Loving thy country
29 May, 2007 
90 Comments
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I’m not sure what the Ministry of the Interior wants to achieve by its continuous excessive use of force.
If this is their idea of instilling love for the country, they failed; if it is their intention to protect public and private property, they failed, their habitual use of tear gas and rubber bullets and other “crowd control” measures probably damage more properties than demonstrators do; if they want to live up to the “security” label in their name, they failed, you do not provide security by adopting terror tactics; if they want to cow people and dissuade them from talking about or participating in political activities, they failed, you do not do that by intimidation in fact the ministry’s action only strengthens the hand of the opposition and increase their sympathisers when they see images like these.
It is despicable that the ministry whose main task is to “serve and protect” is the very one that does quote the opposite.
The time has come for that ministry and its overlords to take real stock of their mandate and the situation on the ground to reevaluate their role as it is very clear to me that their leadership have lost their compass. It is high time for that compass to be restored and measures put in place to not allow the ministry to simply become a mercenary force whose only task is to the legal terror-mongering branch of government.
Talk. Discuss. Understand what the actual reasons for this discontent and work toward effecting a permanent fix. This is the way the government and the opposition should adopt. Continuous skirmishes will only lead to a further departure of opportunities from Bahrain.
Salman,
You say
I think you meant protectorate.
The devil, my friend, is always in the details. Even in riots.
jj
you’re back?!!!
Salman,
I understand your points… and where you’re coming from… but I still believe that ppl live too much in the past here. I know that ppl have been promised things and then not been given what they feel are their rightful dues… but that doesn’t mean you don’t try to better yourself and get what you want thru hard work and a willingness to make a difference.
I know this may be off the topic in a way… but you ask for solutions to problems… I don’t have any real solutions.. but I believe that education and hard work is one key to being successful. Many ppl spend too much time staying out all night, especially during holy periods, instead of getting sleep and concentrating on their work… but even before this, you have families that keep their children up all night and then send the children to school the next day. the kids are falling asleep and how can one comprehend and learn when they’re exhausted all the time? how can you ever hope to be successful and to try and make a difference if you don’t have an education? yes… some ppl are so poor that the children can’t go to school… ok, what about taking a job that one may consider to be beneath them in order to bring money in? anything to try and better oneself and make one’s situation better.
instead… ppl bitch about what they aren’t getting and expect hand-outs. maybe if ppl stopped bitching and tried bettering themselves, you’d see more coming your way. maybe there should be a law to keep kids in school.. instead of all the skipping. where are the parents? why is this allowed?
i know that i have worked w/ lots of bahrainis and the majority of them were lazy. sorry to say it, but it’s the truth. in govt jobs, they can’t be fired and so many take so much for granted because of this. maybe if more ppl were given chances and rewarded for their hard work and fired if they didn’t work, you’d see more jobs available for the ppl who are actually wanting to better themselves. i think this is something that should be seriously studied. and… a lot of ppl get their cousins hired, friends and such.. when they have no real experience. why is this happening? why aren’t ppl talking about this? personally, i would demand a change.
ppl need to educate themselves in order to compete for what they want and deserve in the world today.
re: that Ian Hendersen… I know nothing of him but I’ve heard others talk about him. I have heard about a guy from long ago that was here when my FIL was a young boy/man. Bill Graves was his name. I don’t believe in torture or of killing… this solves nothing. And I believe that ppl should be brought to justice for these things, but when you have a govt that is unwilling to do such, what can you do? Rioting will not change it. Sometimes it’s better to let go and move on, even if you don’t forget.
Also, I do believe that Bahrain should offer shelter for ppl in the way of homeless shelters or ways to help ppl learn a skill in order to find a job. Food banks for the poor, and places for the elderly that have no where to go. If I’m not mistaken, I saw something in the paper about unemployment pay coming soon… this is a move in the right direction. I just don’t believe that ppl should expect homes to be given… but I’m sure this is from my culture and the way I was raised.
Ingrid, Jandoe
Anti-globalisation protestors have a well deserved reputation for being very destructive. I stay far away from the demonstration site. I don’t want my car damaged by some ‘peace activist’ .
Salman
Everybody’s ancestors were doing bad things to everybody else’s ancestors. Live in the present, please. With very few exceptions, a country’s problems are due to the people living in it.
here we go again. everything you said was fine, except for this part. it’s a shame that you met so many lazy bahrainis, but i assure you we are NOT lazy. i have a theory about this but that is another topic.
meanwhile, please please people, we are NOT lazy. dont generalize, it is insulting and frustrating to keep hearing this.
