Evolutionary process: Higher-Education Reform in Bahrain

Why is everyone is playing the blame-game, trying to figure out whether the current higher-education mess is the fault of private universities or lack of government regulation and standards for them?

The simple answer is that here in Bahrain, as well as anywhere else in the Arab World, it is much easier for us to blame someone else than to fix the problem. Everyone wants part of the glory, but when the shit hits the fan, no one will claim responsibility.

I must admit, that when this situation began, I played my own part in this blame-game, sometimes blaming the Ministry of Education (MoE), but mostly blaming private universities for their greed and lack of ethical and moral standards.

I remain convinced that private universities are the ones with the most blood on their hands. However, I am also convinced that behind all this will be a positive outcome and at the end of the day, this education mess is good for Bahrain.

True, it might have damaged the reputation of Bahrain’s education system. True, it has screwed over students, both current and past, but only in the short-run.

Education reform, or any reform in Bahrain for that matter, is an evolutionary process. That is partly due to our transition from developing country to developed country, although we still have a lot of developing to do before we reach our end goal.

Be optimistic. Just like any other evolutionary process, the fit will survive and the weak will be swept away. In the end, Bahrain will have a better regulated private higher-education system with only the best of the private institutions offering over-valued degrees.

On Bullshit

I have not posted any new enteries for a while. That was due partly to my vacation abroad. However, I also felt an overwhelming lack of interest in providing any commentary. For sometime , I was convinced that whatever I post on this website is a personal opinion and shouldn’t be forced upon others. I guess that opinion was formulated by my frustration with the Bahraini press (who specialize in bullshit). But all has changed now. All bullshit aside, lets talk about things and opinions that matter!

Islamist Hypocrisy & Palestine: The Olama Islamic Council example

I read an interesting item in al-Wasat newspaper that I thought I should pass along. Nothing about it is unpredictable. In fact, it’s the usual, humdrum response we’ve come to expect from all Islamist political groups.

If that’s so, then what makes it interesting? You may ask. Well, it’s interesting because it exposes the hypocritical way these groups approach the issue of Palestine. I am fully aware that the general public opposes dialogue with Israel. But why must we ignore the need for dialogue between Palestinians? Before I get ahead of myself, let me offer you a translation of the Olama Islamic Council in Bahrain’s response to Sh. Salman’s article in the Washington Post. Mind you, it does not mention Bahrain or Bahraini leadership. But then again, how thick in the head do you have to be not to get their message!

“The messages of peace demanded by the United States of America, in the form of normalizing relations with the Zionist entity, and the concrete measures taken to improve Arab relations with it, are only intended to deceive the general publics of the Muslim World, which refuse any settlement, normalization, or convergence with it. Only the vulnerable (people of Palestine) and their valiant resistance movement will pay the price of such an agreement”.

They speak of Palestine’s ‘valiant resistance movement’. What Palestinian resistance movement? Last time I checked, the PLO (Fatah) and Hamas were at each other’s throats. Too busy butchering each other than 'resisting' Israel. Both sides of the so called Palestinian 'resistance' are disreputable and pathetic. Fatah refuses to accept Hamas’ right to form a government, even though the later won 74 of the 132 available seats in the 2006 election. While Hamas refuses to recognize the need for it to abandon terrorist tactics – suicide bombing and firing rockets at civilians is terrorism – in order for it to become an acceptable political partner.

What has Essa Qassim and the OIC – and all the other Islamists who 'care' deeply about Palestine, for that matter – done to help the Palestinians reconcile? NOTHING. When Israelis kill Palestinians, they scream murder, which, rightly so, it is. But when Palestinians murder each other,there is nothing but silence. We have a 'Society against Normalization with the Zionist Enemy' ready to jump on any mention of government contact with Israel, whether it is the Foreign Minister shaking the hand of his Israeli counterpart, or the recovery of Bahraini detainees from Israeli prisons. But do we see anyone rushing to form a 'Society against Inter-Palestinian Slaughter', or 'Society for Inter-Palestinian Peace'? No we don’t.
What do we hear from these Islamists instead? They repeat the same nonsense of courage and resistance, never speaking of peace our even reconciliation between the Palestinians. The all-wise clerics claim that efforts made to achieve peace are “intended to deceive the general publics of the Muslim World”. Who gave you the right, Essa Qassim and the rest of the OIC, to speak on behalf of the “general publics of the Muslim World” and declare that they all “refuse settlement, normalization, or convergence”? Surely you haven’t seen war, having spent your life between the relative tranquility of Bahrain and the shiny domes of Qum. Had you seen war, Mr. Qassim, you’d be begging for peace. For that reason, none of you are entitled to speak on behalf of anyone other than yourselves. Especially not on behalf of the people of Palestine, who have endured more than you can imagine.

