Hawzah News Agency- Will this year's Arbaeen season pass without the presence of the Bahraini people? Anyone following the social media accounts of Bahrainis devoted to the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) will witness an unprecedented outpouring of posts reflecting their immense longing for the land of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) and the holy shrines in Iraq—a yearning intensified by the state-imposed deprivation of travel to the holy sites.
To date, the government has not backed down from its unjust ban on flights to Iraq, leaving thousands stranded in sorrow and frustration. For these believers, Arbaeen is not a touristic journey that can be rescheduled for another season; it is a spiritual rendezvous renewed each year, bound to faith, conscience, and loyalty to Imam Hussein. The cost of this travel ban, therefore, is not measured in canceled flights, but in shattered hearts, dashed hopes, and the tears streaming down the faces of Bahrainis trapped behind borders as their screens fill with scenes of pilgrims marching toward holy Karbala.
In nearly every Bahraini household, there was someone who had prepared for this pilgrimage—those who saved money for months, those who vowed to walk the path to Karbala on foot, and those who awaited the moment to place their forehead upon the shrine of Imam Hussein (PBUH) after a year laden with hardship. Suddenly, all of this turned to heartbreak. Suitcases remained untouched, passports lost their meaning, and only hearts could accompany the millions of pilgrims—hearts that follow the footsteps of the marchers with prayers and tears, picturing every step in their imagination.
Perhaps the most painful reality is that this deprivation is not the result of a natural disaster or a calamity beyond control, but the product of an oppressive political decision targeting a vast segment of citizens in one of their most private religious rights. When a people are barred from reaching the places tied to their conscience and faith, the prohibition transforms from a mere administrative measure into a profound psychological and spiritual burden—one that leaves scars no government statement can erase and no slogans can justify.
Despite this deprivation, borders have failed to separate Bahrainis from Imam Hussein (PBUH). The mourning processions held across Bahrain, the gatherings of remembrance, the black flags raised over homes, and the longing-filled posts on social media all affirm one truth: the regime may prevent bodies from reaching holy Karbala, but it cannot bar hearts from being present there. Bahrainis will continue to cry out "Labbayk Ya Hussein" alongside the pilgrims, and Karbala will remain alive in their conscience, even if unjust decrees stand between them and the Arbaeen march.
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