It Ain't Exactly a Paradise

The 8 year old girl surprised her family one day by saying: "Salt is missing". Enquired her father: "Well I never, you can actually speak?" "Of course I can." "Why didn't you say a word, all those years?" "Because there wasn't a reason, everything was always there......."
One can hear that we have equal rights for men and women, I sometimes joke, the girls yell just as loud as the boys, only with a high pitched voice.  The other day some women were pretty close to having a fight, boys appear to be always fighting, they call it fun.  But in the classic old  cafe you usually see only men. Women have to do the cooking and clean the house, I am told, while unemployed men look for a job sitting in a cafe? Whenever I go shopping with my husband and give the money to the person behind the counter, the change is handed to my husband. Is this solidarity among men? Well no, women act likewise (only a couple of exceptions). When my husband pays, no one tries to give me the change. Very strange in view of how many women work nowadays. Yesterday I asked a young man to explain his action. He was surprised, laughed and said I guess we do this without thinking. Sometimes I am asked: " How much do you want to pay?"  Whenever I answer that I actually don't want to pay, but I'll take the goods anyway, the reaction is not what one might expect, folks just laugh and say okay, no one gets annoyed, it never happened! Great country! It is not easy though for those with rather limited income and rising prices. As the exchange rate of the Dinar drops, imports are getting more and more expensive, some goods are no longer available but with a bit of luck there are alternatives on the market. End of the year approaching, time to buy a new diary. The saleswoman in the shop advised me that she hasn't got any calendars. Briefly looking around I discovered a good choice of calendars on display (near her counter!!!), very strange. Was this mend to be satire? Some small food shops are facing financial difficulties, several shelves are more or less empty. Allowing poor customers to buy on credit can provide you with more customers, but even when the sum remains small, with many such customers it may add up to a sum the shop owner can't well afford to do without in the long run. When he or she says: "you need to pay your debt before buying more, I have to stop your credit," some promise to pay soon, others get annoyed, a few don't return anymore, a girl, approx 10 years old throw some coins onto the floor, showing her disrespect for the elderly shop owner. I wonder what values her parents teach her. These not exactly well-off minor shop owners fulfil an important function in this country, yet they are not appreciated the way they should be. It is sad to see folks buying even bred on credit (this French bred costs approx 6 ct a loaf). With a price like that nobody ought to remain hungry. By the way, I call these little shops which appear to be
everywhere (too many to secure a good turnover)
 "Uncle Ali Shop" (in Germany they were nicknamed "Tante Emma Laden"). In Paris I once saw in a pub a notice saying: "If you ask me for a credit and I say no, you will be annoyed, if I ask you to settle your bill and you say no, I will be annoyed, better if you are annoyed.

My Lovely Fur Family and Fur Neighbours

Cats are a special present from heaven. They motivate me to get up very early in the morning. Tiger usually sleeps at my feet and is the first to start cuddling and purring, so relaxing. Being greeted by my big fur family on the terrace a great start into the morning. They are so lovely and dislike the winter as much as I do. At night after they decided where to sleep (some have their favourite place) I cover them with their small fleece blankets to keep my little darlings warm. Like children they may uncover themselves so before I go to bed I check whether they are okay. Strange, on some days all cats, those that live with us and those who come to the cats' table, appear to be very hungry, on other days they don't feel much like eating. The other day only 4 cats arrived for breakfast, usually 10 or more are coming. What happened? Knowing that animals are often not exactly appreciated I got worried. Slowly more cats arrived, thank heaven. I guess they slept a bit longer just like the sun does now. Adele and Adamo, two injured cats that I successfully nursed and gave shelter in my library as my cat family did not seem to be willing to accept further members, started to remove my books from the shelving. Though they look pretty on the shelf, my books on the floor don't. Maybe they heard that books are getting out of fashion? Anyhow, time to integrate my little darlings. Unfortunately this means taking Adamo to the vet so that we won't have unwanted pregnancies, prevent him from marking his area and causing less problems with the other tomcats. Following the operation I slowly introduced Adamo at first to those ladies that welcome all newcomers, Lilly, Felicitas, Eileen, Suzy, Amelie. It all worked well, I guess Adamo's gentle character was helpful. A few days later it was Adele' s turn. She was very nervous in view of the new surroundings, this changed when she saw her old companion, Adamo. He gave her a special welcome, showed her around. They still stick together a lot. Another new addition, little Janina, approx. 3 months old. One day she appeared in front of my entrance door and pretty much stayed there. She tried to gain entrance a few times, this I refused for a while. One day I discovered she suffers from a gum infection and has a small injury on her right ear. I treated her the way I learnt from our vet (I meanwhile have a little pharmacy for cats). Gentle sweet Janina allowed me to apply that blue liquid onto her gum, not very pleasant, other cats hate it. Even though we are already a big family, I decided Janina deserves to live with us, rather than spend these cold nights outside. Diana performed an acrobat exercise, she filled an ashtray on the floor, not one drop beneath it, I guess she doesn' like smoking? (My husband was not amused.) For our neighbourhood fur angels I leave a bowl of water and dry food ( Croquettes) outside, in the beginning in a pottery bowl, which repeatedly got either broken ( by football or on purpose) or stolen. For a while I have now been using the empty plastic ice-cream boxes instead. On various occasions these disappeared over night. Hopefully stolen to feed cats or dogs, (not "just for fun") but the croquettes are a special mixture for cats rather than dogs. Nonetheless I am not happy with stealing, we prefer to have honest neighbours. It is getting colder, though quite a bit warmer than in most parts of Europe, but it feels alike. Winter means a lot of coughing, sneezing, running noses. As cats can' t use handkerchiefs, nature has another, not very good solution: licking. Whenever possible I clean their nose, ears, face, they don't like it, but more or less tolerate this procedure,  some of my homeless darlings more than my in-house treasures. Not all are the same, several of the home-less angels are so gentle, it is unbelievable and unlike quite a few kids and youngsters here, they know respect!  When I am cold, I don't switch on the central heating (haven't got one), but whenever possible walk upstairs to my roof terrace and enjoy there in the middle of my great gorgeous fur family the free heating from heaven.