This is what happens when you have an x-military (Bahrain Defense Forces) under secretary as a minister of interior.
This is what happens when you bring religion into the question. You have a bunch of bearded characters that talk until they erase the individual judgement of these youths and have them starting trouble. This is nothing that Bahrain needs at the time. If you are in favor of theocratic rantings than you are a supporter of regression and imminent economic implosion. The current economic climate desires stability, which is essential to Bahrain if it doesn’t want to fail against the competition. The ignorant ones that contribute to instability and turbulence are counterproductive and are delt with according to the law.
Wow nice one!
We want more such casualties!!
Keep it up our Police force.
Nice work!!
CWT,
I am studying with family support, who are struggling to fund me, but none the less, thank god for every state i live in. At least i am fortunate enough to be able to just push through.
And the qualification i am going to receive after i graduate will only get me into one job, and i know it is the job i want. But the job i want will not help anyone but myself and the company i work for. In no way will it change the governments treatment of its people.
We need the government to be aware of its unfair actions towards us, and the discrimination they maintain between Shia and Sunni, which we are trying to get rid off, and Mahmood has been doing a great job in helping to bring awareness to the people. We want them to realize their mistakes, and treat us all equal, regardless of our background, sect, family name, position in society, etc.
The force they used to restrain this young lad was unnecessary. This is now how you restrain someone.
In 1996, my uncle, and 2 of my cousins were arrested in Sanabis, along with 7 of their friends, one of whom was a policeman himself, just because they were smiling and joking about, and the police arrested them accusing them of “laughing at them”. It was during Ashoora. They were detained for 3 days, and had the shit kicked out of them, and were tortured. My family went crazy looking for them, because we did not know in which police station they were held. And most of all, my mother, who had raised my uncle as her own son, was on the verge of losing her mind. From police station to police station we went and searched, and we never found him. By then, they were being questioned of “who was with you?”. Who was with them? Their only crime was expressing human emotions?
On the 4th day, a white minibus with reflective tint came by the house, and they dropped them off, and it drove off. Their faces were bruised, their backs were scarred and bruised (and my uncle suffers back problems now from the torture), they suffered internal injuries, every part of their body was black and blue. They were not even recognizable!
Now, all that for expressing human emotion?
I also got bullied by a police patrol a few years ago in Manama, while walking to Naim with my friends. My friend said something funny, and i laughed out loud. And by coincidence, a police patrol car was driving past. They stopped, and the guy in the passenger seat asks me rudely “why were you laughing?” i told him “it is my human right to express my feelings, and i can laugh or cry, and i don’t think anyone has a right to stop me from doing so”. Suddenly they all get down, and they man handle me, and threaten to beat me up right there, and arrest me, and throw me in jail and all their crap. My friends and a lot of old men there came to reason with them. I did not try to though, i dared them to arrest me and to throw me in jail for expressing my right to express my human emotions. Their leader was even threating to slap and kick me all over the floor, and i dared him to do so, and we would see the end of it.
The control room ordered them to let me go, but yet took my details, and even gave me a warning not to repeat what i had done?
That is Bahrain for you! Policemen without brains or logical thinking.
As a riot police, all you do is restrain the rioter, not beat the crap out of him. Hold them down, handcuff them, and detain them and have them prosecuted, providing proof they had committed a crime. And at least now they bring their camera man, so at least they can for once provide hard evidence against you during prosecution.
I think this whole issue is going off course to personal issues… Let’s not forget the victim here… All I can say is that all (including the police) should exercise restraint and learn to respect eachother irregardless of religion, creed, race or whatever.. Last but not least the POLICE should live up to their name…
P olite (the need improvement here)
O bedient (they listen to what they have been told)
L oyal (ofcourse they are, or they would’nt be here)
I ntelligent (hmmm…. Obviously they have not realised it’s 2007)
C ourageous (Yep.. full of muscles, the picture speaks for it’s self)
E fficent (No loose ends here, and the damage is done)
Honestly… the POLICE do need some reform, the old guards need to get out, and the force needs re-structuring… It’s like cancer, if you don’t cut it out it will always remain and the chances of it spreading are definate.
The same goes for the people, parents need to play a bigger and better role in the education and upbringing. There are channels to express discomfort, we have elected MP’s, Ministers are somewhat accountable, we have media, internet, email, and so many other ways to express disagreement.
If we have learnt anything from the era 1994-2001, is violence will get us nowhere, people will get hurt, people will loose property, the country will be unstable, and us Bahraini’s are the ultimate losers.. just as we always are…
Captain Arab,
It has not gone personal, we only spoke of personal experiences of how inhumane the police can be, and living proof, is our dear brother in the picture above.
