A life devoted to protection

Profile: Seeing the ecological devastation wreaked by Saddam Hussein when Iraq invaded Kuwait spurred this football-loving navy major from the decks of military ships to the shores of Dubai. There, he is a standard-bearer for the local environment.

Ali Saqar Al Suweidi holds a satchel full of pearls, with the largest valued at Dh200,000 on Sir Bu Nu'ayr island. The island was once prominent spot for pearl divers and falcon hunters. Pawel Dwulit Show more

It was Saddam Hussein's war against Kuwait in 1990 that prompted him to do it.

As a major in the UAE Navy, Ali Saqar Al Suweidi was no stranger to conflict.

Many people could not understand why he set up Emirates Marine Environmental Group (EMEG) in the mid-1990s. But seeing the damage inflicted by the dumping of 465 million gallons of crude oil into the waters off Kuwait during the Iraqi invasion of the country was the final straw.

"I have started many organisations but Emirates Marine Environmental Group [EMEG] is important," he says.

EMEG is a non-profit organisation based in the UAE and established in 1996. It is specialised in dealing with various environmental issues and maintains a coastal sanctuary and the Ghantoot Nature Reserve on the western border of Dubai. The area is used as a base to develop and organise educational camps for school, community and corporate groups to increase awareness and understanding of the different threats the environment faces. Within these structured programmes, EMEG focuses on the cultural heritage of the UAE and incorporates traditional values and skills into each activity..

Launching the organisation came as little surprise to those aware of Major Ali's family history. As the grandson of a pearl diver, Major Ali, as he prefers to be known, grew up in Deira hearing stories about the time when the industry formed the backbone of the economy.

An estimated 500 pearl-diving boats operated out of Dubai at the industry's peak and the fleet used to spend several months at sea without returning to port.

"It was a very hard, very hard country to live in because we have the sea and the desert," he explains.

Pearl divers ate little during the day, snacking on dates to keep their energy levels up. The days were long and only those who found enough pearls were permitted to eat an evening meal.

They used to borrow money from the captain of a ship to feed their families while they were away pearl diving, which they had to return at the end of a trip.

"If you [did not find enough pearls] they took your home - and son to dive for free," he says.

"It was not easy, only if you are lucky to find big pearls. That's what happened to my grandfather."

Major Ali's grandfather's boat was smaller than some others, so he did not always have his pick of the pearl divers.

And one day an Omani man turned up at the boat, which was called the Al Assad, or "the lion', in a ripped kandora, begging for a place.

"He was a very poor guy. He didn't know how to swim. He went to my grandfather and he begged him, 'Please take me with you because I have 30 people to feed.'

"My grandfather said, 'Khalas, OK I will help you because one left and you can be in his position'."

But after being at sea for 15 days, Major Ali's father, who was just 12 at the time, fell sick and they returned to port. Suddenly, everybody feared there was something wrong with the Omani pearl diver, too.

"He was like, 'Mmm, mmm ..,' like this, showing he had something in his mouth. They thought he was a genie. They hit him and said, 'Genie, go out.'"

When he finally opened his mouth the diver revealed a large pearl, the first of many they found that day.

"My grandfather became rich like this in one day. My father said they had a big room full of money," adds Major Ali.

The pearl diver was rewarded well for his find and returned to Oman, where he bought the biggest farm in the country.

Major Ali's grandfather used his share of the spoils to buy the largest ship in Dubai, which he used to sail to Africa and India trading. His son, Major Ali's father, became the captain of the vessel.

Major Ali learnt how to pearl dive when he was a teenager and carries around a red pouch in his kandura filled with hundreds of tiny pearls, as well as a large one that is surely in the running to rival the Omani pearl diver's find. He recalls one particularly memorable occasion: "I found more than 200 or 300 shells and we started opening [them] and one guy was sitting with me and nothing was coming, only small pearls. It was very disappointing," recalls Major Ali.

He says he sat impatiently while they opened one shell after another, each revealing only tiny pearls, and eventually left in frustration.

"After one hour they called me and they found big, nice, beautiful pearls," says Major Ali laughing. "They were the best pearls I found in my life and from that I started thinking more about the pearl diving and started to organise a trip."

He now goes on regular trips, having teamed up with Jumeriah Group to run a initiative that educates tourists about the industry.

But the environment and UAE heritage are not Mr Ali's only passions.

He joined Al Zamalek Sports Club, a football team - now famous the world over although by a different name - when he was about 16.

"I said, 'We want to change the name because my mother, she told me a poem,' and I said, 'What is Al Wasl?' And she said it was the old name of Dubai," says Major Ali.

"Everybody liked the idea and we changed the name to Al Wasl."

The club is currently managed by the former Argentina football superstar Diego Maradona. The move created headlines around the world when he signed on last year - for a reported €3.5 million (Dh16.2m) a year for two years.

Major Ali played for the club for about eight years until he suffered a career-ending injury but Al Wasl remained, and remains, in his blood, even as he rose up the ranks of the Navy.

Our interview is periodically interrupted by phone calls from zealous security staff checking the credentials of people visiting EMEG's headquarters. Major Ali takes it in his stride. "Thank you, he is coming to us to have a meeting. Please let him come. Thank you. Thank you very much," he tells security, before explaining the reason behind their enthusiasm: "We have turtles and we are worried about people stealing the eggs."

He used to spend a lot of his time protecting people - but then he saw the damage they were capable of inflicting on the environment

"I started the first unit in the navy for sea mines. We saved people from the mines [in the two Gulf wars].

"I saw the pollution, the big huge pollution ... when Saddam released oil and many birds and fish died," he says.

He retired from the navy about six years ago to devote himself to EMEG full-time.

"They didn't want to let me [go] but I said I need to care about the environment.

"It is my life," he says.

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