Well, Mr trump has come and gone, leaving behind advice that we should use the military to protect our borders from illegal immigrants! Former poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy wrote a poem to mark his state visit:
How it glitters and shines, The Grand Service,
among the rocks and the rubble,
laid out on a breeze lock horseshoe table,
six crystal glasses per setting.
It took eight servants three weeks to polish -
silver coated in a thin layer of gold -
even the concrete dust in the air seems glamourised
and the ruins are decked in the uplifting flags of democracy.
To start, fillet of Dover sole filled with salmon mousse,
served on a bed of leeks with white wine sauce.
Poached Sandringham venison with truffles to follow,
then Key Lime Pie, and among the wines,
Chateau Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalane, 1990.
Yum-yum. Let the trumpets sound on the bombsite
as the great and good pick their way through,
and a famished child peers through a bullet-hole in the wall.
Thank you Carol Ann Duffy!
This article recounts the experience of a British MP, who happens to be a doctor and Jewish, who was denied entry into Israel with a humanitarian parliamentary delegation. He wanted to see for himself the state of health care but never even got into the country. He wonders what kind of threat he posed to the country which he had visited quite often in better times.
“It saddens me!” he wrote, “to say that Israel today seems to be a world away from the inclusive, pluralistic, open and democratic principles on which it was founded in 1948.”
There were some idealists involved back then, as well as some who already planned to expand.
Meanwhile, the emptying, and ultimate destruction, of Gaza City continues apace. Aid workers have been warmed that the only hospitals in Gaza are protected from attack. The cynic in me wonders if even hospitals really are protected. Other places, aid centres and such are not safe, apparently.
Israeli officials are reported to have that said they were preparing a “humanitarian zone” in the overcrowded, underdeveloped al-Mawasi coastal area in southern Gaza by building new aid distribution sites nearby, supplying electricity to desalination plants, providing some water and allowing in more aid. So aid of sorts is getting through but one reprt says that a high proportion of trucks are commercially operated and are bringing in items such as soft drinks and snacks that are not nutritious but expensive.
All in all, a mess!
Maybe we need a new definition of humanitarian!
In Matera, Basilicata, Italy, tourists can visit the ‘sassi’, ancient cave dwellings dug into the rock. People apparently lived there as early as the year 7000 BC. Now they are a World Heritage site.
In Petra, Jordan, there are similar cave dwellings. Famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit systems, Petra is also called the "Rose City" because of the colour of the sandstone from which it is carved. This site was also inhabited as early as 7000 BC. It’s one of the Mew Seven Wonders of the World, is a UNECSO World Heritage Site and receives close to a million visitors each year. The trouble is that there are people still living there who don’t want to leave. Here’s a link to an article about it.
It’s odd how we always assume that making people leave their old traditional way of life and conform to our standards is necessarily a good thing!
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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