Global Voices » Bahrain

Proposals for Union of Arab Gulf States Prompt Concern

Salah Almhamdi — Thu, 17 May 2012 06:48:53 +0000

The governments of the Gulf are discussing transforming the current Gulf Cooperation Council into an EU-style union. The move comes in an atmosphere of uncertainty and tension caused by the Arab uprisings and Iran's growing influence. As a first step, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain might seek closer union.

Full discussions of the issue have been delayed until December.

GCC civil society groups have requested that their governments postpone the move and engage their people through a referendum. Iran has called for rallies against the proposed union of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain which it describes as an annexation of Bahrain (and its comments were in turn protested by Bahrain).

Across the Gulf concern has been expressed regarding the plans for a union.

GCC states. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Aiyah Saihati, a Saudi blogger and entrepreneur, slammed the plan:

Saudi’s attempt to create a union for the purpose of countering Iran, which is not a threat, is only to enhance the sectarian narrative. Shifting the narrative from democratization to a sectarian frame changes how potential protests in the country are handled. The smaller countries with denser resources are ahead of Saudi in some of aspects of development and already have partially and soon fully elected parliaments. Uniting with Saudi just means inheriting its dogmas and problems. It means diluting dense resources over a larger more problematic constituency as well as diluting power per square area if one considers the total area governed by Al-Saud. If I were Qatar, why would I dive in?

Kuwaiti Ghassan El-Wagayan tweeted:

@Ghassanw: Thank you but NOOOOOO thank you

In Bahrain, Ali Al Saeed asked:

@alialsaeed: Oh no, women drive in #Bahrain? How can there be a union with #saudi? Ban female drivers?! #GCCunion

Kuwaiti Mishal Al Mutire expressed his concerns:

@MishalALmutire: اكثر ما اخشاه من هذا الاتحاد كل صاحب راي بالمنامه .. يُحاكم بالرياض ! ‎‫#اتحاد_خليجي‬‏

What I fear most from this Union is [the possibility that] someone with an opinion in Manama could be tried in Riyadh!

Bahraini journalist Wafa Alamm wrote:

@wafaalamm: من يعتقد أنني ضد قيام اتحاد خليجي فهو مخطأ/ الاتحاد الخليجي مهم ولكن ولادته بدولتين فقط لظرف معين يفقده قيمته لانه يصبح معاق ‎‪#bahrain‬‏ ‎‪#GCC‬‏

Whoever thinks I'm against a Gulf union is wrong; the Gulf Union is important but its birth with just two states [responding to] a specific circumstance deprives it of value because it becomes handicapped

Journalist Mohammad Albaghli questioned the feasibility of the move:

@albaghli74: دول الخليج صار لهم 9 سنوات مو عارفين يتفقون على مشروع بسيط مثل الاتحاد الجمركي ،، اليوم يبون اتحاد خليجي شامل بين دول الخليج !! تتغشمرون ؟!

For nine years the Gulf states haven't been able to agree on a simple plan like the customs union… Today they want a complete Gulf union!! Are they kidding?

Madawi Al Rasheed, a Saudi professor of social anthropology, tweeted:

@MadawiDr: الوحدة الخليجية ليست عملية مصاهرة بين البنين و البنات بل مستقبل شعوب تطمح لوحدة من نوع اخر ‎‫#اتحاد_خليجي‬

Gulf unity is not like arranging an alliance between boys and girls, but the future of peoples aspiring for unity of another kind.

May Day Marked Around the Arab World

Ayesha Saldanha — Tue, 01 May 2012 19:25:02 +0000

May Day, or Labour Day, or International Workers' Day is recognised as a public holiday in many Arab countries, and demonstrations and rallies are held by unions and political parties to pay tribute to the role of workers and to call for workers' rights.

The National Transitional Council of Libya has declared [ar] International Workers' Day to be a national public holiday starting this year. Hamid tweeted from Tripoli:

@2011feb17: #Libya's first #MayDay (Worker's Day) holiday since 42 years ago! HAPPY HOLIDAY EVERYONE Yup #Libya has changed ;)

Demonstration on Avenue Habib Bourguiba, Tunis. Image by Amine Ghrabi on Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0).

Bahraini activist Maryam Alkhawaja remembered the migrant workers of the Gulf:

@MARYAMALKHAWAJA: On labor day we pay tribute to all the migrant workers who r treated like modern day slaves in #gulf countries

Demonstration in Barbar, Bahrain. Image by Twitter user @bahrainiac14.

Demonstrations were held all over Bahrain demanding the reinstatement of the hundreds of workers who were fired last year for taking part in protests. Many of the demonstrations were attacked by riot police with tear gas. Journalist Mazen Mahdi reported from Manama's souq (market):

@MazenMahdi: Despite tear-gasing #Manama souq labor day protest still on-going #Bahrain

Demonstration in Khouribga, Morocco. Image by Twitter user @__Hisham.

Imad Bazzi tweeted about the hacking of the Lebanese Ministry of Labour's website:

@TrellaLB: special delivery for the Ministry of Labor in #Lebanon on Labor day, a total makeover :D loooool http://www.labor.gov.lb/ thanks to #RYV

The website was changed to say the following:

We are RYV, short for Raise Your Voice, and we are simply a group of people who could not bare sitting in silence, watching all the crimes and injustice going on in Lebanon. We will not be silenced and brainwashed by your media. We will not stop until the Lebanese people mobilize, demand their rights, and earn them. We will not stop until the standards of living are raised to where they should be in Lebanon. We will not stop until this government's self-made problems are solved, like the power shortage, water shortage, rise in gas prices and rise in food product prices. We are RYV, expect us to break the silence, whether in the streets or on the Internet.
Silence is a crime

Demonstration in Cairo. Image by Hossam el-Hamalawy on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).

