Page 133 - UAE Truncal States

Chapter Three

company became loss attractive lo the beduin population because
many of them gravitated towards Abu Dhabi town and al 'Ain to
start businesses of their own or to lake up employment with the
government, the Governors “job description" changed too. From
being primarily concerned with the employment and working
conditions of the beduin. Shaikh Muhammad became eventually
responsible for many aspects of life of the beduin population in the
area. He was responsible for the construction of the new town of
Bida' Zayid, between the LTwa and the coast, as a permanent home
for families from the LTwa and elsewhere in Dhafrah. The oil
company moved out of Tarlf in 1972 and Shaikh Muhammad moved
lo Bida’ Zayid to supervise the allocation of houses, the provision of
water, the planting of desert vegetation and gardens, and generally to
lead the population of the area in striking a balance between the
traditional way of life and the new amenities which the government
could now offer. Al the same time as his responsibilities were thus
enlarged lo cover an increasing number of functions, the extent of his
authority loo. which originally included only the locations of oil
company activities, increased lo include all the western desert with
the exception of Jabal al Dhannah.
Jabal al Dhannah
During the height of the construction work on the oil terminal at
Jabal al Dhannah some 4,000 men of different nationalities were
based there. Most large projects were completed simultaneously with
the completion of a degassing station at Habshan, and the labour
force had to be drastically reduced in early 1964. The Ruler visited
Jabal al Dhannah to see for himself how many beduin who wanted lo
continue working were being laid off. He ordered that a committee
should be set up to investigate the employment of foreigners,
particularly by labour contractors who had brought large numbers of
workmen from the Indian subcontinent. The committee consisted of
Shaikh Sultan bin Shakhbul, Ahmad bin Hasan, and a Jordanian
from the Palace in Abu Dhabi. After the terminal was commissioned
some construction work was from time to time resumed as the
facilities expanded; a steady number of beduin, mostly ManasTr,
have been working in Jabal al Dhannah to man the mooring launches
used by the marine contractor to berth the tankers, and they also
work for other companies rendering other services around the
terminal. At the height of construction in 1962 Jabal al Dhannah was

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