Postscript It ain't Easy

Mother: "Time to get up and get ready for school." Son: "I don't want to go, nobody likes me there. The students don't like me, the teachers don't like me, even the secretary doesn't like me." Mother: "But you must go, you are the director!" What do teachers and students have in common? Lack of motivation...... of course not all are like that. Holidays are long and there are many, classrooms are not very inviting, I am told due to lack of funds. Self-help could be a cheap solution and students interested in pleasant surroundings would be helpful. ( Several obviously aren't, as the areas in front of schools proves, so sad, even plants damaged, torn off on a small gardening strip, some appear to consider litter more attractive than flowers.) Often, all too often I would say, school finishes early, (I have seen kids returning from school between 9 and 10 a.m. maybe because the kids are too advanced?) or teachers are on strike yet again! Children get accustomed to being "free of school" and those with ignorant parents possibly also to being "not restricted" by respect and self-discipline. Not everybody can afford to send the children to private schools in order to enable them to get a good education. Quite a few children travel by taxi to and from school. (I recommend for comparison: "Al Jazeera English documentary: dangerous school routes) This remains me when I was young, walking 5 km to grammar school so that I can save the bus fare and buy myself paperback literature. I wonder how many children here still read books? How many non-academic parents encourage their siblings to do so? I noticed that the spelling in English of those folks who learnt this language as a foreign language, is often very bad. Interesting, for those who speak German, this pigeon English is easier to understand than for an average British or American person. The spelling could easily be improved by lots of dictating exercises. If you get the spelling wrong you might end up saying something you don't mean. One can find identical words in different languages, but with a different meaning. In Arabic the word "Fluss" means money, in German river, "Gift" in German means poison, in English present or talent. One way to get misunderstandings. Kids often ask me for sweets, "Bonbon" or chocolate. One little boy who received a muffin a couple of hours earlier, returned, requested chocolate and even named the brand, a medium-priced imported product. As I advised him that I have no chocolate in the house, he declared that bonbon would also be okay. I declined and suggested he returns the next day. So he enquired what he'll receive then. This proves he is educated (knows brands) and has good taste. While I've been advised by local women not to hand out sweets ("they'll be at your doorstep every day, tell them to go to the small shop near your house"), I now understand why these kids can't buy there, the shop-keeper only sells cheaper sweets. By the way, there is delicious, locally produced jam on the market, the tinned one costs less, is just as excellent and quite cheap. Winter has arrived, cold and damp, around where I live it presently takes place from approximately 16.00 hrs until 10 a.m. , nevertheless I am looking forward to spring and summer, and so do my cats, they just love the sun.

It Ain't Easy

"The truth is so precious that it must be hidden. "(Churchill) Tunisia can be proud of her citizens. They value morale, freedom of speech, human rights higher than money. Being poor doesn't  mean they are prepared to sell their souls. Governments (e.g. in USA) should more often listen to the people...  A lesson the Saudis and hopefully in particular MBS (Saudi crown prince) learn, is that money isn't everything and decent guys don't want you to get away with murder. I remember a Spanish judge issuing an international arrest warrant for Pinochet and when he came to visit Great Britain he did actually get arrested. Thank heaven for civilisation, international laws and folks (no matter whether Muslims, Christians or Jews) who are not prepared to look the other way! The people in Argentina, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Turkey and other countries share this believe. Hopefully the demonstrations will remain peaceful. - Inflation is high, 15% are unemployed. Prices have risen 2 or 3 times this year, bred remains cheap, so everybody should at least be able to buy bred. Not surprising imports have become especially expensive, some products are no longer on the market, but with a bit of luck local alternative products are available. Imported dry food for cats, a 20kg sack from the vet, used to cost 238 Dinar meanwhile I have to pay 260 (this may seem a luxury, but if you love cats.... (are perhaps willing to live modestly) and it contains Taurine, cats need this for their health). The so-called salami (600 g turkey meat mainly) used to be 2 Dinar, now the price is 2,600 Dinar, all prices quoted are of this year. Milk and butter stock remain limited. Customers are requested not to buy more than 2 l of milk per day.  It ain't easy, in particular when more or less all prices appear to be going up. Chapeau for citizens who say the Saudi crown Prince isn't welcome here!

