The Week That Was in Bahrain · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahrain made the headlines worldwide this week after 58 party-goers were killed when a traditional dhow sank, off the Kingdom last Thursday (March 31).
Bloggers were quick to react to the incident, within hours of the tragedy, and continued to update their blogs with developments.
Strav covered the incident in seven posts, with the last update featuring a link to another Bahrain-based blogger Ashish Gorde's site*, whose friend had died in the accident.
Ever so clever with the use of words, Manama Republic comments on the causes of the tragedy, showing how the tilt continues in Bahrain, even after 58 people have lost their lives in the tragedy.
“Ominously enough, the same factors cited as probable causes: overloading, structural failure, tilt and bad captaining, are the very ones giving rise to this sinking feeling that the country has no better cruising chance than that of the capsized ship. (Speaking of tilt, have you noticed that all those representing the sovereign reach of the state at the press conference were exclusively from one end of the sectarian divide?),” he writes.
He also wonders how the government has washed its hands off the tragedy and why no one in power has resigned after the incident.
“There may or may not be safety procedures. The ship may or may not be licensed to sail. The captain may or may not be qualified, or pressured, or guilty. One thing is clear, the state, like your favourite software provider, lets you use any avilable service at your own risk. If it works for you, then fine. If not, then hardluck. The state does not assume any joint or several liability. No employee of the state shall resign therefore, as there is no dereliction of duty. The duty of the employees of the state, high and low, lies evidently elsewhere,” he notes.
Mahmood Al Yousif too reports on the incident, calling for an investigation into its causes and for bringing those responsible for it to justice.
“(I)…fervently hope that government agencies in charge of regulating the tourism, safety and security industries put in sterner laws to protect visitors and residents alike, and mount an honest and transparent investigation of this disaster in order to learn from it and save future lives.
“People who were directly responsible for flouting safety laws should be punished, and this business should undergo an immediate investigation into their operation, training and certification of their staff and their safety measures,” he writes.
Meanwhile, bloggers abroad, like Dr Haitham in Alaska, were glued to their TVs following the news, which has certainly touched the hearts of all those who had heard about it.
Away from Bahrain, Palestine's new Hamas Government antics take a thrashing from Haitham Sabbah, who is annoyed with its intolerant stance towards what liberal Palestinians have no objections against – belly dancers.
“Let me tell you something guys. If Hamas is going to fail (and they will) and get kicked out of office, this is how it is going to happen. Their stupidity and the internal condemnation of pissed enough Palestinians. Palestinians are a famously liberal and secular group of Arabs, and after all this, the vast majority remains so,” he writes.
In worldly matters, Hasan, a Bahraini student in Japan, continues to battle the odds with a new apartment he has moved to after spending a well-deserved holiday in Bahrain. Like the building developer we just bought our apartment from here in Canada, his Japanese landlady has a quick fix-it solution for anything and everything which could crop up.
“I have the COOLEST Landlady in the world, who knows EXACTLY how to trick me into anything,” writes Hasan.
“I moved into the appartment a couple of days ago, and soon after, my ofuro (japanese-style bathtub) stopped working! So, I called some people to fix it, but as soon as they arrived she sent them back, saying that she will have a friend of hers look at it. She then had it checked, and they told her that it was beyond all repair (it was a little old). So, she came back to me, asking for forgiveness by appeasing me with FOOD (which always works with guys).”
* Ashish Gorde's site is only available to subscribers.