I don’t think anyone can doubt that 2011 was a historic year.  An Arab spring, a US financial meltdown and partisan rifts, a UK debt crisis, tumultuous European riots, and a couple of natural disasters in Asia.

One is almost tempted to say that it can’t get any worse, but I wouldn’t dare tempt fate.  Things are interesting enough as they are…

As far as Bahrain is concerned, depending on which side of the fence you’re sitting, 2011 was either the year of freedom from repression and discrimination, or a year of unruly and violent riots  that frightened and angered peaceful citizens.

Either way, I hope 2012 is a better year for all of us.  I hope 2012 ushers in the necessary reforms that will satisfy the people of Bahrain.

I hope 2012 brings more love, compassion, mutual trust and understanding.  I hope 2012 will be the year of forgiveness and reconciliation.

I hope 2012 brings the people of Bahrain together, and makes this country stronger and better than it ever was.

Happy New Year.

I had the pleasure and honour of attending the handing over ceremony of the BICI report.  What a day!  I feel like I’m on a cloud, I can’t believe what happened today… it’s like a dream.  Was there really a man standing in front of an Arab head of state, criticising his governments actions – in front of hundreds of guests and the international media??

Was the man really hired by this head of state??  Yes, it’s all true, and as I mentioned yesterday , the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry was 100% independent.  I don’t think anyone can claim that his commission was bought or was biased against the protestors.

Prof. Basyouni really laid into the government.  And for those of you who missed the TV coverage (or my live Tweeting) he  – more or less – confirmed all the allegations of abuse that we’ve been hearing about.  Torture, physical and verbal abuse, discrimination, night raids by masked men, arrests without warrants, unaccounted for deaths, lack of responsibility and accountability of security forces… the list goes on and on.

However, he also said that it was his belief that had HRH The Crown Prince’s dialogue offer been accepted, the crisis would not have escalated.  He also said that their investigation did not reveal any involvement of the Peninsula Shield in the crackdown.

He also laid into the official media, saying that they were biased and offensive to one sect.  I wonder if the attitude of the media will change now.

Prof. Basyouni also confirmed that Asian expats were attacked and killed.  Causing fear among the Asian community.

I knew that the report would be daring, but I did not think that Prof. Basyouni would talk so long and openly of the long lists of abuses by the government.  When he was finished he gave a long list of recommendations for the government, and I’m happy to report that many reflect what I wrote in previous blog posts (see here and here)

The Iran Connection:

I must admit I was surprised that he said there was no Iran connection to the crisis.  If you’ve been following what I’ve been saying, I always said that the vast majority of protestors (and Shias for that matter) were loyal to Bahrain.  But I did think there was some connection with Iran, especially since a Hizbollah official admitted knowing opposition members.  Anyway, I accept what the report says and I admit that I was wrong.

Later, in his speech, His Majesty emphasised the role of the Iranian media and trying to inflame the Bahrain crisis.  He also reminded everyone that Iran has, in the past, tried to meddle in Bahraini affairs, despite the fact that Bahrain has only ever offered friendship to Iran.

Admitedly I did not read the whole report yet, and there are still questions that are unanswered, like to what degree did the officials know about the abuses.  And were any blind eyes turned, etc.

Of course the easy part is over, now the real test will come.  Will the government implement real reform? Will corruption finally be tackled? Will we see knew faces in the government? Will there – finally – be real accountability?  I sincerely hope so.  As Prince Salman told me today “now the real work starts.”

The reception:

There was a reception after the ceremony.  I managed to say hello to His Majesty (but not converse), as well as HRH the Prime Minister, HRH the Crown Prince and other members of the ruling family and friends from the media and others.

I had a brief chat with the Crown Prince and thanked him on behalf of his father for commissioning the BICI. We also spoke about Twitter, and I asked him what his Twitter ID was, but he refused to tell me! I asked whether he was the guy following me who has the CP’s photo and is called “Abu Isa”.  “Come on it wouldn’t be that obvious!” he replied.  Oh well, one of these days I’ll find out who he is…

Overall a great day for Bahrain.  But of course it’s still the first step in the healing process, and now, as His Royal Highness said, the real work begins.  I am full of hope.

