In the video above, a Bahraini police officer reportedly known as Ali Aaref slaps a man carrying his child twice without provocation. The young boy, wrapped in his father’s arm, begins to cry.
The uprising in Bahrain is quite possibly the most ignored in the Middle East and North Africa region. Some of the main news networks in the area, specifically Al Jazeera, have played instrumental roles in limiting the progress of the uprising by almost exclusively ignoring the Bahraini government’s harsh crackdown. Many have also attached sectarian motives to the social unrest in an attempt to delegitimize the protestors’ concerns. The ensuing punditry has painted a situation too intimidating and misleading to approach and the Bahraini regime has taken advantage of this.
As tens of thousands of protestors demand greater political freedom, an end to civil and human rights abuses, and the abdication of King Hamad, the government has pushed back with intimidation tactics aimed at stifling growing political dissent. Dozens have so far been killed, thousands imprisoned, and the majority of the population living in fear or uncertainty.
This is the arrogance of power. The footage above is an accurate example of just how degrading, appalling, and unjustifiable this kind of approach will forever be. What a humiliating experience this must have been for the father who gestures to the officer that his son is in his arms, that he should not have to witness the abuse of his father.
This short video isn’t graphic in the traditional sense but it encapsulates many of the main reasons the Bahraini people demand an end to the repressive monarchical regime.
Editor’s note: It is understood that many readers turn to the blog for Palestine-related news and findings but I hope that situations such as the one revealed in the footage above will be received with the same genuine interest and concern.
Special thanks to Mohammad Sagha for bringing this clip to my attention.
