In few months time, Nabeel Rajab became a national icon. Just like celebrities, Nabeel is loved by many and is hated by many others. His work towards defending human rights cost him a lot but it surly made him win the hearts of thousands. I and more than 20 other Bahraini students had the privilege of meeting Nabeel Rajab back in November here in Malaysia. The meeting wasn’t long but I could never forget his inspirational words..
“Abo adam, where do you see the future of Bahrain going? What political solution do you think is going to work?” one student asked. “I don’t really know and to be frank I don’t think about it much. As long as I know that I’m standing with the right and giving a voice to those who are prevented from their rights, I don’t care about the outcome. My job is not to predict what’s going to happen; my job is to stand with the right. To fulfill my duty in front of Allah, my country and the people” Nabeel answered.
“Abo adam, we have noticed that you use humor when dealing with the people that target you all the time, why is that?” another student asked. “I reply back to them when I feel like laughing because I know that most of them are being paid to do what they are doing, and that they are not interested in going into serious dissections with me. If they were, they wouldn’t curse and would use a proper language. Only then they would deserve a serious response from me ” Nabeel answered. “Therefore, my advice to you is not to focus on those who spend their whole time trying to bash your reputation. If there was someone trying to have a serious discussion or debate with you, don’t miss that chance and engage in that debate to help him/her understand your opinion. And if he/she was just cursing, ignore that and stay focus on your case, you don’t want to lose focus because that is what they are seeking anyways” Nabeel added.
In the same matter, Nabeel said : “What is important is to break the wall of fear when defending your right, to show them and the whole world that you are not afraid of speaking up and defending your rights peacefully. If you do that you will get your righst back. You won’t get your rights by keeping silent”
“The message I want to send to you is to always be UNITED. Different people have different views so don’t let that dissolve your unity. The problem in Bahrain isn’t with Sunnis and Shia as what some are promoting. So whenever you have the chance, stress on the importance of unity. A the end we are all brothers and sisters, that is something the history of our country proves, it isn’t something new” Nabeel said.
“Sometimes the injustice gets too severe that we just can’t find ways to handle it, what do you do?” a student asked. “I stay focused in what I’m doing; I try to never lose focus. Some people might get overwhelmed as the injustice increases, I don’t. I get even more motivated to defend what’s right” Nabeel answered.
Nabeel concluded the meeting by saying : “You are truly the future of the country. You, the youth of Bahrain, still fighting for you rights after all what you have been through. That is something to be admired”
A couple of ladies who were there at that time and who were from different countries told us that we have no idea how the fact that what happened and still happening in Bahrain is inspiring , and how it’s helping in positively reform their countries as well .
As always, the meeting was ended with a group picture of us raising the famous victory sign.
From this man Bahrainis learnt and still are learning a lot. His tweets ease the pain of thousands; his words make us smile with hope. For that, I’m grateful and thankful.
What I want to say at the end is this: Nabeel is like thousands of Bahrainis who we consider as heroes. Therefore, any attempt trying to make people hate him will surly fail.