Bahrain’s Arab Spring: Past, present, future Sunday, 03 July 2011 04:08

Bahrain has been in the media a lot lately; and not for the “right reasons”. Instead, Bahrain has been under attack by a small but very vocal group of would-be revolutionaries who decided to ride the coattails of the “Arab Spring” and attempt to overthrow their own government. Some would replace it with Hassan Mushaima’s (leader of the hardline Shia Haq Party) call for a Republic – presumably following the example of the Islamic Republic of Iran which he is so fond of. This is the same man who called for the intervention of Iranian troops when the GCC’s Peninsula Shield forces came to help restore order and guard key areas and installations that presented a security risk. Even political newcomers can recognise that the events taking place in Bahrain share little similarity with the other Arab movements to promote self-determination.

Keeping all this in mind, I recently met with two young Bahrainis: Ali, an earnest young man in his early 20s who divides his time between work and university; and his friend May, an animated university graduate in her mid-20s. Both are passionate about their country and have been engaged in self-styled political activism since the onset of events on February 14. When I sat down with them at a local restaurant, I ask them to tell me a little about themselves, rather than lead in with the typical reporter’s question: “Are you Sunni or Shia?” They addressed this issue immediately, though, and told me that it was a question many Bahrainis have grown weary of.

It seems Bahrain hasn’t kept statistics on sect, which both felt was because there hasn’t been a focus on sectarianism. Rather both think that Bahrain has been a united multi-cultural society for the most part; that is, until these recent events. They pointed out that even knowing the names of people doesn’t always clarify that people are Sunni or Shia as many names are shared by both and there has been a significant amount of inner-marriage between the two sects. As it happens, May is the perfect example of that synergy. Her father is from a renowned Sunni family and her mother is from a well-known Shia family. Ali, on the other hand, is from a Shia family and loves his country so much he didn’t want to travel abroad for university, opting instead to attend a branch campus of a foreign university subsidized by a government scholarship, as well as the salary he draws from his 30+ hour a week job.

I was curious to hear what Ali had to say about the way Shias are treated in Bahrain and what discrimination they faced. However, instead what I heard was the story of a country that has actually supported religious diversity and allows Shias to worship freely. This includes holding their public processions for Ashoora in Manama, assisted by the government to clear routes for them and help with necessary logistics of handling an enormous public religious event that winds its way through the street of the capital.

Having lived in several countries in the GCC for more than 12 years, I knew this to be unusual. Ashoora is a celebration of martyrdom and involves a display of self-flagellation and blood that can be shocking for the uninitiated. To my knowledge it is not publicly practiced in any Arabian Gulf country, except Bahrain. In fact, Ali pointed out that in 2010 Ashoora fell on the same day as the Bahraini National Day and the government delayed their patriotic holiday by one day in order to allow Ashoora to proceed without any conflict of interest. This is just one example of many that Ali and May used to illustrate the government’s willingness to embrace all of its citizens, regardless of sect.

I wanted to find out how Ali and May felt about the protests from the beginning and if their feelings had changed. With the enthusiasm of youth, but the political awareness of well-educated citizens, both expressed solidarity with the call for reforms in the very beginning. While they felt that basically the government was committed to reform, it had bogged down – as government politics and bureaucracy do everywhere – and they saw the initial rallies in the Pearl Roundabout as a good strategy to jump-start the process. They described the atmosphere at the roundabout as energising with speakers who engaged the ebullient crowd.

So when and why did it change? Both immediately stated the change came when Hassan Mushaima made his call for an Islamic Republic in early March. The celebratory mood changed to something darker, and people started to leave the roundabout in large numbers. By this time, the activities of anti-government forces had ramped up to include blocking access to public places (including the Bahrain Financial Harbour which is in effect the centre of the country’s most critical economic interests and home to many multinational corporations); destruction of public property (ranging from the less serious graffiti to bringing in heavy equipment like backhoes to tear up main roads and bridges, as well as firebombing shops, homes and cars); attacks on students (including the shocking riots and vandalism at the University of Bahrain that caused damage in excess of $900,000 and shut the university down for two months); attacks on policemen and security forces (such as the shocking videotaped deaths of policemen that were run over by SUVs multiple times); and attacks on Asian expats (like the Muezzin from Bangladesh who had his ears cut off and his tongue cut out by a mob of opposition extremists).