People get tortured and beaten up, yet the police’s job is to arrest or detain, or control, and prosecute according to the law. Not beat the crap out of people.
Why not detain him if he had done wrong? And prosecute him according to the law?
Or is riot control just chasing rioters with batons and shooting rubber bullets at them? The more violent the riot police will be, the rioters will come back with a stronger force of violence. And it will end no where.
You guys dont know anything on what happens on the roads when roits take place, i have been in roits and we have caught people demostrating and breaking laws for employment and most of them turn out to be employed or young students.etc etc… I hate them… If they r right they will get respect but if you think you will break laws and do what ever you want in this country then you will get what this guy got…. All of you assume stuff by just looking at this picture. Come and see the roits by yourself BUT B U T see the roits from the beginning till then end what happens, dont come and see the ending when they break laws and get hit. see it when they start it and NEVER the police start the hit we have lot other things to do….. You shias hate your own country break your own country. Do you think if you break the laws and go against the government you will be allowed to join the lawmaker… Can a law breaker ever be a law maker no way… ??
I have many shia bahraini friends they dont even mention shia sunni… we r BAHRAINIS and we should be proud of it.. My shia friends never blame the government and they work in good posts coz they worked hard got well educated and made themselves deserve that post. And why do you just look at shias to join police most of the other ministries r only shias and allow them
like bapco, municipality,housing ,batelco,ministry of labour, etc etc…. You dont get jobs in interior coz you have yourself broken the trust.. That is why the lawmakers are outsiders not u. Please understand friends you r in a peace loving country you should thank Allah almighty , its your country you can make it or break it .. choice is yours.
Have you read the response of the ministry of interior affairs at alayam newspaper today?
Some one said that the problem of al khabbaz was exaggerated…
tried to find the link ,,, but the site was hacked again !
Bahraini Citizen, you need to re-evaluate your position and think deeply about the issues you raised as they are all motivated by the hate – sectarian hate – you feel to your fellow Bahraini citizens.
Having you work – as you imply – in the ministry of the interior is rather worrying.
THIS SATURDAY ON CNN ‘INSIDE THE MIDDLE EAST’
POVERTY IN BAHRAIN
Show times
Inside the Middle East airs 1st full weekend of every month and the following Thursday.
Saturday (1st Saturday of every month)
0730, 1330, 1830 (all regions)
Sunday (1st Sunday of every month)
1130, 1730 (all regions)
Thursday (1st Thursday of every month)
1330, 1730 (all regions)
(All times GMT)
Salman: People get tortured and beaten up, yet the police’s job is to arrest or detain, or control, and prosecute according to the law. Not beat the crap out of people.
Why not detain him if he had done wrong? And prosecute him according to the law?
Just for the record: I perfectly agree with Salman. Don’t give the lads a lambaisting – give them rule of law.
Seems like buddy boy (Bahraini Citizen) is not from this part of town.. If the police were doing their job, this young man in the picture would be in court answering questions about his actions, and not lying in a hospital bed in pain.
The police (riot police) do not have time or patience and they do not even comprehend the language to investigate, ask questions, enquire, etc… Their job is to sort out the mess, and restore peace.. with batons, rubber bullets, beatup or whatever.. the job gets done.
We love our country, we do not differentiate shia/sunni, we want the best for this country..
If the boy in the picture was a relative or family member of Mr.Bahraini Citizen, his argument would be different. Time for him to snap back to reality, and stop flapping his gums, unless he is an offical spokesman for the MOI. Way to go…. With that kind of attitude, nobody is going anywhere.
If the police do not respect the people, then they will get no respect back. Don’t try to associate your experiences as a whole assumption on all Bahraini’s.. We do not label the whole MOI as disrespectful ignornant f@*#’s – There are professionals who still do their job in the normal routine, following the rules.
Mr.Bahraini Citizen (assuming you are an MOI employee), you have to read your job description again… Your job is to arrest, detain, investigate and transfer to court for the approapiate judgement. Don’t play judge, jury and executioner… The tables will turn one day, as history has proven in many developed countries.
May Allah grant us all peace of mind, and leviate the suffering of those hurt.
A question for Bahraini Citizen :
We know that there are people rioting on every weekend , we’ve seen what they do, and what you’ve mentioned is right ” except for the sabotage ”
But does that justify what you do ? The excessive force ?
And if you want some proof check out this link :
People are still on the stage and tear gas is aimed at them … !!!
