Bahrain: An overlooked Arab Spring battleground

Air Date: November 9, 2011

Riot police fire tear gas and chase anti-government protesters and mourners who clashed with riot police Sunday in Daih, Bahrain, after a traditional third-day procession to the gravesite of an elderly man opposition activists say died from a police beating. The government says he died of natural causes. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali)

Hour 1

In all the waves of media attention devoted to the Arab Spring revolutions reshaping the political landscape of the Middle East, the tiny nation of Bahrain has largely been overlooked. The tide that arose in Tunisia and Egypt spread to the small island in the Persian Gulf, too, until it was crushed by the Al Khalifi monarchy with the help of Saudi troops. NADA ALWADI was covering the uprising for Alwasat, the most popular newspaper in Bahrain, until she was detained by government forces and then fired from her job. Since coming to the United States, she has continued her work bringing attention to the repression in her country. She joins us here in our studio in the midst of a week of events at Swarthmore College. We’ll also talk to Rutgers History Professor TOBY JONES, a historian of the modern Middle East who has been following events in Bahrain closely.

Listen to the mp3

Listen:
[audio: 110911_100630.mp3]

Correction: This post originally incorrectly stated Nada Alwadi “sought asylum” in the United States; we regret the error.

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