29 January 2007

Do we hate Macacans?

Bahrainis are becoming racist. This is my conclusion of the day. We are really moving in that direction. But who is to blame?

Well. If you live in a country with limited space, extremely limited resources, and a high population density, you would expect your government to do its best to manage the resources efficiently. If you were a rational logical human, you might also expect the government to implement some population growth-control mechanisms to make sure our numbers don't spiral out of control.

Now what would you say if, instead, the government started to import (in wholesale) foreign populations, naturalize them, and provide them with free housing and security-service jobs, while the original citizens are struggling with poverty and unemployment?

Exactly. You would lose it!

I will of course have to admit that I don't know how many Yemenis, Syrians, Jordanians, Pakistanis, or Macacans are being naturalized per year. All I know is that there are tens of thousands-- in Zayed City, Safra, and Riffa. I try to be understanding. As a self-proclaimed tolerant, liberal person, I try to convince my poor brain that they are not to blame, really. After all, if I was an illiterate poor guy somewhere, I would jump on that boat too in no time!!

But then don't blame Bahrainis for being angry as hell. My own brain is getting fried these days thinking how the government can be so dumb. Theoretically, the new naturalized peeps are Sunni and depedent on the government, therefore it can trust them to protect it in the event of any "Shi'i" disturbance in Bahrain. Realistically, though, the plan stinks to the high heaven! Sunni Bahrainis are feeling the pinch as much as the Shi'is (discounting some fanatics who all seems to be writers for AlWatan Newspaper).

It's one thing to naturalize legal residents who have been here for years and years. It's another thing to ship thousands illiterate bedouins from the tent to Bahrain (literally) and tell us to all get along! We can't! We don't want to hate anyone (Macacan or non-Macacan), but this country is poor and is struggling to provide basic services to its original citizens, let alone its imports!

The fact that the imports are starting to organize in gangs, are committing most of the violent crimes in the country, and creating Sunni-Shia tensions in the country doesn't help either.

We are in a mess.

Note: [No] thanks to the defeated George Allen of Virginia, Macaca (an old racial slur used in Congo against the native population) has become the most famous politically-incorrect word of 2006 in the U.S. Allen used it to point to an Indian immigrant.

3 comments:

Dilmun said...

I guess you put it in a much better way. Than me! I'm sick of being politically correct everyday, but enough excuses. Furthermore, to your Bahrainis are pissed article I couldn't agree more. Because, I don't see how "new" people can be loyal to anyone Sunni or Shi'i. Back in the day, a person who worked with me told me we should get Iranians and Iraqis .. I was thinking great lets solve stupidity by more stupidity and create a mini world war in Bahrain. This whole alienating crap is what creates these tensions. What makes a Sunni in Zallaq allegedly more loyal than a Shi'i in Duraz? I went to Zallaq today, and drove my a few villages recently. You know what, they are strikingly similar. In Zallaq the Medical Center has no road!! to it, the Cemetary is even further down the dirt track, pavements are non existant, roads need major resurfacing where they exist!! ... There is no park, there is one rusted childrens play ground with no hint of grass... At least in Duraz they have a park now, but I hear Zallaq might get resurfaced roads soon.. In the end of the day, the average Sunni and Shi'i face mostly the same problems, fear puts one in a "loyal" category and the other in the "opposition" category. While in reality most of their problems are the same, Services, Jobs.. blah blah... So yeah where are we going?? If we can come up with a Bandergate style strategy .. we can't come up with a decent economic growth strategy, make people loyal by making them happy??? how about that???

isagreatphilosopher said...

For once, I haven't got much to add on you too, Lulu and Dilmun. Racism is immoral no doubt. But given the circumstances, an onlooker giving a full set of information will feal unease with blaming the masses for the somewhat racist attitude towards the Naturalized Bahrainis.
People, ehem, who thought this will solve things are no more rational than a bunch of crackheads.
It is government policy at its worst.

LuLu said...

Dilmun and Phil. I agree fully. And now I'm being spammed!@@