January 2006

28/01/2006
Squabbling doctors tarnish image of noble profession




Vol XXVIII NO. 314 Saturday 28 January 2006



By Amira Al Hussaini



It really is appalling to see what I presumed to be mature professionals resorting to name-calling in their bid to solve a gigantic problem, which touches the lives of the most vulnerable people when they are in genuine need of help.

People, at least most people, only go to the Salmaniya Medical Complex's Accident and Emergency Department, when they are in dire need of professional help.

The last thing they want to think about is whether the doctor is more concerned with their medical condition or with internal politics on the ward.

To think that doctors of all people are squabbling in the open and resorting to name-calling and tarnishing their reputations in public is sickening.

I am all for letting people know about all that concerns them, but to shake their trust in the medical system and the men and women who have dedicated their lives and energy to taking care of them, is really uncalled for.

I also don't understand why the Health Ministry did not intervene earlier and try and solve the issue before it escalated to this level, especially that it has been bubbling for a few months.

Personally, I turned down the opportunity to study medicine because I really didn't think I had the dedication and selflessness to be part of this noble profession.

I guess I was wrong in giving low grades to my character, as time and time again doctors are showing us that they aren't infallible and that they too can attack below the belt, with or without reason.

What is all this talk about some emergency doctors allegedly "bringing Arab women to the ward at night"?

This certainly is a far cry from the days when a doctor refused to treat my sister about three years ago, when a wok full of oil tipped on her, giving her second and third degree burns all over her thighs and legs.

I immediately rushed her to the SMC's emergency, where a bearded male doctor reluctantly glanced at the injury and sent her to the dressing room for further treatment.

He didn't even take a second look at the scalded thighs, which made me mad, especially when the wounds got infected the next day and another doctor said that she should have been hospitalised there and then for a skin graft operation.

My sister still carries the gruesome marks on her thighs, a daily reminder of how a modest doctor could damage a girl's self-esteem.

Now parliament is debating whether to discuss the issue of the squabbling doctors at SMC or not.

Oh please!

Let the doctors solve their own problems and get back to doing their jobs.

Parliament too has a full agenda and issues to discuss, as their days are numbered.

l Amira Al Hussaini currently lives in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.


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21/01/2006
Time we gave migrant workers their due respect
Vol XXVIII NO. 307 Saturday 21st January 2006




BY AMIRA AL HUSSAINI

How long will we just sit back and read stories about housemaids being abused in Bahrain? I realise that the Migrant Workers Protection Society is doing all it can, after the plight of runaway housemaids comes to their attention and the damage is done, but not before and I am in no position to blame them for that.

They are doing a great job, something which is much needed if Bahrain wants to live up to its reputation as a safe haven for migrant workers, who have left their families and lives back home to look for a better future overseas.

Like everything else in Bahrain, whatever happens behind closed doors is a shameful secret and homes are a protected sanctuary, which they should be.

But householders are responsible for all that happens under their roof and such abuse should not be tolerated. The perpetrators should be punished.

Bringing in someone from a Third World country to slave all day for BD40 is ridiculous by all standards.

While in Bahrain, I have come across horror stories of families forcing their maids to sleep on kitchen floors, of couples who lock their fridges and of sick people who actually have so much time to spare and hearts full of spite and hate, that they actually count the tea bags and cans of tinned food in their cupboards.

Having a housemaid is really a widespread phenomena only in our part of the world and is considered a luxury beyond many elsewhere, including here in Canada.

People here frown at me when I shamefully have to admit to them that I have never had to wash dishes, clean my room or do laundry in my life, because we had what amounted to a live-in slave.

When I tell them about the virtually free domestic help we get at home, they are appalled.

You should see the expression on their faces to realise the parasitical existence we indulge in day in, day out.

Even doctors and professors here have housework to do when they return home, something I was ashamed to do when I first came here.

I actually contemplated for a while whether I should seek some domestic help to clean, sweep, dust, wash, cook and wipe my dirt for me.

What put things in place was that everything here has a price tag. If I wanted domestic help, I would have to pay through the nose and give up that Louis Vuitton bag and much more.

I don't know whether the Canadian model is applicable in Bahrain but the plight of housemaids could disappear overnight if their work and services were dignified and they were paid proper wages for their effort.

After all, how much respect do we have for BD40 ?

*Amira Al Hussaini currently lives with her husband in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada


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14/01/2006
Women must play right political cards
Vol XXVIII NO. 300
Saturday
14 January 2006



By AMIRA AL HUSSAINI



Hurray! With 10 months to go for the parliamentary elections, a woman has already voiced her plans to run the race - against an Islamic fundamentalist, that is. As much as I adore the courage shown by women's rights activist Mariam Al Rowaie, the last election has proved to us without doubt that bearded men fared better than those who prefer a clean shave.

And women? Well, out of the eight women candidates, not all are blessed with facial hair and not a single one won a seat, making me wonder whether we as a Bahraini nation are more prejudiced towards body hair.

While the constitution gives men and women equal political rights, society has seriously undermined the democratic reforms by unilaterally deciding that only men get the votes and the right to join the legislative branch of governance.

It has automatically alienated half of society, leaving issues of concern to women and families away from the debating floor.

