By Mohammed Al A'ali

Bahrain, Aug 15 (Gulf Daily News): Three "forgotten" Bahraini villages could be soon reinstated on the country's map after years of campaigning.

Kawarah, Jubailat and Hojjair will be inducted alongside other historical villages, the Cabinet has assured the Central Municipal Council.

Residents of the three villages claim they were robbed of their identities decades ago when their villages' names were dropped and their areas were reclassified as being part of Tubli.

They feared the traditional names could soon disappear from use altogether - depriving them of a direct link with their history and heritage.

Kawarah was recognised by Central Informatics Organisation (CIO) two years ago and street signs have since been put up.

However, it is yet to be reintroduced on modern maps of Bahrain along with the two other villages, which have a combined population of 4,000.

Several petitions have been presented to the council over the past four years, demanding that each village's original identity should be restored.

The council has been forwarding the requests to Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and CIO head Shaikh Ahmed bin Ateyatala Al Khalifa since 2006.

But while the CIO acknowledged the existence of Kawarah, it said in a letter to the council that nobody knew about the two other villages.

"Finally, we are presented with a glimmer of hope by His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa that these three villages will be listed alongside other villages that we feel are important," said council vice-chairman Abbas Mahfoodh.

Acknowledged

"The three villages were listed on Bahrain's old maps, but they were left out of recent maps.

"Residents of the three villages are still referred to as being from Tubli on their Smart cards - including Kawarah, which was officially acknowledged by the CIO.

"This means the signs were set up two years ago there for show, considering that Kawarah and its two sisters are still not in modern maps," Mr Mahfoodh said.

"Tubli is a different place altogether and is a neighbour to those small villages."

Mr Mahfoodh said that the Cabinet was keen to preserve the traditional names of villages, considering that they are a bridge between the past and present.

"We have been working very hard over the years to separate these villages from my hometown Tubli, because they are not part of Tubli.

"We have asked for their names to be put on the map, address systems and signs," he said.

"I am following up the issue with the Cabinet and hopefully the three villages would celebrate New Year by once again recognised," Mr Mahfoodh added.

The problem with the three villages began in the 1980s when the former Municipalities Affairs Ministry classified the areas as being part of Tubli, explained Mr Mahfoodh.

"They never dealt with names of the three villages and through time, the villages were considered as Tubli - with the original names being neglected," he said.

"Residents wanted their villages' names to be registered officially during the 80s and early 90s.

"But this never happened as the villages got swallowed by Tubli, which has a population of 16,000, and this is the fault of then officials who were trying to shrink names on the map unrightfully."