Choosing Between My Country and My Family
I do not want to have to choose between my country and my family. I love them both.
I have been married to an Iraqi national for twenty-five years. For years I was not allowed the joy of living with my husband because of his nationality. I was constantly interrogated by the authorities any time I planned to travel to Iraq to visit him. It got even worse when our children were born. It finally reached a point where I had to decide between my country and my family.
I left Bahrain and moved to the UK for twelve years in order to be with my family, where we could all be together. My husband got British nationality a few years ago. When my husband got British nationality, my children were eligible for it as well and we came back to stay in Bahrain.
This is my home and yet my children are given the status of a foreigner because they cannot have Bahraini citizenship. They do not have the same rights to services that Bahrainis have, such as, health or education services. They only have residence permits, which have to be renewed every two years.
The only reason I came back to Bahrain is because I had heard that the Kingdom protects human rights and there are societies fighting for women’s causes and it gave me hope.
Entry Filed under: Countries, Bahrain, Testimonies