Page 26 - Arabiab Studies (IV)

16 Arabian Studies IV
ces, could easily be denied them; they would be thrown back upon
their own resources, and what they could cam locally or, at best,
within the Sultanate of Oman.
Under these conditions the Ban! Qitab would be facing a severe
problem: their traditional resource base—pastoralism—has all but
been discarded, and, as time passes, not only docs their inclination
to follow pastoral pursuits decline, but so does their knowledge
and capability of doing so.
Thus, although the Ban! Qitab of the Wadi Jufrah have
responded spontaneously to the opportunities available to raise
their standards of living, and have done so successfully up to the
present, they are becoming increasingly prone to risks of unem­
ployment and a consequent drop in income which, because of the
almost total erosion of their traditional local economy, they could
do little to mitigate. Their local resource base is now virtually
unutilized in an economic sense; since their neglect of pastoralism,
they have not turned to agriculture (the only pumps they have
installed are for the easier provision of drinking water); nor could
many put their newly-acquired vehicles to use profitably as taxis,
or in order to enable trading. Thus the short term benefits of the
remittances are only being gained at the danger of prejudicing the
future stability of the community. This is especially so because, as
yet, the BanI Qitab of the Jufrah have benefited little from the
educative effects that such a migration could bring; few have
attended schools, or have developed a skill or trade.
Under these conditions, their being an erstwhile pastoral society
is perhaps a particular disadvantage. Former farmers who become
migrant labourers, if ousted from the labour market, can return to
farming (provided that the local infrastructure has not been
allowed to decay), but it is more difficult for pastoralists to turn
back to their previous way-of-life: the logistical difficulties of
building up a viable flock or herd from the few remaining animals
owned, and the time which this takes, make it difficult to redevelop
a pastoral economy which will go any way towards supporting the
population. Furthermore, the erstwhile nomadic population may
find it very difficult to readapt to even a modified system of
pastoralism. This is aggravated by a surprisingly quick loss of
knowledge about pastoral pursuits within the society concerned.27
Whilst then, there is little doubt that the economic system of
Ban! Qitab of the Wadi Jufrah can be said to have ‘developed’, in
that their material standard of living has increased, and they have
seen this as an improvement, this change does not have a solid
foundation. The BanI Qitab have exchanged their relatively
self-sufficient utilization of an area marginal in terms of natural