Captain arab (at least i hope so), how then do you justify all the destruction, burning and sabotoge if you claim its all motivated by love of ones nation?
until these kids realize that its not smart to throw molotov cocktail, until these kids learn themselves to respect public property, I deem them not worthy of respect.
I dont use excessive force i am the one in the front field facing these people and i know what i am saying,,, You think these extremists tell you ooh come and put me behind bars for a trial, they hit us , who you think are peaceful demostraters – those who will keep ready stones with him do you think peaceful demostraters will keep patrol bombs or gas cylinders with them when they r demostrating…. Its not me its you mahmood who have started this hatred byshowing this picture of bahraini gov which is one side of story. And most of the time when roit police goes to places like these they have already started burning for no reason and blowing cylinders near they own houses….
Dear exclamation again you r seeing the part only when these extremists pass the limit and we unfortunately have to use force… Dont go to a site who belong to those who demostrate go to a neutral site .. i expected mahmood to be neutral but this story above is wrong coz i myself see it everyday myself….
MANAMA: Bahraini youngsters who think the world owes them a living were blasted by Labour Minister Dr Majeed Al Alawi yesterday.
“You want the government to give you houses, you want the best salaries, you all want to start at the top of the ladder,” he said.
“But what you forget is that you also have to make an effort. You cannot start at the top. You have to work your way up.”
Many young Bahrainis are “misfits” in the working world, outpaced by foreigners who single-handedly do the work of three or four of them, he told the Young Arab Leaders Summit, at the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain Hotel and Spa.
But Dr Al Alawi said Bahraini youngsters were not solely to blame for what he called “disaster in the making”.
“We as a nation have to take a large part of the blame. We have been complacent to let it reach this stage,” he said. Dr Al Alawi urged youngsters to seize the opportunities that surround them.
I think you guys know who Dr Alawi is!!!
Bu hussain:
You’re right of course. Violence is not the answer. But let us find out why it has become the norm so that we can get to the source of the problem and treat it. What we (Bahrain) has done so far is either offer a useless Panadol to treat a cancer. To my mind there has not been any real attempt by the government, yes, the government, as it is the stronger side in the equation; hence, has much more responsibilities and as it is a unit against a disparate “rabble” it behooves it to act with more compassion and the need to understand.
I was caught up in one of these skirmishes, had rocks thrown at my car while driving and I don’t need to talk about my childhood where much more violent demonstrations were the norm in our neighbourhood. They are ugly, like any act of violence. It is a scary situation that no one needs to experience to fully appreciate what is happening.
Wise men however rise above these topical situations and look at them from a bird’s eye view in order to fathom a way out.
From my understanding, these “rabble” have demands; some view them as legitimate while others don’t. Our full acceptance or rejection is beside the point really, but they are legitimate as the public discontent is rising and they are gaining support from sides not normally associated with them.
What do you think their demands are, and to your mind, are they legitimate? What can you do to close the gap between their demands and the government’s position?
With all due respect sayyid I disagree with your statement that the government is not acting to improve matters. Now I am not a big fan of the previous administration. However, any person that denies that change has been introduced is not blind in his eyes but blind in his mind. Since 1999, and a full decade has not passed yet, Bahrain has taken strides towards democratization (I’m not implying a full, perfect transition but a reasonable one), minimum wage has been raised from the shit pay people received before that (and there is also the strong likelihood that it will be raised again), Bahrain’s GDP has about doubled since 2000, Bahrain is attracting more and more investment.
Instead being grateful and thanking G-d for these improvements you have people of questionable allegiance hurting OUR reputation by doing foolish things that will not portray their own cause (whatever it is) in a good light. I have been a Bahraini long before any of these characters that claim to be Bahrainis set foot in this country from Al-Hasa. All their slogans, all their protests do not represent my interest.
Lets realize that change doesnt happen overnight people! change is gradual. Let us allow what has changed in the last 8 years to sink in and try to build up on it before all we have and potentially could gain evaporates before our eyes.
WE ALL R ONE AND WE ALL R RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYTHING ON THIS LAND OF LOVE AND ONLY WE TOGETHER CAN CHANGE IT….
Bu Hussain, you’re taking my words out of context, as Bahraini Citizen has done with almost everything in his contributions. I can see that it probably would be best to just agree to disagree to allay any further fissures; however, I find that I must address an issue you raise which displays your prejudice:
If you are trying to prove that you are “more” of a Bahraini than I personally am – owing to the fact that my forefathers emigrated from Al-Hasa to Bahrain – then I am happy that you find that you need to denigrate others in order to feel egotistically happy about yourself.