Time to read the report…

And time for reconciliation!

God bless Bahrain.

Panoramic shot I took of the Holy Ka'ba. I took 3 photos with my iPhone and then used an app to stitch them together

I got back last week from Hajj.  And let me tell you , it was a great trip!  It’s the second time I go, and there was a significant difference compared to last time.  This year I went on behalf of my late father.

For one, I went with a luxury hamla (Hajj tour operator) and we stayed at the Al-Tawheed Intercontinental Hotel, which is right next to the Holy Mosque.  The place was very comfortable, and being so close to the Holy Mosque made all the difference.

The tour operator

The hamla is called Golden Tours, and their level of service was just phenomenal.  They really went out of their way to make the trip as comfortable as possible.  But what really impressed me was the Sheiks they brought along.  The scholars were both Al-Azhar graduates.  For your information, Al-Azhar based in Egypt, is the most prestigious Islamic university in the world, and one of the oldest (some say the oldest) in the world.

Whenever they lectured they did it with compassion and love, and from a true understanding of Islam.  The hamla I went with back in 2005 were highly professional, organised and dedicated, but their religious views were very strict.  I guess it’s no surprise as they were organised by a Salafi group.  They were strict on segregating men and women (men sat in the front of the buses, and women in the back and I could not sit next to my wife), and the whole atmosphere had a spartan, disciplinary air to it.

The Egyptian group in contrast was relaxed and easy going.  Though everyone was very religious, there did not seem to be any hint of a fundamentalist mentality.  There were men and women’s tents (in Arafat and Mina), but women visited the men’s tent regularly, and there was a common area where people mixed and spoke freely.

I have to say the whole experience was great.  Of course the hamla was extremely expensive, but to be honest it was worth every fils.

Well organised

I want to commend the Saudi authorities for keeping the whole Hajj well organised and running smoothly.  There were almost 3 million people this year, and as far as I know there wasn’t a single fatality.  Of course with so many people there still is a lot of pushing and shoving, and lots and lots of garbage everywhere, but overall it went smoothly.  Alhamduilah.

On the Saudi hospitality industry

One thing that takes me by surprise every time I stay in a hotel in Saudi is how poor the service is.  It’s strange that such a country known for it’s hospitality has such a second rate hospitality industry.  I’ve noticed many times in different Saudi cities that hotel and restaurant staff are generally poorly trained, demotivated and blunt – both Saudi and expats.  It always takes me by surprise and makes me wonder why it’s like that.

But to be honest, that did not take away anything from the overall experience.

What I prayed for

I had a long list of things I prayed for.  Predominantly, I prayed for my father. I also prayed for my family, my mother and other members.  I also spent a lot of time praying for peace and prosperity to return to Bahrain.  I prayed fervently that reconciliation would happen, and that Bahrain starts a Truth and Reconciliation Commission.  I prayed until I almost cried.

I also prayed for the following people:

- King Abdullah and King Hamad, and both the Saudi and Bahraini Leadership.

- I prayed for the people of Bahrain.

- I prayed for Bahrain’s opposition leader (yes I did, and I prayed for them, not against them) [لهم و ليس عليهم]

- I prayed for wise men to prevail, and for the madness to end.

I still pray for it.

PS Here are some photos, I hope you like them.  Talk soon.

In the Holy Mosque.

In Mina

With Sheikh Muneer and Shiekh Ramadan

King Fahad Entrance to the Holy Mosque

With new friends at the Jamarat (stone) throwing

One of the pillars at the Jamarat

2.8 million people attended Hajj this year

Worshipers doing Tawaf around the Holy Ka'ba

Worshipers at the 'safa' location

I’m off to Makkah today to perform the Hajj pilgrimage. I’m going on behalf of my late father, who never had the chance to go.

Take care and see you when I get back inshallah!