Reactions to Sh. Salman's call for dialouge with Israel

As I expected, Bahrainis weren’t pleased with Sh. Salman’s article in the Washington Post yesterday. Al-Wefaq’s opposition MP Jameel Kadhim announced on al-Alam News channel (Iran’s preposterous Arabic language news channel) that Bahraini opposition rejects Sh. Salman’s call for Arabs to engage citizens of Israel in dialogue to promote peace, as he saw it as another form of normalization with the Jewish state. Mr. Kadhim stated that “the Zionist entity in its entirety, both government and citizenry, poses a threat to the region”. Consequently, he sees that engaging them in dialogue is meaningless and improper.

This criticism comes from a member of a Shia Islamist bloc that is eager to tarnish the reputation of the Bahraini government and suck up to Iran’s turbaned puppet-masters. Similarly, his statement was presented on an Iranian propaganda agency eager to denounce the Bahraini government for its ties to the United States and, now according to them, Israel. I suppose that says something about the credibility of Mr. Kadhim’s statement. After all, al-Alam does represent the views of Holocaust denying Ahmedinejad. So let’s go over this once more. Bahraini religious zealots teaming up with Iranian Holocaust deniers. what a match!

I suggest everyone read Ms. Mariam al-Sharooqi’s article in al-Wasat (7/19). For those of you unfamiliar with al-Wasat, it is a Bahraini opposition paper that serves the Shia community. It also is, in my opinion, infamous for its fondness for over exaggeration and constant nagging (who can blame them, their Bahraini. It runs in our blood). Ms. al-Sharooqi’s editorial highlights the benefits of Sh. Salman’s proposal, even if the majority of al-Wasat’s readership is quick to dismiss it. She relates a personal experience in which, following a lecture at the University of Minnesota, an Israeli student asked her about Arab society’s views on terrorism and the Holocaust. She responded by saying that Islam rejects terrorism and that Arabs do not deny the Holocaust (like al-Alam and Ahmedinejad do). The Israeli added that not all Israelis oppose the peace process and that some even recognize Israel’s involvement in the Deir Yassin and Sabra and Shatila massacres. Ms. al-Sharooqi ends her article with an appeal to her dismissive audience. Dialogue will do more for the future of our children and the future of Palestine than mutual resentment.

Link to Mariam al-Sharooqi's al-Wasat article

http://www.alwasatnews.com/2508/news/read/172948/1.html

Winds of change: Bahrain's approach to Israel

For very long Bahrain has approached Israel as all Arab states do. The hostile, tired and drawn-out attitude we maintained did not work then, and will not provide results in the future. Luckily, our leadership has realized that it is necessary to change this policy. Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa announced today in an op-ed piece in the Washington Post that Arabs and Israelis must put their differences aside and engage in constructive dialogue. His Highness recognized that the Israeli public is reluctant to accept a peace agreement because they view Arabs negatively. As a result, he calls on Arabs to reach out to Israelis through their media outlets, in order to present Arabs as willing partners in any upcoming peace-talks.

But if Sh. Salman is willing to build bridges for peace, most Arabs are eager to burn them down. The response of Bahraini Parliamentarians won’t shock any of us. They will without a doubt denounce Israel and call any normalization of relations the Jewish state and Bahrain an impossibility. Huffing and puffing, they will shake their fists in the air and then depart, having achieved nothing. Another missed opportunity at peace. So goes the story of the Middle East!

Sh. Salman himself predicts this reaction in his editorial. He announces that those “equating communication with normalization, may think that we are moving too fast toward normalization”. But that is not the case, as he does not call for diplomatic relations but advises Arabs to engage the Israeli public. This, he says, will “move minds and gradually build a relationship of trust and mutual interest, without which long-term peacemaking is impossible”.

