Insurrectionist!
Closure fears for martial art centre
By ROBERT SMITH
A TAEKWONDO school at the centre of an eviction row says it will have to close if the government refuses to renew its tenancy agreement. However, the Shams Taekwondo School is hoping for a reprieve following the Cabinet reshuffle.
It has until next month to find new premises after the Labour and Social Affairs Ministry refused to extend its contract at the Hamad Town Social Centre.
However, chief instructor Fareed Al Shayeb is hoping to reach a new deal with officials after the ministry was split into the Labour Ministry and the Social Affairs Ministry.
He wants to stay at the centre and then move into a new youth and sports facility, which is due to be built in Hamad Town.
If not he says the school will have to close because there is nowhere else it can be accommodated in that area.
The previous Labour and Social Affairs Ministry tried to kick the taekwondo school out in September - five months before its contract expired - by serving an eviction notice.
At the time, students trained without air-conditioning and water for a week without explanation, until they were turned back on following reports in the GDN.
The ministry also changed the locks overnight, but Mr Al Shayeb broke back into the school and changed them again himself - for which he was fined BD200 by court.
However, a Bahrain court ruled in October that the school should be allowed to continue at the centre until its contract expires on February 14.
The school has operated out of the social centre for the past five years.
Mr Al Shayeb wants to stay in Hamad Town because he says it is home to many of his students, who would be unable to continue classes elsewhere because they have no transport.
He is hoping the new Social Affairs Minister Dr Fatima Al Balooshi will be more sympathetic than her predecessors at the Labour and Social Affairs Ministry.
“We are asking Northern Governor Ahmed bin Saloom to help us and speak to the minister,” said Mr Al Shayeb.
“If she says no, we will ask His Majesty King Hamad.”
A spokes-man for the Northern Governorate said it is prepared to help, but advised Mr Al Shayeb to submit an official request to Dr Al Balooshi beforehand.The Labour and Social Affairs Ministry had said previously that it wanted the school out of Hamad Town Social Centre to free it up for non-commercial activities.
Mr Al Shayeb currently rents the space and charges his students BD10 a month for membership.
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=102719&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=27311
PizDoff’s further research:
According to http://www.xe.com/ucc/
100 USD = 37.7 BHD
10.00 BHD (Bahrain Dinars) = 26.5252 USD (United States Dollars)