Reem AlMealla - Bahrain’s First Female Oceanographer

▲ Reem (third from the left) founded “Nuwat: Heart of every living cell,” dedicating efforts to environmental research and education, with the hope of becoming a force for social change.

(Image source: Reem’s Facebook)
 

When you begin to imagine what kind of world you want to create, the “how” will find its way, and the world will start to respond, making it possible.

█ Reem AlMealla, Founder of Nuwat for Environmental Research and Education

My name is Reem. In Arabic, “Reem” means the Arabian gazelle. It’s a small desert deer that can survive with almost no water; it eats plants that contain water. That’s how it adapts to living in a harsh environment making it resilient. It’s small; it doesn’t have to grow big at all. If you see it, you would not think it’s an adult. My parents gave me this name hoping I would grow up to be a resilient being, able to adapt to change.

I am from Bahrain. It’s in the Arabian Gulf. It’s the third smallest country in Asia—very, very small. We are 33 islands. I grew up like most Bahraini children—around the shore. There was no such thing as full time kindergartens like today; whoever was around took care of you. We just ran around and did our thing. I loved being on the beach with my siblings. I used to watch the boats. One day I asked my father why there were no women on the fishing boats. He said, “Well, it’s just not usual. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be on the boat as a woman.” I said, “When I grow up, I want to be a woman on that boat.” He said, “Okay, but what do you want to do—be a fisherman?” I said, “Not really. I want to see what lives in there.” That was the beginning of my relationship with the ocean—wanting to dive deeper into the unknown.

There are three tipping points I want to touch upon.

Reconciliation aboard the ship

The first tipping point was just after the Arab Spring period (December 2010) that happened in Middle East where many countries experienced political unrest. I had just finished university and returned home after completing my degree in marine biology in England, filled with energy.

On one of my first days of work at sea, someone asked, “Does your father know you’re here?” I said, “Excuse me, sir—on your first day at work, did they ask you if your father knew you were here?” People thought, “What is this young lady doing?” Everyone in Bahrain was talking about me. I was frustrated. There was a clash, which is natural. My father said, “You’re uncomfortable—do you think they’re not uncomfortable with you?”

I had to think about it, regulate myself. I went and said, “Hello, uncle. How are you?” It changed the entire conversation. Suddenly he saw me as his daughter, not someone invading their space. It changed our working relationship. That was one beginning moment.

Reconciliation at the climate conference

The second tipping point: It was during the second year of the Arab spring where in a lot of countries in my region people were shouting for their human rights and during the UNFCCC COP, there was a peaceful march for the climate and random people on the street would ask us — “Why are you here?”, “Climate change.” I said. They were confused, “What?”, “Climate change” I said. People thought I was crazy.

With the help of an NGO from our region, they managed to find and select people which included me to help build a climate movement across the Middle East and North Africa region. What did we do? Typical activists—we showed up at the UN climate conference.

The UN has many protocols and one cannot do anything without approval. Now this was challenging as I was co-cordinating a 150 angry, young people who wanted to meet their governmental delegations which was proving to be very difficult and some were threatening to show up where they were not allowed. I had to work with the team to control it. That’s also when I decided to take off my black t-shirt which had our messaging on it and instead, we sent a very polite email: “Can we please have a meeting? We would love to get to know you. Not to talk about the COP, but to get to know you.” It changed the entire situation.

▲ As a marine biologist, Reem often has opportunities to exchange experiences with experts from different research fields, gaining a deeper understanding of the wonders of the biological world.

(Image source: Reem’s Facebook)

Observation of coral reefs

As the years went by, I was getting frustrated with people as I felt that I was no longer making progress, so I decided to go away and do my Ph.D.

 “Crazy—why would you do a Ph.D.?” It’s a difficult journey of research where you are by yourself a lot. I loved my Ph.D.

I love my research topic; it was on coral reefs. The ecosystems and creatures that live on it don’t speak human language; I had to look at reefs and study reefs. They were telling me their story—I didn’t understand initially.

Watching these fish across reefs of different qualities—the same species, by the way— I realised that the fish that lived in very good-quality reefs in comparison to the fish that lived in degraded reefs were very calm and open to sharing their resources. The latter were very angry fish. The fish was this small in size, and I thought, “Yeah, that’s a very angry fish.” They didn’t want to share and were aggressive.

It showed how, when you lower quality of life, it’s natural to see behavior change. That’s when I started to understand what spiritual ecology means, which takes us into our inner dimensions.

The reef is built on layers and layers of old coral colonies—exactly like how our societies are built on layers of life built by our ancestors.

The tipping point that brings me here today is that, after the past observational years of channeling wisdom from nature I want to share this knowledge with others but also create opportunities for those like me—to build for a future where we talk about climate change and do something about it from a place of harmony, with no anger, given our situation.

A few months ago, in June, we got funded for a research project. I was being asked and I had to finish the field work by July, the week I received an email that said “How’s the research going?” Bahrain was under a state of emergency as there were missiles flying over us from Iran to Qatar; for safety reasons we were told to either stay home if one is already there or to go to the nearest shelter. As all of this was happening, I responded to the email saying “The research is going fine and I will update you once the current situation settles.”

In reality, I was not fine—but I believed that it will be fine.” When you start thinking of what you want to see the world like, the “how,” will sort itself out and the world will start responding through making things possible.

When I created Nuwat—my organization, meaning “the heart of living,”—we have to be that nucleus. Yes, we will be angry. I might look okay right now, but I can also be a dragon when I’m really angry. The real question is, how do we work from the inside to create a better reflection in our outer world?
 
Profile

◀ (Image source: Reem’s Facebook)

While most people gaze out at the ocean from the shore, Reem chooses to dive beneath the surface, listening to the messages conveyed by corals and schools of fish. As a marine biologist and climate advocate, she closely integrates scientific research with public action. She founded the Nuwat for Environmental Research and Education, ensuring that environmental research does not remain confined to the laboratory but becomes a force for social change.

She has long been dedicated to the study of coral reefs and marine ecosystems, focusing on how fish behavior changes in response to ecological shifts. However, her work goes beyond papers and data. She believes that the accumulation of ecological data forms the foundation for protecting the ocean; only by building clear and reliable knowledge can marine ecosystems be effectively protected and managed, thereby providing a stable foundation for the future of island communities.

In her view, ecosystems and human society are part of an interdependent lifeline. Protecting the ocean is not merely an environmental issue, but a responsibility and commitment to sustaining the relationship between humanity and nature.


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Climate Change: A Turning Point for Awakening

Alex Epstein - Urban Gardener Planting ‘Relationships’

Reem AlMealla - Bahrain’s First Female Oceanographer

Daniel Abreu Mejía - An Educator Empowering Climate Youth

Gregory Scott Pettys - A Scholar Preserving Seeds

Shephali Patel - A Farmer Who Learns from the Forest

Sow the seeds, transform yourself


Resource: Issue 512 of Humanity Magazine, Dharma Drum Publishing Corporation