One afternoon last year, as I was driving through Adliya in the northeastern corner of the island of Bahrain, I was surprised to find a man begging on the side of the street.
Adliya is a nice part of Bahrain -- a Western part. Not far from the street I was on was the British Club and a shiny host of high-rise apartments, of the sort ex-pats of all stripes live in. I had never seen a beggar in Bahrain, and I certainly wouldn't have expected one to find his way to Adliya.
Driving up a bit further, I noticed he wasn't alone. In the grassy median between the two sides of the boulevard, he had set up a small red tent and surrounded it with a few white cardboard signs with imperfect English written all over them.
"My famly homeless."
"Bahreini gouvermant don't give house to Bahreini."
He was a clever man for setting up this one-family protest. Drivers on this boulevard could see his children who should have been in school on this weekday. His wife was carrying a baby as she stood in the tent's doorway. Boxes of household items, and even a few appliances were scattered around their tent, on the grassy median.
He wasn't even the very poor kind of Shiite I had seen from time to time when, during their annual December 16th protests of Bahrain National Day, some of them would make their way into the ex-pat parts of the island, near the fancy malls, and light a bonfire in the major highway. I once saw a bathtub ablaze in the middle of Manama highway.
I stopped to take a few pictures with my cell phone camera, but was honked at by the other drivers -- no one else seemed to be bothered by this tragedy in front of our eyes. I drove by and then made a U-turn to go back and see again. I U-turned 3 times before I had to go to my appointment.
Colonialism, Not Sectarianism
For decades, international news has refused to shine a light on the realities of Bahrain's primary domestic conflict: colonialism. Instead, headline after headline portrays Bahrain's problems as a sectarian divide. It's the Shiites versus the Sunnis in every news item -- Saudia Arabia versus Iran.
But that is simply not what is happening on the ground in Bahrain, a geostrategically important island nation right in the middle of the Persian Gulf where the largest base for the US Navy exists, outside of the U.S. itself.
Bahrain, like so many other countries in the region and in the world, is just another victim of British mapmaking, American business interests and the seedy intersection of these forces. For centuries, the British have supported the Al Khalifa Sunni tribe -- a family originating in the Saudi peninsula -- as rulers of Bahrain, inserting themselves into any possibility of the Al Khalifa family aligning itself with Iran, or with the interests of the Bahraini people over and above the interests of business and power.
Because of the close relationship between the Bahraini people and Iran, the encouragement of sectarian divisions has been a primary tool for sustaining a power structure that is favorable to Western corporate and strategic interests.
Little hints in daily Bahraini life belie the essential failure of this approach and the deep resentments it has germinated, however. Just attend a soccer match in Bahrain between Bahrain and Iran and you'll find a noticeable imbalance of cheers and support for the Iranian side. The native population is full of Ajam (ethnic Iranians of Shiite and Sunni faiths who still speak Farsi or a creole of Farsi and Arabic in their homes), Howala (people who migrated to Iran, then returned to Bahrain -- many of whom are ethnically Iranian, as well, and therefore also speak Farsi or a Farsi creole), and Baharna (Arab Shiites who naturally have an affinity for Shiite Iran).
The Al Khalifa family's Saudi roots are never forgotten in a region of the world where tribal ancestry has religious significance. The fact that the Al-Khalifas have now openly used Saudi troops against the Bahraini protesters proves that they, too, have not forgotten.
For generations, the Al-Khalifa government has made it a priority to prevent large segments of the Bahraini population from having a say in their government and their military, proving that the Al-Khalifa colonial implant has been serving its purpose to a tee. Native Bahrainis of Iranian ancestry or who are Shiite are prohibited from serving in the government -- with the exception of a few benign ministries -- and from serving in the military and security forces. They also face discrimination in education and employment opportunities -- all this in a country where they are in fact the majority.
Further, it is well known that large numbers of Pakistani Sunnis of Baluchi descent are imported into the country, automatically given citizenship and installed in the military and security forces. They are given cushy jobs and houses to live in -- always bypassing the queue of native Bahrainis who wait decades to be given houses by the government. Sunnis from other countries, as well, have priority in Bahrain. Syrian imports, in particular, are on the rise.
They, too, get priority over Bahrainis who patiently and desperately waited decades for housing and employment opportunities that they must line up for, only to see foreigners being handed them upon arrival.
The policies against Shiites take ludicrous turns that many a Bahraini can tell you about. My grandmother was once refused a transit visa to Bahrain -- no doubt because she is Iranian. More than one friend has either been refused a visit visa or had exceptional delays to being granted one, because the name on their passport was mistakenly taken to mean that they are Shiite. On separate occasions, two Sunni Pakistani friends had to explain their religious background to immigration authorities just to get visit visas -- their names seemed typically Shiite, but they happened to be Sunni.
Amongst the Bahraini population, these issues are particularly troubling because despite what you may hear in the media, Bahrainis of both religious backgrounds intermarry quite normally. Even the deeper distinctions of a family's ancestry do not prevent young Bahrainis in particular from intermarrying, especially in the middle and upper middle economic classes.