Bahrain: Where is Abdulhadi Alkhawaja?

Mona Kareem — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 10:34:24 +0000

For some days there has been no news of imprisoned Bahraini human rights activist and opposition leader Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, who has been on hunger strike since February 8. It is feared that Alkhawaja, who was sentenced last year to life imprisonment and has reportedly been subjected to physical and sexual torture in detention, is now either being force-fed or is in a critical state.

Hunger Strike
On February 8, Alkhawaja started a hunger strike and made it clear that he would not stop until he was released. According to his family, he has been preparing them to accept his death. Since April 23 Alkhawaja's family have had no news about him, and requests for visits have been denied by the authorities. Concern is growing, and thousands have been tweeting on the hashtag #WhereIsAlKhawaja, demanding an immediate answer from the government. Human rights organisations around the world, including Front Line Defenders, have joined the calls for information about Alkhawaja.

Khadija's tweets of love

Abdulhadi Alkhawaja and his wife Khadija Almousawi. Twitter avatar of Khadija Almousawi (@tublani2010).

Khadija Almousawi, Alkhawaja's wife, has been using her Twitter account (@tublani2010) to send messages addressed to her husband. In one tweet she mentioned her daughter Zainab, who tweets as @angryarabiya and is currently in detention after a one-woman demonstration for her father:

@tublani2010: Dear Hadi, Today we did not need to expand our dinning table. the family has shrunk. Zainab is in jail. Ur absent and missing too.

In other tweets she said:

@tublani2010: Dear Hadi, I hear officials telling me that u r ok. But i need to hear it from u. U never lie. They always do. Why cant u call me?

@tublani2010: Dear Husband: U continue ur fight for freedom from ur bed in where ever u r. If ur still here.

@tublani2010: Dear Hadi, I stand by u 100% and I will keep supporting u 100%, I just miss u. Miss ur smile, Miss ur kindness

Bahraini solidarity
Many Bahrainis have expressed their fears about the status of Alkhawaja, even those such as blogger Suhail Algosaibi who has previously debated Zainab Alkhawaja:

@SuhailAlgosaibi: If Abdulhadi passes away it will be a disaster in #bahrain. #WhereIsAlKhawaja

Bahraini cartoonist Ali Al Bazzaz has created a number of works about Alkhawaja and the one below, showing Alkhawaja with Gandhi and Mandela, has been retweeted widely.

Alkhawaja with Gandhi and Mandela. Image by @bazzaz32

Force-fed?
Maryam Alkhawaja, another of Abdulhadi's daughters who is living in exile, has expressed her fear that her father is either in a critical state or is being force-fed. She said, “I know that my father is not going to willingly drink or eat anything so if they are giving him anything it is by force.”

The debate over Alkhawaja's situation has been fueled by a recent interview with Bahrain's prime minister. He called the protesters in Bahrain terrorists, asserted that he would not tolerate Western interference in Bahrain's affairs, and said that Alkhawaja is fine and taking liquids.

Bahrain: One-Woman Demo!

Tarek Amr — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 15:09:50 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011.

Since the uprisings started around the Arab world, we have become accustomed to seeing the image of thousands of protesters taking to the squares and streets.

Phrases like Million Man March have been added to the dictionary, and scenes like the one below have become symbols of the “Arab Spring”.

Mass rally in Tahrir square, Cairo by Nameer Galal (25/11/2011). Copyright Demotix.

However, it takes extra courage to be part of smaller protests, where there are fewer people to defend each other and less media to report a possible crackdown. So what about a single protester conducting a sit-in on her own, like the one in this image?

Zainab Alkhawaja outside the Financial Harbor in Manama, Bahrain (21/4/2012). Image by Twitter user @Kareemasaeed.

Zainab Alkhawaja is seen in the above image protesting on her own on April 21, outside the Financial Harbor in Manama, the Bahraini capital. Her father, Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, is a prominent human rights activist who was arrested on April 9, 2011 and sentenced two months later, along with other opposition leaders, to life imprisonment. He has been on hunger strike since February 8, 2012 to draw attention to his detention and mistreatment, and recently netizens around the world expressed their great concern over his deteriorating state.

Zainab, who tweets as @angryarabiya, has been detained since yesterday. Her sister Maryam AlKhawaja reports that she has refused to go to the public prosecution. It is worth mentioning that this was not Zainab's first arrest, nor the first time she stood her ground alone.

I'm still wondering how she has such courage, but I guess nothing can answer my question better than what she has written as her Twitter bio:

When ur in chains, living with no dignity or rights, bowing to criminal dictators, the first step is to forget ur fear & realize that its ur right.. to be angry

This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011.

Bahrain: Tear Gas, Violence Surround F1 Grand Prix Race

Salah Almhamdi — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 11:29:38 +0000

Bahrain hosts the Formula One Grand Prix on April 22 but the run-up to the event has seen huge protests. Protestors have been trying to draw international attention to the human rights situation [PDF] in Bahrain, and to the deteriorating health of imprisoned activist Abdulhadi Alkhawaja who has been on hunger strike since February 8, 2012.

