Commentary on AJE's Bahrain: Shouting in the Dark

If you still haven’t seen Al Jazeera English’s latest documentary on Bahrain, here is your chance to watch it now:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaTKDMYOBOU&feature=youtu.be

In this post, I have attempted a detailed analysis of this video which has done Bahrain a great injustice by showing one side of events and neglecting the other side in which I and many people like me belong. The side that is not here to blindly defend the government but has come to dedicate its existence to bettering the tarnished image of Bahrain and bringing some modicum of truth to the world.

As a disclaimer, I do not deny that excessive violence has occurred by the security forces and I wish for all to be held accountable for acting against the laws of the country and the laws of humanity. In the same context, I am a firm believer that actions warrant consequences, and while the  police used excessive force we must not completely discount the possibility, however small, that there was a cause for it. If a policeman in the UK or US shouts at a suspected criminal to “STOP OR I’LL SHOOT”, you better be damned sure that he will shoot if you do not stop. Anyway, I will not dwell on this because I do not condone violence in any shape or form nor do I excuse it.

Following are a few stops that I took throughout the video and my personal commentaries on them backed with information that I have obtained either through videos that have been released or statements that I have obtained from people who have trusted me enough to speak out against the lies and fabrications.

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From the video’s opening statement: “Shia muslim majority are being ruled by a family from a sunni  minority” a complete fallacy considering the latest statistics put Sunnis as a slight majority. However, I do not want to make this the focus of this commentary but I would like to settle on the assumption that there is a 50/50 split.

“pearl roundabout” is GCC roundabout. The six pillars holding the pearl symbolize every state in the Gulf Cooperation Council. AJE should be a little more thorough with their research and use its official name rather than the name people have given it.

Blacked out speaker “the whole of Bahrain are there [at the roundabout]”. No, I was not there, neither was my family, my friends, nor the hundreds of thousands in Bahrain who disagree with the revolution.

The army “Locked down the capital”. So how come there are clearly cars on the highway just above?

The part after the video of the funeral procession turned protest is the same one where bags of blood were used to show wounds were worse that they really were. There is no denying the pictorial evidence of the bags of blood used to show more blood than there actually was. There was even a video of a protester who was about to get off the ground but when he saw he was being filmed he lay back down and faked being in pain.

Now they’re saying the hospital gave humanitarian refuge?? What about patients who were unable to get any medical treatment because of that so-called refuge?? I personally have stories of two family members who suffered because of the situation at Salmaniya: one of them was a cancer patient who needed fluids drained from his body every two weeks or he would die. When he went there they made him wait for hours and then told him there was nothing wrong with him and sent him home. Later on his condition got worse and his family took him to a private hospital where he died days later. The other story was of a lady who collapsed at her home in Galali, when the ambulance finally got there the driver took her to the rounadabout and made her wait while he was there and then he finally took her to the hospital.

Police retreating after the “flower” protest: the protesters were shouting “hopefully you leave from here to the airport” indicating their disdain for the nationalities of the policemen and the amount of racism these people carry in their hearts.

“we are asking our minimum basic rights as a humans in this country” since when is it a minimum basic right to topple a whole government? Erratic demands were always the case with these protests. What started as reform escalated to calls for the death of a family.

Unemployment?? I have worked with the unemployed in a national program dedicated to subsidizing the upskilling of Bahrainis and their salaries in the private sector (funnily enough with the man who stands behind Hassan Mushaima later on in the video) and I have seen how jobs are rejected by many people who choose to be less educated in a country that gives equal free education for all. Jobs came from everywhere  from drivers to security guards to clerks and yes even construction workers and yet they believe themselves to be above these jobs with their less than secondary level education. NOW they demand the government give them jobs while calling for democracy? Democracies that guarantee NOTHING to their people and no special privileges?

Poverty: is the queen of England not living in a palace while some people are on the streets? The president of the united states? All the heads of any type of state? We have no homeless people in Bahrain. And if you apply to the right program, a house like the one shown in the video would be on top of the lists of houses to be renovated by the government. Tell me which democracy provides that?

Feb 23^rd largest march in the history of Bahrain? What happened to Al Fateh? In fact, what happened to the rest of Bahrain? Why has AJE completely neglected to mention them save for a small part where they are carrying makeshift weapons to defend their neighborhoods?

