Politics and human rights are, as ever, the chief topics of discussion on Bahrain’s blogs this week, but we also hear about things that aid and interrupt sleep, creatures that won’t buzz off, and stories of both loneliness and new friendship. ‘The Butcher of Bahrain’ This week has seen the arrival of Ian Henderson in Bahrain, and Bahrain’s bloggers are not happy about it. Ian Henderson was the head of the state security services in Bahrain for over 30 years; he is accused of having employed brutal tactics to suppress the opposition in Bahrain, such as imprisonment, torture and forcible exile, and has been given the moniker ‘The Butcher of Bahrain’. Mohammed AlMaskati couldn’t believe the news: When I first heard it I thought it’s another one of those rumors that float around every once in a while, something within the same lines as the “Naturalization of 50,000 Baathist Iraqis of the Fedayeen Saddam” or that of a nationwide full payment of all outstanding debt of locals, but the pictures proved me wrong. […] How inconsiderate could this really be? Allowing this monster, a symbol of the 90’s era, an icon to the horrors that took place not so long ago on this island, a reminder of the screams and pains of the tortured the blood of the martyrs, the lives of the families that were destroyed because of imprisonment and forcible exile, we have became the first country in the world to deport its own citizens and then demand that other countries refuse to give them asylum. It is honestly sad to see that international authorities investigating the torture allegations against him instead of our own government, which not only turn a blind eye to the issue at hand but absurdly grants him free access to the country. The US State Department, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other international Human Rights organizations have all produced veritable mountains of documented evidence of such abuse and torture and linking Mr. Henderson to them. Mahmood wants to welcome Mr Henderson: Your exalted excellency, you are in excellent company here, sir, do relax and enjoy the festivities in your honour and let whoever asks for reparations with your past be damned. You are – after all – a retired gentleman of 81 and could not be held responsible for bygone eras, surely. The world’s powers – to one of which you belong – have turned a blind eye, and why shouldn’t they, it has become their culture. Generations who will continue to have nightmares for the rest of their lives and those who succeed them be damned. The almighty Pound and Dollar rule supreme. Welcome welcome your excellency, to the land of milk and honey! Both he and LuLu report on a campaign spearheaded by the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights to bring Henderson to justice: The concept of forgiving and forgetting has been repeatedly used and abused as a slogan to shelter violators of human rights in Bahrain. To an extent, this may have been tolerable if the government had shown signs of seriousness about acknowledging, compensating, and re-integrating torture victims. However, the recent arrival of Mr. Henderson to Bahrain and the semi-official welcome he received is a sign that no such intent exists. I'm not sure what he is doing here but simply receiving this guy here is a slap in the face to anyone who had taken government promises seriously. So, while this may seem like a small gesture in the grand scheme of things, the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights had launched a campaign to support justice and human rights in Bahrain– by calling for trial of Bahrain's major human rights abuse symbol, Officer Ian Henderson, Head of Bahraini Security and Intelligence Bureau (1966-2000). Shamefully, he continues to be sheltered by the Bahraini (reformist) government, despite his instrumental role in orchestrating arrests, torture, and exile of national activists. Summer dreams and nightmares It seems some bloggers can’t stop thinking about politics, even in their sleep. Haythoo isn’t sure if exams or politics are giving him nightmares: Yagoob waxes lyrical about the sounds of summer nights: Ahhhh don’t you just love the sound of switched on window air conditioners * TRA-HUMMMMMMMMMMMMMM* and feel the cool cool breeze turning your room into a heat free sanctuary, whilst you roll up in your blanket like a cocoon… Ahhhh don’t you just love the sound of switched on window air conditioners * TRA-HUMMMMMMMMMMMMMM*, with that sound which is so reassuring and loving like a mother wishing her child a good night’s sleep before kissing him goodnight… Ahhhh don’t you just hate when that sweet * TRA-HUMMMMMMMMMMMMMM* turns into silence in the middle of the night where it’s too dark to know what’s going on and the formerly suppressed heat creeps back in through the walls.