Bahrain Mirror (Roundup 2020): With this tenth roundup, the decade has been completed, so this is an occasion to look over and reflect on the ten harsh years that have passed. The many definitions [in Arabic] of decade [A'qd] open one's eyes to deep perspectives.

The first definition is "knot", a tightly fastened knot. We have all fallen into a knot, and we mean all of us, all parties: the ruling family, the government, political societies, ideological groups, civil society organizations, sects, activists, social actors. No one is outside this knot, everyone feels that the horizon is blocked, even the political authorities, who managed to silence everyone and stifle every breath, feel suffocated, as the knotted rope is choking everyone's breath.

The second definition is "meeting" as in; they held a meeting; they gathered in a specific place and discussed a certain topic. The parties that became stuck in the knot need to meet, to think of how to get out of the predicament they fell into. Their presence in the knot renders the matter a zero-solution situation. Transformation comes when using the second definition, which is meeting with the intention of discussing and thinking of a way to break free of the knot we fell into.

The third definition is "determination and intent". Political action requires projects based on sincere intentions and determination. This is how divided societies break free of their knots and predicaments. There are moments in time when political maneuvers are useless, because they lead to more strife, destruction and creation of further knots.

The fourth definition is "hope". There must be hope, no matter the severity of the knot and the degree of its complexity. Hopes remain pinned on finding relief and a solution. Those whose hearts lack the ability to have hope die by the suffocating knots of the rope wrapped around their necks. Hope is not just a naive wish, but a vision made by active and influential personalities with a sense of leadership and will to shape the future. We need such figures to be outside prisons, not persecuted and censored.

The fifth definition is "fear and silencing" as in when fear holds one's tongue: silence him, make him lose the ability to speak. The first thread of the knot is producing fear. This thread begins to weave secret worlds, as man loses his ability to speak, and homelands turn into prisons that push their people into exile and immigration. By losing speech, a person loses his confidence, capacity, and identity, becoming a tongue-tied ghost.

The sixth definition is entering a "covenant": pledging a covenant or oath: binding and establishing it. We need a new contract and covenant. The covenant of power is a trust delegated by the people to whomever they choose and want through a social contract that represents their will, vision and interest. When crises become complicated and people in power become a party in the crisis, it becomes necessary to reform the covenant and to enter a new one.

The seventh definition is "agreement", i.e. an agreement between two parties under which each of them is committed to implementing what is binding. Agreements are updated when one of the parties breaches their commitment, or when one of the parties experiences injustice, abuse or loss of rights, and agreements are updated when they lose their ability to solve the problems they face, and this is currently the state of the agreement we are in.

The eighth definition is "cohesion and order", such as a pearl necklace, or when the parts of a flower come together and produce a fruit. Humans need a system and government that treats them as equals, and they also need to be united with each other to become one front that makes a nation of citizens. When citizens are treated differently to the extent of discrimination, injustice and prejudice, they lose their social and political contract, leading to chaos and strife.

The ninth definition is "command", and the holder of the contract is the holder of command and order: the rulers and those who have control over matters. To be one of the people of command, you are not required to be one of the people of oppression, tyranny and obstinacy, but rather a person of rationality, wisdom and capacity to make the right decision. This is how one can end the problems of every decade to start a new one without burdens weighing us down.

The tenth definition is "plot" or twist, meaning the conflict or the peak of events for a storyline or novel, after which comes the solution. Every problem has a solution, so the stories of all the peoples of the earth tell us, no matter how long or short. It would be wise to shorten the time of conflict and move towards a solution, at the start of the new decade.

This is how "decade" [A'qd] holds the interpretations of the problem and the solution, and whatever definition you look into, you will see our problem and its solution. Throughout these ten years, we have been dedicated to investigating the threads of the problem and its knots, and we have documented them faithfully, so they would be a testament, historical record and mirror for those who want to search for a solution.

Arabic Version