what Tatler would call the social pages. Page upon page of parties, dog shows, charity do’s, leaving do’s, embassy functions, national days, corporate launches, product launches. Then there are the political and government events: conferences, visits of foreign dignitaries, royal events. I swear there must be people who do nothing but hop from party to party, event to event! And how many photographers must be out there to feed the insatiable appetite for pictures of party goers, business people, dignitaries and associated hangers on?

One pervasive media star whose picture seems to appear at least thirty times a month is the well-respected British Ambassador, Jamie Bowden. The man is everywhere! Let it never be said that Our Man in Bahrain doesn’t earn his corn, and eat some of it too – though I fear for his health given the amount of toasts and rubber chickens he must get through in his working life. He looks well on it though, so I’d be interested to know his secret. Perhaps it’s the Foreign Office training, and a few tips from Her Majesty, who has had to endure sixty years of dodgy catering in her long reign.

Last month came a great moment: my debut photo in the Bahrain media! I was pictured in a golf event lining up with my partners. Unfortunately the resulting shot made me look more like a sumo wrestler than the (relatively) slim former athlete I always imagined myself to be. The fact that everyone else seemed to be about to throw themselves grunting into sandbox consoled me a little. It must have been the camera – the photos were all squashed. Fat chance. But hey, I’ve joined the Bahrain high society, so it’s all up from here. It must only be a matter of time before I’m granted an audience with His Majesty.

Meanwhile I rejoice. Nicky, Kimon, Dr Faisal, Professor O’Malley, Fatima, Linda, Dr Bindu, Ahmad, Hala, Mr Al-Umran, your Highnesses, Excellencies, Sheikhs and all you other movers and shakers on this blessed island – I have arrived, and thank you for welcoming me to the glossy pages of Bahrain’s high society!
Oh, and can anyone direct me to the nearest gym?

Steve Royston
May 2010
The Inshallah Paper is published by Quartet Books (ISBN 978 0 7043 7175 0)