BTM December 2011 57 number of patients suffering from depression has skyrocketed. Some doctors suggest that, now, 50 per cent of all the people they see show signs of depression caused by anxiety, up from less than 10 per cent a year ago. Carbon dating democracy Around the Middle East we have seen a year of unprecedented change, with North African countries sweeping aside decadeslong governments. Close to home, the United Arab Emirates has taken further steps along the path to democratic reform. Half of the seats in the 40-seat Federal National Council (FNC), an advisory council that aims to forge closer links between its rulers and the people, were sought by 468 contestants. The pre-selected electorate of 129,000 voters, around 12 per cent of the local population in the emirate, was nearly 20 times as many as could vote in the country’s first elections in 2006. Turnout, however, was a disappointing 36,000 voters (28 per cent of those eligible to vote), and only one woman was elected. The other 20 members of the FNC are appointed and the body only has advisory powers. But, where does that place the UAE and other countries in the region on a democracy timeline? The first official parliament — the Model Parliament — in the United Kingdom (UK) was initiated in 1295 by King Edward I, often referred to as ‘Longshanks’ and probably more popularly known as the ruling monarch in the film [ITALS] Braveheart. For this parliament, all peers — lords, including the bishops and some abbots — were invited individually, by name; and every city and county was asked to choose (elect) two members to represent it in parliament. This process became known as the calling of the ‘Commons’, hence the alternative name through which parliament is known today, the House of Commons. In 1341, the Commons met separately from the nobility and clergy for the first time, creating what was effectively an Upper Chamber (later known as the House of Lords) and a Lower Chamber. This method of government is referred to as a bicameral legislature. Democracy in the United Kingdom, though, is more commonly regarded as taking shape during the 17th century; in a recent speech the current UK prime minister, David Cameron, talking about the UK riots in August this year, commented that after 400 years of democracy the country has still not got it right. What really gave impetus to democracy, however, was the industrial revolution in the 19th century. Two factors are often seen as the bedrock to the establishment of a more plural society that is sustainable and offering a natural system of checks and balances. The first of these was a growing and more affluent middle class, who became the primary drivers for political reform in the middle of the 1800s. Up until this point, calls for change had predominantly come from what we would call today Historically, our annual review has reflected the recent past and what the future might hold. This year there has only been one story — the unrest that followed from what were initially peaceful demonstrations to mark the 10th anniversary of the National Action Charter. For the first six weeks of the year, a sense of optimism had started to flow through our veins as we started to cast off the shadows of the financial downturn and economic slowdown that accompanied it. Little did we know that a lone protestor in Tunisia would set fire to himself, ignite the region within which we live and deliver unprecedented turmoil. As the months have passed the world that we knew has evaporated, a long-distant memory and an increasing recognition that life will never be the same again. There is only the future, with uncertainty that only a fear of the unknown can unleash. All around us we can see the physical scars; the road blocks where once there were none and, most poignantly, the closed Al Farooq Junction. This silent hub now stands as a daily reminder to all those who drive past it of the innocence we have lost, exacerbating our insecurities over the future in equal measure. Those of us in business can also see the financial scars; where once we envisioned profit, now we think more of survival. What we don’t see are the internal scars; the debilitating impact that the unrest has had on our minds. Our mental health has taken a beating; doctor after doctor that Bahrain This Month has spoken to recants the same tale — the annualreview DAVID M. ROBERTSON What a year this has been! Whoever would have thought 12 months ago we would have had our lives turned upside down so dramatically in such a short period of time. Bahrain Financial Harbour Making Sense of 2011
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