Peaceful secular democracy movement? What do you call the demand for an Islamic Republic by Hassan Mushaima? What does it mean when my mother, brother and his wife are met with a group of protesters shouting, “get out Sunnis, Bahrain is for the Shia” in Juffair following the second rally at Al Fateh Mosque where more than 400,000 people AJE failed to mention have gathered in support of reform?

Armed groups were NOT to put an end to the protests! They were to stop rogue protesters from attacking their neighborhoods. Where AJE mentions towards the end that Asian expats were target of “punishment” by the protesters, that was the time people were terrified of leaving their houses and neighborhood watches formed to protect neighborhoods. Right next to my house in Hidd is an abandoned house whose construction has stopped. Following reports that there was a prison break at the Dry Dock prison there was strong suspicion that these convicts have occupied it and the throngs of people coming to catch them were overwhelming. What would we have done if these people did not dedicate their days and nights to protect us?

Why hasn’t AJE mentioned anything about the road blocks and the chaos that caused the police to step in to maintain law and order?? The only mention is of the dismantling of a freedom movement but the truth remains that these freedoms have been abused and have started to encroach on other people’s freedoms and the police HAD to step in to control the situation. The second half of Bahrain was suffering at the hands of the rogue few thousands (not all protesters) and the laws were being completely neglected and ignored.

Why has AJE not questioned how these police being treated at salmaniya got injured in the first place?? Who hurt them badly enough that they had to be taken to Salmaniya and not the BDF hospital where they are usually treated?

The Saudis would not allow one [revolution] in their own back yard??? WE ASKED FOR THE PENINSULA SHIELD TO STEP IN!!! Allegations of Saudi occupying Bahrain are completely unfounded. Further allegations that Saudi troops have killed and demolished are not only ridiculous (because we have yet to see a single picture of a Saudi soldier or tank on the streets of Bahrain) they are clear attempts to put Saudi in a sectarian light because of its known stance against the Shia creed. The opposition would like to see Saudi go down and they have mentioned that very blatantly on the social networks we don’t even need to elaborate further. Therefore, it is quite understandable why they would want to show Saudi as the “bad guy” that is spear heading the whole “repression” movement.

I know doctors who were there and all the allegations of hostility towards them are 100% true.

“Salmaniya opened its operating theaters to Al Jazeera” one doctor told me that many of the deaths and exacerbated injuries occurred because of the constant camera crews coming in and out of the operating rooms. These doctors allowed themselves to contaminate an operating room where there were open wounds and as a result people’s conditions have worsened and some have even died as a result.

The clearing of the roundabout on March 16^th was to put an end to the chaos these protests have caused in Bahrain and not to crush unfounded democratic dreams. The 3 weeks that preceded were utter chaos and have inconvenienced the whole nation. Illegal marches, road blocks, people facing hostility because they put up the Prime Minister’s posters on their cars, others being beaten up in their neighborhoods, expats terrorized and threatened and many more.  My cousin lives in an apartment in Isa Town, he is the only Sunni in the building. People went banging on his door asking him to “leave this neighborhood you Sunni!”

In the footage of the final clearing of the roundabout AJE mentions that they “ran” out of the protest sites while the footage shows them walking away and maybe doing a little jogging but there is definitely no running. The BTV footage was clear and could not possibly be fabricated everyone was walking away calmly. The fires make it seem like they were caused by the security forces, please show the footage of who set fire to the tents AJE!

Wow! Respect to AJE for finally acknowledging the murder of the policemen. Now it’s your turn opposition, still insist they were dummies planted by the government?

Nobody got killed when Salmaniya was cleared. It was just as organized as the roundabout so allegations of devastation there are completely false. They just took the opportunity of there NOT being any video footage to add in their own versions of the story.

The alleged village attacks are being taken out of context. Once the state of national safety is announced no protests or gatherings are allowed and the military have warned against them. When you break the law you should expect some consequences. Oh but alas, consequences have not once been acknowledged by the opposition and they don’t seem to believe that wrongdoing warrants any kind of consequence.