You know, I love success stories, and I love it even more when I help influence one…

Today, I’m extremely proud to announce the promotion of Falakonian extraordinaire Saba Saleem to General Manager of the DreamBody Centre (DBC).

I first met Saba back in 2003 or 2004.  My only business at the time was Zen-Do (my former martial arts school) and I was located in a converted squash room in our family compound.  Zen-Do was growing fast and I needed someone to help me with the admin.

I put out and advert for “Membership Assistant”, and one of the applicants was this confident and slightly cocky Pakistani girl.  During the interview I remember asking her a question related to tidiness, and she replied saying something like “I’m very messy but I always get things done.”

Now, this is where Saba and I remember things differently.  As I remember it, I never made her an offer, and eventually hired someone else.  Saba says that I did make her an offer, which she politely rejected.  Anyway, not that it matters now.

Fast forward to 2007, and former DBC GM Gero Presser and I are interviewing candidates for the soon to be opened DreamBody Centre. And who applied?  That cocky Pakistani girl!

She did well in the interview and got hired as a “Circuit Advisor”.  I think she stayed in that position for a year or so until I moved her to Zen-Do as Membership Advisor.  She stayed there for about a year, and did so well in that position that I promoted her to Operations Manager for both DBC and Zen-Do.  Her title was soon expanded to “Marketing and Operations Manager”, covering both Zen-Do and DBC.

Well, today she was promoted to General Manager, a position that was vacant for about a year and a half.  What I love about Saba is her pro-activeness and her “can-do” attitude.  She is quietly confident (still a bit cocky) and full of enthusiasm.  She has the ability to see the big picture of the business, and yet still have great attention to detail; a quality that – as most entrepreneurs will attest to – is very rare among hired guns.  Her usual response to tasks given is “sure I can do that.”

She garners respect both from the of the DBC Team as well as our valuable members.  She is, along with Financial Controller and Admin Manager Gemma Austria, an invaluable member of my inner circle.

Here’s the press release I sent out today:

Weight Loss and Fitness Facility Announces New General Manager

The DreamBody Centre, a brand owned by Falak Enterprises WLL, has appointed a new General Manager. “I’m extremely proud to announce the promotion of Ms. Saba Saleem from Marketing and Operations Manager to General Manager,” said Suhail Algosaibi, Founder and CEO of the DreamBody Centre.

Saba Saleem, a Bahrain-born Pakistani national, was one of the first employees of the DreamBody Centre and joined back in 2007.  She has worked as a Circuit Advisor in the DreamBody Centre, and then worked for a year in the Zen-Do Bahrain Kickboxing Club as a Membership Advisor, this was followed by a promotion to Marketing and Operations Manager for both Zen-Do and the DreamBody Centre.

“I’m so proud and thankful to be given this promotion!” said Ms. Saleem.  “I’d like to thank Suhail Algosaibi for this opportunity.  It’s a big responsibility but I’m confident that I’m up to the task, and that we will achieve the dream of franchising the DreamBody Centre regionally and internationally, and making it a globally recognised brand,” added Saba Saleem.

The DreamBody Centre is currently located in Hamala and will move to the Bahrain Mall sometime in December.  For more information, visit DreamBodyCentre.com

I’m very proud of you Saba.  Onward and upwards!

What an interesting evening it was last night!  I have to admit I was on a high for hours after the show.  The debate raged on for hours afterwards on Twitter and Youtube.

Anyway, now that the dust has settled somewhat, I want to share some comments that I think are noteworthy:

Why I appeared on the show:

To be honest, when I accepted to appear on The Stream, I had no idea that I would be pitted head-to-head against anti-government activist Zainab Al-Kahawaja.  I only found out after I agreed.  Either way I’m glad I did it.  I thought the documentary  Bahrain, Shouting in The Dark was very biased, and I’m glad I got to give my opinion about the Bahrain Crisis.

I’d like to thank Melissa Giaimo, Derrick Ashong and Ahmed Shihab-Eldin for inviting me and giving me the chance to share my views.  I think I’m going to watch this show more often in the future.

