I'VE just begun my third, and hopefully final, attempt to move out of my parents' home. But into my second month at my new place in Juffair, I read in the papers that the Capital Municipal Council now wants me to move back.

New regulations banning bachelors from living in certain buildings and parts of Manama are to be introduced. Only landlords with special permission will be allowed to rent accommodation to single men or women, of any nationality, in an apparent crackdown on ‘immoral behaviour, noise and disturbances' (sounds like a good night in!).

In addition to being impossible to implement, these rules are incredibly racist, although that is nothing new to Bahrain's real estate industry. I've been asked more than once by real estate developers to avoid publicising the nationality of tenants purchasing certain properties because apparently Indians and Pakistanis cause rent prices to decline. Many landlords won't rent to single Lebanese or Moroccan females because they believe them to be more likely than others to be prostitutes (an insult worthy of a million dollar lawsuit!) I've had difficulty myself because many refuse to rent to Bahrainis (in my own country!), although in this case it's because laws make it difficult for them to be evicted, even if they fail to pay their dues for years.

These new rules mainly target poor Asian labourers, who live cramped together in huge groups, and I know that they'll probably never touch people like me. But rules can only work if they are based on standards that can be applied across the board. You can't only use them for certain types of people you don't like. Otherwise, it's only a slippery slope away from systems like apartheid.

If the municipal councillors are worried about certain parts of Manama turning into ghettos, then they should look at the root causes. The Manama suq was once also a pretty high class residential area, but for as long as I can remember, it's been pretty slummy. Buildings become run down when lax municipal regulations don't force owners to renovate. And when there is no place to park, those who can afford cars move out and are replaced by people with lower incomes. Exhibition Road, and Hoora in general, seem to be heading in the same direction. Parts of Adliya are pretty bad. Is Juffair going to be next?

Municipal councillors (elected by the people for the people) voted for these new tenancy rules legally but they still require Municipalities and Agriculture Minister Ali Saleh Al Saleh's signature before going into effect. May I suggest to Mr Al Saleh that he quietly slip these papers into his office drawer and wait a few weeks for the municipal elections, which should be just around the corner now? Then, when the new guys take over, maybe we can give this ‘democracy' thing another shot.

tariqk1976@hotmail.com 

tkhonji@yahoo.com

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