The protests and chaos happen to be in Shia villages is that a coincendence or do you still insist that the security forces were targeting them just because they are Shia? The security forces know exactly where these originate and it is their job to ensure measures are taken to contain the protests at the source and away from the busy financial district. I wonder how come the protests in the streets stopped when the police controlled the villages..? No one is targeting anyone.

Mass arrests for the thousands who have disobeyed the laws of Bahrain. There have been many who have committed acts outside of the law. Yes people have been arrested for just being at the roundabout but they were released if exonerate from any criminal act. The country has a responsibility to investigate if it has reason to believe an outside conspiracy is in the making and if it means questioning each and every individual who has appeared at the roundabout then so be it. Let’s not kid ourselves, the US does it only it does not get public scrutiny because it controls all the world’s media. I know some detainees friends or acquaintances and none of them have suffered from any abuse inside the prisons.

Abdulrasool Al Hujairy (RIP): his case still remains a mystery. He has submitted photo evidence to the government incriminating many people from the opposition of criminal activity and suddenly he is found dead. However, the opposition is pinning it on the government using his Shia status as leverage.

“we are afraid to go out of our houses, we are afraid to go to our jobs”  is just another excuse to go through with the illegal strikes. I have seen blackberry broadcasts spread by the opposition telling them to say just that in order to get out of being punished for being absent from work. These broadcasts have detailed measures encouraging their readers to lie to their employers about their whereabouts and the reasons for their absence. And they still say they were unjustly terminated? And they cry unemployment? Who wants to employ someone who does not care for internal policies and with such kind of work ethic?

Yes national football stars deserve to be ridiculed because they neglected their responsibility in representing Bahrain and their responsibility to set good examples to future generations. But that is my personal opinion take it or leave it.

Ayat al Qormozi’s poem was not a mere criticism, it was a public slandering of a figure head using shameless vulgarity and this is a crime punishable by law. The video of her confession is not of someone who is under duress. She is calm and she knows what she is saying. She might have said it to get out of incarceration but her malicious intentions have translated into several contradicting interviews where in one she says the treatment she got was fine and in the other she  goes back to her story of torture and sexual violations:

(videos courtesy of ElaAlBahrain)

Youtube:             http://bit.ly/nPFOa2

Mobile:               http://bit.ly/p4RiCt

Somehow after all what happened, we’re supposed to believe everything Salmaniya doctors say about what happened there. Never mind the other doctors who have witnessed completely different events.

SALMANIYA DOCTORS WERE NOT ARRESTED FOR TREATING INJURED PEOPLE!!! Their crime was that they not only engaged but incited the unrest and were parties to the ill treatment of patients who were not part of the protests and who they believed to be pro-govertment as well as expats. They allowed for the hospital to become a protest ground blocking the parking lot and ER entrance. Do doctors not have a responsibility towards all patients regardless of race, creed or political stance? Are they not responsible for maintaining easy access to treatment for all people? What they did was unforgiveable.

Stories of doctors being charged for assault leading to death are confirmed by their colleagues who are now too afraid to speak up because they know they might suffer the fate of Abdulrasool Al Hujairy and others who spoke up against the protests.

It was the surgery itself that killed Abdulredha at Salmaniya because the surgeons failed to secure the operating room from the contaminations of people coming in and out taking photos and videotaping!

Yes the only gathering allowed for the people is a funeral because it is a religious rite and Bahrain respects those.

“shia mobs formed to punish the only people they could (as if that is ok) the impoverished Asian immigrants living among them” thank you AJE finally someone speaks some truth! However, don’t you think a whole story dedicated to this phenomenon is in order?

For decades, the Bahraini government has allowed the Shia community freedom to practice their rituals. The King himself has been more than accommodating and allowed the streets of Manama to be blocked off for Ashoorah and for private homes to be illegally turned into places of worship. Government property has been used to erect structures used for worship that are not necessarily mosques but can also be shrines and gravesites. But when you abuse the extra privileges that have been given to you the consequence is that you lose it. Cause and effect.

Ayat al Qormozi was not released due to international pressure. Her crime was a minor one and she was released awaiting her final sentencing.

Mushaima, Al Khawaja and Al Singaise have clear and strong affiliations with terrorist cells originating in Iran and targeting Bahrain for decades. Mushaima has actually called for the establishment of an Islamic Republic following Iran’s model and is a danger to society had he been allowed to stay in it.