Postscript Cats know my Name

Cat education isn't difficult, after a few days they've already taught us what is most important. Life without money is possible, providing you manage to convince folks it's worth their while to support you. If your manners are good and you are charming, you can even have servants (dogs have a master and/or a mistress, cats have servants). When the cat is away, the servants are mourning. It is an advantage to be beautiful, but it is not necessary, intelligence is more important, it offers you many opportunities. Cats are very loyal, you can't buy their love, they are not corrupt, not vindictive, but they know jealousy. Some are happy in a community, others prefer to be "the only child". Amira, our first Tunisian cat, still lives with us together with her 4 now adult children, Tiger, Soleigh, Sandy, Bijoux and our other fur angels. Sandy doesn't like when I am surrounded by other cats. She is really only happy sitting next to me and me stroking her golden fur. Her reaction to Jolino is special, she obviously doesn't like him,  makes a lot of fuzz, as if he threatens her, while he only sits in front of her, saying and doing nothing. I think he enjoys her strong reaction. He is my biggest cat, approx. 6 kg, mainly white fur with golden patches. The other cats feel comfortable in his company. Sometimes Sandy, Tiger and lately also Diana and Alien copying the others, chase Myriam, who likes to sleep in the wooden house that a local carpenter created for us. I don't know why he made it look classic German style. Sometimes Felicitas, Lilly or Eileen join Myriam in her wooden house, they get on well with each other. Unfortunately the cats here tend to have a lot of teeth problems, due to adherence. Poor Bijoux had an appointment with the dentist vet 3 times this year, she is 5 1/2 years old. Nature's protection device for sick cats, hide when you are weak and maybe easy prey, is not very helpful when you want to take her/him to the vet's (apart from the possible fight as the cat doesn't want to enter the transport box). But anyhow, when your cat's behaviour changes, in particular when hiding, she or he is likely to be sick. Screaming while eating makes it pretty obvious what's wrong. Unlike us the cat needs anaesthesia, but then again we wouldn't attempt to bite the dentist. Though there are times when one may feel like doing likewise.

Cats know my Name

And my address I may add. There are days when my cats don't feel like eating much, strange,  those indoors and those outdoors, my usual guests. Whenever I have surplus food I take it to a place where poor little fur darlings look for food among the garbage. Some real beauties among them,  and looking so neat (exception when sick), in Europe they would be expensive. Lately two or three of these come to my house looking for me when they are hungry. I may add my now regular outdoor guests once upon a time also discovered my address, now they try to prevent too many additional newcomers. The two cat mummies, Esperanza and Alice, (both are left with just one baby still alive, I let them temporarily sleep in my small corridors) like to chase away in particular young new cats. As a result of this I always take special care not to let them out until my other guests have finished their breakfast. Esperanza and Alice appear to enjoy each others company, sometimes they play "husband and wife".  When I call them:  " Come your baby is missing you", they usually arrive, occasionally out of nowhere. When the baby calls her mother and she replies, this interchange is so sweet. Esperanza watches me carefully whenever I touch her baby, once or twice she even slightly slapped me as the service was not exactly to her liking. Nice to know she doesn't consider me too old to learn. By the way, Esperanza recovered well following her operation of her broken jaw (car accident). At the time her vet advised us that since she's young her chances are good. One day her 4 weeks old baby walked out. I couldn't find her anywhere, nor did I see her mother, therefore I hoped that they were together, possibly in an unoccupied house ruin nearby. Next morning I was disappointed neither to see Esperanza nor her little one. A couple of hours later first the mother arrived and after several minutes the little darling also speaking her mind, at least it sounded as if she had a lot to say. I guess she missed her warm soft bed last night  but anyhow I was happy to see she's doing fine. Following their breakfast the two decided to have a rest, a lovely picture lying side by side, mummy with a leg around her baby. They looked so peaceful. I am always worried when cats are outside, the traffic and those disturbed kids/young men. One 5 or 6 year old I repeatedly caught abusing cats and hitting a little girl, "just for fun". It makes me feel so helpless. I don't believe in looking the other way. This stupid boy pulled our very special Bella's tail and hurled her around. Viewing this I wished for a moment that the cats wouldn't be so gentle but scratch him so hard he wouldn't dare touching them again. In the past I saw him throwing stones at cats and the other day attempting to kick one. Hopefully speaking to his parents and explaining to them that their son is  on a bad route, will help? Bella and Honey call us when they see us, even from quite a distance and Bella lately started to accompany my husband also, when shopping, like a dog might do, only she without a leach of course. Knocking at the sitting room door (hitting the key attachment against the door) was first Felicita's idea, copied by Lilly, meanwhile Amelie, Suzy, Sandy and Alien do the same. Learning by watching, not bad my little treasures! Eileen prefers to "knock" at the window with her little paws. When Tiger sees I am getting ready for bed, he calls and follows me. My late Filou used to climb down his tree and join me. Cats and dogs are great to have as friends and can have as a family member a positive effect on kids' development. Kids learn by watching. Teach them to see and appreciate the beauty of nature and animals. An older grey cat, Grace, used to spend most of the day lying in front of my entrance day. She loved Croquettes which I buy from the vet's. About 3 weeks ago I heard a shuffle, cats' and dogs' voices, by the time I arrived at the door I only managed to see 2 dogs disappear with a dark coloured cat in their mouth. Ever since neither I nor my neighbour saw Grace again, the victim must have been this little darling. Yesterday Esperanza went for  an evening walk and didn't return. I tried in vain to find her and got quite worried. She wouldn't sleep outside, stay without her baby, not by choice. Breakfast time, most of my fur treasures are there (apart from the usual long-sleeping suspects), but where is my lovely Esperanza? Lunch time, still no sight of her. I hear a cat calling, but where is she? From the roof of my house I discover much higher on another roof the sweat little cat face that I know so well, Esperanza. I feel so happy she's alive, I just must work out from which roof can I fetch her down and unite her again with her baby. The neighbour is not at home but luckily returns not long later. All is well, Esperanza is thirsty.

