Back to Bahrain

So we're back. We arrived home just over a week ago. The British Embassy was no longer advising nationals to leave, school had re-opened and Ian and the cat were missing us.

The first thing we did was drive from the airport past the site of the former Pearl Roundabout. From the aeroplane window on the day we left, I had seen clouds of black smoke billowing around the giant Pearl monument - the aftermath of the clearing of the roundabout. On March 18, the Pearl monument and the roundabout were demolished by the authorities. What was once a symbol of Bahrain, appearing on nearly every postcard and in all the guidebooks is now a rather complex looking traffic intersection.

Besides the changes to the skyline, there are other differences too. A state of emergency has been declared for the next few months; a curfew is still in place in certain parts of the capital; there are police checkpoints near former trouble spots causing long tailbacks at peak hours; there is still a military presence in the centre of town and troops are also deployed at certain times to stand guard in their APC's near Shia villages. The arrival of Saudi and GCC troops has also led to criticism by Iran, Iraq and Lebanon, resulting in the Bahrain government suspending flights to those countries and deporting a number of their expats.

I have a number of friends who have not returned and do not intend to. Most of these were intending to move on in the summer anyway and have simply brought their plans forward; some have decided to relocate solely because of the situation here. Some businesses too have relocated to elsewhere in the Gulf and despite the local press running a "Bahrain's Back in Business" campaign, there's no doubt that recent months have been extremely trying for certain industry sectors, particularly hospitality and tourism.

But for the moment at least, day-to-day life for us continues to be relatively normal, albeit somewhat subdued. For some reason, not many people are in the party mood at the moment...