The Grand Prix was cancelled in 2011 because of political unrest in the country. The decision was made not to cancel this year, despite ongoing unrest. In recent days the government has made every effort to limit the scale of protests, and has also denied entry to many foreign journalists. In clashes police have been firing tear gas and stun grenades at protesters, and one protestor, Salah Abbas Habib, was found dead.

The following video from Al Wefaq Society features a huge opposition march on April 20:

Tensions are high, with a huge police presence around the country. Formula One journalist Ian Parkes wrote on the morning of April 22:

@ianparkesf1: On the final day of the ‘count the police cars' game' heading to the track, today's grand total is 86!

On April 21 activist Nabeel Rajab described the situation in parts of Bahrain:

@NABEELRAJAB: From my house I hear ambulance, helicopter, police car and shooting but #F1 management say every things is ok #Bahrain #GP London

Dr Fatima Haji (one of the doctors put on trial for treating protestors last year) tweeted on April 21:

@drFatimaHj: My 3yrs old son, my husband and I are suffocating in our flat in Bani Jamra as security forces are shooting tear gas in Duraz!! #F1 #Bahrain

The following video from Qamar70 shows riot police firing tear gas in the streets of Saar on April 19:

Justin Gengler at the blog Religion and Politics in Bahrain wonders if the decision to hold the race has backfired:

If you search Google News for “Bahrain Formula One,” you find that the ratio of negative (political) to positive (race-related) news articles is about 4,082 to 232, or about 17.5 : 1. With coverage like this, Bahrain's leaders may be rethinking their cost-benefit analysis.

In another post Justin Gengler has a roundup of images about the Formula One race, including this by Carlos Latuff:

Boycott F1 in Bahrain. Image by Carlos Latuff.

Blogger Emily L. Hauser questions the idea that holding the race was positive for the country:

Discussing the fact that the Formula One Grand Prix race will be held in his country on Sunday despite a year-long uprising in which protesters have been killed, gassed, imprisoned, and tortured, Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa told the BBC that “cancelling the race just empowers extremists,” whereas holding the race can serve as “a force for good.”

A force for good.

A force for good?

You know what’s a force for good? Democracy. Human rights. Liberty and justice. That sort of thing.

Barbed wire put up around the village of Qadam before the F1 race. Image by Twitter user @Sajjad_Alalwi.

Mohammed Ashoor wonders what the day of the race will bring:

@mohdashoor: The skyline in #Bahrain is filled with smoke from burning tyres as #F1 teams get ready to start their engines. Will be an interesting day.

Journalist Javier Espinosa writes:

@javierespinosa2: New clashes in villages like Malkiya, Karzakan, Sadad and Damistan in #Bahrain before the start of #F1

Motor racing correspondent of The Times, Kevin Eason, writes:

@easonF1: Good morning Bahrain and the UK and others. On way to #bahrain GP circuit for one of the most controversial races in F1 history

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has made the following video about the race:

Bahrain: Police Help Thugs Vandalize Shiite-Owned Shop

Mona Kareem — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:45:17 +0000

The owners of the Jawad Business Group, a Shiite-owned company, have released a video of one of their shops being stormed, robbed, and vandalized by a group of thugs on April 10, 2012, as policemen watched and even helped.

Businesses owned by Jawad have been a target over the last year as it has been claimed that the company provided food to the protestors at the Pearl Roundabout.

Blogger Marc Owen Jones wrote on April 13:

Profile picture of a Facebook page calling for the boycott of Jawad shops: "A boycott campaign against the Jawad Group that betrayed our country."

Yesterday I wrote a post about how the Ministry of the Interior [the police] treat Bahrainis differently depending on whether they are pro-government or anti-government. This was after their tame dispersal of a large group of regime supporters who, after gathering at the Alba roundabout, wrecked two cars and then vandalised a nearby supermarket. The reason the market was attacked is because it was owned by Jawad Group, which is maligned by many loyalists for apparently serving food to protesters at the Pearl Roundabout last year. Of course there are numerous examples of the police turning a blind eye to violence perpetrated by pro-regime supporters. There’s also a lot of evidence to show plain clothes thugs operating alongside the police. Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether the thugs are civilians, or just security officers in mufti [civilian clothes]. Today however, this CCTV footage from the attack on the 24 SuperMarket emerged. Not only does it show thugs breaking into and looting the shop, but it also shows police standing idly by as this happens. That’s not all, at 5.15 one of the security officers wearing a fluorescent bib smashes one of the windows. At 4.50 another officer helps himself to a bottle of water. Clearly ignoring crime is thirsty work.

The following six-minute video shows the attack:

Amir Jawad, a board member of the Jawad Business Group, has described the events of April 10 as being part of a systematic series of attacks; he reported that crowds also roamed outside the company's headquarters.

Policeman involved in the attack. Images posted by Twitter user @lord20003.

According to Al Wasat newspaper [ar], Jawad shops have been attacked 54 times. A Twitter account called @Jawad_storm has been started to document all the attacks against Jawad businesses. Here are some of the tweets:

رسمت معانات مجموعة جواد بعد ضربة الدوار الأولى مباشرة، من حيث التكسير والتخريب والتهديد والمقاطعة وغيرها الكثير

@Jawad_storm: The attacks on Jawad shops started after the first attack on Pearl Roundabout. Shops got vandalized, demolished, and the company was threatened and boycotted etc.