About this whole Iran thing:

I did not intent to talk about Iran so much, but it kept being brought up.  I just want to repeat something I’ve said over and over: I do not believe that Bahrain Shias are more loyal to Iran.  Even as a Sunni I find this statement offensive to my Shia brethren.

When I was talking about Iran’s actions and statements during the Bahrain crisis, and not about the protestors’ loyalty.  Furthermore, I like very many Bahrainis, think that the demands of the protesters were mostly legitimate (other than demands like “death to Al-Khalifa”) but I am totally against the escalation of violence that followed.

Furthermore, I -- again like many Bahrainis -- do not condone the severity and alleged torture used by the security forces.

About my nationality:

This seems to have caused a bit of a controversy and some confusion.  Some have said I’m Saudi (and thus have no right to talk about Bahrain) while others insisted that I was a Bahraini born and bread.  I have both Bahraini and Saudi nationalities.  I was born in Germany (my mother’s German, just to complicate matters) and lived in Saudi until the age of 12.  I moved here to Bahrain in 1985 and proudly received the Bahraini citizenship about four or five years ago.

For those who don’t know, the Algosaibi family has it’s roots in central Saudi Arabia and now there are family members in Jeddah, Riyadh, the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain.  My grandfather and his brothers were pearl merchants in Bahrain in the early 20th century.  My grandfather lived here for a large part of his life, and so did my father.

If that’s not good enough for some people, well too bad!  I do believe I have the right to talk about this country as my own, and I’m proud to have made this lovely island my home.

About 7areghum:

At some point during the show Derrick showed a clip of Facebook being used to identify and shame protesters by pro-government groups.  He then asked me my thoughts on the social media being used for this.  My reply was that I have not seen Facebook being used for this, which is true (I don’t lie by the way).  I thought he was referring to Facebook as that’s what the clip shows.

I am however aware of 7areghum  (loosely translated, “he who burns them”), who is very active on Twitter. I can’t say that I’m a fan of online bullying -- regardless of who does it.

About my late father:

Some anti-government Twitter users saw fit to insult me by negatively comparing me to my late father, who believed “in freedom and love,” as if I don’t.

It’s seems that many anti-government people (who hate Saudi Arabia) expect that my father -- who worked for 40 years in the Saudi government serving four Saudi kings and was close to the Al-Khalifa family -- would have supported them.  What a ridiculous thought!

My father believed in human rights and freedom, just like I do.  But I doubt he would have approved of the methods employed by the protestors/rioters such as attacking innocent bystanders, blocking roads, kidnapping Asian workers and insulting Gulf rulers, many of whom he knew personally.

Like me, my late father believed that change should come in a studied, evolutionary manner.   I hope this brings an end to this discussion.

What about the future?

If yesterday’s show -- and the ensuing online aftermath -- proves anything, it’s that there is a huge gap in perception about the Bahrain crisis and still a lot of bad blood.  This proves to me that we need to work so much harder on reconciliation.

As for Zainab, I bear her no ill will at all.  I may not be a fan of what she says and how she says it, but I wish her nothing but the best.

Talk to you soon and God bless.

PS  Here’s the show for those of you who missed it.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeVa3WP0QLQ

Following from my previous blog post, here’s the video of the presentation I gave at the Deutche Welle Global Media Forum 2011.  I was part of a group of 8 Arab bloggers who were talking about the social media.

We were each given 7 minutes, but I went up to 10.  I have two versions for you, the first is the actual video of me talking.  The second is just my slides with the audio.

Hope you like them, and let me know what you think:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BRgjC85X2U

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbpkXDG32DI

I’m sitting here in my hotel room on the night of the second day of the Deutche Welle Global Media Forum.  This year’s theme is “human rights in a globalised world.”  What an interesting two days it’s been!  I’ve been to tons of conferences over my adult life, but it’s the first time I attend a media forum – let alone one focused on human rights.

