Wednesday, May 23, 2007

سرقاتٌ و اختــلاسٌ ...... وفـسـاد طـال أذنــي

جريدة " الميزان " الاعلانية العدد ( 32 ) السنة الاولى الصادر بتاريخ 21 / 5 / 2007


يــا رئــيس الـوزراء ...... أيـهـا الـزعلان مـني
عــن كـلام قـلـتــه ...... كـي أزيـح الـظلم عنـي
إن أكن قـلـت كــلاماً ...... عنك في قبوي و سجنـي
أنت مـرمـرت حيـاتي ...... قدتنـي مـن دون إذنـي
مـذ وعـى عقلي و أنت ...... الناطق الرسمي عـنـي
قدتني للـفـقر عنــوة ...... رغـم أن الله مـغـنـي
راسم التمييز خــطــاً ...... بـيـن شـيعي و سنـي
باذلاً جـهـدك تبـغـي ...... في ربـا التعطيل دفنـي
ناسياً في زحمة الـدنيـا ...... وعُـقـم الـحكـم أنـي
من بنـى ذا الـصرح ...... مـن لـحـمي و دمـي
صادقاً يبقى الــوطـن ...... فـي مـاء عـيـنــي
وجزائي أنت تـغـنـى ...... و أنـا يـزداد ديـنــي
إن يكن تقصير حـتـماً ...... ليـس ذا التـقصير منـي
إنما مـنك فـــأنـت ...... بـفـسـاد الحكم معنـي
قد جنى الحكم عـلينـا ...... وعلى الباقي سـيـجنـي
سرقاتٌ و اختــلاسٌ ...... وفـسـاد طـال أذنــي
سرقوا بري وبـحـري ...... وأماتوا كل إبداعي وفنـي
صار رزقي عـدمــاً ...... فـي كـبـر ســنــي
لـيـس لـي بـيـتٌ ...... أداري فــيـه حزنــي
أخشى أن لا ألقى أرضا ...... بعد أن أقـضـي لدفنـي

شـــعــــر
أحـمـد سـلـطـــان

Friday, May 11, 2007

The political ding-dong

As usual, we quabble over peanuts whilst the powers that be enjoy the meat and potatoes. Those who chose to participate in the government-scripted political production, demonstrate naiivety at best, stupidity at worst, claiming at the outset that it is better to have peanuts than nothing at all. Must we always go through this arduous political ding-dong? We just keep waiting for the next blunder, make a little hoo-haa, pundits spew the same articles, and the people continue to live in stagnation.

This parliament, as fellow blogger Nido put it, is a like a coat hanger, we hang all our problems on it without seeing their causes. In fact it is doing more harm then good; frankly it's a distraction, a mass deception, resource-sucking game of ping-pong (picture alwefaq holding the bat from the mouth and hands tied). I don't say this nihilistically, I say it realistically. George Orwell said in 1984, "Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two equals four. If that is granted then all else follows". Well, lets see what Alwefaq will get if it keeps saying it equals five.

Unfortunately, part of the problem is a communal political elite that has become an exclusive gentleman's club (a.k.a. Alwefaq). Many an insider has talked about the defeatist and compromising attitude that seems to have overshadowed this group. Well the question is, has this reflected on Alwefaq's political strategy? Lets look at the list of decisions that have effectively lead to the gradual neutralisation of the opposition through a series of concessions to the governemt:



This is just a basic list that springs to my mind. I am told that Alwefaq never expected to face the full force of the state machine in parliament; that a nicey-nicey give-and-ake approach would lead to gradual change. I agree, this approach might get you some peanuts (maybe a few extra pavements, an increase in a measly budget etc), but when it steps into the realm of 'accountability', a basic democratic tenet, the 'democratic' carpet is pulled from right under their feet. What Bandargate gave Alwefaq, was one key GOLDEN opportunity, just one; he gave them the evidence; the documents, the cheques, the signatures, the names. Not in a million years would anyone have thought incriminating evidence would fall into the opposition's lap. We see and hear corruption, but until now, the black-box of the state machine was heavily guarded. It as if you have always suspected your husband was having an affair and then suddenly u find the red lipstick on his collar. Albandar's kiss-and-tell pointed out the household names (journalists, MPs, officials) yet they walk-around arrogantly in the comfort-zone carved nicely by their protectors. It's no surprise Alwefaq was halted in its tracks the minute they raised the issue, albeit with completely silly timing at the end of the parliamentary session before the curtain was closed.

Talks of a new 'resistance' movement, or 'lines of prevention' (خط الممانعة) seems to be forming by a disconnected grassroots movement that is taking the tentative steps to reassert itself. As of late, this seems to have begun with sporadic bouts of violence in areas as a response to the frustration with the political players lack of advancement in any particular field. What is interesting is that it seems to be a clear dissent from the religious line that supports engagement in the given political channels. وهذه عادة ضعفاء العقول يعرفون الحق بالرجال، لا الرجال بالحق
Is this just another part of the cycle and as my generation comes to maturity, will this ding-dong continue for much longer?

Friday, May 04, 2007

The speed of walking

...as a barometer of the pace of change in a country it is a smart metric. Bahrain is ahead of only Malawi in the fight for the last spot, with an average speed of 17.69 seconds per 60 feet. The fastest is Singapore with a whopping average speed of 10.55. Local press decided that our rather 'unrushed' walking speed is actually a virtue of our lifestyle, compared to the fast-paced living of urban-dwellers in other countries facing 'all kinds of diseases'. Do the people who constructed this index not understand the cultural differences between these countries. Living in Bahrain, one fails to see the point of walking at all. The lack of pavements testifies either to lack of demand for walking or the cause of a walking-deficient nation. It seems our legs have been created to perform essential manoevering duties rather than general transportation. Bahrain must have had the coolest weather in it's history this year, how many ppl put their walking boots on? (probably only those who participated in the survey above).

One exception where walking becomes of use, is in the sport of shopping. Shopping malls are indeed one of the few places where you find Bahrainis putting legs to use. Either in the aisles of Geant or the forecourts of Seef, people find great pleasure in having an excuse to walk. Even here however, speed is in 1st gear, rarely moving up to two in a display of wobble-walking that would make mother goose proud!

To be fair, the cultural-aversion to walking is probably due to the other obvious reason; the hot climate, the reliance on cars (a person to car ratio would be a useful statistic alongside the speed of walking), the lack of public spaces (pavements, parks, beaches like Abu subh which is getting destroyed v soon, safe pedestrian cross-overs etc,) and obesity levels (average weight:speed of walking would be useful too). It's great seeing people making the effort to go for walks in the evening after the sun sets but more often than not they are either want to lose weight or have heart problems and face the high-risk of getting run over (how many ppl have been killed in Saar?). It would do our country good to try and incorporate walking into daily life, taking the stairs rather than the lift, having more shaded streets and walkways (like in Spain), maybe even encouraging cycling which is the next best thing (how many Asian labourers get killed cycling every year though?)!