Bahraini columnist SALWA ALMOAYYED examines the plight of the veteran Indian businessmen who helped build Bahrain, yet are treated as foreigners in the land they call home THE country's economic and cultural story is etched deep in them.

They began their businesses with our fathers, when Bahrain was waking up to the modern world.

They remained loyal to the country that they all along considered home and a haven.

Yet the government has been slow to grant them the citizenship they deserve.

These are the Indian businessmen and other long-term residents who contributed to Bahrain's nascent economy and who are still strong investors.

They first came here in considerable numbers in the 1930s. They became attached to the land and the people and went back to their country of origin only as visitors.

Don't they deserve citizenship and all the rights that come with it?

It is the duty of the government to value them as citizens. It is mind-boggling that people who have called Bahrain home for 20 or 60 years are treated as resident aliens, while some recent arrivals are granted citizenship mere months after coming here.

Many of these bring neither skills nor substantial economic value to the playing field.

We should value the loyalty of our long-term residents. They planted the seeds of youth here. They know every nook and cranny, every dusty road. They are friends and neighbours who share our memories and affections.

Is it fair that they have to pay the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) fees along with their employees? The authority makes no distinction between them, though they are Bahrainis in every way that matters, missing only a long overdue stamp.

I recently interviewed a group of Bahraini-Indian businessmen.

One shared his heartache: "I have submitted a request for citizenship several times over the years. I haven't heard from them to this day.

"Can you believe that after spending 61 years here I am barred from purchasing a house for my family? We can buy real estate elsewhere, but cannot own real estate in the land we consider home."

Their situation shocks and amazes. None of the businessmen I spoke to had lived here for less than 25 years, yet all were without citizenship, except one who is a well-known cloth merchant.

Another said: "Bahrain has been my home for 40 years, I've been running my own business for most of my time here.

"But I am put on the same list as my foreign employees when it comes to the LMRA fees. I have contributed to this economy for all these years and that is the treatment I get! Don't we deserve a little respect?

"We face a bigger problem with our children when they pass the age of 18. Though they were born and educated in Bahrain, they cannot remain here without a work permit.

"Our other alternative is to register them as co-owners of our companies. Here again, the law does not recognise them until they are 21 years old.

"Co-owning is a forced solution, that, frankly, does not suit all of us. It is a frustrating quandary.

"We were among the first to set up the gold market in Bahrain. We traded with your fathers, we have known the royal family and, socially, have always been treated graciously.

"We love Bahrain and its kind people, or else we would not have tried to build a life here.

"Do you know that after 40 years of being here, we can't bring in any family member above the age of 60? Many of us have ailing, elderly parents who require our attention and care."

The authorities should, at least, create a special permit for elderly, immediate family members of long-term residents.

Their stories pained me and it was clear their rights have been overlooked in the bureaucratic shuffle.

We aspire as a nation to be included among those that uphold basic human rights and dignities.

We cannot, in good conscience, let this issue slide unnoticed, unaddressed and call ourselves a modern, civilised society.

Ironically, the constitution of Bahrain includes a clause that gives any law-abiding person who has resided here for 30 years a right to citizenship.

Also, as business owners, they deserve representation in Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, since they are such keen participants in the country's economy.

I hope His Majesty King Hamad will be gracious enough to look into their cause.

A person who lives here for 20 years and more, knows no other home, who raises children and plants roots here, who abides by the country's laws and respects its people and culture...is a Bahraini.