Just 12 months ago, a tall, white monument to Bahrain’s pearling dominated one of the capital’s main traffic roundabouts.
As 2011 ends, Pearl Roundabout no longer exists.
It was demolished in March, after it became the focal point and the symbol of the pro-democracy protests.
Now in its place is the Al Farooq Junction, its entrances still blocked off and guarded by security forces.
It would be easy to view this altered landscape as a metaphor for Bahrain’s turbulent past year. It would also be facile.
Through 2011, the island kingdom was rocked by popular protests – inspired by similar upheaval elsewhere in the Arab world.
The demonstrations that started in Manama in mid-February were followed by a swift and violent crackdown by Bahraini security forces bolstered by a GCC force including Saudi troops and Emirati police.
After a period of martial law, the government made some conciliatory moves to address the grievances of the predominantly Shiite opposition, with an investigation into abuses by security forces and promises to push ahead with long-awaited political reforms.
Yet, as this tumultuous year draws to a close, Bahrain’s political terrain remains substantially unchanged, auguring an uncertain and uneasy 2012.
The Pearl Roundabout story is far from over.
Opposition supporters have not given up on their demands, which include a constitutional monarchy and an end to what many describe as institutionalised discrimination against the majority Shiite population.
Bahrain has a long history of political activism. But what began 11 months ago was something unprecedented in scale and fervour.
The government responded in kind, moving quickly to quash the uprising – 35 people were killed in the first two months of the crisis alone.
Opposition leaders were jailed and many more ordinary citizens involved in the protests were detained.
Thousands were dismissed from their jobs, students expelled from universities and medics arrested, eventually joining those who were brought before a special military court.
Amid international criticism of the government’s actions and allegations of serious human rights abuses, an atmosphere of deep distrust and fear set in.
Many Sunnis were angry, and still are, about what some believed was an Iranian-backed plot to overthrow the government.
Emboldened, some groups emerged as a counter to the largely Shiite opposition.
Others, a smaller group occupying what they described as the middle ground, pleaded with both sides to back down.
But, the protests have not stopped, the pressure on the government has not eased and divisions have not healed.
In some parts of the country, demonstrations are a daily reality.
In one recent incident, a funeral procession attended by thousands of mourners turned violent when police and a small group of protesters clashed.
After tear gas was fired into the crowd, people fled into nearby homes. Inside the living room of one cramped apartment, a man in his forties who would only give his first name, Aqeel, sighed in resignation.
“This has become our daily life, like our daily routine,” he said.
Still, in some parts of the country, the only visible signs of trouble are checkpoints at entrances to largely Sunni neighbourhoods or flashpoints close to Shiite villages.
Society’s divisions are mirrored in the government itself.
Moderates have made several attempts to kick-start a process towards reconciliation.
King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa even took the bold step of inviting international human rights experts to the country.
After months of investigations, the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) delivered its harsh assessment at the end of November.
It found abuse of detainees, including torture, and excessive use of force were systemic. But it also found mistakes had been made by both sides.
Some of the findings echoed a report by the government that came out two days earlier.
The government will set up a national human rights institution, punish officers who broke the law and pledged to implement the commission’s recommendations.
The king welcomed the BICI report as “of profound value to us” and vowed reforms.
Members of the opposition appeared vindicated by many of the conclusions by the commission, but stressed fixing those issues would not fix the fundamental political problems at the heart of the crisis.
Now, as the protests continue into a new year, there are concerns that the changes on the ground have been too little.
“[There] is a serious risk that this opportunity could be lost if there is no visible progress in the short term, especially with the continuing clashes between protesters and police,” said Jane Kinninmont, a senior research fellow at Chatham House, a UK-based think tank.
“I hope the government does seize the opportunity to carry out real, meaningful reforms before the anniversary of the protests [February 14], or I think we will see further escalation then.”
zconstantine@thenational.ae
The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
The specs
Engine: Turbocharged four-cylinder 2.7-litre
Power: 325hp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh189,700
On sale: now
if you go
THE BIO: Mohammed Ashiq Ali
Proudest achievement: “I came to a new country and started this shop”
Favourite TV programme: the news
Favourite place in Dubai: Al Fahidi. “They started the metro in 2009 and I didn’t take it yet.”
Family: six sons in Dubai and a daughter in Faisalabad
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
A%20QUIET%20PLACE
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LUKA CHUPPI
Director: Laxman Utekar
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Cinema
Cast: Kartik Aaryan, Kriti Sanon, Pankaj Tripathi, Vinay Pathak, Aparshakti Khurana
Rating: 3/5
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group H
Juventus v Valencia, Tuesday, midnight (UAE)
Company%20profile
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Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Khalid%20Fahad%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Shaima%20Al%20Tayeb%2C%20Wafa%20Muhamad%2C%20Hamss%20Bandar%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Tales of Yusuf Tadros
Adel Esmat (translated by Mandy McClure)
Hoopoe
Volunteers offer workers a lifeline
Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.
When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.
Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.
Boxes packed with essential food items were distributed to workers in the Dubai Investments Park and Ras Al Khaimah camps last week. Workers at the Sonapur camp asked for Dh1,600 towards their gas bill.
“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.
Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.
“More than daily food, they are worried about not sending money home for their family,” said Kusum Dutta, a volunteer who works with the Indian consulate.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Bio:
Favourite Quote: Prophet Mohammad's quotes There is reward for kindness to every living thing and A good man treats women with honour
Favourite Hobby: Serving poor people
Favourite Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite food: Fish and vegetables
Favourite place to visit: London
DMZ facts
- The DMZ was created as a buffer after the 1950-53 Korean War.
- It runs 248 kilometers across the Korean Peninsula and is 4km wide.
- The zone is jointly overseen by the US-led United Nations Command and North Korea.
- It is littered with an estimated 2 million mines, tank traps, razor wire fences and guard posts.
- Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un met at a building in Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed to stop the Korean War.
- Panmunjom is 52km north of the Korean capital Seoul and 147km south of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.
- Former US president Bill Clinton visited Panmunjom in 1993, while Ronald Reagan visited the DMZ in 1983, George W. Bush in 2002 and Barack Obama visited a nearby military camp in 2012.
- Mr Trump planned to visit in November 2017, but heavy fog that prevented his helicopter from landing.
Shubh Mangal Saavdhan
Directed by: RS Prasanna
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar
THE BIO
Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren
Favourite travel destination: Switzerland
Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers
Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
How to help
Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:
2289 - Dh10
2252 - Dh50
6025 - Dh20
6027 - Dh100
6026 - Dh200
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Scores:
Day 4
England 290 & 346
Sri Lanka 336 & 226-7 (target 301)
Sri Lanka require another 75 runs with three wickets remaining
Company%20Profile
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Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh359,000
On sale: now
