Bahrain: Between rebellion and reform

For balance, reporters will turn to the government who usually field some dull official in an air-conditioned office, pretending that everything is fine in Bahrain.

Lost in the middle without a voice are the thousands of ordinary people – shopkeepers, business men and women, both Sunni and Shia, Asian store owners – who have simply wanted Bahrain to get back to business, and perhaps be better ruled with less corruption at the top.

This sizeable middle chunk of Bahrain’s residents is sandwiched between violent Shia extremists, allegedly encouraged by Iran, who want to overthrow the whole system, and the Sunni hardliners who want to crush them without mercy.

From all my visits to Bahrain I would say there is no appetite for revolution amongst this large, silent majority, but there is a need for reform.

The more equitably this country can be ruled, the better its chances of staving off a repeat of the dark days of 2011.