Recently ties between Bahrain and Qatar have been strained after Qatari coastguards captured and shot one Bahraini fisherman in Qatari waters. Our government later released that around 107 fishermen were locked up in Qatari jails. Up to now only a handful have returned home safely and another group have been put out on bail but cannot leave Qatar.
A solidarity group with the fishermen was started on Facebook and has gained the support of over 1200 members. Last night a message was sent from the group’s admin Mohamed Bomtaie , who is one of the fishermen held in Qatar and sharing an apartment with some fellow fishermen after being bailed but banned from flying home.
Message from Mohammed Bomtaie
In this message, he writes that
the Qatari Misdemeanor Court ruled that each fisherman pays a 1000 Riyal (BD100) fine and return home. When the fishermen went to execute the ruling they discovered that the Qatari District Attorney had appealed the ruling thus keeping the fishermen in Qatari lands.
The reason Mohammed Bomtaiei reported was that the representative of the Bahrain Human Rights Board Faisal Fulad had escalated the situation whereas the fishermen just wanted to return home with the least implications.
Fulad replied by calling the fishermen ignorant and when the fishermen threatened to reach their message to the King’s court, he stayed defiant.
In addition to that, Mr. Fulad allegedly disrepected a member of the Bahraini embassy in Qatar, thereas disrepecting the Kingdom of Bahrain.
He finished the message demanding Mr. Fulad’s interference with their case to end.
This situation has escalated for way too long, keeping in mind these are two neighbouring countries with shared roots and family ties.
Whereas on the other hand we see the Israelis hand over four Bahraini heroes who were on the Mavi Marmara, and despite being ill-treated and their property not returned to them, returned home safely two days after the incident.
I believe that the safe return of Bahraini citizens abroad should always be the first priority. Sorting out any political or law differences should be sorted out on negotiation tables or during GCC meetings at a later time. Fighting for your citizens rights doesn’t neccessarily need to put their livelihood on stake and make their lives a worse hell than it is.
Another point I would like to make is, is that Facebook has really helped raise awareness and is a great gateway for cyber-activism as it is extremely popular between young people in the Arab world. Gradually, we hope to see more people being able to speak their mind and fight any wrongdoing over the internet and by lawful means outside their homes.
