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Title: Anarchism Author: Bahrain Youth Date: 14 April 2012 Language: en Topics: Bahrain, revolution Source: Retrieved on 6 December 2015 from https://tahriricn.wordpress.com/2013/02/17/bahrain-anarchism-by-bahrain-youth/ Notes: Originally published at http://14feb-youth.com/?p=510 (http://web.archive.org/web/20130818125733/http://14feb-youth.com/?p=510).
Anarchy is often associated with chaos, but not necessarily assimilates
chaos. In my opinion it’s simply that there is no official party to
control, direct or enforce the masses. And from what I’ve seen in the
recent events, I’d like to refer to the Anarchy moments as “spontaneous”
and “unrestrained” instead of chaos.
Our media loved to point out the disadvantages and contradictions of
what was happening in the pearl roundabout and made it clear that it was
externally motivated, in fact, all forms of media that are politically
motivated love to distort the different types of systems that can oppose
danger or change to theirs.
While in reality or at least in my opinion, anarchism is a theory of
organization, we were raised and educated to believe that the only way
to get things done is using a form of top-down system, whether it was a
boss in the workplace or a politician running the government. But when
you look at it from outside this scope, say in your day to day
interactions with friends or relatives, you’ll find that you do not use
a specific system to govern your actions.
There is no right or specific form of Anarchism, and this is why I
prefer to refer to it as spontaneous, but all are common in coming from
within the desire of avoiding the top-down system and getting things
done.
The moments I referred to earlier are those which happened in the Pearl
roundabout and we all witnessed and lived, from the night of the 13th of
February when no one thought something would happen or they would be
able to reach the roundabout, till a spontaneous moment where a big
group did indeed head to the roundabout, and in less than two days the
place turned into its own city, not governed by any form of authority.
How did that happen?
This was a clear example of the none chaotic Anarchism; where a group of
people you have never met and do not know personally, turned into one
homogeneous community from different cultures and sects. Everyone felt
as important to this community as their counterpart, where each had his
part and duties with no one to enforce what they are supposed to do.
Where each individual voluntarily provides his services in the field he
finds himself useful in. Different people find different parts to
contribute in without the need for someone to give them the orders to do
it, where people were divided into groups to clean the camp, those who
can cook started cooking for the masses, those who are able to educate
started to lecture despite their different backgrounds and views, groups
started forming of volunteers to protect those inside the pearl and keep
a watch from outside dangers. That was a form of none governance in the
pearl that did not lead to chaos, instead individuals agreed upon a
basic detailed programme and a common thread between a number of
projects to be achieved at that spontaneous moment and got it done.
Another fine example was the Salmaniya Medical Center “SMC”, where again
at a spontaneous moment in result of what the doctors saw and went
through lead it to be a gathering point for them and the masses that
were in the pearl. Some may refer to that action as a terrorist action
that pushed it into chaos. But for those who lived it or truly did visit
the medical center will have a contrary opinion about what the media
spread. The SMC was functioning with all its resources to provide their
day to day services by the staff and doctors, with addition of treating
those who got shot. They were put in a rare new situation where they had
to take immediate action in cases they never imagined to be put in. Yet
they pulled through it. Such display of human sympathy towards the
protesters couldn’t be faked or thought of, it comes spontaneously from
within when put face to face with such situation. The hierarchical
system did not work in the SMC case, where orders were given not to
treat or interact with protesters were ignored and exposed leading to
the removal of the Minister at that time.
The same goes to the Pearl, where the hierarchical scheme did not find
its way in this anarchist moment that ignited the sense of initiative
and creativity in the masses and forced them to behave and struggle for
the best of all, where Hierarchism encourages the conduct of self-help
as everyone fights for his own for a delusion of promotion to a higher
step in the hierarchy. And all those who tried to fool the masses with
rhetoric speeches were exposed and ignored or sided.
In my opinion, The only way to shape the behavior of man and restrict
his actions is enforcing law. Law, which contains constitutions,
regulations and rules, It’s the tool that is used by the powerful to
keep the weak under control. While anarchism makes man think and act by
his own will and under his only resulted thoughts, where hierarchy rules
by the delusion that people need to be observed, directed and
restrained.
Anarchism as we have seen and lived, surfaced the relation of pure
“love” between different groups of the community, genders, ages and
social backgrounds, where Hierarchy is based on mere “fear”.
That anarchist moment brought out the energy and enthusiasm in pursuit
of dignity and the taste of freedom. It clearly brought up the humans
casual translation to natures law. Rather than to going to the bottom of
any given idea and examine into its origin and meaning. Such free
display of human energy being possible only under complete individual
and social freedom. People felt their freedom in an anarchic milieu,
they should insist on keeping the public realm a space for freedom,
expression, and respect, where no body is confronted with repression nor
nuisance.
By all means, I didn’t go through a specific type of Anarchism, but a
simple manner I tried to show is its sensible impact on the Bahraini
upheaval. We did not see the regime as a tool, but as an instrument of
oppression. It urged man to think, to investigate, to analyze every
proposition, break the chains of fear and then act upon it.