Bahrain's Speakers Corner

"Various committees have sprung up, including a media centre, a medical services point and even a station for lost children. At various stalls there are Bahrainis making rice, bread, curries and macaroni, a striking scene in a region dependent on expatriates for most manual labour. A neatly designed centre stage decorated with Arabic arches continually broadcasts live speeches, accompanied by a sign-language translator for the hearing impaired. One tent has been set aside for lectures by experts and activists on matters ranging from the constitution to corruption. Another tent is for the lawyers' society, a third for teachers, and others reflect the names of the various villages, towns and islands of Bahrain.  Lulu has become the region's Speakers' Corner, with opinions that previously few dared to utter even behind closed doors now being blasted through loudspeakers in public. "Down with the regime!" shouts one speaker on a podium; a constitutional monarchy along the lines of the United Kingdom is the demand of another. "No dialogue until those responsible are brought to justice!" declares a huge banner. Old national songs blast out of the shared tent of Wa'ad and Al Minbar, two left-leaning political societies whose supporters have quarrelled for more than 50 years - but were finally united in one tent in Lulu." (thanks Omar)