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The same winds that have been erasing us with the sands they’ve been carrying for the past week have brought me back here: Bahrain.

Two nights ago, those same winds violently jerked me out of some dream or another when they rattled the windows and doors of our house. At four a.m., I thought that our house was under attack. I got out of bed, walked around the house and noticed that the attackers were invisible. I went back to bed imagining what H.G. Wells would have made of all this; I haven’t been able to sleep since.

It’s odd being back ‘home’, as shifting as it is. I’m still not sure what to make of it, and I’ve said this about Bahrain during almost all of my last visits here. I don’t know whether this is because things are always changing in Bahrain, or things have changed in me. Something is different. Something is not the same.

*shakes the sand out of his head*

One of the things I was REALLY looking forward to was the “Spring of Culture” events that usually take place in March. The “Spring of Culture” is an entire month in which culture and art are celebrated in Bahrain through music, dance and other forms of expression. I went here and found that it is taking place between March 1 and March 31, like always. I then looked for the official website, and found that it is under construction.

Last year, the entire mood of the Spring of Culture was dampened by strange individuals who do not value culture, love and life. This year, if Bahrain is going to be one without a “Spring of Culture”, I would sadly see this as a victory for those who thrive on strangling freedom of expression in all its forms.

In defense of the Spring of Culture, I wait - what else could anyone do?