In a narrative manner Lulwah Al-Thani records a historical tragedy that was transmitted to us orally; a tragedy that had a major impact on the Qatari society in the early 70s. Lulwah proves capable of narrating our own history, using our own native words and phrases- by translating and transliterating them into English- making it sound and feel as real as possible.

On one of the cold December mornings of 1971, a tragic incident occurred that shook the entire Qatari society and left a spiteful and painful mark in the history of this nation. It took place in the middle of the Iranian waters between Bandar Abbas and Abu Shahar. It is commonly referred to as sinat al taba’a: the year in which the massive passenger ship sunk. Old people recall the day they received the news with a lot of grief and sorrow. They remember the friends they lost, the people who ended up losing fathers, brothers, and relatives and families that were left without a breadwinner.

It was tragic for a small tight knit society to lose around eighty of its natives in one night. The catastrophe had massive implications on people’s morals and the following months were the bleakest in the history of this cohesive society. The damage inflicted on the country’s demography was severe as most of the fatalities were young men. They left behind young widows and children. We were never to know the details of that disastrous day if it wasn’t for the two survivors who lived to tell the story with all its misery and awe.

Al Rayyan, the ship that sank, was an old obsolete white passenger ship built in Kuwait decades ago. In an attempt to modernize it and get it up-to-date, they installed two powerful motor engines in place of the old pair.  The passengers were excited with this innovation and were dreaming of reaching the shores of Iran in half the time it usually takes. The optimism was sky high and no one and nothing could take that dream away from them.

The voyage commenced according to plan without any delays, to avoid the anticipated colder and more difficult weather conditions. The ship sailed marvelously through the sparkling blue waters of the Gulf. The travelers were amazed at the surprisingly calm weather and at the fast pace of their renovated ship, with only one of the two engines in use.

 They enjoyed their regular on board activities, cards and the traditional board game of kairam occupying the majority of their time. The tranquility of their journey was disturbed a few kilometers off the shores of the Iranian city of Bandar Abbas. In the early hours of the morning, the weather began to change. The waves escalated and crashed against the ship causing it to sway in all directions. Darkness prevailed causing the conditions on board to become even worse as the dark winter clouds concealed the sun, which caused the temperature to fall even further.

Ghaffan, one of the senior passengers came up with a suggestion. He asked the captain to put the second engine in use to speed up the pace of the ship in order to arrive before dark. The suggestion went well; within a few minutes the second engine was in full blast. However, to everyone’s surprise, the wind got stronger and the waves rose to unprecedented levels after switching the second engine on, which on the contrary to what was expected, impeded their progress. 

 The conditions got increasingly worse; a young boy came rushing from the lower levels of the ship announcing that the ship is sinking! Everyone rushed to see what was going on, they soon realized that both the engines came off and they pulled the ship down. Everyone started panicking; most of the passengers did not know how to swim and those who did could not survive in the cold water.

Aman, who was one of the two lucky survivors, told his son years after the accident that his initial reaction was to set the birds of prey, which were on board, free. It took him a while to cut the ropes that tied the birds up; some of them drowned before he could get to them but the majority was set free. The dogs on board tried to resist the bashing of the waves but they were unable to resist them for long. They died in front of Aman’s observing eyes. When he was no longer able to stay on the sinking ship he hung onto a bed, which was floating in the water. He saw a man attached to a floating gas cylinder, when he released it, Aman clinched onto it fiercely with all his strength. He viewed his friends floating helplessly in the water, unable to progress towards a shelter.

 He swam alongside a friend of his until the late afternoon. He felt the weather getting progressively colder, the water was freezing and the wind was mesmerizing. His friend’s fingers were frozen on the gas cylinder he was hanging onto. “Aman, farewell” he said in a low shaky voice. “Don’t go,” “Wait, please try to swim just for a few more minutes” pleaded Aman “we’re nearly there!” His friend did not respond. Aman saw him let go of the cylinder with great pain and drown.

This scene haunted Aman for so long as he admitted to his son. He was almost going to give up but he refused to surrender to the unsympathetic weather and knew that with determination he will get there. As he swam through the whipping water there were moments of hope and desperation. When the waves flattened before him he was able to see the shore, which cheered him up and gave him hope of survival. Alternatively, when the waves got higher the pessimism kicked in alongside the agonizing feeling of not knowing where he was.

He arrived safely at the shore after sunset in complete devastation. He rubbed his stomach against the sand to stop the waves of hunger; he was shivering and shaking on the cold shores of Persia. He immediately prayed to God and thanked him for his survival. He had no choice but to eat the sour fruits of the first tree he saw in front of him. 

If it were not for Aman’s will power it would have taken people much longer to know about the occurrence of the accident. He tried with his remaining minimal strength to get to the police station. He arrived there by the Fajir prayer, to reveal details about the disastrous incident.  The officers welcomed him warmly, they recognized him since he visits them, with the rest of his friends, every year and offer them food, clothing, and all sorts of other items at the end of their annual trip. He informed them that the ship had sunk and that he believes everyone on it died.

The officers contacted officials in Doha and delivered the bad news. Later, when the sun came out, they accompanied Aman back to the shore to inspect the place. Dead bodies of friends, who were once his companions on the same ship, crowded the shore. He broke down, when he saw the dead faces of his friends lying there. He then noticed a hole dug in the distance, which looked almost like a grave. Upon close inspection he saw the other survivor, falah, lying in the hole. He had dug that hole to get warmth from the sand.

The dead bodies were promptly buried and the other survivor along with Aman was taken to Hospital. Their families were flown in to stay by their side and to try and elevate their morals and reduce their psychological stress. Yet, Aman was never able to erase neither that incident nor the memories of the people who lost their lives from his mind.  This is perhaps why we have such a vivid and detailed encounter of the catastrophe because he spoke about it frequently and to many different people before his death at the turn of the millennium.

The effect of this catastrophe on society was striking. People across the country mourned for months, the loss was not felt in the city of Doha only as the deceased passengers came from different areas of the country. The grief was felt in the eyes of schoolchildren who lost relatives and re-enrolled in school after weeks of mourning. The psychological damage inflicted on the two survivors and the parents and spouses of the deceased was unrecoverable. Those who lost loved ones almost died as a result of their overwhelming grief. Nightmares haunted Aman and Falah for the duration of their lives.