The jubilance in the roundabout was a fading memory as March stretched into April. May lost her job in a Shi’a owned company. On the record it was because there wasn’t enough work to warrant all the employees on the payroll, yet Shia colleagues who missed work to attend protests maintained theirs and she felt she was sacked in part because of sectarian concerns.

Ali, on the other hand, began to feel the heat of being Shia in a country where some assumed that all Shias supported the anarchy in the streets. He also has had to deal with the concern of being rejected by other Shi’ite Bahrainis for not supporting the anti-government opposition. Both May and Ali began to turn more and more to social media as a means of staying informed and combatting the attacks on Bahrain being launched by the Western media which was only reporting one side of the story.

Social media has played an important role in the uprisings in Bahrain. In fact, even the Bahraini government has had a presence on twitter during the crises. Sheikh Khalid Al Khalifa, Bahrain’s Foreign Minister was tweeting prior to February, but a number of others have created profiles (e.g., Sheikh Fawaz Al Khalifa, President of the Information Affairs Authority) along vast numbers of Bahraini citizens and expats.

According to May and Ali, Twitter has been largely negative, with a lot of outrageous rumours sprouting wings and taking off. One notable – and now amusing – example was the rumour early on that when the government broke up the encampment at the Pearl Roundabout on February 17th, there was a refrigerated truck containing more than 60 corpses seen leaving the area. Blogs, tweets and even BlackBerry messages were riddled with Kafkaesque speculation of what happened to the bodies – which thankfully never existed – until the hype died down.

Twitter hasn’t been all negative for Bahrain, though. May and Ali feel that it pushed people to get involved, research and correct a lot of the fabrications they were reading about in the media. They began to see where incidents were being reported on twitter, then drove there to take pictures and prove that the claims were unfounded. I asked them if they weren’t scared and they told me that in looking back, they realised they could have been in danger but they were committed to getting the true story of what was happening in Bahrain out to the public. It was clear by March that social media – once touted as a “youthful” communication medium –was linked with mainstream Print and Television media, and all of Bahrain was feeling its force.

The Present

As I continued the interview with May and Ali, our conversation gradually shifted from the events from February 14 and the arrival of the GCC Peninsula Shield forces to help secure strategic installations during Bahrain’s state of National Security, to the lifting of the extraordinary safety measures on June 1. Bahrain has breathed a sigh of relief as business and activities have gradually begun to start that long process of recovery. The time is right to reflect on where Bahrain is now and what the people have learned since the beginning of the so-called “Arab Spring.”

First of all, Ali and May wanted to make sure I understood that the events in Bahrain were not in any way related to the events taking place in other Arab countries. Both say that there are legitimate demands of the people in Egypt and Libya, for example, but that the Bahrain’s government has been responsive to its people when legitimate concerns are raised through proper channels. In fact, May made it clear that she will never stop criticizing government when it is called for, as constructive criticism is necessary for any nation.

In reflecting on actions the government has taken, Ali and May both said they felt for the most part things have been handled in the only way they could have been, after the government allowed the roundabout to be re-taken by the protestors (and after the disastrous events of 17 February). Ali referred to the Opposition’s plan to demonstrate at the Royal Court in Riffa. May commended the policemen for rising to the challenge of keeping the two opposing factions apart without violence when some people that day were determined to riot and create anarchy. May pointed out that the protestors had chosen a very provocative route to approach the Royal Court to begin with and Ali explained there was a more direct route they could have taken which would not have put them on a collision course with Riffa’s citizens. In the end, however, security forces did their duty flawlessly and there were no serious casualties that day.

With regard to the accusations that Iran has played a role in events that unfolded in Bahrain, May and Ali had differing opinions. May pointed out that the history of Iran’s involvement is a known fact and that they have an interest in taking over Bahrain. She feels that they have had a lot of influence on the protestors, providing training and financial support. However, she did say that she did not believe Iran initiated the events on February 14, even though according to her they have taken advantage of the unrest.

On the other hand, Ali said he did not agree that Iran had been involved from the beginning. He said he felt that some Iranians felt they had to step in to protect Shia rights based upon accusations of persecution. Ali agreed with May that Iran had taken advantage of the unrest and had gone wrong in even considering sending fighters to Bahrain. He reasserted his love for Bahrain and the belief that Iran has no business in interfering in Bahrain’s internal matters.

