Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
For many people living in Bahrain, experiencing the effects of tear gas has become an almost regular occurrence.
Since Bahrain is such a small island, the use of tear gas doesn’t just affect the demonstrators it is used to disperse, it also affects those living in the area in which it is used.
Luckily for me, Adliya rarely experiences the same extent of trouble as other places on the island and as a result, I have only been ‘tear gassed’ three times during the unrest. It is usually when I am visiting friends around the Budaiya and Saar areas when I feel the effects of tear gas. For me, it is only when my nose begins to sting that I realise what is happening.
However, recently I got to witness the full extent of how tear gas is used to disperse demonstrators.
Stuck in traffic next to Alosra supermarket in Saar, we soon realised that cars weren’t moving due to a number of protestors ahead of us. Before we knew it, tear gas canisters where bouncing off our car and surrounding us.
At one point it was virtually impossible to see out of the windows. Not only were my mum and I worried that we would suffocate, we also panicked that we might find ourselves at the centre of a car crash.
Bahrain has previously been criticised for its inappropriate use of tear gas, with some even going as far as to claim it is a violation of human rights. Whatever the result, tear gas is an uncontrollable method of dispersing protestors.