I felt like a fish out of water.  Most delegates were freedom-fighter types and human rights activists.  Of course these are noble causes but not any that I ever chose to champion.  The closest thing I’ve done I guess is my writings on child abuse.

Anyway, I’ve met some very interesting and passionate people, and I feel very honoured to be among them here at the Forum – even though I might have very different views on certain things.  So first things first, I want to thank Dr. Ronald Meinardus and his team from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for inviting me to attend.  It has been most enlightening.

Second, a quick introduction to my fellow delegates:

From left: Tarik Nesh-Nash, Mustafa Saad, Dr. Ronald Mienardus, Marcell Shewaro, some good looking guy from Bahrain, Moahmmed Al-Qaq, Rachid Filali, Munir Al-Jaghoub

Tarik Nesh-Nash from Morrocco – an IT expert and human rights advocate

Rachid Filali from Algeria – a blogger/journalist, business owner and human rights advocate

Basem Fathy from Egypt – a Friedrich Naumann Foundation employee and very passionate activist

Mohammed Al-Qaq from Jordan – as I understand it, an alternative arts blogger, among other things

Mustafa Saad from Iraq – a young photographer and blogger

Monir Al Jaghoub from Palestine – a Fateh spokesman and active blogger

Marcell Shewaro – a funny, witty and slightly crazy human rights advocate from Syria

A very interesting and diverse bunch!

Now moving on, I want to share with you some random reflections from the conference.  I felt a little (but just a little) like going into the lion’s den.  Here I am a Royalist, that is not quite sure that a fully-fledged democracy is right for us (at least not today), at a conference that’s all about democracy and spreading it around the world,  (see my extensive blog post about the topic here).

Even the word “royalist” turned a few people off; I guess even the pro-democracy crowd has it’s hard core zealots.  Here are three main take aways:

1) The damage done to Bahrain’s image is VERY extensive:

Whatever reputation Bahrain has managed to build over the last 10 years seems to have been completely destroyed. When I tell people I’m from Bahrain I get a lot of reactions like “Oh how are you guys doing? Hang in there!”  And there were one or two references to how “evil” the ruling family in Bahrain supposedly is.

Between the rioters and the security forces who crushed them, the country’s reputation was ripped to shreds.  It will take a long time to fix.

2) The whole Shia majority, Sunni minority thing seems to be very ingrained:

I had a brief discussion with an American journalist about Bahrain, and the first thing he said was “the problem you guys have is that you have a minority Sunni group ruling a majority Shiite group.”  When I tried to explain my point of view on this he was not very interested (By the way, you can see my previous writings on the matter here).  I guess some people prefer to see the world in black or white, where other shades of grey are not allowed.

3) Europeans – and the prodemocracy crowd – don’t like the “we are not ready for democracy” argument:

Apparently this “argument” has been used a lot by various dictators over the years, including Hosni Mubarak and Bashar Al-Asad.  I’ve heard one or two people argue that all Arabs are ready for democracy.

I disagree, as I’ve said before, having an overnight change to a fully fledged democracy is very dangerous, and I think it will create more problems than it will solve.  However, it seems the end result for all enlightened nations is a democracy, and I guess we should work towards it, otherwise the uprisings will never stop.  But far more importantly in my opinion, comprehensive reforms need to take place.  I prefer a slow, steady evolutionary process.

Of course, there were a few others who said that the Arab world was not ready for democracy.  Among them an Algerian, who said that 200,000 people died in a civil war that came about after the introduction of democracy in his country.  He was very wary of democracy.