Furthermore, Sh. Salman is also trying to tell Arabs that Israel is a reality and won’t disappear. The Jews won’t pack and leave. Learn to live with it!!

Name & shame those who abuse workers!!

Every now and then Bahraini newspapers, especially the English-language ones, will run articles relating tragic stories of South-Asian laborers and their abusive employers. Today I read yet another sad story in Gulf Daily News about a Sri Lankan house maid who was not given any salary for 20 months!!! Last time I checked, forced labor without pay is slavery, which has been illegal in Bahrain for a looong time.

The article mentions that the Bahraini employer’s wife reported him to authorities for failing to pay the maid after he planned to deport her without compensating her for 20 months of slavery. The wife, a school teacher, said that what her husband was doing was wrong and against human rights. She added that she wanted to teach her “daughters that this is not how people should be treated”. It is good to know that at least someone in that family has a conscience.

One thing I would like to touch upon is Bahraini newspapers’ practice of hiding the identities of those that commit offences. In the article mentioned above, the name of the Sri Lankan made is mentioned, but not that of her employer.

Do they keep him anonymous to protect his honor? An honorable man would not cheat an honest working person of their hard earned money. May be if he is named and shamed in the press, he would think twice about swindling this poor, helpless maid of her money. If not for the sake of goodness and morality, then for the sake of keeping his name from being dragged in the gutter.

I say name and shame these criminals. People must recognize that hiring servants is a privilege and not a right. If you cannot afford to pay them or treat them like human beings then spare them the misery slaving around your household.

Israel, Bahrain, and the 'Free Gaza' detainees

I have been hearing, in the media and through personal discussions, quite a lot about the Bahrainis detained by Israel as they tried to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. Those involved are being lavished with praise and admiration in the public for their so-called ‘heroism’ and courage in facing Israel, the much despised ghoul of the Middle East. Following their prompt release and return to Bahrain, the detainees, who were on board a ‘Free Gaza’ protest ship named the Spirit of Humanity, were quick to condemn Israel and demanded that Bahrain refuse to recognize Israel as a sovereign state. Quite honestly, I am bothered by their actions and the local response to the incident. It highlights the acute lack of understanding among the Bahraini public of international relations and the Middle East crisis.

Now before you label me pro-Israeli or ‘Zionist’, a term our insolent, religiously conservative countrymen are quick to use against anyone that disagrees with them, please refrain from making a judgment until you’re done reading this post. Israel is problematic and stubborn. But wouldn’t any other state act in the same fashion if it was given a blank check by the strongest country in the world? The blockade on Gaze is criminal and inhumane. Many innocent lives were lost due to the carelessness of the Israeli Army and their lack of respect for the safety of civilians.

With that said, I wish now to proceed and address the irresponsibility of Bahrainis released from detention by Israel. Following their detention, the government of Bahrain was put between a rock and a hard place, forced to negotiate their release from a state that it does not recognize diplomatically. I do not know if Bahrain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) negotiated directly with the Israelis or through an Arab state that recognizes Israel (Egypt or Jordan). However, the detainees were handed over to a Bahraini delegation, of “official capacity” according to the Jerusalem Post, at the Ben-Gurion International Airport the day following their initial detention.

As if what they had done had not caused enough embarrassment to the state, different organizations whose sole agenda is refusal of diplomatic recognition of Israel, demanded an explanation from the government of how a Bahraini delegation ended up on the tarmac of Ben-Gurion International Airport, which they saw as Bahraini recognition of Israel, instead of asking Egypt or Jordan to collect the detainees and then have them flown back home. How dare they insult the government after MoFA’s diplomatic scramble to ensure the detainees prompt release, from a country it doesn’t have diplomatic relations with nonetheless? What’s wrong with negotiating the release of Bahraini detainees with Israel? After all the government has to perform its duty toward its citizens, wherever they may be detained.

Peace can never be achieved in the Middle East as long as we have people that refuse to sit down and carry out dialogue or negotiations. I encourage all Arab states to establish an informal, concealed channel of communication with Israel. That way they can, at least, talk about their disagreements.

