Thursday

Well, I'm sure you are seeing things on the news about Bahrain. It's not nearly as bad as it looks. The atmosphere is tense, yet there is no immediate danger around us.

I'll sum up what's been happening so far:

Protesters had been camping at the Pearl Roundabout for a few days. Daily more and more people were joining the crowd. Now, when I say camping out, don't think of Egypt or any of these other more violent countries. It was more like a carnival atmosphere. Entire families with children and infants were there, all enjoying themselves. People set up tents with shisha, there was a popcorn machine. They even set up a projector and were showing TV on the base of the roundabout! It certainly was a very peaceful and almost happy occasion. That was all interrupted this morning. When I woke up at 5:30 I could hear the helicopters going crazy as well as a ton of police sirens and popping sounds. When I turned on the news, I saw that the police had attacked the people camping there. There are conflicting reports about what actually happened. Some say the police attacked without warning; others say that had been asking the people to leave, and since they refused, they attacked. Either way, it wasn't pretty. Three more people were killed, bringing the total deaths to 5. Most of this activity is happening in the area of the Pearl. the injured parties were taken to a nearby hospital and the activity continues to stay in that part of the city. By us things are very quiet. The guys on the corner are still smoking their sheesha pipes and people are buying shawarmas like usual. It seems a bit surreal to see such normal, every day activities and then see the news reports of violent clashes breaking out. It reminds me a bit of when I was in Kenya actually. We are just staying home and playing it safe.