Don’t force us down the path of Egypt and rule by the military, Islamists in the Parliament and investors and tourists taking flight.

I don’t want to class fellow countrymen as Shi’i and Sunni. All should have equal opportunities. The growing sectarianism and extremism from both sides is alien to Bahrain. Many of my best friends are Shi’i, but committed to supporting our constitutional monarchy. The media is contributing to the sectarian divide every time it falls into the trap of describing the situation as Sunni against Shi’i.

Our government has made mistakes, but this doesn’t justify the opposition’s call for “Death to Al Khalifah”. There has been huge progress by the authorities over the last year; look at how the Bahraini security forces managed the 14 February 2012 protests with minimal force and no serious casualties, despite being attacked by Molotovs and makeshift weapons. The opposition has used abuses by the security forces to justify its own increasingly violent tactics. This is hypocrisy.

We are Bahrainis who have come together to make ourselves heard on the world stage, expressing our concerns about the direction events are taking in our country.

• We want our liberal, open and tolerant country back
• We want security
• We want a state which provides opportunities for all Bahrainis
• We want a flourishing society which attracts visitors and investors

Ali Salman, Nabeel Rajab and Ibrahim Sharif must be rubbing their hands in glee at this new set of statistics. This is proof of the success of their sit-ins, road blocking and disruptive activity. They have succeeded in sending the Bahraini economy down the toilet.

For all of us who care about Bahrain, on the other hand, this is a tragedy. Particularly as according to the statistics $600m of this is indirect losses; meaning the revenue accruing to small businesses and flowing through the veins of the wider economy benefitting us all. $800m could provide generous salaries for 10,000 Bahrainis; it could build better roads, schools, hospitals. Instead, not only has that money been lost to us, but an unimaginably large amount of money will have also been spent by our leaders in countering the demonstrations, instead of putting this money to good use.