A discussion with Suhail Algosaibi; Chairman of the Bahrain Foundation for Reconciliation and Civil Discourse – by Citizens for Bahrain.
The Bahrain Foundation for Reconciliation and Civil Discourse is a private, non-profit foundation formed after the 2011 political crisis, which aims to help bridge the sectarian and social divide.
Suhail Al-Gosaibi began the discussion by explaining that the BFRCD is an independent, non-government initiative enjoying the endorsement of the Crown Prince. The initiative relies on private funding from Bahrainis from both noble sects
Suhail is an inspiring voice to listen to, because he is one of the few figures in civil society who is genuinely not hostile towards one side or the other; a deeply regrettable rarity in politicized Bahrain.
National Dialogue – theend of thebeginning?
On the subject of the Crown Prince’s recent initiative to restart the National Dialogue, Suhail noted that it was early days. But if the initiative makes progress “this is great news for Bahrain – the only way forward is Dialogue”.
He acknowledged that there were loud voices on both sides opposing the Dialogue, but citing negotiations between the Pakistan and Afghan Governments and the Taleban. Suhail pointed out “you can’t get a more radical group than the Taleban”. In comparison, the Bahrain situation is much more solvable and the sides are less far apart.
Suhail cited other conflicts in Rwanda, Columbia, South Africa and Ireland where appalling atrocities had been committed, but the sides had still succeeded in meeting to address their differences; “if they managed to do it, so can we”.
Suhail cited Winston Churchill’s famous quote – “this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning” – to describe the point which the recommencement of Dialogue brought Bahrain to.
However, he noted that “the pendulum swings quite quickly in Bahrain”; one day bringing good news and a more positive atmosphere; the next day bringing developments which contradicted that.
Building trust and diffusing tensions
Suhail stressed his concern about “a lack of confidence and trust between the sides. Even at a societal level there are major divisions between pro-and anti-government sides”.
Suhail noted the divisive role that social media had played in stirring up sectarian tensions, observing that the “most radical voices” were also the most vocal. So therefore there had been very loud voices from both sides coming out in opposition to Dialogue.
He also observed that there had been a lot of online hostility to his reconciliation initiatives in the early days; with attacks from loyalists for “getting too close to terrorists” and condemnation from opposition figures for seeming to condone a “repressive regime”. However, he said those attacks had subsided, from hostile tweets every day, to being a relative rarity now.
He said that although the sides were very far apart and in some respects things seemed to be getting worse, he had observed a growing frustration which was giving rise to a realization that reconciliation efforts were necessary and urgent.
Is Bahrain ready for reconciliation?
Previously people had been asking “why am I talking about reconciliation when the country isn’t ready?” However, recently the growing sense of frustration towards the ongoing situation has led to a widespread perception that reconciliation is a priority: “The situation is not getting better – but the desire to get out of the crisis is becoming stronger.”
“In recent sessions I have been surprised how much people wanted to participate; and a real eagerness to get out of the crisis, after there being very low interest when we started out in 2012,” Suhail said.
Suhail explained that during his school years in the late eighties nobody had paid much attention to whether school associates were Sunni, Shia or non-Bahraini Asians; “the worst you would see was some teasing”.
But this coexistence has been put under threat, tensions have given rise to an increasingly divided schools, where Sunnis and Shia go to different schools in different areas. “If this continues, we will have a major problem; we have to get to work on social reconciliation ahead of political reconciliation.”
Reconciliation in support of the political process
He cited examples of peace negotiations in places like Ireland; at the commencement of which the two sides were often coming together for the first time; and therefore there was a huge gulf in understanding and little sympathy between the parties. However, during lengthy talks opposing negotiators often became close friends as they learned to see each other’s point of view.
Suhail stressed that this showed the urgency of making immediate progress on social reconciliation, as a way of making the political dialogue easier by helping either side better understand the other’s grievances.
He said that many of his Foundation’s events which brought together representatives from both sides had been highly successful; with policemen finding for the first time that they had much in common with youths from the villages where they had recently been on opposing sides.
In feedback forms after these events, it was common for the average rating from participants to score around 9.4 out of 10. With guests commenting that they had previously thought that the other sect was bad and misled, but they had changed their views after such encounters.
He said: “Every human wants two things: To be happy; and to avoid pain”. Social reconciliation can show people that their differences aren’t so great and that it’s easier than they may initially believe to come up with a shared vision for the nation’s future.
“Nothing to lose”
Suhail talked about the tragedy of a generation of radicalized youngsters within the villages where rioting and opposition had been strongest. “This youth has a sense of nothing to lose. Once people believe that they have nothing to lose, then you’re in trouble.”
He pointed out that for many of these twelve-year olds out building roadblocks or throwing rocks at police; had “a cousin in jail, a brother who’d been injured, a friend who’d died…” so there was a dangerous anger amongst these young people.
“Bahrain has always had these extremes, but these extremes have gotten wider.” He pointed out that many people in these villages were tired of the unrest, but didn’t have a clear idea how to address the issue of these radicalized youngsters; who would often phone the police out of boredom or frustration. That would then result in tear gas and further rioting.
Bahrain can only genuinely move forward, not with some high level political agreement, but when the results of such an agreement let the youth and activists on both sides see that things are genuinely changing for the better.
Looking into 2014, Suhail said that he expected the reconciliation agenda to get “really busy” as the Government and other elements gave more priority to healing the wounds of Bahraini society, although he noted that his own foundation could only play a limited part in the bigger picture of reconciliation efforts.
“When we discussed our aims in the beginning, I always said that if we could influence one Bahraini, we could have considered ourselves successful – well, we’re already managing significantly better than that,” Suhail observed.
As we wait for this agenda to gain momentum, we should credit Suhail Algosaibi for being ahead of their time in bravely and outspokenly pursuing the reconciliation agenda and achieving some important results in bringing Bahrainis closer together.