Iraq. Palestine. Lebanon. These countries dominate the news headlines on a daily basis. But a new documentary film on S4C will examine the role of a Welshman born in the foothills of Snowdon, T E Lawrence, in forming the modern Middle East.
TV presenter and producer Ali Yassine goes on the trail of Lawrence in the revealing programme Lawrence o Arabia. For Ali, 44, the programme meant researching a subject close to his heart. As a Muslim born in Cardiff, with relatives in the Middle East, he’s taken an interest in Lawrence since he was a youngster.
“I was aware that Lawrence played a major role in the Arabs’ fight for freedom from the Ottoman Empire – Turkey,” Ali explains. “But I wanted to know how much real influence he had.”
Lawrence was born in Tremadog near Porthmadog in 1889 to parents Thomas Tighe Chapman and his girlfriend Sarah Jenner. It was fashionable to visit the Middle East in the early 20th Century and Lawrence ventured there to work on an archaeological dig in Syria. But with the start of the Great War in 1914, he was recruited by the British to help the Arabs in their fight for freedom.
Lawrence proved a great military strategist. He chose a nomadic Sahara tribe, the Bedouin, to form the heart of his army. Emir Fesail was the main leader and they used mainly guerrilla tactics. This was the start of the Lawrence of Arabia myth.
But while the Arabs thought that Britain and Lawrence were helping them, in reality Britain and France had signed a secret pact to divide the Arab lands between them.
Despite Lawrence’s betrayal, Ali sympathises with him.
“Before starting research on the programme, I didn’t have much respect for him as I believed he’d misled the Arabs. But I began to realise he was in a difficult situation as doing his duty for Britain was so important to him. I believe that’s why he avoided the public eye after the war. While the British state was setting him up as a hero, he felt guilty.”
© 2008 S4C
O Gymru / Made in Wales