Thoughts on the Protests: News Sources

It has been 11 days since the first protests started on February 13.  A lot has happened.  Lots of new experiences, emotions and decisions that have to be made.  I've been reading "1776" by David McCullough recently, a book about George Washington's first year leading his army in the American Revolution.  I've been a little taken aback in how I've responded to some of the events - things I never would have responded to before. So I thought I'd put together some of the thoughts I've had over the last week and a half.  This first one is specifically about where we've been getting our news from.

My Facebook news feed is literally my news feed:  Things happen and change so fast - and the mainstream media doesn't keep up.  I found that CNN, the BBC and the NY Times were always about 12-18 hours behind.  Therefore, to check the news, I first went to Facebook and checked status updates, and the pictures and links that people posted.  It was on Facebook that I learned about the tanks rolling towards the Pearl Roundabout - about an hour after it actually happened (someone had uploaded it to YouTube).  Eventually, Al Jazeera (out of Qatar) started a live blog that was pretty up to date (though they've since shut that down and focused their reporting on Libya)

Even though the military has pulled out, there have been large demonstrations (both pro-government and pro-reform) and so I often check Facebook to see if/when protests are happening.  Even tonight, before we went to the mall for a coffee and a stroll, I posted a status update asking if anyone had any pertinent information on traffic and protests.  Not 5 minutes after I posted, I received a call from a friend who updated me on the security report he gets from his company.

I still check the news networks, though I find their articles a little tedious (often the first paragraph or two is the "new" news, and the rest is background).  They are great if you don't live here, but since I do, much of the background information is kind of like me picking up a book and the book starting out with the ABC's.  Its also been interesting to see how they portray the island. Here are some of the things I've noticed:

1. Pearl Roundabout:  The BBC, NY Times and CNN just can't get away from calling it the Pearl "Square".  It's not a square in the sense that it's a natural place where people congregate.  It's a big roundabout with a monument in the middle.  Until the last week and a half, I've never seen more than three or four people standing there.  I'm trying to decide if they still don't know its not a square, they now now after making a mistake but don't want to look stupid, call it a square to make the connection to Tahir Square (in Egypt), or have decided that it is now functioning like a square.  
2. Population:  News sources are still saying that Bahrain has a population of about 750,000-800,000.  Those reporters are still getting their information from the out-of-date CIA world fact book.  In the last year or so, the government has admitted that there are about 1.1 million people here, and only 500,000-600,000 are Bahrainis (a sore point for many as there his a relatively high unemployment rate among young men). 

I imagine that a lot of the observations about outside news organizations are commonly found in any situation. People in Egypt and Libya are undoubtedly thinking similar things.  And I think that the reporting is a necessary way to break down a very complex situation into pieces that are easily digestible (I have found CNN's similarly formatted reporting of the Wisconsin demonstrations particularly helpful).  Really, correcting the reporters makes me feel intellectual. 

Bahrain Protests - Videos

Lots of joy last night as the army and police pulled out of the Pearl Roundabout and the protesters moved back in.  The Crown Prince, Shaikh Salman, gave two interviews yesterday, one to Bahrain TV and the other to CNN.   By all accounts, things are fairly peaceful in the roundabout, with stories of protesters serving tea and breakfast to police who are there.  I don't know if that particular story is true, but quite a few friends from church went down to the roundabout and said that things are jubilant.  We will probably swing by today before doing some grocery shopping.

Praise God:

• Peace has returned to the Pearl Roundabout
• The Crown Prince has taken a humble stance and started engaging in dialog 

Please Pray:

• That the situation would remain peaceful 
• That meaningful dialog would take place between the government and the protesters 

CNN Interview with Nic Robertson

Bahrain TV Interview

Update on the Bahrain Protests

If you follow this blog, it means that you are probably aware of the protests and demonstrations in Bahrain.  In case you are wondering, Alison, Eva and I are doing fine.  If you weren't wondering... well, now you know.  Most of the demonstrations have been away from our normal stomping grounds, and we are avoiding areas where demonstrators are gathering.

If you are aware that things are getting a little heated in Bahrain, it probably means you have a news source. However, I'll give you another one.  I currently have a blog feed that automatically gives me any online news article that mentions "Bahrain".  You can view a search on Google news for "Bahrain" here.  Most of the articles are about the protests, and there are a lot of good articles.

Land Reclamation - Bahrain Edition

The coast lines move here.  I don't mean the waves.   As in the country is getting bigger (but not just in terms of population).  I mean the actual, physical country is getting bigger.  As in its square mileage is increasing.  Usually a country has to take land from someone else to do that, but here its done differently.

Land reclamation.

You may have heard about Dubai, an instant city in the United Arab Emirates.  Its known for its extravagance and high spending (and now for the crash in its property market).  One of the things its know for are the man-made islands that they have built from scratch off the coast.  See below.

This is land reclamation.  Taking sand and rock (of which Saudi Arabia has plenty to spare), dumping it just off the beaches and in effect extending the land.   I've known that Bahrain does this, and I know that they have done it for a long time.  People who have been here for a long time will sometimes say things like "the beach used to come to this road."

However, I was on google maps looking at Bahrain (of which google has extensively mapped) and I saw what the picture below.  This is a map of the northeast portion of the main island.  Its the main city center.  You can see in the top and right parts of the picture what look like roads on the ocean.  Maybe bridges or canals (like Venice).  However, I can tell you for a fact that those are not canals.  Instead, I think that the map is showing where the coastline USED to be.  Now it would be just beyond the furthest roads - and growing.

If you look closely, near the top center is an area called Ras Rumman.  Just south (near a grey area) is where Al Raja School (where I currently work) is located.  Our principal used to come through Bahrain when he was young, and he said that the beach was a short walk from Al Raja.  No longer.  It takes a little bit of walking to get there.

You can imagine how much Bahrain has changed over the last 50 years.  I often wonder what people who are in their 50's or older think about how Bahrain has changed so radically.  A couple of months ago, I was sent pictures of Bahrain from the 50's and 60's.  Maybe I'll post those pictures along with what the current area looks like!

Just for fun, you can click here to go to Bahrain in Google maps.  If you can find "Tubli", that's where Alison and I live.

For reference, the square in the top part of the island is the zoomed in area you see above.