تعرضت الشركة لشتى أنواع الإستهداف ومن ضمنها التخريب لبعض المحلات والهجوم عليها بالرصاص الحي

@Jawad_storm: The company has been targeted and some of the shops were attacked by live ammunition.

More tweets relating to the attack can be found on the hashtag #غزوة_جواد (”the invasion of Jawad”).

This graffiti is evidence of the campaign against Jawad businesses:

Graffiti in Sakhir area: Shame on every Sunni traitor who buys from the "24 hours" shops. Image posted by Twitter user @jawad_storm.

A supporter of Jawad is shown with a sign:

A Bahraini holds a sign in solidarity with Jawad company in front of one of the shops. Image posted by Twitter user @Sadad_9mooD.

Others have treated the incident with humour in order to mock the regime. In this video, a group of young Bahrainis who call themselves Baharna Drama stage another attack:

Worldwide Concern Over Critical State of Bahraini Activist

Salah Almhamdi — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 08:22:18 +0000

Netizens around the world have expressed their great concern over the deteriorating state of Bahraini human rights activist Abdulhadi Alkhawaja. The Bahraini authorities sentenced him to life imprisonment last year, and he has been on hunger strike since February 8, 2012 to draw attention to his detention. Bahrain has ruled out his extradition to Denmark as he is also a Danish citizen.

Netizens have been tweeting for his release using various hashtags, such as #StopKillingKhawaja.

A banner calling for the release of Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, September 14, 2011. Photo from Flickr by William Murphy (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Abdulhadi Alkhawaja's daughter, Maryam Alkhawaja, tweeted:

@MARYAMALKHAWAJA: today, 8th april, is one year since Abdulhadi Alkhawaja's arrest, when he was beaten unconscious in front of his family #bahrain

Another of his daughters, Zainab Alkhawaja, tweeted:

@angryarabiya: At this time last year my father was taken to the same military hospital he lies in now #bahrain

@angryarabiya: He had to undergo a 4 hour surgery in his face, they took bone from his skull to reconstruct his jaw #bahrain

@angryarabiya: And today, again… my father lays in one of their hospital beds. Starving to death for freedom #bahrain

Ali Abunimah, a Palestinian-American journalist and activist, tweeted:

@AliAbunimah:#StopKillingKhawaja Abdulhadi al-Khawaja is a man of conscience and courage. He deserves to live free.

Professor and political activist John C. Berg has called for Americans to put pressure on Bahrain:

@jcberg: Time for US progressives to pay attention to #Bahrain; leading HR leader in prison, hunger strike, nr death

Rasha Abdulla, a professor of journalism and mass communication at the American University in Cairo, tweeted from a protest at the Bahraini Embassy in Cairo:

@RashaAbdulla: الحرية للبحرين.. الحرية للخواجة .. انضموا لنا الآن امام سفارة البحرين بالزمالك #Bahrain# #Alkhawaja#

Freedom for Bahrain… Freedom for Alkhawaja… Join us now in front of the Bahraini Embassy in Zamalek

Ruwayda Mustafa, a British-Kurdish writer and feminist, announced a protest in London:

@RuwaydaMustafa: We will be protesting in Solidarity w/Abdulhadi al Khawaja in London on Tuesday. Please join us! #StopKillingKhawaja

On April 8 activists hacked the Facebook page of Bahrain’s national airline, Gulf Air, and replaced its logo with a picture of Abdulhadi Alkhawaja.

Bahrain: Tweeting Against Formula 1

Mona Kareem — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 01:32:12 +0000

Twitter hashtags are no longer spontaneous, at least not to Bahraini Twitter users who are using hashtags as another tool to spread information about their protest against a regime which has so far granted them cosmetic reforms after a whole year of protest. Although Bahrain's population is small in number, Twitter users are very organized online, using social media platforms as their only way to document the crimes of the regime against them.

This idea to trend hashtags started in solidarity with Abdulhadi Khawaja, a prominent activist and opposition figure, who is sentenced to life imprisonment after being accused of attempting to overthrow the regime and who has been on hunger strike for weeks.

For the previous month, Bahrainis have succeeded in getting several hashtags to trend worldwide. In their latest attempt, they wanted to address Formula 1, the famous car race organiser, to cancel their race in Bahrain in protest against the regime's violations against human rights. The race is scheduled to be held from April 20 to 22, 2012.

Twitter users announced the hash tag on this account @Feb14TT:

@Feb14TT: غردوا على ‬#BloodyF1‪ Tweet on This Hashtag Only NOW !!!

The rest followed on cue as Twitter users started tweeting and trying to get the hash tag to show in the top trending topics worldwide:

“@ROMI14FEB: We never got enough media attention and now ur disrespecting our martyrs and prisoners by allowing the #BloodyF1 in Bahrain”

@asoolalsayed: I don't support the #bloodyF1 because it sends a wrong msg that everything is OK in Bahrain while the people suffer on a daily basis

@MohmdAshoor: #BloodyF1 may annoy you, but does it annoy you more than the 83 who lost their lives?

Anti-Formula1 signs tweeted by activist @SAIDYOUSIF

Protester in Sitra wearing a shirt against the formula 1 race (tweeted by @SAIDYOUSIF)

Other netizens tried to show how horrifying the situation in Bahrain is:

"‏@Mothame: See how riot police treating our sisters, this is only in"

Others tweeted pictures of tear gas attacks, which have became part of everyday life for Bahrainis.