This is the Life

Father: "Son, I don't want to hear any more of your stupid lies, I want you to be polite and learn good manners, otherwise you won't achieve anything in life." Son: "But I want to become president!" Father: "You are not in the USA here, furthermore you won't inherent millions of Dollars." - For approx. 3 weeks items like milk, butter, several cheeses more or less disappeared from shop shelves. This gave me a chance to discover Arabic butter. I love it, it is not pre-wrapped and tastes very light and fresh. Some of the cheaper cheeses (not talking of soft cheese) lack flavour and my husband wonders "why Tunisians didn't learn from the French how to make tasty cheese".  If yo u spread mustard on top it's not too bad. The Tunisian Camembert is okay and the smoked cheese, in my opinion. Whenever the quality is acceptable, we are happy to buy Tunisian products. But when you like a product, it may well suddenly disappear. It happened with beautiful tiles. "We like to produce new designs every year." What if you wish to replace broken ones? Better buy some as a reserve. In Germany I discovered a shop that bought remaining tiles from various sources and thus offered a chance to find just the one you were looking for. Carrefour supermarket used to sell excellent bred and rolls, an alternative for those who don't want to eat only white bred. If you can attract customers with e.g. such a product, you are likely to sell more items to them at the same time. Lately Carrefour seems to have a new supplier, pity. The small round barley bred sold elsewhere is good. In Kairouan one can find various types of excellent tasty breds. Any white bred should be eaten while crusty and fresh, thus fairly quickly or use a toaster, we don't like wasting bred. Several folks collect old bred which they re-sale for the production of animal food, unfortunately they also re-sell molding bred, which can cause cancer, in animals too. Heating up doesn't make it less harmful. If you keep old bred without plastic it will harden without mold. - A neighbour first had one Alsatian dog on the roof, now there are two. I wonder whether we need regulations that restrict the number of dogs one may keep on the roof. Dogs here seem to be gentle by nature, unfortunately these kids or youngsters believe it's fun to kick/beat dogs or pretend to attack them and then start running. Not surprisingly this makes dogs nervous, if not aggressive and bark a lot. If the owners and kids would instead really care for their dogs, try games without aggression (unless they want fierce dogs),  the situation could be so different. -
When we had a lot of rain I discovered (for the first time) 5 snails with a long shell crawling on my terrace wall, it was the type I previously found in Europe in my aquarium. Since I don't live near a river I presume they arrived together with sand delivered from a river site. - I mentioned before that ignorant folks drop their litter in front of a garage door (and even worse inside) in the neighborhood. The town cleaned the pavement now, repeatedly. They do their best, bravo, but those stupid people appear to be willing to continue the bad habit, even though it's against the laws. If it were my garage, I would put up a notice saying: "You forgot your litter, please leave your address so that I can return it to you and maybe also leave mine in front of your door."

