A view of the museum.
Dr. Khawla Almarri
Jelmood, which translates to a “strong man built like a rock” in Arabic, was the name of a known slave merchant who lived in a busy area in the heart of the city of Doha during the beginning of the twentieth century. Jelmood’s house served as a slave market wherein personhood and agency were stripped in a commodifying manner.
In 2015, and in a manner not customary to the region, Qatar decided to confront and interrogate a dark chapter of its trans-local by opening the first slavery museum in the Arab world. The Qatari government undertook to transform the once historic slave auction house into a museum, turning it into an institution for cultural reckoning.
While exploring the museum, visitors encounter exhibition rooms, a huge courtyard, a small library and a research space. In a nearby room, a film displayed on a screen features a young woman who tells her sad story of how she was kidnapped in Africa, separated from her family and shipped against her will along with others to an unknown country.
Photo credit: Msheireb Museums
Inside the slave ship, mothers would cry worrying about their children while others died from disease or malnutrition. She then talks about her new master who took her on a journey from Oman, where she was auctioned and sold, to his house in Doha to serve his family.
Another video narrates a story of a man who finds himself alone in the deep waters of the sea, working as a pearl diver where his only obligation is to serve his master for life. Another room resembles the concept of a human auction bench, a list of humans with a price tag and a pair of shackles placed in the corner that reflects the remains of the depravity that took place in the house.
Every room in the museum challenges your emotions and enables you to explore the complicated topic of slavery through visual installations, photographs and historic items. The second extension of Bin Jelmood House documents the abolishing of slavery in all of its forms in Qatar from the early nineteen sixties until this day.
The museum’s context is a declaration of human rights and an endorsement to the reactionary forces today who are working hard to prevent the cruel practice of modern slavery and human trafficking.
The writer is a historical and cultural researcher based in Qatar. She is the author of Heroes and Villains: A Conversation Between Evil and Good in the Middle East (2019), and Interview with A Collector: A Closer Look at Qatari Collectors and Their Stories (2021).