The conference was held at the former German parliament building in Bonn

“Not the same”

Also, when I mentioned that Bahrain was not the same as Tunisia and Egypt, a fellow panellist very politely chewed me up for that comment.  He disagreed and said that they were the same.  Of course there are similarities, but it’s not the same.  To give a slightly unusual example, if two neighbours are having marital problems at the same time on the same street, can we automatically assume the problems are similar? Do they both have the same solution? No one seems to like it when I ask why didn’t the Bahrain revolution work while so many others did?  The reason is that it was not popular with all of the population (though popular with very many, and many of the demands legitimate)

The lack of impartiality of the global media:

It seems I was not the only person who thought the global media did not give an accurate picture of what is happening in their country.  In fact, I heard this over and over.  After having heard different views on this, including from various journalists, I’ve come to some conclusions as to why this problem exists.  Allow me to share them with you:

- The media often (but not always) will reflect the views of the funders of the media (be it newspapers or TV).  A Turkish delegate gave the example of a big Turkish newspaper which was owned by a conglomerate, and that they often reflected the views of the holding company.

- The media will often (but not always) follow the official view of it’s country.  CNN often reflects US policy, and the BBC often reflects UK policy.

- Many journalists are overworked and have tight deadlines.  They just don’t have the time or the inclination to look at a story from all angles.  They are also limited by column space in print publications so they have to leave things out.

- Journalists often cannot travel to rural parts of developing countries and therefore have to be creative and rely on not-so-reliable sources of information.  They’d rather write something than nothing at all.

- Journalists are emotional creatures just like the rest of us, and will adopt a cause.  They’ll overlook certain facts to support the cause.  I think this is most evident with CNN and BBC’s reporting of the Bahrain crisis.  They adopted the cause of the protestors, and were quite willing to ignore facts that made them look bad in any way.

So, the problem is not so much with the international media, which I think doesn’t even pretend to be balanced, but rather with us.  Or to be more specific, the problem is with our expectations.  There were protesters but there were also tanks (though never used).  Should we really expect the international media to listen to the side that had brought out the tanks, no matter how logical and sound their argument might be?

Instead of whining and complaining about the international media’s bias, we should focus on being proactive, and bringing the facts forward in an unemotional, balanced way, hoping that someone in the international media will pick some of it up.  But what does not help is when our own media is polarised and being overly aggressive in demonising the rioters.

We also most certainly need a massive upgrade of our media infrastructure, and we need a proper English TV channel.  I think this is a real must.

Okay, moving on…

My presentation:

I tried to give a more balanced, realistic view of the Bahrain crisis.  I emphasised that not all the rioters were peaceful, and that the attempted revolution was not popular with everyone.  I started the presentation with the statement “I want to give a full disclosure, I’m a royalist.  And if anyone wants to have a discussion about that later with me then I’m happy to do so…” I could see some people cringe at the mention of the “R” word.  But as I spoke I also saw some aha moments on some people’s faces.  I’m not sure how much of a difference I made in the scheme of things, but I’m glad nonetheless that I was able to express my point of view.

I’ve done an audio recording of the presentation.  At some point I’ll add that to the slide show and make a video out of it to share with you.

Well, that’s all I can think of for now.  Time to go to bed I think.  Tomorrow last day of the GMF, look forward to it.

Talk to you soon.

============================
Addendum:

I write this addition on the night of the third and last day of the conference.  I felt I had more to say as a whole panel discussion was dedicated to the topic of advocacy vs. objectivity in the media.  It was a very enlightening discussion, of which I want to share some thoughts.  The panel consisted of various journalists, a diplomat and a Columbia Professor of International Media and Politics:

Here are some of the points I jotted down, made from different members of the panel:

- One journalist said that Al-Jazeera gained a lot of respect in their early years because they showed a different side of things.  Apparently Al-Jazeera (then) described themselves in the following way” most news channels show where the bombers take off from – we show where the bombs land.”

- Many in the media felt Al-Jazeera was far too light on Bahrain compared to Egypt, Tunisia and Syria.

- There was a lot of discussion about the difference between journalism and advocacy.  One panellist explained that journalism is about translating events as one sees them, but advocacy was more about championing a cause.  But more than one panelist stressed that if a journalist is advocating a cause that they should make that clear, and still be transparent and truthful.

- There was a lot of talk of there being no such thing as impartiality to begin with.  But it was stressed that “truthfulness” should always be sought after.

- A panellist said something to the effect of “Journalists are looking for the truth, and the truth can be painful [...] the advocate can stretch the truth.”

