Have chosen water
as the weapon for slow murder,
the pipes — bomb them,
desalination tanks — smash that,
set fire to supply infrastructure
watch them choke of smoke
mixed with cholera,
twist their organs
with thirst —
Sabrina Mahfouz, A History of Water in the Middle East
I had the privilege of experiencing A History of Water in the Middle East almost exactly a year ago when it premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London (read about why I love this theatre here). I remember leaving with an incredible new perspective on British Imperialism across the globe. Recently I have been reminiscing the last time I lived in London, and I decided to order the script and re-visit that night at the Royal Court Theatre. Reading the script, I appreciated more of the poetry and craft that Sabrina Mahfouz put into this play, something that isn’t always noticed when watching a performance live.
Mahfouz calls her play a “presentation”, as in one you would encounter in an academic or business setting. The writing and staging of the play reflects this idea with speech directed towards the audience as well as visuals depicting the geographical areas discussed in the play. However, this presentation goes beyond bland school projects as it incorporates poetry, song, and dialogue breaks throughout the 90 minute performance. The goal of Mahfouz’s presentation is to discuss the atrocities committed by the British Empire in the Middle East through the possession and control of water, spanning from the 1800’s to modern day. She utilizes the narratives of women from these countries, as well as her own stories as a British Egyptian living in Britain’s capital, London. She shares her experiences going through the interview process for becoming a British spy, which reflect the lasting effect on British Imperialism in the Middle East.
Where will they wash themselves?
Will they scrub with sand and grains
until they regain the glass hours
they’ve lost to lines and legs
drawn by lords made into
marble statues soaked with rain
and engraved with their grand names
for all of time
whilst these women,
born to the same earth
but emerging from its middle
means they can’t even
give graves to
their children,
let alone engrave them.
they can’t rid their skin of intrusion,
intrusion
intrusion
invasion
intervention
all the same old war
and no amount of water can wash it away.
Sabrina Mahfouz, A History of Water in the Middle East.
the structure…
Mahfouz structures her play in several “modes”: lecture mode, gig time, spy world, and storytelling mode. Lecture mode takes the audience through the history of British Imperialism and their control of land and water in the Middle East. Gig time and storytelling mode serve to relate this history to the real experiences of women living in the Middle East, and spy mode connects everything to the present political climate in London and Mahfouz’s own experiences with the British government. Through these modes, Mahfouz tactfully highlights parallels between past and present, traditional mythology and contemporary reality, broad history and individual experience. Such a structure allows for the free exploration of the valuable and extensive stories that make up the relationship between water, the Middle East, and British Imperialism.
the story…
Mahfouz’s presentation takes the audience to Egypt, Cyprus, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE, Oman, and Yemen. She narrates the British conquests of the 19th and 20th centuries and their quest for control of natural resources, the most crucial being water. Starting with Bahrain’s story, Mahfouz illustrates how Britain’s establishment of a triangular trade between West India, the Gulf, and East African would lead to Britain’s continued occupation and control in the Middle East. As her stories move forward into the contemporary, Mahfouz turns to the environmental urgency of our world, and the weaponization of water today in the Middle East. She points out how the lack of access to water has led to conflicts between Middle Eastern countries and exacerbated already existing tensions, as with Palestine and Israel. Not only that, but a lack of something so essential as water has led to the some of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, such as what is happening now in Yemen.
the conclusion…
With conflict in the Middle East being a constant topic in the news, I think it is important that we remember the origin of these conflicts and who truly is responsible for the violence we see there today. A History of Water in the Middle East promptly reminds us that white Western imperialism is at the center of these conflicts: our greed for power has led to the violence that we readily dismiss as someone else’s problem. Mahfouz’s play asks us to take responsibility for the past and the present, and to recognize how analogous our imperialist ideals are with the racist and xenophobic atmosphere of our current political systems. Even today, we somehow separate imperialism from its negative outcomes, wrongly placing blame on the victims of colonization rather than the colonizers themselves. Most importantly, I think this play reminds us that imperialism isn’t a thing of the past, and that in a world so rooted in conquest, we can no longer “keep using its old rules” (Mahfouz) to sustain our present.
I hate you for it.
You and your ruling elite
that pretends to no longer rule.
But without ruling can take away wells
and water and babies from mothers
and blood from those just going to school
and passports and citizenships
and freedom without trial
and names and nations and a vote
and a voted-for parliament
and any sense of empowerment…
Sabrina Mahfouz, a History of Water in the Middle East