As American bullets fire from the weapons of foreign security forces appropriated by foreign rulers onto Bahraini bodies, the grim reality of 21st-century colonial vestiges and imperialist policies could hardly be clearer. As the bulk of the island struggles with discrimination for being Shiite or Sunni or both, Bahrain's entire southern tip is a U.S. military base where frightened young Alabamans and Iowans pace through the streets to eat at Chili's or grab a burger from Fuddruckers. They too, are pawns in a game that has no benefits for ordinary people.
The so-called sectarian divide of Bahrain is a manipulative simplification of a far greater divide: that of the colonially-installed government that has no connection with or compassion for the people of Bahrain. The Saudis are there to preserve Anglo-American power -- as they do in Saudi Arabia. They are Sunni. The people they rule over are primarily Shiite.
These are the kinds of tensions the British specialized in and the Americans are taking advantage of in so many parts of the world. It's an insidious approach to world affairs. Coupled with nonstop mainstream media portrayals of sectarian divides amongst the population, it has been a successful model for damaging the locals, their reputation, and their chances of getting the help they actually need.
It leaves entire families homeless, using nothing but their power of protest and their determination, to get their voices heard.
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James Zogby: Economic Roots of Bahrain's Crisis and a Needed Gulf Cooperation Council Response
The point is that just because a person is Sunni in and of itself living in Bahrain doesn't mean that he/she has carte blanche access over Shi'is.
By the way, I know from trusted sources on the ground that the Bengalis were attacked by the pro-Government thugs who are disguised in civilian clothing to pass as protesters. The Government media has told the Bengalis that the protesters attacked them which is not true.
If your people love you so much Al Khalifas, then why did you force expats to participate in your rallies to increase the numbers?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12773696
If there is nothing wrong according to State TV then why are they not allowing doctors and journalist in to see for themselves?
Citizenship is given to Pakistanis and people from other Arab countries who are paid thugs and who work for the Ministry of Interior ON ARRIVAL.
Unfortunately, lots of expats in Bahrain just read the two main local English newspapers, GDN and Bahrain tribune who are subsidized by the government. These days, those papers are working extra time to spread lies and hatred. But fortunately, lots of my friends of British and Indian nationality know the truth.
Yes, Shiaa's got scholarships to foreign universities, do you know why? because the highest GPAs every single year among Bahraini graduates in government schools are Shiaa.The government's policy is that only the top 3 GPAs in Government schools can choose where they want to study, the rest of the scholarships mostly to the University of Bahrain are determined based on GPAs and because Shiaas are the majority, you would think that they can't discriminate this way.
But the problem is that they do! There are scholarships given out under the table to people with no merits.
There is another program which is run by the Crown Prince ( he is the most open minded royal but unfortunately with no influential power), this program sends 10 students to universities of their choice in US, UK, France and Canada it is based on GPAs, tests, interviews and foreign exams like SATs and IELS. Some shiaas have been selected for it of course because of their results and because they wanted to show that there is no discrimination, the selection panel includes Brits and Americans so they wouldn't know that those they recommend are Sunni or Shiaa.
I can see some similarities to the way many US leaders and corporate media pit different factions of the working class (public vs. private workers, imported day labor vs. domestic day labor, blue collar vs. white collar, etc.) against each other to distract attention away from the massive transfer of wealth from those very workers to the business elite and their well compensated representatives in Washington.
Kind of hypocritical....I have no love for the monarchy, yet having a sister in Bahrain who is an expat, I know first hand how expats who are Sunni are NOT given preferential treatment; whereas Shia Bahrainis are given gov't subsidies and handouts...to appease them. Then they turn around and demand and expect more without having the requisite education for it. The monarchy instituted a program called Bahraini-zation where any foreign company/individual has to have a Bahraini citizen partner to open/work in any new business ventures.
Please explain how someone can be born in Bahrain not be granted citizenship and be from the supposed "sunni" class that you talk about. And then be taxed on top of it whereas the Shia's are not only citizens but get welfare beyond reproach. Then some have the gall to to complain of discrimination because they are not ruling the country?
Do you think Bahrain would be a financial hub had it not been for the gov't foresight in making it the destination for foreign businesses, labor, education. Would that have been accomplished had it been an Iranian backwater?
May your situation and those of all Bahraini improve and I wish the nation well.
That was also another good point made by tyruler.
Again, it was good to get a different perspective, but the author couldn't help herself in letting her own sectarian/ethno-centric view seep into the piece. It's to be expected, however, when one's own people have been stuck in the minority discourse for so long. I don't blame her totally for it.
NO Bahraini whether Sunni or Shiaa, wants Iran. There has been a pole conducted by the Brits in the 70's which asked Bahrainis whether they wanted to be part of Iran - the answer was No.
The relation SOME Shiaas have is just to some Iranian clerics , by the way most Shiaas follow the religious beliefs of Iraqi Najaf and Karbalah clerics Not Iranian. Shiaa's go to Karbalah in Iraq, Shiraz and Quum in Iran to visit the tombs of the grandsons of Prophet Mohammed. This is not a political association and it never has been, it is only religious and the government propaganda machine is playing on that. The Sunnis follow the Saudi and Egyptian clerics, why aren't they accused of associating with foreigners? Such hypocrisy!
Do you know that Iranians don't like Arabs? Iranian government expressed their concern ONLY because they hate the Saudis.
I hope my country doesn't become a battle ground for the Iranians and the Saudis.. That is why the Saudis should leave NOW.