Future perfect

Twenty seven years ago, Peter Hellyer arrived in the UAE to make documentary films. One thing led to another and he found himself staying on and taking on many other roles - editor and journalist, environmentalist, archaeologist, author... Hellyer, who is currently working at the External Information Department in Abu Dhabi, is passionate about the UAE and wishes to continue to contribute whatever he can

A lifelong relationship started innocuously enough. When Peter Hellyer, a young British film-maker, first landed in the UAE in 1975 to make documentary films on the overseas state visits of President His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, he had no inkling of the fact that this country would become his home for many years to come.

True, he was not unfamiliar with Arab culture, having married an Arab, and had frequently visited other parts of the Arab world like Lebanon, Jordan, Sudan and Egypt.

Since then, Hellyer has had a very busy life - he has edited the UAE capital's only English language newspaper, authored several books on this country and was (in 1992) the founder of ADIAS (the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey), a body responsible for the identification and excavation of archaeological sites on the coast and islands of Abu Dhabi. In the process, he has helped unveil this country's forgotten history.

Seated at his office in the Ministry of Information & Culture in Abu Dhabi, Peter Hellyer reminisces: "I had no idea at the time (in 1975) how things would develop. I realised quickly, of course, that the UAE was a fascinating place and certainly wanted to spend time getting to know more about it. But I had no idea I would spend so much time here.''

He arrived 27 years ago to just catch the "fading echoes'' of those times. He landed in the midst of a country caught up in the whirl of rapid development, a country on a high-speed drive to change.

"I remember while filming in the Tourist Club area in Abu Dhabi in around 1976, we were on top of a multi-storeyed building. I counted nearly 100 tower cranes and after a while got tired counting since there were so many."

The documentaries he was involved in making for Abu Dhabi television covered such topics as the ongoing hectic afforestation plans and the new townships springing up in the desert.

He also travelled with Sheikh Zayed on his overseas state visits to places like Egypt, Yemen, France and Iran and to attend the non-aligned summit in Sri Lanka.

A turning point in his life came when the Ministry of Information and Culture invited him to take over responsibility for the foreign language broadcasting service (English, French and Urdu) of Abu Dhabi Radio and the fledgeling FM service, later Capital Radio, (all now part of Emirates Media Incorporated but then linked to the Ministry of Information & Culture).

"The offer grew out of the television documentary work really - I was dealing with people like the former Ministry under-secretary Abdullah Al Nowais, who was in charge of both radio and TV. And it was an interesting offer - I was quite extensively involved in radio in London, with the BBC and LBC, the commercial radio station, and wanted to do more. And, of course I liked the UAE as well.

"I was pretty heavily involved in political and other activities in London at that time but it seemed to me the UAE was a good place to bring up young children, so I opted to come here. I've never regretted it," he says.

The challenge lay in trying to make sure the services carried content related to the UAE, and did not simply transmit material from radio stations overseas, although they did use plenty of BBC material at that time. One innovation was the introduction of a Bengali service, to cater for the growing number of Bangladeshi expatriate workers.

Hellyer continues: "There were no particular difficulties working in the radio from 1978-82 except that learning to manage a varied workforce had its interesting moments.''

They had presenters of different nationalities - Palestinian, Sudanese, Lebanese, Moroccan, Tunisian, British, Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi.

As a newspaper editor

In 1982, Hellyer returned briefly to London but in the next two years he visited the UAE seven times, being here for a total of seven months in 1983 to help organise ADCO's 20th anniversary, as well as being involved in various UAE-related projects in London.

When he did return to the UAE, Hellyer had arrived at another crossroads - this time the Information Ministry offered him the opportunity to head the UAE's first English newspaper, Emirates News, as managing editor, a post he took up in February 1985.

UAE journalism was born back in the 1960s, explains Hellyer. Expatriates with journalistic experience had flocked to this new country even back then to help report on events such as the development of the oil industry, the formation of the Federation, the greening of the country and the booming construction activities, among other topics.

Meanwhile, in 1979, Hellyer had helped Ibrahim Al Abed, director-general of the Emirates News Agency - WAM - to launch the agency's English language service, to coincide with a high-profile OPEC ministers' meeting in Abu Dhabi.

"We started small but what we tried to do was to record the development of the country since the mid-'70s in an open and objective manner. And we succeeded, I believe,'' he states.

While he was editor, the newspaper broke a number of international stories like that of an exclusive interview with Taliban leader Mullah Omar, the news of Pakistan's nuclear testing a day before it took place, and local stories, such as illegal "welfare" funds defrauding poor South Asian expatriates, the scale of 'hawala' dealing through Dubai and details of embargo-busting ships carrying Iraqi oil.

It was also the only paper to carry a weekly environment page, a French page, a question and answer column on Islam and a page on the Filipino community, as part of its efforts to appeal to, and inform, all communities. Truly, the newspaper reflected the flavour and spirit of the Capital.

One of his own pieces, he remembers fondly, was written in 1990 when he flew down to Liwa with British explorer Sir Wilfred Thesiger.

"He was returning to the Empty Quarter after 40 years, a place he had crossed, making history. We devoted a page to his comments and what he had done. I really enjoyed that," Hellyer exclaims with delight.

Another advantage of being editor, he notes, was being able to pay tribute to two people who he admired greatly - the late Bish Brown, a former pilot, ADMA-OPCO employee and founder of the Emirates Natural History Group, and former British Political Agent Edward Henderson.

"It was marvellous to be able to express my views about them in print, being able to pay tribute to them, and to the way in which they had inspired me, in the obituaries I wrote about them.'' Hellyer points out.

Exploring the environment

In 1985, Hellyer, an active birdwatcher and the son of an author who had written over 50 books on gardening, became an active member of the Emirates Natural History Group (ENHG). Joining this organisation stimulated his interest in the UAE's environment and, in turn,