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I must say the video was very nicely filmed no wonder it took them so long to release it but I did feel that the over dramatization unnecessary. I must also admit the AJE is the only one who touched upon the violence of the protesters when they killed the policemen and “punished” the asian expats however I didn’t understand why these were mentioned fleetingly and not given more attention. I guess they just wanted it on the record that they gave an objective report.

AJE still did not give a cause/effect report on what happened in Bahrain blaming the government, Saudi, the “sunni so-called monirity” and anyone BUT the protesters for the violence and devastation. However, if AJE acknowledges those incidents of violence, why does it not shed more light on these? Why does it not doubt for a minute that the self proclaimed revolution was NOT a peaceful one and government intervention was an absolute necessity?

And who completely discount the whole theory of Iran’s involvement? It is not very farfetched if one takes a minute to consider the sudden interest of Al Alam TV and Al Manar, Ahlul Bait and many other Iranian news channels. It is not a coincidence that Iran’s leaders make official statements about the protests in Bahrain threatening action and sending flotillas and completely ignoring all the other countries. It is not a figment of anyone’s imagination that Iran has always threatened Bahrain in one way or another for decades claiming it to belong to Iran at some point. Why has the world ignored these signs and instead looked for physical evidence of such theories?

Too many questions left unanswered. If anything this movement in Bahrain has raised more questions than answers. It has shamed the REAL revolutions in Egypt, Syria, Libya, Yemen and Tunisia by trying to establish itself among them. The truth of the matter is that this movement was what triggered the sectarian divide in which we find ourselves now but hey why not blame THAT on the government along with everything else? It is not the government that releases reports and articles citing imaginary statistics about the division between Sunnis and Shia. I only saw those in news reports and articles by international news agencies and human rights organizations. And the rest speaks for itself…

(Note: please excuse the hurried narrative, if you feel it requires improvement please put your comment down as I intend it to be a working document)

Regards,

Nouf

If We Will, We Will

The philosophy of wills, means and ends

They say that where there's a will there's a way, which implies that the precondition of a "way" is the will itself... Speaking in less cipher; one can say that if you want something to happen badly enough, you should be willing to do what it takes to get it. It is not enough to just will it but this will must be accompanied with the willingness to take action. By no means does this imply that any ends justify the means. On the contrary, the will has to be one such that laws of integrity and humanity apply and where the end is one that suits all and not some.

Ends vs means

To place this subject in the context of the conflict in Bahrain, the opposition's motives had been clean and legitimate at the beginning of their protests asking for political and social reforms (the ends). However, they used illegitimate means to reach these ends (i.e. Unauthorized demonstrations). Soon after the authorities made an attempt to restore order and dismantle these illegal protests the ends of the protesters have begun to change erratically and they started using unruly means to reach their ends. All the while Bahrain has been at a war of wills in which it was proven that those with the biggest will won each battle.
With a revolution three decades in the making it is obvious that the will is more than strong and the creativity in the means used to reach these objectives has been found to grow exponentially throughout its phases.  What started out as defamatory graffiti on the wall evolved into burning tyres to Molotov cocktail attacks on police cars ended in exacerbating wounds for dramatic effect and faking own deaths. The will has become so strong that the means, however horrendous or preposterous they were had become justified to reach the ends.  The result is a fabricated and amplified revolution that has caught the attention of the world simply because of this strong will.

Wills, means and consequences

"accusing #Bahrain's conduct of being unjust shows a belief not in democracy but that actions don't and shouldn't have consequences" - 
@F_AlBinali

This tweet from my dear friend sums up the situation today quite effectively. After the sentencing of 21 instigators of unrest to prison terms ranging from 2 years to life, unrest resumes as vandals block minor roads with dumpsters and spill gasoline on the roads to express their objection to the verdicts.
The will translates into radical means to reach an impossible end has earned these figure heads their deserved penalty in the eye of the law and in the most transparent and legitimate process possible. Yet Ali Salman is still in his state of denial and the concept of justice remains a one way street in the eyes of the opposition. Consequences mean nothing and retaliation is the predominant means but to what ends we have yet to discover.

