Muslims are Brothers - Part I

Muslims are Brothers

For the past few months things have been worrying. People ask themselves, should I stay or should I go? It’s not easy to uproot an entire family, and start over somewhere else. But we may have to; with the situation the way it is now in the gulf. Iran is positioning its fleet; local supporters and loyalists of Iran are restless, waiting to create another incident. Daily we hear of bad news. Also in recent memory some Sunni people were arrested along side of their Shiite (I won’t say majority) friends, for supporting their movement.

Unlike the movement in other countries; Egypt, for example, and now Libya, Bahrain with a large Shiite population is experiencing something of a civil war. And while there is a crackdown on protesters and illegal activities there is less stability than has been the perception in the collective memory of the past few years. There are always pockets of trouble here. Sunnis see the government trying to placate the Shiite fraction (45 %) of the population, many who are immigrants to this country. But the results have been an emboldened people, who will not be satisfied with only a piece of the pie, housing, many jobs, and the benefits of free or low-cost healthcare, which non-Bahraini residents could only wish they had.

Often there are stories of runaway maids, or workers in other industries, yet generally these people, coming from rather poor backgrounds, or countries where opportunities might be scarcer, face adversities and racism at work in order to be able to send money home, which makes a big difference to their families. While some receive free accommodation, the living conditions are often poor; as reflected in photos in the daily paper on occasion. People sometimes comment on these photos, maybe the laborers can learn to take better care of their quarters and so on. Or how can their employers allow people to live in substandard conditions, where A.C.  is lacking, or some equally horrific problem?

Seeing how the grass is always greener on the other side, people feel free to comment or even criticize the government, or their employers for their situation. They demand more, maybe even more than their fair share. While laborers are obviously used as cheap labour, their situation is not necessarily something that they didn’t agree to (whether wrongly, or rightly). There is a certain amount of acceptance of the disadvantages, if one is coming to an oil rich nation to make more money than would be possible back home. No one is forcing maids to come to Bahrain, or laborers to leave the comfort of their family homes, to earn better income over here.

This is not an essay trying to point the finger at the government, or individual employers. It is just a treatise trying to understand the real situation as it is. No, life is not a bed of roses, anywhere. Even in the freest countries in the world there is unemployment, longtime joblessness, low pay, discrimination, sometimes, racism, or sexism, and so on. Some people, without complaint, try to get along as best they can because they know that the grass is not really always greener on the other side. They know they actually have it pretty good.

Sometimes as outsiders, people who some Bahrainis think are stealing their jobs, have a rude awakening. I’m talking about the regular expat here who enjoys a decent standard of living, but can’t afford private schools for his children, who can get by, if he doesn’t have any debts. This regular Joe, is not going to become rich in Bahrain, and maybe if he sends money home, he can buy an apartment in Cairo, for an exorbitant amount of money, 25,000 dollars after decades of saving and meager spending on necessities like food, and clothing, or furnishings; these type of people know, they will reach their goal of independent living eventually (God forbid anything should happen to their family’s bread winner). Often women also want to/ share this burden with their spouse because obviously two incomes would be/are better than one.  The rude awakening sometimes comes as sudden loss of a job, in which case a person will immediately scramble to collect his family and belongings, if they are living in the country with him, and try to find another job as soon as possible, while the expired visa will be a major obstacle to remaining here as a legal resident. Often people will come back again to work in a similar job.

What happened with the unrest of the past few months served as a reminder to all that this is not “home”, and that one should have a contingency plan. But even sadder than this, is the fact that while many expats stood up with their Bahraini neighbours at their masjid, or street corner, they found that they were being marginalized and received not so much as a “thank you”, in the end. As always, it is the problem of “them” and not “we”. When will Bahrainis and local populations in other countries (I mean Sunni Arab Muslims in the wealthy gulf nations) learn that their brethren from foreign soil, working and living here, often for decades, love this country and have an invested interest in it, deserve the same respect and brotherly affection as nationals? They were told to bring their CVs, only to have them put into a separate box and later probably discarded. Or was something else going on? Still, the attitude of many Bahrainis makes it clear all too often that they view themselves superior to expats even though we are all Muslims. In this time of strife “a divided house will not stand”, and nor can the Bahrainis(Sunni) stand alone; as was often the impression one got being in the “thick of it”. Just as the Kingdom received with open arms, the Saudi National Guard to help restore order, the neighborhood watches were benefited by the support of foreign nationals (and/or naturalized Bahrainis) standing up with their Bahraini-born Sunni neighbours. Later on there were some broadcasts, thanking those people who stood up and filled empty teaching or medical positions, while other Bahrainis refused to show up for work; but for the expats, it’s not too late for a “thank you” and there’s still time to make amends.

DD