Bahraini employers of Indian laborers forced to pay 950 BD in insurance fees

I read an article this morning in al-Ayam newspaper, which announced that the Indian Embassy in Bahrain will charge Bahraini employers of Indian laborers 950 BD (more than $2000) in insurance fees, to be deposited in an Indian bank. As expected, Bahraini employers of South-Asian laborers were infuriated by the decision. These employers are already dissatisfied with the decision of the Labor Market Regulatory Authority’s (LMRA) decision to charge them a monthly fee of 10 BD (A little more than $20) for each laborer. According to the employers, these fees are hurting their business.

I’m glad that the Indian government is expecting these employers to dish out a fairly high sum of money. Asian laborers are often expected to work in places that lack the simplest of safety regulations, where they often are involved in accidents. If a worker harms himself in a way that would render him useless to his employer, the 950 BD insurance fee will be very helpful to him when he returns to his family. It goes without saying that if the worker is involved in any sort of incapacitating accident, the employer will terminate the sponsorship agreement and replace the worker ASAP, without offering any compensation or severance pay.

Waheed al-Dossari, of Bahrain’s Fishermen’s Society, has announced that the fishermen, along with their hired South-Asian laborers, plan to stage a demonstration in front of the Indian embassy to decry its government’s decision, which he considers to be damaging to their profitability. Sadly, Bahrain’s business owners and laborer-hirers, such as Mr. al-Dossari, don’t understand the implications behind these decisions.

Firstly, the Indian embassy is simply looking after its subjects and seeking to improve their living and working conditions in the Arab Gulf. Workers are often underpaid and treated inhumanely, which has caused them to riot in Dubai, Kuwait and Bahrain in the past couple of years. The Indian government recognized the urgency of the matter and took matters into its own hands, following a sluggish response by Gulf governments. Secondly, Bahrain’s LMRA’s decision to charge employers a fee for workers in not intended to harm the employer or business owner, but to improve the job market for Bahraini workers and end our addiction to cheap South-Asian labor.

My message to the employers is to remember that you have an obligation to the safety and general wellbeing of your South-Asian laborers. Additionally, and most importantly, you have an obligation to your countrymen. Not only do you have an obligation to integrate low-skilled Bahraini workers into the job market, but your reliance on South-Asian laborers offers you no incentive to improve performance or increase wages.

Hurray for post-secondary education reform!!

I’ve always felt bad for anyone that has the misfortune of being the Minister of Education (MoE). Not only must he carry the burden of ensuring that kids receive a proper education, which is a huge responsibility, but he must also attend the very boring and redundant graduation ceremonies of numerous post-secondary institutions (I can count 13 off the top of my head). Frankly, I think that it is improper for a gentlemen of that standing to have to waste his evening with something like this after putting up long hours at work, all while having to put on a stiff smile while handing degrees to kids in funny hats and loud make-up.

If you think that’s bad, imagine how awful it must be for Dr. Majid al-Nuaimi to sort out the post-secondary education mess. Since Bahrain decided to allow the creation of private universities not too long ago, they have mushroomed all across the country. Some in Manama, and some in Saar. Some built actual campuses, while some are on top of Jasmi’s! The situation was bound for disaster, since they all set-up shop without proper regulation or scrutiny. The integrity of education in Bahrain was in jeopardy, and the authorities recognized that.

Finally today, the Quality Assurance Authority for Education and Training (QAAET) released an evaluation Bahrain’s education system that showed that most post-secondary institutions performed poorly. The review used a four level evaluation, in the descending order of “outstanding”, “good”, “satisfactory”, and “poor”. None of the institutions received the highest score, while only three rated as “good”. The Higher-Education Council, headed by MoE Dr. al-Nuaimi decided to issue a series of warnings to these institutions and suspend several programs that do not satisfy its requirements. I applaud Dr. al-Nuaimi for that, but that is not adequate.

Education is not a business, and these universities behave like for-profit money grabbers. The MoE must recognize that first. Second, suspending a few programs within substandard universities won’t encourage others to outperform them. Maybe if they shut down one or two sloppy unis, those running the show will realize the importance of what is at stake. The education of Bahrain’s youth will ensure our future growth and prosperity. Let us not fill this country with inferior and second-rate degree holders, ladies & gentlemen!

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=254365

It's the economy, stupid!

