European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 19, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Dubai based smugglers Supply Iraq by Steve Raymer National geographic from Dubai s teeming waterway known simply As the Creek now lined with Glass and Concrete office towers smugglers sailing wooden dhows Are breaking Trade sanctions against Iraq. Running food machinery and spare parts Over ancient smuggling routes the Arab mariners Are giving new life to a name that still haunts those desert shores a the Quot pirate Quot there is no practical Way to Stop the dhows Quot a . Navy spokesman in Dubai said. Quot the dhows Are Small potatoes and it would take a lot of dhows to equal the tonnage of a Container an International naval Armada of More than 40 warships sits offshore in the persian Gulf enforcing United nations economic sanctions against Iraq. Dubai shipping officials dispute the . View of the illicit dhow traffic saying that it is too Early to know whether smuggling will have much effect on shortages of food and supplies in Baghdad. Dhows a Arab sailing vessels a have plied the Gulf and the Indian Ocean for thousands of years. Last year they carried $450 million Worth of goods Between Dubai and Iran. While Trade with Iran is Legal a Arab traders carry papers that allow them to Dock in Small harbours and islands along the Gulf coast this in t the first time that Western nations have railed against smuggling in the Region. In 1819 the British sought to safeguard Trade in the Gulf burning the port of Ras Al Khatmah near Dubai driving out the Arab pirates and signing peace treaties with the seven coastal Sheik Doms that today make up the United Arab emirates. The British folded the Union Jack in the Gulf in 1971, leaving a Loose tribal federation of seven autonomous emirates Abu Dahabi Ajman Dubai Fujara Ras Al Khazima shariah and umm Al Qai Wain that became the use. Today it is the 11th-richest country in the world with at least 100 billion barrels of Oil reserves much of it offshore in the Gulf. Territory belonging to Abu Dahabi the capital contains 95 percent of the use s proven Oil reserves. But Dubai the regional business Center competes with its larger brother for the allegiance of the relatively impoverished five Northern emirates. Along Dubai a waterfront clogged with dhows five and six abreast memories Are still fresh of the 1987-88 Quot Tanker War Quot which saw maritime insurance rates skyrocket and scores of ships disabled burned or sunk by iranian gunboats. Sweating longshoremen Load cargoes of Indian Tea japanese video recorders dutch canned milk chinese wheelbarrows korean truck tires and even a taiwanese telex machine. Most of the cargo is bound for Iran but some will make its Way to other Gulf ports and to destinations such As India and East Africa. Gulf shipping officials say that some blockade runners Dart from Iran across the Shatt Al Arab waterway into Iraq after bribing iranian customs and Border officials. Quot we know they re out there but there would have to be a million dhows before we Start taking them seriously Quot says a . Navy commander. Dubai produces about 400,000 barrels of Oil a Day about one barrel for each inhabitant of the tiny City state. Considered one of the most tolerant and Liberal cities in he Middle East Dubai bustles with shopping malls an indoor ice skating rink and a world class Golf course. Alcohol forbidden by moslem authorities in most neighbouring states is sold in supermarkets department two cities Abu Dahabi the Oil capital and Dubai the Trade Cente dominate the federation of seven Sheik Doms that is the United Arab emirates on Dubai a waterfront an Arab enjoys a pull from a water pipe As two bareheaded iranian tradesmen relax before sailing Home. Against a backdrop of Dubai a modern buildings varied vessels ply Busy Waters of the Creek the City a ancient waterway. Stores and restaurant to. Sometimes accused of fostering wasteful rivalry among the emirates the government of Sheik Zayed Ibn Sultan an Kahayan the use president has overseen the construction of no fewer than six International airports for a nation of barely 2 million people. Foreigners share in the Uaen a riches expatriate labourers make up about 80 per cent of the population. Like its embattled Northern neighbor Kuwait the use relies on More than 500,000 people from the Indian subcontinent 50,000 filipinos and americans europeans egyptians and palestinians to keep the engines of Commerce humming. A proportionately a says a Western Diplomat Quot it s As though 150 million immigrants arrived in Britain and hardly anyone and the latest Gulf crisis has brought even More foreigners to the use. About 35,000 kuwaiti exiles Are languishing about Abu Dahabi and Dubai. Some lost Large Oil and commercial fortunes when Iraq invaded Kuwait aug. 2, and Many Are being bailed out by the use Treasury or through fundraisers sponsored by sheikh Zayed. The latest foreign newcomer is the . Air Force which has stationed squadrons of f-16 fighters transports and refuelling jets at use airbases. In addition several Hundred International journalists and photographers have made Dubai their temporary base. National geographic 2 Page 16 a a a the stars and stripes Friday october 19,1990