Fe Fi Fo Fum

On the other hand, the rest of Bahrain had been taken by storm unable to process what happened fast enough to build a will or a means to an undetermined end. Amidst this rude awakening arises a force appropriately dubbed The Sunni Giant by the esteemed Ms. Sawsan Al Shaer when more than half of Bahrain while still in its dazed state got swept away by The Gathering Of National Unity and led into the largest assembly in the history of Bahrain represented by all sects, religions and affiliations all united under one common message of unity, progress and reform.  The will emerged when there was a need for a united front against the atrocities of the roundabout and to counter the sectarian detour the demands had taken. In only days The Gathering Of National Unity has assembled hundreds of thousands of people at Al Fateh mosque which was chosen for its size and symbolic value. Unprecedented in the history of this island, the 52% Sunnis who have never before united so solemnly for a single cause have made their way from all corners of the island to pledge their allegiance to its monarchy and to present their demands in a civilized and orderly manner.  Accompanied by their fellow occupants of bahrain who have been marginalized by the protesters for their nationality and non-Muslim religious affiliations, these people grew in strength and will. The will: to be heard and for their existence to be acknowledged. The means: a large gathering out of the way of major roads, no slanderous slogans, no tyre burning, no graffiti on the wall and no beating and killing of expats.
The will has now evolved into a desire to reach beyond the geographical realms of Bahrain after attempts to connect with the opposition in some kind of reconciliation had failed miserably due to their preoccupation with spreading their libelous messages to the west and tarnishing the good name of this country for their selfish gain. The TGONU spark has ignited a flame that has been simmering during the first days of the revolt looking for that fuel to light it full force. The will has increased exponentially and people were looking for the means through which they can realize their ends and consequently individuals and small groups have emerged, scattered as they were, but united under one goal which is to defend the honor of their home.
As the groups start to familiarize themselves with the monster within and the enemy without we slowly see their messages aligning and the effectiveness of it all was witnessed when a certain human rights activist was denied access to certain forums and was then given the third degree by the US congress. The means have finally seen an end and this encouraged thousands upon thousands to jump on the bandwagon and to join the media crusade to bring truth back home. Very quickly niches have been filled and efforts have found unison and what was a small voice of a few turned into the loud roar and the result has become mergers between groups, reference points for facts and figures and subject matter experts. Now we see better coordination and leadership spring from nothing only to become the front line defense for bahrain. Leaders and intellectuals have come to the surface and set the bar so high that the rest are striving to reach it. The Giant's size and voice, so large, is now giving the opposition something to think about and bringing them out into unchartered territory actually having to defend themselves to someone and justifying their actions after being unquestioned in the past. 

And so we will

And thus there is a great lesson to be learned here. With a strong will one can achieve in 3 months what took 3 decades to fail.  With a strong will the means find their way into our world and all pieces of the puzzle fall into place. Similar wills bring together people with similar means to achieve similar ends. There is strength in numbers but groups are made of individuals with small efforts so let us be this individualistic group of strong wills and let us unite towards achieving the ultimate end: to bring back the Bahrain we know and love and put it back on it's journey of reform and prosperity under the leadership of his majesty the king...

Nouf

A Salmaniya Story

We have all heard of the atrocities at Salmaniya and the crimes against humanity caused by the doctors. Worse than those are the lies and fabrications that have become business as usual at the hospital which puts to shame this noble profession and all it stands for.

I met with a young doctor just making her way up the medical ladder and striving to go through her residency program when she met with a strenuous series of events that have forever changed her life. For the purpose of maintaining her anonymity I will call her "Amal"...

Amal gives a detailed account of her first hand experience at Salmaniya Medical Complex starting from february 17 which was the day the security forces made their first attempt to clear the roundabout from its newly formed colony of protesters.

"The following is a description of my experience as a health professional at the Salmaniya Medical Complex during the period of protests and unrest that occurred n the kingdom of Bahrain.
 
Since the beginning of the protest, an atmosphere of unrest and instability filled the hospital. The attitudes of some of our colleagues changed dramatically. Many of whom we thought were our friends became hostile against us just because we are from a different sect. or as they defined us "agents and spies for the system"
 
It is a sorrow feeling that I felt when lifelong friends disregard and ignore all the pleasant times we have spent together for political or sectarian conflicts.
 
As part of the residency program, I am required to complete rotations at the Salmaniya Medical Complex. 
 
