by AlJazeeraEnglish
August 4, 2011

from YouTube Website

Bahrain: An island kingdom in the Arabian Gulf where the Shia Muslim majority are ruled by a family from the Sunni minority.

Where people fighting for democratic rights broke the barriers of fear, only to find themselves alone and crushed.

This is their story and Al Jazeera is their witness - the only TV journalists who remained to follow their journey of hope to the carnage that followed. This is the Arab revolution that was abandoned by the Arabs, forsaken by the West and forgotten by the world.

On February 16, 2011 thousands of demonstrators hit the streets of Bahrain to protest against the ruling Khalifa family.

In the wake of protests in Tunisia and the revolution in Egypt, many felt that Bahrain, too, was ready for reform. On February 21^st, a quarter of the Bahraini population came out on the streets and gathered in the Pearl-roundabout.

Yet what followed was a brutal government crackdown on a peaceful civilian movement, that resulted in massive killings and arrests.