My 2 Black Angels and Other Habibati

Cats are a present from heaven, their purring so relaxing. Felicia and Lily, my black ladies with shiny soft fur, like velvet, are real gentle angels, never fighting with other cats, welcoming all new comers. Every cat around enjoys their company. And so do we! Approx. 3 years ago I discovered my cute Felicitas, only a few weeks old, climbing behind the barrier, very sportive. She used to be very fit and lively, a bundle of joy. We let her sleep in the bedroom whenever she wants to, as she in particular likes to cuddle with me and lately also with my husband. When she started to loose weight I discovered that my little darling sometimes just pretends to eat, she puts food in her mouth, then spits it out again. The vet advised me that cats only eat food they can smell and this they can't do when their nose is blocked. What helps is Physiol Drops and when it gets real bad inhalation at the vet's. Felicitas is very special for me, unfortunately she suffers from a chronic cold, therefore can't be vaccinated. Though I actually can't afford to pay for all my little darlings to be vaccinated which would require 2 injections every year. This medical protection is very much more expensive for them  then for us. Justified? Or is the pharmacy industry once more just taking what they can get? By the way,  in a documentary about an island with a poor population, it was mentioned that vaccination against rabies only cost 25 CT (there offered for free). Cats' immun system in Tunisia appears to be much weaker than in Europe. Sudden death in particular among very young kittens is rather common, in addition several get run over while crossing streets, life hasn't got much to offer them, so sad. Lily used to look like Felicita's twin sister, but now is much fitter and weighs more. Children discovered her 18 months ago, sitting on my cement strip, large bump on her head and another injury, under shock (biten by a dog, hit by a hooligan). She has a great character, much like Felicita. Strange some folks don't like black cats, most of them are superstitious, the ignorant believe any nonsense. Gloria, Alice and Esperanza almost gave birth to their kittens in front of my entrance door. In each case I was there just in time to rush them in and make use of the make-shift shelter I managed to provide for them. Gloria's babies were the fittest. This loving mum never stopped caring for her kittens even when they got older. Gloria is the most beautiful cat I have ever seen (black, red, brown and a bit of white), so gentle. Unfortunately she disappeared 3 weeks ago, as I had her operated she can't have started a new family, I can only hope she is still alive. Some of her little ones died, the others are fine. All were old enough to cope without their mummy, when she disappeared. I am also missing Cinderella, white fur, blue eyes, gentile and sweet. Hopefully she is living with a new good family now, she would have returned if she could. Tunisian folks prefer very young kittens, if they intend to have a cat, but in view of her beauty someone may have made an exception. I asked around and checked the streets in the neighbourhood, these 2 little habibties are nowhere in sight. Esperanza and Alice had their kittens within the same week. When these 2 dedicated mummies go outside for a few minutes, they walk together briefly and seem to exchange their experiences. Babies calling, they quickly want to return, usually. Sometimes Alice has a bit of a rest underneath my yucca plant. One evening she went out and I couldn't trace her anywhere. She was nowhere in sight, I tried again and again to find her. Something must have happened to her, I knew she wouldn't desert her kittens. Early in the morning, feeding time - no Alice, I checked the neighbourhood area. All in vain, until finally later in the morning she returned and waited underneath my yucca plant. She was bleeding from her mouth and nose, a poor sight. So this was the cause either an accident or an attack from a dog maybe. The vet thought an accident, broken jaw. Now I have 2 cats that had a broken jaw and I know my vet can operate it well. The other one, Myriam is doing fine and Alice is quickly recovering. I am so happy and so were her kittens (only 2 survived, 2 were already born dead) which adored their mum. Unfortunately later on another kitten died, so she is left with only one now and so is Alice who has a very lively little darling with black and red fur, not at all looking like her golden coloured mother. There are so many things in life we don't really need but cats are essential - at least for me. Thank heaven for these little treasures.

Postscript In Autumn and other Seasons

Living here for more than 5 years, what has changed? Nothing much I'd say. We've seen kids physically growing up, mentally not so much, not knowing how to spend their time they hang around, doing some damage to our property if they can (looking at it positively, at least they are not lazy). They are strong, bend metal and even manage, with some kind of tool, to make holes in strong metal pieces. Yes, we get a lot of attention! There is a continuation, younger kids have taken over this local "folklore" of throwing stones, yelling like lunatics, demonstrating their disrespect, having problems tolerating cars on the street. Teens riding their motorbikes with one wheel in the air, the younger ones acting likewise with their bikes. Couple of days ago a young man on a motorcycle ignored the right of way of a car whose driver was speeding. The accident was fatal for him. For his funeral service approx. 100 young men turned up plus family, relatives etc. Very sad to see, hopefully they will learn from this the need to avoid dangerous driving. Live fast, die young. In a so called "collective taxi" we once passed a place where a fatal accident happened a few minutes ago. Our driver slowed down for 5 minutes and then carried on his dangerous overtaking. I guess arguing with him while he's driving could also have a negative effect on his driving style. On account of car wheel marks on our house wall we have had a concrete strip made attached to the house wall as a kind of spacer. This was welcomed by local hooligans as a bench. They thanked us by dropping their litter, being very noisy and rude. The strip turned out to be very useful as a "cats' table" for my little guests, but these hooligans were just too much and we had to get it demolished, extra costs so unnecessary. Some folks have pols installed so that cars can't park on their pavement. A neighbour had 5 large brick stones fixed with cement for this purpose, she tried it 4 times, each time 3 or 4 got smashed. I guess revenge for her not accepting footballs being kicked against her wall.We have to always consider hooligans' reaction as well, what is possible in other streets, we often can't do. By the way, the household rubbish that I mentioned before (dumped inside and in front of an empty garage), that what was dumped in plastic bags outside, was picked up by a small rubbish vehicle, loose litter remained and soon attracts more rubbish. - I came here with a lot of good intentions. In the beginning I thought of arranging a street party with finger food and soft drinks for the neighbourhood, thus introducing ourselves and getting to know the folks around here. I further planned to show housewives various techniques of making toys and creating wall hangings, mobile, etc at practically no costs. Some items like that I had successfully sold years ago in my arts and crafts shop in England. Following the hostile reception we partly received, I no longer feel the inclination! Pity, looks like the revolution had a negative effect on some, at least my experience prior was so different. Luckily we also encounter good charming folks, educated, with excellent manners. They are the ray of sunshine that give us hope for a great country. It is possible after all.