I was rotating in the Accident and Emergency department during February 2011.
 
On the February 17th, I arrived at the emergency department at 7 am 
The first thing I saw was total chaos. A lot of people were running around, shouting and screaming. I approached the Shift In Charge doctor who instructed me to put on the disaster team apron and I was assigned to the "B" area. He instructed us to attend to cold cases as the injured protestors will be treated in the other areas.
 
The accident and emergency department was over crowded with hospital staff, nurses and an even larger numbers of cleaners, bystanders and photographer. Antigovernment slogans were shouted, rumors were spread about government officials resigning, ministers abandoning their posts and about mass murders and crimes being committed against "innocent people"by law enforcement personnel.
 
With every rumor spread, the rage and anger of the protestors increased. The antigovernment chants turned into outrageous threats against Sunnis.
 
A group lead by a hospital janitor and a male nurse were shouting "no mercy for foreigners or Sunnis"
 
many people were gathering at the reception and triage desks to register themselves as patients and from what I saw, they were neither injured nor sick. An action that only leads to piling up records and increasing the number of casualties in the registers
 
As our instructions were given out to us, our designated area was to receive cold cases only, hence it was quieter than the other areas. A staff nurse came into the room and started cursing us and called us traitors because we were not treating injured protestors.  At that time we had a patient who was suffering from a heart attack and we were managing his condition. The patient's condition was completely unrelated to the protests yet Photographers stormed the room and started taking photographs of the patient and talking to news reporters that he was a victim of police brutality.
They had not consented the patient to do such actions, they have not asked permission from the medical staff treating him. This is a sign of violation of patient rights and privacies.
 
Then a large group of protestors brought in a few of the injured and many nurses were tending to them in a chaotic manner that I have not seen like before.
 
Medical consultants from different specialities walked into the room and were talking to the press about the nature the injuries, which  were a lot less in extent and nature than the description they gave. The injuries were no different nor more than the cases that we see every day.
 
Once the protestors started to gather in the parking lot for mass riots, the crowds began moving out of the area i was working in. Then a nurse approached me with a paper and demanded that I sign my name on it. She said it is a petition against his majesty the king. I refused to sign on the grounds that [it was a clear defamation of the king].
 
The nurse became violent and shouted curses and foul language at me. The same attitude seems to be contagious as many hospital staff have done the same when they saw us.
 
I ignored the incident and tried to focus on my tasks but the fear that I might be assaulted by these radical protestors was great.
 
With every minute that passed, I could see the expressions on the people around me change. They were looking at me with anger and they started talking in very disrespectful manners.
 
Despite the fact that I was taking care of them, they began cursing me and calling me names. I feared that their aggression might escalate so I took permission from the in charge doctor to leave the hospital.
 
I was terrified to go back to the hospital the following day.
 
The next day, february 18th, I went to the hospital. My family insisted that I stay home as the conditions were not safe and taking into consideration the events that occurred they day before. But I still went as I had duties towards my patients.
 
Once I reached the hospital,  saw huge crowds protesting in the parking lots. The corridors were full of angry rioters and many photographers were taking photos of this chaos.
 
 I went to the emergency department. One of my colleagues who signed the petition that I turned away the day before was in the corridor. I approached her to say hello. She did not greet me back. I was shocked to see such change in her behavior and asked her about the reason behind this change. She boldly said that it is bigger than what she had thought was happening.
 
I would like to shed some light on the cases that we saw that day. Most of them were anxiety attacks and not serious injuries or life threatening conditions as what they have been claiming.
 
This summarizes my experience during the unfortunates events that befell our beloved kingdom. I know a lot of my colleagues who have been either harassed, insulted and a few who have been assaulted.
 
May my words help expose the truth of what really happened."

I didn't want to change any of Amal's words, even where there are typing mistakes because I wanted to maintain the integrity of the story and to keep it as "real" as I possibly can.  It is a shame that Amal has to live in fear of her life day in and day out. It Is a shame that she cannot publish her story herself and go on CNN and BBC and openly and confidently tell her story herself. However, the trust in media has diminished in a rapid manner since February 14 in Bahrain and especially among those who were not protesters calling for the fall of a government.

