On a personal trip to Bahrain, I first had the honour of experiencing what I would later view as the hallmark of middle-east (governments/dictatorships) attitude to "heathens" such as myself. I had done all my visa paperwork correctly. I had one of those third world full page official visa stamps splattered across a full page of my passport. The visa was issued months in advance of my arrival. All dates were clearly specified. Upon arrival in Manama, I was greeted with a Bahraini immigration officer with a phrase I would grow to hate "Go sit down". For some reason, which they would not say, I was not being allowed entry into the country. Every 20 minutes or so, I would go and ask what was happening and try to see why I was not being admitting. All officers I spoke with (who all spoke english) always grunted the same thing to me " Go sit down!" It could of just as easily been "Go sit down you dirty foreigner". I was fuming. I could clearly see a copy of my visa on their computer screen, so it looked like all my paperwork was good, but why wasn't I being allowed into the country? The only thing I could think of was something due to the personal nature of my visit (nothing to do with the government). I started investigating how to get a flight out. This was not as easy as one would think as my movements were restricted in the airport. Worst part is every 10 minutes or so, a Bahraini citizen would come in, point and bark at an Indian or Pakistani person sitting next to me and they would head off to the exits, having picked up their new servant (in the Gulf states it is more like their legal slave). Finally sometime the next day, one of the officers, grunted at me "Come here". I did, he stamped my visa, waved my passport at the exit, all without making any eye contact with the dirty heathen, me. Welcome to Bahrain.
I later learned the reason they didn't let me in was that although I had my visa in my passport, and they had my visa on their computer, for some reason, they were waiting for a hard copy to be sent from their office in Manama. I had arrived on a local holiday. Maybe it is good I didn't learn of this while I waited.....
Human rights in Bahrain is dependent on who wants those rights. Considering it is one of the most free states in the middle-east, I always felt sorry for the residents of worse places such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria, Egypt etc. Due to my experiences, I personally would enjoy the departure of the Emir of Bahrain. Even if the next one in charge is a worse autocrat or theocrat, it is best they get rid of what they have. Once they learn how, they can always overthrow the next dictator too, thanks to the internet and social networking.
Jeff's Travel Stories
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