Bahrain, at a Glance

Immigrants while choosing to live in an foreign country tries to carefully obtain all possible information to make him/ her comfortable making a living in the alien country. But, what-so-ever information one may collect to make a decision for migration, once you land in the alien country the actual experience usually are quite different from what one might have thought based on his / her research. The actual experience can either surpass the expectations or can be subservient or devastating as well. Amongst all other factors affecting the experience in an alien nation, one of the major factor is getting people of our own country and the support system they have in place to help the new immigrants feel comfort of the home country.

In several surveys on best places to live for expatriates, Bahrain had been securing its place well. Keeping aside the surveys, my personal experience living in this beautiful island country since last four years had been nothing less than contended. The major feeling that you experience living in Bahrain is, you don’t feel an outsider, you get almost all avenues to indulge yourself in whatever activity you wish to do starting from business, art & culture, sports, travelling, social work, education for kids, nightlife for party people, Indian/Asian foods, freedom to celebrate your festivals, religious freedom to practice yours, cost of living and the list might go one little longer. I had occasionally dealt with government authorities here like ministry of education while transferring my kids from Saudi school, muroor (traffic office) obtaining my driving license, LMRA, MOICT, municipality office etc., and the ease of communication and work done there is much more comfortable than probably many other places. Bahrain government is always looking ahead of how they can make expatriates feel at home. Recently two major steps taken, one allowing aged parents to have residence permit (CPR) as an extended family so that people having no one to take care of their parents back in home country and come and live here with their children and grandchildren and secondly they started the Golden Visa scheme under which working class expats fulfilling certain criteria can have a ten (10) years valid visa which allows them to live on the island without worrying about work visa been expired and threat to return back to the home country.

Talking about Indian diaspora in various segments like various state communities like keraleeya  samajam, PUB, Bongiyo Samaj involved in cultural ,sports and school activities helping all, especially kids to know, learn and practice our cultural values, NGOs like Indian Community Relief Fund (ICRF) under patronage of Indian Ambassador helping Indians in various situations and various manner including legal help, community welfare services, medical assistance, counselling etc., Pravasi Legal Cell (PLC) Bahrain Chapter specifically focusing on providing legal advices and aides to Indians working in Bahrain, a unique case worth mentioning here where an Indian expat who lost his eyesight due to medical issues and facing legal charges for several cases against him which were to be settled by paying hefty amount had been finally resolved with involvement of PLC.

Indian Ladies Association (ILA) helping not only ladies but also children in various ways, organizing events to showcase their talents Sneha is a recreation centre for children with special needs run free by Indian Ladies Association for all nationalities.

iMAC BMC is a multifaceted business house to carry out Business Promotional & Entertainment activities, established a full-fledged Event Management Studio namely ‘BMC Global Live’. It is my pleasure to be associated with BMC cultural activities

Talking about safety, we can go around the country any place, anytime without much of security concerns in mind. The local markets, souq are places to stroll around doing leisure shopping and with eat outs.

Though most of the year due to harsh summers it becomes difficult to carry out activities outdoor but in other times of the year the beaches and outdoor places are full of life with people relaxing around, sports lovers can indulge in cycling, biking, boating, swimming etc. Places like Dive Bahrain which is Middle East’s first underwater theme park, islands like Al Dar Island, Hawar Island are places to enjoy, experience and spend time with family & friends.

This is our karmabhoomi and we all continue to work hard to make it better for generations to come, live and make a beautiful life out of it.