I asked her permission to tell her story because even though it is not controversial or sensational, it deserved to be told because it is the truth; something that has become a rare commodity in this day and age...


Nouf
 

My name is Nouf, and I am not a paid PR agent

On February 14, 2011 I bore witness to my country getting raped and pillaged by those who claim To be its loyal citizens carrying its flag up high with derogatory remarks about its sovereignty. Flags that have been desecrated with inflammatory comments about our rulers and the markings of the literal filth that was Pearl Roundabout.

At first it was thought to be a case of temporary insanity and many of us thought it would be fun to take a closer look just out of curiosity and see what is going on down there. I personally took a few rounds on some occasions and was in shock at the organized state of the place and the speed at which all the tents and structures had been erected; organization which I have later come to discover its spillover effect into their outcries to the foreign media.

On February 17th I was among thousands of Bahrainis shocked after the deaths at the first attempt to clear the roundabout and from the Blackberry broadcasts I was receiving from friends of "other" opinions it felt like the roundabout was attacked in the middle of the night and people were brutally killed by "merciless" members of the security forces. Despite the strength, persistence and what I thought was the credibility of people I thought I knew I still refused to believe blindly and decided to go on a quest for knowledge and decide for myself what was true and what wasn't.

That was the moment when I discovered The world of Twitter and the wonders it has shown me about the events of the world. I created my account on February 17th mainly for the purpose of getting the live tweets that I had heard about from so many people and it quickly grew on me and had become my main source of information. I was there when the #UniteBH hashtag was created and I was so proud of my fellow Bahrainis for taking such an initiative to reunite The people of this island under the same common grounds that have always held them together...

From then on I started noticing tweets from the opposition that have struck every nerve in my being accusing the "regime" of attacks against the Bahraini people and "brutal murders" and "rape" and "torture" and things I never thought for a moment that I'd hear being spewed out to the world about Bahrain! Day by day the tweets grew in number and frequency from hundreds of aliases and some even from the same people but with different accounts and I was speechless by it all with a feeling of helplessness and loss... I was unable to think and react and I remember all i could think of was "this is not happening to this peaceful land"... In my mind I started to mourn my country thinking that it was the end....

I then decided to take things into my own hands and began responding to the likes of Nabeel Rajab and Maryam Al Khawaja who after being bombarded by myself and many like me decided to block any account that opposed their views and threatened to expose their lies. However, I didn't let that stop me or discourage me... My mission became an obsession and all of us who have dedicated our time and effort to defend this country began to find different ways for our voices to reach as many people as possible. My efforts increased as events unfolded and while I tweeted and BBMed and occasionally emailed and "facebooked" I tried to maintain a neutral attitude and report facts and cast doubts on certain tweets that seemed a bit fabricated to me. I challenged people from the opposition and tried to find flaws in their reasoning and attempted to share this with the world all in hope of salvaging some of the damage to bahrain already caused by the opposition's lies and false reporting. Later on I found that I've morphed into someone I did not want to be... Spiteful and sometimes hateful but never racist. It was taking its toll on me and I could not be myself for too long. I started ridiculing at times and challenging them directly at others. I did not like what I had become but it was a necessary evil at times and it was getting increasingly difficult to maintain my positive outlook and openness to other people's views...

A network of "defenders" started to take shape, some of the individuals in it I know personally and others who decided to remain anonymous; some for fear of their lives and that of their families and others who just did not care for any credit... One motive unified us all: damage control and defending the honor of this kingdom... The number of "defenders" increased exponentially after a successful campaign against Maryam Al Khawaja in one of her jet setting excursions to spread lies about Bahrain; there were the occasionals and the usuals and the aggressive and the positive but it was clear to everyone why they were there and that what motivated them to be there was nothing more than their unconditional love for their country and their quest for seeking and disseminating the truth about Bahrain's events...

I kept the same account all along. I put real information, my real display picture and spoke of real events that have been happening in my life. I purposely did that so that anyone who wishes to check into my background would be free to do so and believe that I am who I say I am and that I have not been contracted by the government to do it's PR work on Twitter. I showed the world my true self and yet the world has let me and many others like me down by accusing us of being paid PR agents.


So now I declare it to the world, and on behalf of my fellow defenders: My name is Nouf, and I am NOT a paid PR agent!