- One panelist emphasised the point that you can’t tell a story unless you have a point of view, otherwise it’s not interesting.

- One member of the panel said that the problem with modern journalism was that there wasn’t enough investment in investigative journalism and in journalism training.

- There was a discussion about “citizen journalism” – via social media – vs. traditional journalism.  It seems most agreed that the journalistic and media scene had certainly changed, but that traditional media is not gone yet.  One person commented “we still need informed commentary from well-trained journalists.”

- One panelist raised an interesting point.  He said that journalists should always have accuracy, fairness and integrity, but that does not mean being neutral or impartial.

- Another quote “journalism does not provide prescriptions, but advocacy demands actions.”

I have to say I now understand journalism and journalists a lot better.

Bye.

I attended a gathering today with His Majesty King Hamad.  The gathering was with Bahrain’s media and journalists.  I have to say I left feeling buzzed and very excited.

Of course, it’s always nice to see our monarch, but what really excited me was the fact that reforms and dialogue are still on.  I arrived at Rawdha Palace a around 3:40 pm or so.  There was a massive hall with sofa’s arranged all around.  We had arranged seating and I was seated near the entrance.  I was later joined by Tweep Saqer Al-Khalifa.

His Majesty came in around 20 minutes later.  He read a speech emphasising reform and dialogue, and he announced that dialogue will start on July 1st (Quick side note to the doubters if I may: told you so!) [Sorry, the immature 10-year-old in me could not resist]

Someone tweeted me asking who the dialogue would be with.  I’m afraid he did not say.  Personally, I’m guessing with opposition members, National Unity people and perhaps another cross-section of society.  But this is pure guess-work on my behalf.

The King also emphasised the importance of the media in the on-going reform and dialogue processes.  When His Majesty was done Mr. Nabeel Al-Hamar, the King’s media advisor and a Tweep, gave a speech thanking the King for his support to the media.  He also emphasised the call for “no more royal pardons”.  Not sure I liked that bit, I guess I’m a very tiny minority in the “pro-government” camp who has no problem with more royal pardons.  But that’s not what today’s topic is about…

After the speech the King had a casual monologue with us talking about Bahrain’s peace-loving history.  It seemed from the tone of his voice that he had a cold of some sort, which might have been the reason why the meeting was delayed from Sunday.  He kept on emphasising the importance of dialogue and reform, and his abhorrence of sectarianism.

I saw a lot of familiar faces at the gathering, including some of the media personalities who became celebrities (super stars actually) during the crisis; Sawsan Al-Shaer, Faisal Al-Shaikh, Saeed Al-Hamad and a few others.

Before the King came I was wondering if I should tweet or not, but I decided to go for it.  I tweeted the whole time His Majesty spoke.  But I was sitting far enough not for him to notice, I did not want him to think I was being rude.  I also had an internal debate whether I should take some photos, and in the end I decided it was okay, as there were film crews and photographers in attendance.  I took a few shots with my iPhone, but was later – very politely – asked to delete them, which I did.

At the end it was time for us to say hello, or rather good bye, to the King.  When my turn came up the King looked at me a smiled and said “Suhail, you’re here??”  I don’t think he knows anything about my blog.

Shaikh Fawaz Al-Khalifa, president of the Information Affairs Authority then told his majesty that I was “from the social media.”  I had a very brief chat with the King which went something like this:

HM: “How is your mother?”

Me: “She is well and sends her regards, my lord [tal omrak].”

HM: “It’s good to see you again.  Please pass my regards to your mother and the rest of the family.”

Me: “Will do sir, thank you and God bless you.”

I always feel touched and humbled by His Majesty’s kindness.  He really liked my late father and always makes a point of asking about my mother.

And so I left.  I felt so optimistic.  I’m still on such a high.  Things can only get better.  True, reforms 1.0 may have faltered, but I think we’ll get it right this time.  There is no turning back from the reform and dialogue process.  The King emphasised more than once that he learnt a lot of lessons during the recent crisis.

