Page 438 - Bahrain Gov annual reports(V)_Neat

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PASSPORT DEPARTMENT 1928-1956
1928. Passport control started in 1928 when an official of the Customs Department was
appointed to register the names and details of all passengers landing from steamers in Bahrain.
In the following year the Government began to issue book passports to Bahrain subjects and
travel documents valid for states in the Persian Gulf. The first Passport Officer was an Indian,
Jalalul Din, who had worked in the Customs since 1924. When he died, in 1941, his place
was taken by Mr. Kadhim A1 Asfur, a Bahraini, who still holds the post.
In its early days the Passport Department was the third revenue earning department in
the administration and the cost of running it was small. Its work and responsibilities have
increased greatly. In 1939 the number of persons who landed in Bahrain was 12,500 ; in
1954 over 116,000 persons were registered as having landed and 112,000 departures were
recorded. To-day the Passport Department and the immigration office cost very much more
than the revenue which is collected from passports and fees.
Because there are no foreign consular officials in Bahrain, nationals of Bahrain who travel
to countries outside the Gulf for which visas are required, either obtain them from the British
authorities in Bahrain or from foreign consular officials outside Bahrain. British consular
officials abroad issue visas on behalf of the Bahrain Government to persons travelling to
Bahrain and to Bahrain subjects. Doubtful cases are referred to the Bahrain Government
but there is not always equanimity of opinion as to which cases are "doubtful.”
1939. During the war and for some time afterwards, starvation conditions existed on the
Persian coast and numbers of Persians tried to enter Bahrain, many of them were helped by
friends and relations living in the country. Some succeeded in landing, others were prevented
and many were picked up by the police after they had entered Bahrain and sentenced to prison
as illegal immigrants. In jail they were well fed and enjoyed better conditions than they did
in their own country, so being sent to prison proved to be no deterrent. In 1944 during a time
when there was a shortage of labour, the Government allowed 1,000 Persians to come to
Bahrain for a limited period to work for the Bahrain Petroleum Company. The arrangement
was satisfactory and at the end of the period the Persian labourers returned to their own
country.
In the war years the department worked in conjunction with the food control department
and verified applications by new entrants for ration cards ; it also kept a check to ensure that
rations did not continue to be drawn for people who were no longer in Bahrain.
In the past most of the illegal immigrants were Persians, many of them crossed from Persia
to the Trucial coast and after living for a few months in one of the towns, obtained nationality
certificates, which were easily acquired for a consideration, describing them as subjects of
Trucial Shaikhdoms. This enabled them to enter Bahrain. The Bahrain Government had
waived the requirement of a visa for Bahrain in the case of subjects of other Gulf States who
wished to enter the country.
1949. In 1949 a new book passport was issued with a different design on the cover and
pages. In the same year there was a sudden increase in the number of Indians and Pakistanis
who entered the country ; over 2,500 were registered as landing in Bahrain and many of them
set up in business and opened shops in competition with the local Arabs. In Manama and
Muharraq bazaars over 200 shops were, occupied by Indians and Pakistanis. The Indians
have religious freedom, pay no taxes and enjoy the amenities of the towns but they invest no
money in the country and rarely purchase property. It is for this reason that the presence of
many new Indian traders is resented by the Arab shopkeepers and merchants.
In 1950 the practice of stamping the passports of all departing passengers was adopted,
previously only the passports of Bahrain subjects were dealt with in this way.
Special travel documents were introduced for pilgrims travelling to Mecca or to the holy
cities of Iraq. The number of Shia pilgrims making the journey to Iraq can be regarded as an
indication of the degree of prosperity in Bahrain. The journey lasts often as long as two
months and costs a considerable amount of money ; often the pilgrims cross the frontier in
Iraq and travel through Persia to the shrine at Meshed, visiting Teheran and other places.
In 1947, 600 Shia pilgrims went to Iraq and 30 pilgrims went to Mecca. In 1951 over 2,000
Shia pilgrims visited Iraq and 34 people went to Mecca. In 1954, 4,000 Shias went to Iraq
and 1,300 persons did the pilgrimage to Mecca. Many people now go to Mecca by air, as
during the pilgrimage season there are special air services for carrying pilgrims to the Hejaz.