In Autumn and other Seasons

A man got married and has a lot of stress because his wife has so many wishes. He thinks: I guess I am lucky that I am not a Muslim married to 4 wives. As years go by his wife gets bored, studies at the university and gains a well paid job. The man now thinks: Pity I am not a Muslim married to 4 wives........

Expats are all rich, come from rich families and don't know any poor folks. Really? You wish! But that is what some believe here and they are willing to supply addresses (their own) of those in need. Travelling by taxi with a neighbour's son. The taxi driver decided that I am rich (does he know something I don't?) and suggested to my fellow traveller he should persuade me to support him as he has 5 children and a low income. On other occasions we have been asked by people we hardly know, to contribute to the costs of their operations, medical treatments or other expenses. Nice try. I have previously written about the contributions of expats to the country's economy.  Several have left again on account of the bad reception they received by several ignorant country men, women and children. So sad. - At present residents are not allowed to transfer money out of the country, I guess there are exceptions for imports etc. The country needs money, I wonder if the rich would honestly pay their taxes or even be prepared to support their country according to their abilities..... But this didn't even happen in Greece. Less greed, less corruption, honest politians, a better world, a dream. - In the neighbourhood I found proof of the "Broken windows theory", according to which one is ill advised not to repair damage (like a broken window) done to a building unless one is happy to soon see all windows smashed. In this case it doesn't concerns a broken window, but an unused garage with a damaged door (wrote about it), while several folks dumped their garbage through the hole in the door, an elderly woman decided the pavement in front of this door is just as suitable for her rubbish. Not long afterwards many plastic bags etc appeared there  with litter. By the way within a few minutes walking distance there are garbage containers that are emptied daily (not at all a nice job without gloves or other protective clothes, shoes, I hope the guys receive at least a decent wage). - Some kids now have a bike, but don't think they would cycle to the near beech, no for unknown reasons they prefer to stay within a very small radius, a toddler could walk it. The world is full of surprises. A woman returning from a holiday in Europe stated Tunisia is the best country in the world, yes it can be if we manage to change the mentality of a few. The need for this I heard several folks express. By the way, I must correct myself, I previously said we are very lucky, no extreme weather occurances here, this is no longer quite true unfortunately, at Cap Bon the flooding was severe, did a lot of damage to buildings, swept away cars and even caused death. Via mobile phone and internet there is a call to show solidarity and donate a Dinar (or more). Crowd funding to help the victims, a good idea. We need this attitude. Let us make this country great and teach the ignorant.

Part 2 Postscript Social Behaviour

1. I like to compare human and animal behaviour. Tomcats mark their hunting ground/ territory with a bit of urine, boys and young men in this part of the town use their peelings and other litter instead. In addition they mark the walls of the houses around their "street stadium" with their football. They are so strong and demonstrate this and prove how mature they are, by bending parts of my metal fencing or causing other damage. I viewed in no other country kids approx. 9 years old, riding a motorbike. Cats don't like too much competition, certain cats from around here are accepted for joint meals in front of my house, if additional ones arrive they are chased away. Expats have lived in Paradise and return stinking rich (general believe). Anyhow, they don't deserve to be any better off than some other folks who live from day to day. So why not chase expats away from this quarter, town, maybe country? Worked in several cases, ideally they sell their house next to nothing, or look for tenants, or leave it for the youngsters to play with. In the neighborhood is a garage with a damaged wooden door, the middle panel has been brocken off. The hole appears to be big enough to throw bags filled with garbage into this room. Whoever had this idea first, has many followers.  The poor owner needs good nerves, he doesn't live around here I am told. Some folks believe cats are dirty, yet only a sick cat isn't immaculate. 
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Postscript Social Behaviour

A meeting of dictators from various  countries, exchanging their evil ideas, on the flight back the aeroplane crashes. Who gets saved? The world.....
Now that prices have gone up and the Dinar's rate of exchange has gone down (a chance for tourists to enjoy a cheap holiday), imports have become more difficult, in particular effecting pharmacy products. Substitute local products can be a solution, but are not always as effective or can have additional unwanted side effects. On the other hand I discovered a Tunisian herbal product "Plantalgic" that is safer than the usual pain relief pills (usually with Paracetamol) but doesn't sell as well so less was ordered, some even returned to the pharmacy wholeseller, thus now difficult to obtain. For a short period milk disappeared from the shops, this was due to farmers demanding more pay. If milk or other animal products are sold too cheap this leads to even more exploitation of animals, often treated like objects rather than living creatures with feelings. - Like in other countries, if one man has a business idea, others pick it up and try to make money the same way (often within a really short distance) but actually thus insuring that profits remain low for all concerned. Our favourite fruit and vegetables street vendor, an honest gentle man, has given up. One of the others tried his luck in the past as plumber, electrician (without the proper qualification), thief..... we make a special point never to buy from him.  Within a very short distance there are 5 chicken and eggs selling shops, an additional one opened lately. Looks like folks here lack business ideas, I mean new ones, ideally niches. Mathematics and planning are other weak points. Old age pensioners arriving from Eastern Germany (ex DDR) must feel a kind of "Deja Vue".

