Amara bin Thuqub
Amara bin Thuqub lived much of his early life in the marshes of Southern Iraq. When Wilfred Thesiger visited the marshes he was introduced to Amara, and Thesiger subsequently introduced Amara to Gavin Young and Gavin Maxwell. Amara helped Thesiger, Young, and Maxwell navigate the marshes and all three became friends with Amara and his family.
Photo by Wilfred Thesiger, courtesy of the Pitt Rivers Museum
Biography
Later in his life Amara moved to Baghdad with his family. In 2022 Amara was located by Hassan Shiaa Alzaidawi who introduced him to the writer and explorer Leon McCarron. Amara welcomed McCarron into his house and, alongside his wife Khashiyeh and son Hadi, spoke at length about his life in the marshes. The footage from the interview was graciously provided by McCarron, and constitutes a unique resource documenting the history of the marshes. With Hassan serving as translator, Amara recounts how crops were divided and taxed by local sheikhs, how feuds were settled in contexts where the state had little presence, how marriages were arranged, and how employment in the marshes differed from life in Iraq’s cities. McCarron’s interview with Amara is a valuable historical account of life in the marshes and their transformation over the 20th century. McCarron’s interview was the basis for an article written with Mohammed Al Sarai featuring photographs by Emily Garthwaite published in the AramcoWorld Magazine that can be accessed here.