I’ve been on hiatus for the last few days. As a newcomer to this thing called blogging, I feel that I must choose my battles wisely instead of commenting on trivial matters if I am to gain an audience. Simply put, I’ve been looking for something to get my juices going. Something that really pisses me off, depriving me of my inner peace and my naïve belief in the innate wisdom of the Bahraini people. One mustn’t look too hard for this thorny nuisance, as it makes itself visible frequently on the last page of “al-Waqt” newspaper. Yup! You’ve guessed it! I am speaking about none other than the innocent looking Ms. Lamees Daif!

Now you might ask yourself, how this cupcake of a journalist can get under your skin, Mr. Nationalist? Well its simple. Because she doesn’t know what she is taking about!! See, every few weeks, when something malfunctions around the house, a clever little Indian handyman named Francis comes around. Whether it be faulty pipes or a crack in the wall, this man gets shit done. Unfortunately, journalists in Bahrain are not as versatile as Francis, but they think they are. Just because you maintain a column in a newspaper doesn’t qualify you as an expert on all matters of life, whether economic, political or whatever, Ms. Daif.

http://www.alwaqt.com/blog_art.php?baid=11028

Before I get way ahead of myself, above is a link of the article. The essence of what Ms. Daif is trying to say is that the current global financial crisis is a load of rubbish, and private corporations and banks are simply using it as a scapegoat to fire Bahrainis, who are costly to employ, and hire cheaper foreign employees. As if that is not enough to show the reader the extent of Ms. Daif’s simple mindedness, she continues to blame the government for not stopping these PRIVATE enterprises from firing their employees.

Ms. Daif was quite right to point out that Bahrain has done pretty well considering the extent of damage this crisis has caused globally. That is all fair and good in my book! But Ms. Daif seems to refuse to accept that some blowback (in the form of job losses) is inevitable. She claims that the 237 jobs lost (237 is the number of registered complaints with the Bahraini Workers Union, according to her) are due to discriminatory hiring practices carried out by the private sector to sack Bahrainis and hire foreigners. Unless you have been living in a cave, Ms. Daif, or are completely ignorant, you must have heard about the devastating effects of the financial meltdown on other countries. The number of unemployed Americans increased from 13,724,000 to 14,511,000 this past month! If you are not quite convinced yet, let me use a regional example. Dubai, with its fancy towers rocketing up into the sky, has been rocked harder than anyone could’ve expected. People are losing their jobs left and right, and property prices are estimated to have decreased in value by %75. And you still refuse to accept that 237 can lose their jobs in Bahrain, Ms. Daif? We live in the again of globalization, you should be happy the numbers are that low.

Secondly, and I’ll keep it short this time as I feel like I’ve been too harsh on you, what do you expect the government to do? You drag them through the mud, and fail to offer a solution or a way out of this problem. Oh wait a minute, not only are you unqualified to touch on economic matters, but you are also a pathetically useless commentator on political matters as well! The private sector, as the name implies, is PRIVATLEY OWNED. Since we live in a capitalist society, the government cannot tell a company not to fire an employee unless it has a direct stake in it. Only in communist economies can the government interfere with the private enterprise. Luckily for you, Ms. Daif, we don’t live in a communist society. Otherwise, your silly little article wouldn’t be published because you won’t have freedom of speech!

This is why I became a blogger!!

Let me devote my first post to the reasons I have decided to become a blogger. It’s not that I think that I’m smarter than others or that I have anything special to say. Neither am I an idealist that thinks that by keeping a blog, I can save the world and in the end everything will be fine and dandy. NO!

My real motives are simple, actually. I'm sick and tired of people around Bahrain! Just because you have an internet connection doesn't mean you know what’s best for the country. But, oh well!! Americans love to say: if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Therefore, I, ladies and gents, have decided join the online community of Bahraini wanna-be intellectual, nonsense-spewing, political critics.

Dear reader, if you still don't feel you know me like a brother by now , I'll add a brief list of people and places I like and people and places I hate (I never use hate lightly) so you can get the big picture.

• I like: Hamad bin Isa, Riffa FC, and nice architecture (cuz Bahrain is full of shitty architecture and people with bad taste)
• I hate: Khomeini, people that litter, and smutty hijab-wearers (It’s like the equation -1+1=0, doesn’t the smuttiness cancel out any religious basis for wearing it?)