"@Peacelooving: Bahrain: Flood the villages with poison gas"

"@Alaswad87: Govt of bahrain is killing us by using toxic gases.. Bahrain not ready for #F1"

And for two minutes only, the hash tag was able to make it to the top trending stories on Twitter:

"‏@Anarchist74: #BloodyF1 is officially trending"

Arab World: Happy Mother's Day - Tribute to Martyrs' Mothers

Amira Al Hussaini — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 20:32:53 +0000

The Arab world marks Mother's Day today, on March 21. On social networking sites, netizens have sent out congratulations to their mothers on the day. They also remember the mothers of the thousands of martyrs killed by the authorities as they protested against dictatorship in this so-called Arab Spring.

From Bahrain, Sayed Ahmed Al Alawi tweets [ar]:

في هذا اليوم لطف الله بقلب كل أم فقدت فلدة كبدها مقتولا ظلماأو مغيبا في المعاقلات أو مشردا في الوطن والمهجر لكل هؤلاء الامهات نقول فصبر جميل

@SAalalawi: On this day, may God have mercy on the heart of every mother who has lost her child, killed unjustly, or imprisoned or forced into exile. To all those mother we say: patience is sweet

Egyptian Salma Hegeb shares a similar sentiment. She reminds us:

@Salma_ts2al: It's the second #MothersDay for some mothers of martyrs in Egypt. Since yesterday and I'm thinking how painful is that…

And Syrian Zain has bad news:

@ZainSyr: The number of martyrs in #Syria has risen to 70, including 14 children and 7 women #MothersDay

The heartbreak many, particularly children and mothers, felt on this day is summed up by Syrian blogger Razan Ghazzawi, who admits:

@RedRazan: I really envy those who have many words to say to the mothers of martyrs on Mother's Day. I can't even find one word. #Syria #Mothersday

She adds:

@RedRazan: #Syria Facebookers have been campaigning 2 encourage citizens 2 visit mothers of martyrs 2day,2 show them they're not alone in their plight.

A screen shot of the Syrian martyr's mother Facebook page, which encourages Syrians to visit the mothers of martyrs killed by the Assad regime

The Facebook Page is called We are Your Children, Martyr's Mother and can be found here [ar].

Back in Egypt, Mohannad tells us [ar]:

من الحاجات اللي باحترمها في أمي انها ثورية وعلى الرغم اني عارف انها بتبقى قاعدة في البيت مرعوبة لما بانزل اشتباكات،بتدعيلي وتدعمني ‎‫#عيد_الأم‪‏

@mand0z: One of the things I respect in my mother is that she is a revolutionary. Although I know she stays at home terrified when I am out during clashes, she prays for me and supports me

Meanwhile, Syrians abroad are finding it difficult to connect with family back home and wish their loved ones a Happy Mother's Day. The 47th tweets:

@THE_47th: Seriously, I have to f^^&** find a satellite phone or tie a message to a pigeons feed to tell my grandma Happy Mother's Day in #Homs

Kareem Lailah adds:

@KareemLailah: Please Assad, give me the communication back just for 1 minute to tell her #HappyMothersDay mom! #Syria #iLoveYou

And Syrian Shakeeb Al-Jabri jokes:

@LeShaque: Happy Mother's Day to my motherboard, one mother without which I cannot survive.

Bahrain: When is a Molotov Cocktail Acceptable?

Amira Al Hussaini — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:07:31 +0000

Marc Owen Jones collects videos allegedly showing Bahrain police forces throwing molotov cocktail (petrol bombs) at protesters and property in this post. Meanwhile, Bahrain has just charged 28 civilians with “attempted murder” for throwing molotov cocktails at policemen.

Bahrain: Save Bahraini Children From the Regime

Mona Kareem — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 04:18:36 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011/12.

“The regime's crimes are done against all of us”, this is the message Bahraini netizens have tried to highlight with their daily hashtags on Twitter. The Bahrain Twittersphere can by itself be a case study in social media as they organize well, put all the information they have on this particular platform and try to raise awareness for human rights organizations and activists to take note and confront the regime with its crimes.

Last week, Bahraini activist in exile Maryam Al-Khawaja, posted a tweet to encourage tweeps in taking part in the hashtag #savebhkids created to highlight crimes committed against children in Bahrain, whether by death, arrests, suffocation from tear gas, or by making them witness violations against their families.

Al Khawaja tweets:

@MARYAMALKHAWAJA: Use hashtag #saveBHkids to write about what children in #bahrain have had to endure for the past year bcz of regime violence

Children of AbdulRidha Buhamid who was killed by army on Feb 18, 2011. No investigation in his case and no compensation to his family. Photo credit: Bahrain Human Rights Centre

Twitter user Ba7rainiDXB adds:

@ba7rainiDXB: Did u know that members of #Bahrain police are either bribing, threatening, or blackmailing kids to work as informants!!

