Friday, December 21, 2007

Yet another black day in our Country's History

I came back to Bahrain for the Eid holidays, only to find that for the past couple of days, demonstrators/protesters & riot police/special forces have been clashing around the island.

The words is that there have been countless numbers incarcerated, many more casualties, and to date one fatality that has been made public.

Yesterday, i could not help but see the road leading to Sanabis & Jid Hafs blocked by police, no one allowed in. The road leading to Dana mall was no different; riot police & Special Forces on the left side of the road, blocking all roads leading into the Jid Hafs area. The same could be seen driving on the road leading towards GEANT.

What bothers me most is that our government officials willingly sets there vicious dogs against its people, these mongrels have been brought to Bahrain and nationalized for the sole purpose of keeping civilians in-line ensuring/preventing demonstrations against the continuing suffering and standing for what they believe in.

Bahrainis, have become second-rate citizens, the newly nationalized now-called BAHRAINIS are living better lives, getting higher paying government jobs, government support & housing. They have infested the Armed forces, Special Forces, riot police & the police stations, just to name a few government agencies; and some private companies/businesses now have a preference towards the newly nationalized Bahrainis as well.

So then, Bahrainis find it harder to live, day-by-day living expenses increase because of inflation and the fact that we now have to compete with high paid expatriates and government backed NATIONALS.

Whereas in other GCC countries the nationals come first, and they have rights guaranteed by their government; here in Bahrain, we don’t even come in second, we come in last to who ever is ahead of us, and there is a queue that gets longer day-by-day.

Our jobs are being exported.

The minimum wage is a joke so long as the government does not enforce it by law.

Our children are expected to compete for the few remaining seats in government schools whose curriculum is so out dated that graduates have to take evening classes in English & computer studies (paid for by their low paid parents) just to bring up their education to par.

When our government allowed Gulf & Foreign national to own land anywhere in Bahrain, they condemned us all to a life along the poverty live, if not below it; a life where most of one’s salary is to be spent on rent.

Where once, we could get a good size land for fifteen to twenty thousand dinars, NOW, fifty thousand will not get you squat.

Government housing is a joke, the Housing Bank’s records, if they are ever made public will show exactly how corrupt officials and employees have been using it as their personal piggy bank.

All this and more has let to the gap between the rich and the poor to significantly increase.

So then, rather than sending negotiators to these troubled areas, to listed to the people’s concern’s, to comfort them in their time of need, to communicated the government’s concerns and wishes, government officials send in their death squad. Why is it so hard to do the obvious, the best thing to do, even if it may be the hardest, rather than what is currently being done?

For god sakes, our government should be defending our rights, and our lives, not leaving us in the open to be trampled over and humiliated.

And now, we come to know that in a month’s time, the leader of the land of the free & home of the brave will come, only his aim is not to demand a stop to the violence, or a request for a renewed period of reconciliation and forgiveness.

No, in a years time he will be out of the oval office and he has now come to the Gulf to collect his expensive gifts, after all its what his father did before him, and I’m sure it’s what his brother will do after him when he is somehow miraculously voted into the white house.

I hope the violence stops immediately, and that there are no more deaths, on either side; that this issue gets resolved peacefully, and sound minds set forward to ensure a period of calm and reconciliation.

There must be concessions on both sides, but I implore our government to change its tactics, violence only begets violence. We have the leadership and the means to get over this, in a manner that is to the benefit of us all.

But first, please lock up the dogs, send them packing…this must be the first step forward.