Day 1 - Mark

Day 1:

As I’m starting the Hunger Chain for Bahrain, I wanted to explain (1) why Bahrain and (2) why fasting.

I’ve lived in Lebanon, Yemen and Egypt. I have family and friends who are either from the region or living there now. But I’ve only recently gotten to know Bahrainis well. When I met Fatima Bunafoor, we talked about the most effective ways to be politically engaged and how best to support the Bahraini people. So, the simple answer is that I’m personally inclined to be interested in the Middle East and Fatima told me she was starting a fasting chain. But why do I feel particularly interested in advocating for Bahrain and why was I drawn to fasting?

(1) During the summer, I was talking to a friend about the situation in Bahrain, and he was legitimately confused about why I felt so strongly about this place to the exclusion of others: “Are you trying to say you’re in favor of intervention in Bahrain?” I think my response to this question is a good place to start on this blog. I don’t think we should consider our response (as American citizens) to the situation in Bahrain as a choice between either intervention or isolation. We are already involved in Bahrain, so I consider the U.S. government to be complicit. The Fifth Fleet of the U.S. Navy is based in Bahrain, strategically positioned between our enemies in Iran and our allies in Israel. The U.S. government is in the process of an arms deal with Bahrain. Our allies in Saudi Arabia have actively suppressed the protests in Bahrain, as well as protests within their own country. I plan to write about this in more detail this week. So, there are actually three choices (this is obviously still an oversimplification):

1. Intervention: Take an active role in pressuring the Bahraini government to respond to protester’s demands

2. Isolation: Remove the Fifth Fleet, stop the pending arms deal to Bahrain, and denounce the intervention of troops from Saudi Arabia to attack protestors in Bahrain as a human rights violation.

3. Remain complicit: Keep our Fifth Fleet where it is, ignore human rights violations and support the current regime so long as they support our foreign policy in the region. Empty rhetoric, in my opinion, also falls in this category.

So, I consider Bahrain to be the most obvious example, at least in the Arab world, of how U.S. foreign policy has prevented real democratic reform. In a country where we have little to no economic and political relations the situation is much more confusing, because we are faced with a choice between imposing our will or ignoring human rights violations. In Bahrain, we’re already involved. If we benefit from a relationship with another country, then it should not be at the expense of the local population’s freedom of expression and security.

(2) That summarizes my opinion about why I feel some level of responsibility on a political level. So why fasting? Talking to Fatima and Nikki about this idea has made me really appreciate how important it is to connect personally on these issues. I could just write a blog, march in a protest, send e-mails to my congresswoman, or even donate money. Fasting, however, is a much more personal expression of solidarity. I’m also planning to connect with Bahrainis who have suffered from political oppression, so there will hopefully be a direct personal connection. This kind of action is also more powerful than words can express. Obviously if someone is willing to abstain from eating for a week, it will be clear to the people around them how strongly they feel about this issue. And even if it is not dedicated to a political or social cause, fasting is one of the best ways I know of to force yourself to reassess your values. In my experience, when I fast my mind slows down and focuses on the questions and personal struggles that I consider to be truly significant. So, it’ll be interesting to see what I’m writing as time goes on.

Nikki and I have also tried to organize our week and plan out what we’ll write about on each day. The general outline of topics, one for each day, is as follows:

1. “Why a Fasting Chain for Bahrain”

2. Connect with a Bahraini

3. Connect with other people in the U.S.

4. "Bahrain: Shouting in the dark" Video from Al Jazeera

5. Universal aspects of political oppression

6. What does it mean to be politically engaged?

7. What's next?

Generally, it shifts from a focus on me, to one other person, to friends and family (Days 1-3), and from a focus on politics in Bahrain to a discussion about engaging with the rest of the world (Days 4-7). We will be very interested to hear what friends and family think about this process. Is it useful? Do you have time to keep up with it? Are these questions you think we should be asking? Is it something you want to be involved in? Do you think our expectations are too high or we should be focusing on other things? In any case, there’s no need to keep up with this blog if you don’t have time or aren’t interested. I’ve certainly been bad about keeping up with blogs and facebook in the past. But we’ll be very grateful for any contributions or input you offer. Thanks!