I am proud of my heritage, and am extremely proud of being a full Bahraini, none of your prejudices are going to take away from the fact that people who have come to this country and constructively intwined themselves in this society and integrated within it.
The second thing that you must address and actually much more important is this:
What gives you the right to divide the Bahrain society of yours and theirs? Apart from the irony of you dishing advice to “them” to behave themselves, which is completely unwarranted, you seem to have given yourself the righteous aura that you are most definitely in the right, and everyone else in the wrong.
There is no doubt whatsoever that steps have been taken toward democracy, as insufficient as they may be, they are an agreed good start. But starts which extend over seven years will soon (if not already) be looked at as nothing more than attempts, just that, nothing serious; hence, my complete opposition to the term “democratic experiment“, just like one can’t be half-pregnant.
Yes we have had great strides as far as investments coming into the country, but if those multi-billion dollar projects are a reality, and they are, why isn’t at least a tiny percentage of that reflected as benefits, honest hard working benefits, to the regular Bahraini?
Oh, I forgot, as far as you are concerned, it is the other Bahrainis here so they shouldn’t be considered. Rifraff and ingrates we are and undeserving too! We should just thank G-d (a very distinct use of the word I might add!) that we are allowed to continue to be paupers!
Can we talk ..
i never left .. was just taking a stroll round the neighbourhood …
Bahraini Citizen says :
Dear exclamation again you r seeing the part only when these extremists pass the limit and we unfortunately have to use force
So you admit using force at the end , and offcourse , we don’t expect that the read eye of Mr. Al khabbaz just popped out from nothing, it was due to some force !
And not forgetting to say, that Ibrahim Sharif was holding a molotov during his speech ! And Mr. Mushaima’a was burning a tyre on stage, and Jalal Fairuz was throwing stones, therefore justifying the use of excessive force and aiming tear gas and rubber bullets to the people on stage !
To much for change in the country ,,,
OOH please… exclamation…they did not follow the law. If you take the law in hand and create unstability then you will be FORCED to maintain peace .. And by the way they are called security forces…. they secure the country by peace measures if not to deal with people like you using FORCE… Stability of the country is the first priority and i know you dont want to solve issues . By hiting and burning poor security guys who are doing nothing but following orders. you will not get anything. You are wasting your energy in the wrong place , STOP knocking wrong doors. This issue is not an issue of yesterday we all know ..
And because of people like this who are misguided and create mischief , there are lot nice people suffering. And for your kind info those people who r professionals and who have worked hard to make their future they dont need any help from anyone infact the gov needs them. But useless street boys who r not worried about their future will not get anything other then labour work. If higher education is difficult work and study like me and others who r worried about their future. I dont wait for anyone to come and help me. By the grace of Allah Almighty and then my parents who have helped me study in their hard times I dont need anyone . You can make your life better yourself. I know you expect alot from the gov. but dont wait for it to come make yourself strong enough to get it yourself.
Bahraini Citizen speaks quite good english, especially for a riot control policeman. Seems like the government takes educating their employees into beating the crap out of people.
But never good enough to stop the corruption within the government itself.
This young man’s justice will not be served, just as for the young man who got killed by a “stray” bullet, and the evidence that went missing. Nice cover up.
Salman the reason for what I am saying is given above in my comments you dont need to make your own assumptions.
okay so you say that he and any other vandals should be taken to court according to the law, then why emerges another bunch of vandals to demand release of the original group? this leads to a chain reaction and achieves nothing. you basically in this case are dissolving the matter and not condemning their acts as you claim to be.
Watcher,
There is a law in the land, and it should be applied. If you commit a crime, you suffer the consequences, and are prosecuted.
And when you prosecute someone, provide hard evidence of them committing their crime, not just word of mouth, or eye witnesses. So many people have been framed in Bahrain for things they had not done, some lost their lives, some got tortured, some even got exiled! Yet they were prosecuted without a fair trial, and without evidence to back up the accusations.
If this person had done any wrong, use the law to punish him, not by physical abuse. And also, provide proof of his crime. Don’t say “he did, i saw him” that is simply childish. Any video evidence? At least a picture of him participating in a criminal act.
Or maybe because this young man is not the son of a big shot, and that is why no one cares about his justice.
Mr. Bahraini Citizen :
you try to prove that this article is biased and of one sided P.O.V
But why the energy if all what you say here proves us right ?
All what you’ve said is against you actually !
Excessive force is a history of the security police !
exclamation mark,
What he is doing is called self PWN
What’s PWN ?
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pwn
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Protesters_clash_with_police_ahead_of_0602.html