Social Behaviour

Do you know how to make a cat or dog "do your job"? If you are too lazy to cuddle with your wife, get her a cat or dog. Why would one be too lazy for that? Well, all those drivers who are just too lazy to switch off the car engine when stopping for a few minutes or even longer, I can well imagine that they would be too lazy for that too! -

Otherwise would they not be more considerate and try to protect the environment by not adding more exhaust gas to the environment than necessary? We are misfortune as 9 of 10 taxis that stop here do so right in front of our door and then the passengers walk off in all directions. Are they ashamed of their houses or do they think their address must remain top secret? In addition we have all those "easy riders", young men (mainly) proudly driving their motorbikes like lunatics, leaving a black stinking cloud for us to breath in, it is worse than at a petrol station. So maybe I shouldn't be surprised that my immune system gets effected. By the way, the authorities don't see the need for registration plates for motorbikes, they don't seem to need the money and unwittingly make it easier to ride a stolen motorbike or to misuse it for snatching handbags etc. Protection of the environment is not rated very highly. Next time various heads of states meet to discuss this subject I hope Tunisian representatives can also make it. The value of clean air, water and soil is rated too low, even more so in the south, unknown are silent hours, no kids yelling, no dogs barking from flat roofs, these items make a country great and allow folks to become more relaxed. But I guess what you don't know you won't miss, when you grow up with lots of noise, you think it is normal and unavoidable. In addition there are all those market crier, selling their fish, vegetables, fruit or plastic by van or cart, yelling, yelling, yelling......On the radio somebody said that now school holidays are over (thank heaven for that) the poor kids will see less of their parents. Around the area where we live they will only miss the street, they may see their parents walking by, to do some shopping or on the way to the cafe, apart from that maybe briefly around lunch time and then not until after midnight. At least they won't get homesick while attending those short school hours. There doesn't seem to be much they need to learn. I was surprised to find out that one of those boys who love to throw stones (even from the roof) at the cats, us, our house, uses bad language, actually comes from a decent family. It's the street, bad models that shape these kids. Several folks told me they wouldn't allow their children to mix with them. Neglected and disturbed, something needs to be done, this country could be so beautiful, we are very fortune, we don't suffer from disasterous weather like many other countries. Everybody can distribute a bit to a good society with respect, empathy, tolerance. "Me first" Donald Trump style isolats, though it's easier to live with lots of money, it doesn't guarantee you quality of life.
Cats are happy with shelter, food, water, clean toilet, cuddling, their love is honest and they are modest. Can't we learn from them? They are unaware of their beauty. I can't imagine a life without them. I wish that parents would teach their children to see the beauty of animals and nature in general, this would make them better citizens as they grow up and Tunisia a country we can all be proud of.

Good and bad days

Vacancy at a radio station for a news reader, as news have to be usually presented at a high speed, the applicant should be able to read the news of the world in 10 seconds. Complains one lady: Why didn't you take me, I did manage. Answer: Another woman only took 5 seconds.....I guess the reason behind high speed news reading, while there appears to be on the other hand always plenty of time for giggling, must be with all these bad news daily, if you listen to all that you only get depressed while giggling hopefully puts you in a better mood. - The streets are congested with traffic, you'd think as a pedestrian you never get across a busy road (not so many traffic lights here apart from Tunis), but no, raise your arm and cars stop almost immediately. Gentlemen/lady drivers like that I didn' experience in Europe, great. - One Turkish woman said she heard you get to heaven if you plant 100 trees, sounds like a good idea, we could do with more trees. I have actually planted one already, it's a start...... - Feeding time. I call one of my customers at my cats'  table: "Jasmina, Jasmina". Two ladies approaching, laughing. Says one of them: " My name is Jasmina, are you calling me?" I explained that I chose that name for the cat because she is beautiful and so is the lady, a good name for a beauty.- Esperanza, a lovely tri-coloured cat gave birth to 4 kittens and placed them behind my metal barrier, between the plants. I discovered this as heavy rain and thunder started, babies creaming. So I quickly prepared a make-shift bed for them in my small corridor and fetched them inside. The mother inspected this and then checked outside if all her 4 babies are actually indoors. She obviously can't count up to four. This turned out to be an advantage for 2 grey kittens, same age as her children, suddenly appeared from across the road. I tried to put them to where they came from, but they returned to the foster mum that they had selected. Esperanza's kittens often have their nose and eyes sealed, a common problem here. Esperanza completely trusts me and allows cleaning these, even when her little ones protest (sometimes bite me slightly). From time to time she has her "time out" and relaxes underneath my yucca plant, leaving me to babysit for her kittens. Now another baby cat discovered Esperanza and she is friendly to the little one, often adult cats try to chase kittens away that don't belong to them. Alison, a golden coloured street cat, highly pregnant, tried to force me to give her shelter. Not easy with so many guests and cats try to make sure that it doesn't get overcrowded, even concerning their area outside on the road. Anyhow just in time I managed to get her a bed before she gave birth to 2 black alive and 2 other dead baby cats. I got a feeling she's a less devoted mum than Esperanza is. Doesn't want to stay with the tiny ones for longer periods. At present there is something in the air again that makes some cats sick, gives them fever and can cause their sudden death, experienced this  with 4 lately. Vaccination is a good prevention, but unfortunately with so many cats I can't afford to pay for this, there is already a fair amount necessary for dental treatments, various injections and medicine and of course food, could do with "crowd funding" for vaccinations at least. - A lady approached me, her cat had disappeared. She was hoping that I've seen her. Later on I found a leaflet with the cat's picture lying on the street. I put it on my door, it disappeared within 10 minutes. The kids in the neighbourhood are like that, no respect. If I put a nice bowl outside, they will either steal or damage it. Always happy to do same damaged to other folks property (and don't I know it),  no feeling of wrong doing, no shame, they believe their behaviour is normal, they don't know better. One of the most stupid sentences I heard here is: ,"They are children." (Meaning they can behave totally irresponsible.) Some are, some aren't any longer. Their actions remain similar. Besides, children aren' t brainless creatures. I viewed a youngster attempting to kick a sheep's head, so I asked him whether I should do the same to him. He looked so surprised. Why did this strange woman say that? Keeping quiet, looking the other way, may be easier, but it won't make this world a better one. As Noam Chomsky put it: " Let us admire and endure each other.