Personally, I plan to be actively involved in the dialog and reform process (through my blog).  No more watching on the sidelines, everyone has to work to make this country better and stronger than it ever was.  Let the naysayers and haters fester in their hate, I’ll have none of it.

Talk to you soon.

PS  Here’s my twitter timeline for those of you interested:

At Rawdha Palace waiting for HM. I think there will be an announcement. Will tweet if appropriate. If I can’t then blog later. #Bahrain

Lots of familier faces…

Sitting next to tweep @saqeralkhalifa. Waiting for HM. #Bahrain

HM here. Talking about importance of media role in #Bahrain

HM talks about importance of lessons learnt from crisis. #Bahrain

HM: reforms cannot be stopped.

HM: who does not want a more effective government and institutions? #Bahrain

HM: democracy is very important to us and #Bahrain

Dialogue to start 1st of July. No pre-conditions. #Bahrain

HM: we hope everyone will partcipate in upcoming elections for empty seats. #Bahrain

HM: new govt budget largest in history to support #Bahrain economy.

HM: the recent crisis heart us greatly. #Bahrain

HM; the media is an important partner in reform and we will support as much as we can. #Bahrain

@nalhamer Giving speech thanking HM. #Bahrain

@najebalhamer Asking for all culprits to be punished and asks for no pardons.

@najebalhamer Emphasises importance of security.

HM now having casual chat with us…

HM: all are welcome to dialogue but must be done respectfully.

HM: the crisis almost tore Bahrain apart. Restoring security and stability was vital. We are optimistic about the future.

HM drawing parallels with 1970′s Shah who said Bahrain belongs to Bahrain.

HM: Bahrain has always been a peace loving nation. What happened recently was shocking.

HM: the government is – and has been – trying to improve itself.

HM: the parliament can make decisions without interference from ministers.

HM: have we ever stopped a proposed law from the parliament? We want the best for #Bahrain

HM: democracy is an ongoing, evolutionary process. #Bahrain

HM: I challenge any judge to come forward to say that I got involved in any case ever! #Bahrain

HM: we respect the independance of the judiciary. #Bahrain

I like what HM is saying. Bottom line, reforms and dialogue will continue. #Bahrain

HM: the majority of Bahrainis did not condone the recent events [violence and protests] #bahrain.

HM: one group cannot trespass on the rights of others. #Bahrain

HM: what gets better results, dialogue or protests?

HM: it is not right to say this % or that % is sunni or shia. We abhore sectarinsm. #Bahrain

HM: we love all the people of Bahrain…

HM: no religion is preffered over another.

HM: we mourn all Bahrainis that pass away.

HM: many countries have tensions. We are not the first country to have problems.

HM thanking every one attending. Dialogue and reform will continue.

HM again emphasises importance of media again. HM: proud of Bahraini media.

Okay, event over. Took some photos but was politely asked to delete them. Feeling VERY optimistic about the future! #Bahrain

Thirty eight years ago, on the 26th of May 1973, I was born to a Saudi father and a German mother, in the sleepy industrial city of Offenbach, in Hessen, Germany.  The old cliche is true, time does fly!

I had a wonderful childhood in Riyadh, and came to Bahrain in 1985.  I was twelve when we came here, and I have to say I loved growing up here.  I’m very proud to call this wonderful land my home.

And like everyone else, I’m deeply saddened by the terrible crisis we went through recently.  My heart bleeds for my adopted country and it’s people.  It will take us a long time to get over this, but I think we can and we will get over this crisis.
If we as a society work hard together -- and ignore the haters -- we can rebuild Bahrain into a better and stronger society than it ever was. And it is with that in mind that I’d like to make my birthday offer to you:

Join the DreamBody Centre this month and get four gifts from me.  To find out more, just watch the four and half minute video below:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TG-aZSLHrY

This offer ends as soon as I run out of the 19 gift bags containing the poster, bumper sticker, key chain and car shade run out.  Call us on 17613352 to find out more.

God bless Bahrain!