And Sawsan Sultan drives the message home:

@SaWsan_SuLtaN: My Brother was arrested yesterday, Beaten uP brutally & thrown on the street, i dont want that to haPpen again so .. #SavebhKids #Bahrain

Another Bahraini Twitter user posted this [Warning: Graphic] video of crimes against Bahraini children:

@AmyBH2: 1st crime committed by the regime against children was the army attack2lulu while they were there

And yet another Twitter user shared a long detailed report done by Bahrain Center for Human Rights on the violation against Bahraini children:

@zh0r: 16 y/o child was kept as a hostage so that his father give himself up to the security forces #SaveBHKids #Bahrain http://t.co/P3Uk1Iz7

@AmyBH2: My 16 yrs old czn was beaten & covered by sand by mercenaries,he didn't document it 2 HRC bcz he thought it was normal

@Zzzzah: [GRAPHIC PICTURE] yfrog.com/go3nvp 15 year old Ali Khamis was hit on Oct 7th, 2011 with a rubber bullet in the head by Hamad mercenaries

Another Bahraini Twitter user posted several pictures of Bahraini children suffocating from tear gas, which is fired at villages and towns where protests take place daily:

@ahmed_12: they are suffocating http://yfrog.com/mmbo1tzj http://yfrog.com/es7ioxcj http://yfrog.com/nvuydpuj

This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011/12.

Bahrain: Massive Rally Against the Regime

Mona Kareem — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 17:57:35 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Bahrain Protests 2011.

“Down down with Hamad” chanted tens of thousands of people against Bahrain's King Hamad, as they occupied one of the main highways in Bahrain, nearby the Pearl Roundabout, the symbol of Bahrain's revolution.

This massive march on the Budaiya Highway on Friday 9 March, 2012, came to renew public demands against the tyranny of the Bahraini regime which has been implicated in the killings, arrests, corruption, oppression and discrimination of citizens, according to a fact-finding mission, called the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, commissioned by the Bahraini king to look into what happened during the first two months of the protests in Bahrain [PDF report].

Last March 2011, the Peninsula Shield Force troops entered Bahrain, led by Saudi Arabia, to repress protests and enact martial laws that led to the arrest of prominent opposition figures. Most of them were put on military trial and sentenced to life imprisonment, including human rights defender Abdulhadi Khawaja, In absentia, blogger Ali Abdulimam was also sentenced to 15 years in jail.

So far, there have been more than 70 people killed since the uprising - shot, tortured to death, run over by cars, or suffocated by the excessive use of tear gas. The way the regime keeps ignoring protestors' demands and international calls to release prisoners and start reform, has spurred protesters to keep on demonstrating and speaking up through social media.

Bahraini activist Maryam Al-Khawaja posts a picture of the Friday rally:

Image by @MARYAMALKHAWAJA

Twitter user @DominicKavakeb posted this photograph of two Bahraini elderly men taking part in the rally:

Imaged posted by @DominicKavakeb

And YouTube user bilad14feb posted this video of the rally commenting “Bahraini opposition march (Here we are Bahrain) 9 march 2012.” The video shows the large number of protesters:

Mohammed Ashoor comments on the number of people who attended the rally saying:

@MohmdAshoor: I never liked the numbers game, all I know is that it was the biggest march I've been to

While Al Dawar tweeted this photograph showing protesters carrying a huge banner against dialogue with the King. The banner, at the centre of the photograph reads [ar]: No to Dialogue with Murderers.

Image posted by @al_dawar14

Another picture tweeted by lawyer @reemashallan shows a slogan against sectarianism “We are Brothers, Shia and Sunni, we won't sell out this country”:

Image posted by @reemashallan

The National Democratic Action Society (Waad) posted this photo from the rally demanding the freedom of Waad's imprisoned general secretary Ibrahim Shareef, who was among the opposition leaders sentenced by a military court:

Image posted by @Waad_bh

As the rally was happening, news of yet another protester's death was spread through Twitter. Human rights activist Said Yousif tweeted:

@SAIDYOUSIF: #Bahrain Fadhel merza the young man from Duraz who was shot in the head with a gas canister when he was peacfuly protesting just passed away

The following day, on Saturday, crowds went to the funeral of the 21-year-old protester:

Zainab Al Khawajah, who tweets as Angry Arabiya, was at the funeral procession and tweeted her observations.

@angryarabiya: Fadels body being carried by the martyrs as they shout “down down Hamad!!”

Image posted by @angryarabiya

Other Twitter users like Mohammed Ashoor were also there. Ashoor shares the following image from the funeral:

@MohmdAshoor: funeral in Duraz right now for 21 year old #fadhel who was shot directly in the head with a gas canister

Image posted by @MohmdAshoor

This post is part of our special coverage Bahrain Protests 2011.

MENA: Which Salafist Movie Would You Watch?

Tarek Amr — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 13:37:23 +0000

“All art is a product of the time it's created in, and reflects that time whether it wants to or not, even if it attempts to escape it by hiding in fantasy,” wrote Stephen Whitty. And movies aren't any different here, and their names summarize all this in a few words, in an catching and funny way, just like a tweet.

Karl Sharro - a Lebanese/Iraqi architect and writer based in London - decided to start a new hashtag where people tweet movie names after putting a Salafist flavour into them.

His suggestion read:

@KarlreMarks: shall we do #SalafistMovies? I have a good one: Salafist of Fury

He then tweeted more suggestions to get the ball rolling:

@KarlreMarks: Come on people, help us get #SalafistMovies rolling: ‘12 Million Angry Men'

Soon, like with most of the humourous hashtags, this one got spread in no time, and Twitter users in different Arab countries - as well as some non Arabs - started using it.

