Bahraini Transformers

It’s not too strange to see that people you knew in the past have changed, for better or worse. It’s become a simple fact of life. Yet there are also those who remain as steadfast in the face of time. I’m not in the process of judging which is wrong or right here, I’m just observing how events erode characters. Or better yet, do events erode masks and show the faces behind?

It amuses me how I see people around me change, not that it’s a bad thing, but how easily they do. Changing ideas, ideals, and principals is not an easy feat in my humble opinion, so how about changing characteristics for example? So the question still remains, what does change people? I have seen in my life people change with positions for example, like when a simple employee that seems to be friendly turns into a power hungry, all controlling superior, but that has become normal I believe. I have also seen people change the way they see other people after a major experience like an accident or quick wealth, yet my real question is how can hundreds, not thousands change in such a short time? This is what I have noticed in my tiny country Bahrain. The mass transformation of thousands of individuals.

I have to admit that the events that took place in Bahrain in 2011 will bring change to any who have lived through them, for better or worse. Some have developed political awareness; some have grown a hatred for all that are different; some discovered a patriotic nationalistic sense, etc. so now the logical next question would be, how would Bahrain be shaped by its ever transforming people? No one can deny that we somehow miss the old Bahrain, and that bringing it back is going to be as successful as bringing a dead person to life. I also believe that dwelling in the nostalgia of old Bahrain is not very productive. The only way available is always forward, but forward does mean more change, and that is something for the future to decide.

I do believe that we as Bahrainis have been naïve for long, I also believe that some form of consciousness of the outside world is always a positive thing. Developing racial divides is never a good thing, nor does religious confrontations. But how about those who never changed? Will they eventually change or will they be swallowed up by the tide? Or will they feel like strangers surrounded by familiar faces? The future is not ours to decide, and we shouldn’t be vain in thinking that we can control it.