Yes, some people may argue that women have made some hard-won gains, thanks to the direct intervention of parliament.

We now have veiled women driving cars on our roads and this was only possible because the issue was raised and rubber-stamped by the 40-man strong parliament.

Too bad, women cannot go to women-only classes at Bahrain University, female patients cannot be seen by women doctors only and girls cannot shop in women-only malls.

But there is always hope that these issues can still be debated and approved by parliament, if hardliners get their way again and the silent majority continues in its hibernation.

If you want a blunt opinion, the truth is that parliament does not reflect society and doesn't give outsiders or even Bahrainis for that matter a true picture of the real Bahrain.

But the fact also remains that it is our own doing. Not enough women stood for the last elections for many reasons - the very same reasons why some competent men shied away from ridiculing themselves and standing for an election they knew before hand they would not win.

If you are a believer in the theory of probability, then you know as much as I do, that if enough women join the race, there are likely to be some who will make it to the finish line. Let's see how many women play their cards right this year.


16:55 Posted in Current Affairs , Islam , Parliament Bashing , Silly Boys , Women's Affairs | Permalink | Comments (1) | Trackbacks (5) | Email this

07/01/2006
Future of Bahrain too precious to squander




Vol XXVIII NO. 293 Saturday 7 January 2006

By Amira Al Hussaini



Doctors say that the only way to fight cancer is by early diagnosis. While they cannot guarantee a 100 per cent success rate in the treatment of all cases, the fact remains that patients whose illness is detected early fare better than those who have unknowingly suffered the disease until it was way too late.

Having said this, confronting cancer takes a lot of dedication, a strong will and an optimism to face an unknown tomorrow - whatever challenges it may bring.

It also takes the skills of a dedicated medical team, whose members know exactly what they are doing and the size, scope and implications of the vicious disease at hand.

In Bahrain, sectarianism, prejudice and discrimination are what are gnawing at our flesh, sapping dry our resources and tearing our nation apart.

Calls for a one-family spirit have proven to be a short-term balm for a cancer which is spreading by the day and which may prove terminal to the dream of a true democracy, adherence to human rights and a decent quality of life for all citizens and residents alike.

Fingers point out to one culprit when it comes to all the vices and problems at home and that is discrimination.

Every individual sees any concern or issue from his own perspective and is not ready to see the picture as a whole or to reach a compromise.

Every faction feels it is being wronged.

We seem to be at loggerheads and the future and reputation of Bahrain are far too dear to squander because of the egos and vanity of some.

When I was growing up, I had no clue what my sect was. All I knew was that I was Muslim, Arab and Bahraini - in no particular order.

My ethnic and religious background made no difference to me then, as it doesn't matter much to me today.

But society does not and never will judge me on who I am, but on who my parents are and on which part of the spectrum of ethnicities and religious ideologies they belong to.

I grew up in a truly cosmopolitan society. At school, we had Shias and Sunnis, Catholics and Protestants, Hindus, Buddhists and Jews, amongst others.

In my Utopia, we were all equal. It didn't matter what our colours or tongues were. We were all students with one goal - to get the out of school as fast and out into the world.

To be realistic, I could say the same about society at large, where people of different backgrounds are supposed to work together and co-exist peacefully.

The only difference is that real life is nothing like school. Maybe it is time they started mirroring each other.

Isn't it time to identify common goals and work towards achieving them?


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02/01/2006
Incest-rape case is beyond comprehension




Vol XXVIII NO. 288
Monday
2 January 2006

By AMIRA AL HUSSAINI



What a way to usher in the New Year. For one Bahraini family, the year 2005 has been blackened forever in their memories.

I don't know the full story, but what I know from newspaper reports is that a 16-year-old boy was handed over to the police by his own father for raping his 13-year-old brother and sister, 14, on the same day.

According to sources, it is one of the worst incest-rape cases police have ever had to deal with.

And it should be, for the very son who was entrusted with caring for his siblings, while his parents were outside the house, turned out to be the person who should have been least trusted - yet another one of life's shocking ironies.

I don't know what was going on in this young man's head, but to brutally attack his younger brother and sister and rob them of their innocence and shock an entire society in the process, is something I cannot comprehend.

What gave this 16-year-old monster the right to ruin the lives of both his brother and sister and bring shame and heartbreak to his parents and society?

Did he think his siblings would stomach the pain and humiliation?

Did he think his parents would cover up his criminal act?

Did he really believe his gruesome act would go undetected and unpunished?

Who is to blame for such a tragedy?

Should we blame it on his upbringing, or point the finger at society?

Do we blame our clergymen, who have become too involved in politics and have put the serious job of shaping the characters of youngsters on the back burner? Should we blame an education system which has failed to teach young people - especially boys - the simple principle of respect?

I am so disgusted by this sheer act of violence against everything all the decent people out there hold dear, that they are working hard day in, day out for - a dignified and better tomorrow for each and every Bahraini.

I am extremely annoyed that this act has come to shame our society at such a critical time, at the end of an already bumpy year.

Even the pessimist in me did not expect it to plummet to this level. Even I was looking forward to a fresh start for the year ahead. I hope this menace, though he may be only 16, rots in jail for a long time to come.


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