Here is a sample of their movie selections:

@LamiaMoussa: How to grow a beard in 10 days. #SalafistMovies

@malekmakni: Shave me if you can #salafistmovies

@gihanbabiker: Shaving Private Ryan #SalafistMovies

@SheikhKhalifaPM: No blade runner #SalafistMovies #beard

@aymanfarhat: The Beauty And the Beard #SalafistMovies

@SalahZulfikar : #SalafistMovies eat pray pray again

@HanzadaElShihy: #SalafistMovies I know what you did last Ramadan

@Molka_Chaari: Women in Black #SalafistMovies

@JustAmira: V for Virgin #SalafistMovies

@EmnaBA: Alice au pays des exciseurs #salafistMovies

@EmnaBA: Alice in the circumcisers-land. #salafistMovies

@evildrako: Blanche neige et ses sept burquas #Salafistmovies

@evildrako: Snow While and her seven Burquas. #Salafistmovies

@_MohamedTarek_: My best friend's fourth wedding #SalafistMovies

@beleidy: My big fat segregated wedding #SalafistMovies

@CandaceHetchler: Haram and the City #SalafistMovies

@LocoRibelle: The BLast Samurai … #SalafistMovies

@Kemety: #SalafistMovies : Liberals at the gates

@sheeriif3amr : My top #SalafistMovies: The Longest Beard. Fasting and Furious. Hairy Potter. How I met your mother(s). Dude, where's the qiblah. Hahahhahah

But, on the other hand, some didn't like the hashtag.

@Omnia_ElMashad: Dear Egyptians, you're not supposed to support Salafist Movies, that's sad. Sincerely, shame on you.

@shafzibit: For an insight in to how Muslim humour is just as stagnant as Muslim science, economic development etc, follow #SalafistMovies

@Nada_Ismail: Is it my dull mood or is the Salafist Movies hashtag actually not funny?

Finally, are those tweets funny, true or stereotypical? What Lily Gataullina wrote here on Mass Media can be applied to Movies and Social Media too.

Mass media became on of the main sources of popular culture in modern capitalist society. Media, however, not only entertains and offers news to people, but also transfers the stereotypes, beliefs and values of the society to reproduce the existing order of social life.

She then added that the most important thing is not eliminating stereotypes but being able to identify them.

I am not quite sure how to combat the usage of stereotypes in media. Once we get rid of one stereotype another will take its place. I think, however, it is very important that people are able to recognize the stereotypes.

Bahrain: #Hungry4BH Trends Worldwide

Mona Kareem — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 21:04:30 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011.

The number of Bahrainis active online has increased significantly since the start of the country's uprising on February 14, 2011. A year on, people still turn to their keyboards, assuming the role of citizen journalists, to documenting the continuing violations committed by the regime against protesters, activists, and others who speak up and demand freedom and equality.

Abdulhadi Khawaja, a Bahraini human rights activist, is considered to be a prominent figure for his people considering his long struggle against the regime. He was imprisoned several times, went into exile, established both the Gulf Center for Human Rights and Bahrain Center for Human Rights, which are both now headed by his fellow activist Nabeel Rajab.

Khawaja brought attention to the struggle of his people and the government's decision to give him a life sentence ‘for attempting to overthrow the regime' was faced with condemnation from the international community.

#Hungry4BH trends worldwide on Twitter

Parallel to their online efforts to draw international attention to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in their country, Bahrainis have also conducted a series of hunger strikes to demand the release of all those arrested, brutalized, and sentenced to jail for their support and participation in the pro-democracy movement.

The medics have previously done it and were bailed out yet still face trials, where they are set to serve between five to 15 years in prison if charged. Their crime, as they admit, was treating protesters attacked and maimed by the government forces.

Khawaja, and several other detainees, went on hunger strike and this Saturday marked his 16th day of hunger strike. Twitter users reported that Khawaja was transferred to the hospital as his health status worsened.

To show solidarity with detainees on hunger strike, Bahrainis planned for several days to tweet using the hashtag #Hungry4BH aiming to make it trend worldwide and thus shed light at the plight of the country's detainees. It sounded impossible considering the small population of Bahrain but the international tweeting support helped in making it happen.

Here are some of the tweets posted:

Sign protesting for Khawaja back in 2004 posted by @almatrook94

@angryarabiya: 1st months of detention my dad was tortured severely, he went on hungerstrike demandin they stop torturing other prisoners.

Blogger @angryarabiya joins a protest near UN demanding to release her father (posted by @lady_7oor)

@ba7rainiDXB: He didnt discriminate,he asked 4 universal rights,he believed in no sects whether religious or political Free Abdulhadi

Protesters wearing t-shirts with Khawaja's picture (posted by @Shearer84bh)

@HayatKhalaf: Its my 3rd day of hungerstrike on a school day, its tiring yet I won't stop until the release of Alkhawaja!

@KhawajaStrike: Today #Alkhawaja was transferred to hospital for treatment but doctors had difficulty putting IV for him as his veins have shrunk

Front Line Defenders posted the following video saying:

At the 6th Dublin Platform hosted by Front Line Defenders, over 130 Human Rights Defenders from more than 80 countries protested at the Saudi Embassy in Dublin demanding the freedom of their colleague and former Front Line staff member Abdulhadi Al Khawaja, who is facing a life sentence in a Bahraini jail. Abdulhadi was detained after Saudi forces entered Bahrain and were in control of the country's security forces.

You can watch the video here:

This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011.

Bahrain: Tweeting the Revolution's First Anniversary

Mona Kareem — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:11:34 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Bahrain Protests 2011.

This Tuesday 14 February, 2012, Bahrainis practiced their daily habit of protesting but this time with larger numbers trying to reach the former epicentre of demonstrations in 2011 - Pearl (Lulu) Roundabout in the capital Manama.

