Skip to main content

Scots in Bahrain for St.Andrew's

Image
By
Thanksgiving in Saudi -- ironically, as Thursday is the start of the Saudi weekend, taking off Thursday is what we do every week, so Thanksgiving is by definition a holiday.  We had long ago planned to attend the St.Andrew's Scottish Gala with colleagues -- 8 teacher-couples all told from our school and Cole's school booked hotel rooms in Bahrain for Thursday night.  We drove over to Bahrain mid-day, went to (fancy) beauty parlor and (Pakistani) barber shop, then got our hotel minivans to drive us out to the party, on a remote British compound.  Very Scottish, indeed...lots of kilts, including the UK ambassador who spoke of his Scottish roots.  After speeches and a surprisingly good dinner, a ceilidh band played and all danced for several hours.  What great fun...and the hotel van took us home.   The next day was easy with some shopping on the way back to Saudi.
We were a bit hesitant about Bahrain, as news of demonstrations is troubling.  We saw several police cars, but no overwhelming presence, nor any military troops.  Also, the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry just announced its findings on Thursday.  The government press noted the independence of the commission and the eagerness of the King to act on their findings of some problems in the police, with excessive force in the previous months.  The opposition -- foreign, as internal opposition is muted -- notes the admission that government used excessive force and torture during its crackdown on the spring demonstrations.  It seems that the Commission report will result in a few reforms, and will quiet a few people; but the Commission dealt only with the police response to demonstrations, and not to the root cause of those demonstrations.  So those remain to fester.  We are sorry to see such a clean, bright place as Bahrain so troubled.
On the way back home, we visited some colleagues recently moved to Bahrain -- a lovely house with a nice lifestyle...we could appreciate life there!
One notable difference: Saudi roadsides are strewn with litter.  Bahrain is clean.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fleeing Trump, Americans go to Portugal

By
  Fleeing Trump, Americans go into exile in Portugal. “I'm afraid to go back” Not only minorities feel threatened by the Trump administration. Three couples, a mother and an academic tell us why they chose to live in Portugal. Some say: the American dream is over.      The above is today's headline article in our favorite trusted newspaper in Portugal, O Publico .  It's a centrist newspaper, owned by a big supermarket corporation.  Let's combine this with the recent news that Portugal's Air Force is now shifting away from its planned purchase of F-35 jets.  Even though Trump has not even mentioned Portugal in his various diatribes against former allies, Portugal and the rest of Europe are reeling from the attacks.  We hope it has the ironic effect of freeing Europe from American dominance and improving the chances for centrist leadership (against Trump-like parties that have been gaining prominence).  The original text follows: Em fuga de Tru...
Post a Comment
Read more

EUA: tanto estrago em tão pouco tempo

By
 As part of my effort to learn about Portugal, both the country and the language, I'm subscribing to the centrist newspaper, O Publico .  There are plenty of newspapers: conservative tabloids, and socialist and communist-sponsored daily papers; I find O Publico to be most sober, with consistently interesting columnists and opinion pieces, in addition to some local (Porto) news, with just enough sporting news to keep me chatting with the taxi driver.   Today's opinion piece sums up, I think, European pundits' view of the U.S. government.  As the title puts it: so much damage in so little time.  I shudder at the rank incompetence and corrupt behavior, demonstrating a cynical attitude toward public service, showing indeed that the cruelty is the point. What scandal, what damage will be the tipping point to collapse this government?   And what will it take to recover from the damage?  Who will be able to trust the US government again, ever?   Only ni...
Post a Comment
Read more

Captain America dominates the news, in many ways

By
KoreaTimes newspaper of April 5, 2014:  the front page features five items: a photo of the Avengers2 film shoot, with Captain America posed on the set; four stories with these headlines:   Japan adopts absurd claims in textbooks ; Obama plays favorites ; Ortiz’s selfie makes White House uneasy ; and ‘US knows japan at fault on row with Korea’ … all about America and Japan!  (Obama is said to be favoring Japan -- he even supposedly pressed the Virginia governor to veto the bill requiring Virginia textbooks to add the name “East Sea” to Sea of Japan!). And the Avengers2 filmshoot dominates public talk -- students and teachers alike discuss sightings of the film crew or actors, and the resulting traffic delays at the bridges in use. But it is considered worth the effort, to show the world that Korea is a hip, modern place, worth the effort for Captain America to defend against the villains (from the north, perhaps?).
Post a Comment
Read more