As an American, I wanted to find out how Ali and May felt about the American position and role in the events of the past few months. My directness may have surprised them slightly, and I can still see Ali’s quiet smile before they carefully spoke. Ali diplomatically said that the Americans haven’t really helped and May went on to explain that was in part because the American position hasn’t been clear since the beginning. There are many rumours, as well as facts, that have circulated in Bahrain about some of the Embassy staff, such as Ludovic Hood who has since left Bahrain.

According to May, many feel that the US State Department has been unfair in their support of key opposition figures; specifically Maryam Al Khawaja, an alumna of Brown University, and Nabeel Rajab. With the US Fifth Fleet based out of Bahrain, many expect that the American administration to be more vocal in their support of the Bahraini government; or at the least, not meet with or support the very people who are attempting to overthrow them. Some of the trust has been lost, and can only be regained if there is a change in policy, although neither expect that to happen anytime soon.

I wanted to know what Ali and May thought about President Barack Obama’s speech on the Middle East. Neither felt he offered much in terms of concrete solutions in any of the Arab countries. However, May did say that even though the points he addressed were relatively few, still she felt that the things he said only gave voice to the opposition and that was a disappointment. They both agreed that it could have been a lot worse, because he could have lumped Bahrain in with all the Arab revolutions, and thankfully he didn’t. However, they felt he didn’t help Bahrain as he should have based on a long-term strategic alliance.

Did Ali and May have any other reflections on what they had learned these past few months? In retrospect, May sees that the earlier discontent was actually something very serious that could have been taken more seriously to prevent things from getting to this point. “We almost lost our country,” she said, as if it was a profundity that had never occurred to her before. Ali asserted that the uprising of the last few months has made him realize that the government led by Al Khalifa family is really moderate and the best option for a multi-cultural, multi-religious society where, as May pointed out, there is no shame in being secular.

The Future

It was time for May and Ali to turn their attention to the future. What do they think the future holds for them personally and for the Kingdom of Bahrain.We hear so often that reforms are needed in Bahrain so I wanted to know what the word “Reforms” means to them. Ali said, “A better Bahrain.”

May expanded on Ali’s wish, stating that Bahrain needs major reforms in the quality of education (as opposed to access which is currently managed well). They both stated that government processes need to be streamlined so there is less waste and bureaucracy; and the government needs to be more transparent so fight corruption. They see the divide in Bahraini society as related to class, and not religion, so both advocate more aide for those living at the poverty level, while acknowledging that Bahrainis have to do more to help themselves through education, employment and taking more responsibility for decisions.

May had thought about this subject extensively and had even made a list of changes she would like to see. They include more opportunity within Bahrain that will keep talented Bahrainis from migrating to other countries to take advantage of better options; more freedom of choice, although she does have some reservations about Bahrainis’ readiness for fully elected government; no religious scholars in positions of power within the government in order to insure a secular government; and lastly, no royal pardons for people convicted of crimes (something that many Bahrainis think has led to the recent unrest). Ali added that he would like to see better housing made available to the poor.

Neither May or Ali want to have Bahrain institute taxes and both recognize that Bahrain doesn’t have the financial resources of its neighbours. They said they feel that the government overall is trying to do a good job for the people but sometimes is not so successful. They realise that Bahrainis are a lot better off than most people in the world and reiterated the citizens\ responsibility to put more effort into making Bahrain a better place. May states, “You get something out when you put something in.” Or as Ali puts it, “Work for it” – a motto this hardworking young man lives by.

I asked them what they believe is the best way forward, and both stated unequivocally it is the National Dialogue, set to commence on 1 July. However, they both have concerns about who will be participating in this process and share an interest in having representatives for the moderate, secular youth of Bahrain.

May passionately demands that the youth – who have been so politically engaged these past few months – must have a way to participate. With regard to participants, I wanted to know how they both felt about the claim that some members of the opposition are making that dialogue cannot proceed as long as some of their leaders are in prison. May said there should be no participation with those who are imprisoned as the law applies equally to all. She pointed out that some of these leaders are extremists and are not the ideal leaders anyway for a moderate Bahrain.

I wanted to know if they thought new political leaders could emerge now and they both answered affirmatively. May said that with all they have learned in the past few months, the time is ripe for new leadership. Ali agreed that many will be looking for new faces and have changed their minds about the old ones. According to May, more people have started caring about their future now. Ali sums this up perfectly, saying quietly, “All I want is for Bahrain to heal.”

The Peninsula