February 14 marked the one year anniversary of their revolution, which has been severely repressed by the regime backed by the troops of the Gulf Cooperation Council's Peninsula Shield Force.

Since the revolutionary protests started, tens of people have been killed either by bullets, tear gas suffocation, torture, or by police cars running them over. Many opposition figures, medics, athletes, students, netizens, journalists and unknown protesters are still in jail or facing trial. Yet, oppression has not succeeded in holding the protests back.

The virtual flower that IFEX designed in a supporting campaign for Bahrain's revolution

Hacking for Bahrain

The day of the anniversary started off with the online group ‘Anonymous' taking down the websites of a United States tear gas manufacturing company, pro-government newspaper Al-Ayaam, and the Bahrain government.

Anonymous published a statement about what they called #OperationBahrain - part of their #HackVDay:

So you war profiteering all crazy, selling mad chemical weapons to militaries and cop shops around the world, thinking you will get away unscathed by the rising tides of insurrection? Think again, assholes. Combined Systems, lay down your arms: you just lost the game. In the past we have marched on your offices in Jamestown, Pennsylvania: now it is time to march on your websites. All your “less than lethal” arms were simply no match for our 9000 cocks and mad black hat technique. We came, we saw, we rooted and rm'd your website. Umad?

Marching and tear gas

Pictures of protesters attempting to reach Pearl Roundabout were published through Twitter. The roundabout, where major protests took place in 2011, was demolished by the regime to erase the memory of the revolution; the site was enclosed by wires before Tuesday to prevent any gatherings.

These were some of the early pictures of the protests:

Attempting to reach Pearl Roundabout. Photo posted by Twitter user @A7med_BH

@Moawen: Bahrain government attacked a school in Sitra with tear gases

@Moawen: Youth continue their peaceful march to Lulu

One of the notable pictures of the day was posted by Twitter user @Moawen from Sanabis:

Bahraini activist in exile, Maryam Al-Khawaja, kept carrying out updates online:

@MARYAMALKHAWAJA: Two young men, Mohammed AlHaiki and Mohammed Jaffar, who walked to pearl square carrying only a #bahrain flag were arrested.

News of tear gas and police presence came from different parts of the country:

@drFatimaHj: Shooting is continuous now #BaniJamra sound grenades and tear gas although there is no crowd to disperse!!

Mohammed Ashoor tweeted updates from different parts of Bahrian. He posted:

@mohdashoor: Sanabis village has been under heavy attack since early morning & many arrests, house raids & teargas showers reported!!

Twitter user Ashoor (@mohdashoor) posted this picture from Daih Village:

Image by Twitter user @mohdashoor

Other pictures were tweeted of tear gas filling several villages. This one is from Sanabis:

Image by Twitter user @Fatima_xc

This video (uploaded to YouTube by KhabbazoOo [ar]) shows a house burning because of security bombs, according to the description:

Stopping political naturalization has been one of the main demands by protestors in Bahrain. This tweet came in relevance:

@JShahryar: Bahraini just asked me on Twitter how to say “Don't Shoot!” in Urdu so the Pakistani/Indian cops won't shoot them

Countless arrests

As usual, the police did not hesitate in blocking or arresting protesters. One Twitter user posted:

@ba7rainiDXB: An blonde expat was just roughed up by the police next Gufool traffic light !! He was walking towards lulu.

Others wrote:

@BHRS2001: Nine women arrested this morning from Sanabis village, being kept at AlHoora Police Station

@BHRS2001: Isa Ibrahim has broken both his legs after being run over and is in AlQal'aa hospital

@iFattema: Teargas enters to the house. we can't do anything. anything..they still shooting in an exaggerated manner.

This is a picture of protesters laying down before getting arrested:

@Lulu_Geek: Hidden for safety

Detaining activists

Nabeel Rajab, a well-known human rights activist who moderates the Bahrain Human Rights Center and the Gulf Human Rights Center, has been calling on people to show up and use the revolution's first anniversary to let the regime know that the struggle is not stopping and that the people still demand democracy, freedom and justice, as he said in this video:

The role Rajab has played in leading the uprising in past months has irritated the regime; he was beaten up last month and as he was marching this Tuesday, he was detained for several hours alongside some American activists who came to monitor the situation.

Activist Nabeel Rajab marching towards Pearl Roundabout. Image by Twitter user @WLEXT

Reuters correspondent Andrew Hammond posted this picture of Nabeel Rajab saying the activist was sitting after what appeared to be an illegal stroll, with riot cop guarding:

Image by Twitter user @Hammonda1

‘Witness Bahrain' is a team of Americans who went to document violations during the revolution's first anniversary. Six of them were arrested and will be deported according to their website statement. One of them is activist Radhika Sainath who has talked to Los Angles Times describing the details of her arrest.

Zainab Al-Khawaja was arrested two days before the anniversary for the second time in few months. She is a prominent blogger and the daughter of opposition leader Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja who is hunger striking as he serves a life sentence in jail. This tweet came in remembrance:

@Freealkhawaja: As @angryarabiya spends her 3rd day in prison 4 attempting 2 return 2 Pearl Square, #Bahrain govt renews violence against protesters

News of slow Internet and disrupted television channels has also circulated through social media sites. One of the BBC's shows tweeted in this regard:

@BBC_WHYS: British expat says #BBC World Service has been shut down in Bahrain.

This post is part of our special coverage Bahrain Protests 2011.