Faisal Samra: No Myth After Today, 2011.
For all its achievements, Bahrain remains affected by the 2011 uprising that engulfed the country in waves of instability, violence and unrest: Spurred on by developments in other countries (the ‘Arab Spring’), protests erupted in Bahrain on February 14 2011, which soon turned violent. The protests centered around the Pearl Roundabout in central Manama and when they were attacked by security forces, a number of protesters were killed and scores were wounded. Life in the country came to a standstill, state of emergency laws were passed and violence continued for months as the political opposition became split within its ranks, and although many were still demanding political participation, there were also vocal calls to remove the monarchy – in line with protestors’ demands elsewhere in the Arab world.
While the protests attracted very large numbers of Bahrainis demanding more political freedoms and participation together with the political opposition, voices in the government blamed the uprising on foreign interference and denounced the opposition on ties with Iran. The protesters denied any ties to Iran and blamed the government for ruthless violence, especially after the incursion of Shield Forces of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Both claims have been exaggerated and do not necessarily reflect the situation accurately. Nevertheless the country was deeply divided and local media played an active role in deepening the divide.
After months of political deadlock, a national dialogue was initiated in 2011 and an independent committee (BICI) was formed and headed by an international expert to look into human rights abuses committed by security forces. The findings of the commission were received with skepticism on the part of the opposition and many international observers; the commission also reported abuses committed by protesters. Although reforms have been underway in the kingdom since then and the nation-wide instability has somewhat subsided, the situation remains politically tense at the moment and there are sporadic outbursts of violence.
Nevertheless the majority of Bahrainis have returned to normal life, the economy is slowly recovering and a number of projects in the arts have continued unhindered.
How artists in Bahrain will reflect on the consequences of the uprising and the need for reforms remains to be seen, but overall Bahrainis are optimistic about the country. Unlike international media, many people in the country see the uprising not in the context of the ‘Arab Spring’, but in that of Bahrain’s internal politics and history of unrest. That goes back to civil strife in the 1930s, 1950s and the long Bahraini Intifada of the 1990s. The simplification of the uprising as sectarian conflict among Sunnis and Shias is flawed: the conflict also runs along lines of conflict between modern and traditional, religious and secular, urban and rural, poor and rich segments of the population.
The need for political reforms in Bahrain is pressing but it also needs to be understood in the larger context of the current geopolitical situation in the Gulf overall and tensions that are crippling not only Bahrain but nearly all the neighboring countries. It is unlikely that Western-style democracy will arrive on the shores of Bahrain and the Gulf anytime soon, while it also remains true that in spite of the political and social transformations undergone by the country as a consequence of the unrest, it is still a dynamic country with a relatively empowered society, attractive for artists and creative people.