Eid Moslem Holiday

Lots of sheep in the neighbourhood. Aid holiday coming up, celebration of the story from the Genesis 22 (https://genius.com), that part of the Bible that Jews, Christians and Muslims share, in different ways. For the Muslims I would say it is as important as Christmas for Christians. It is a custom to buy a sheep (if somehow possible), feed and walk it for approx. one week, let the children play with it. I may be wrong, but I am under the impression that often children see the sheep more like their future delicious meal than like a living animal. I am glad I was never forced to eat such a

temporary new family member. Already at a very young age I even refused to eat fish that my father had caught and brought home alive. And yes I stopped eating meat, not because I didn't like the taste of it, but because I love animals. If meat would grow on trees or bushes, I would have continued, and yes, I don't want to criticise religious customs. - Anyhow, I would like to use the occasion to suggest listening to the song: "The Story of Isaac", lyrics (and sung) by Leonhard Cohen. It is telling the story from Isaac's perspective. What this song is about, Leonhard Cohen explained like this: "It's about those who would sacrifice one generation on behalf of another......... and just at the last moment, before he was about to sacrifice Isaac, an angel held the hand of the father. But today the children are being sacrificed and no one raises a hand to end the sacrifice."

Continued Strange or Normal

I learnt from Erdogan that Turks keep money underneath their pillow. Tunisians as well? I lifted my husband's pillow, but there was nothing, not even a millim, (30 Millim are approx 1Eurocent) I am disappointed!
I needed a medical specialist and once more discovered that the stated consulting hours are not identical with the working hours of the doctor in question (unless he/she also works in a hospital, etc. not uncommon). When the lady at the reception also turns up late this may be an indication that you can expect a delay. The psychiatrist next door had more patients anyhow. The receptionist kept visiting her colleague there, helping out? She is lucky to have a very tolerate boss. Altogether receptionists appears to be tasked with less duties here than in e.g. Germany. While there dentists try to save teeth (after all we are not in the same position as sharks, when they loose teeth new grow again), dentists in hospitals don't make fillings for folks with low or no income, they pull out the tooth, the cheapest, but in the long run not the best solution. I hope the health system can be improved in the near future and more be done for the misfortune. On the other hand in the USA as far as I know the health insurance usually doesn't include the dentist and thus quite a few folks can't afford to see one. So you end up with either a gap in your teeth or on your savings. -  I mentioned before (under a different topic) that the town authorities tried to make the area near the grammar school, opposite the Mosque, look more attractive, planted some bushes and small trees, the very special folks around here managed to break off two tree trunks with roughly 12 cm in diameter, feels more like home to them with the addition of litter nearby. The kids and youngsters from the neighbourhood within walking distance are amazing. They don't get tired at night, do a lot of talking without a full stop or a comma, even though they never touch a book unless they have to, most of the time it's more yelling than talking actually - so it's obvious they didn't invent a mobile phone, a drum would do them fine! They appear to be a lot on the move, running without a reason, don't like to keep their hands still, hyperactive in fact, impulsively, quickly get aggressive and anxious, have difficulties paying attention. This might well be an indication of quite a few around here suffering from ADHS or ADD, an attention deficit disorder. The cause can be stress, environmental factors, brain chemistry, heredity, neglectance.  And yes, they need help, it is not good enough to say: "They are children".  Children don't need to be like that and they are not happy like that. So before you dress up nicely and go for a pleasant walk, check if your children are okay, don't just open the door and leave the rest to the street. Your boy may be happy with a football, but is this really all he needs? 

Strange or normal?

A fortune teller told an elderly lady: "I see a handsome young man carrying you on his arms and reading all your wishes from your lips. So relax and be happy." The elderly lady replied: "Oh thank you. Can you also see whether my health insurance pays for this? "

With so many unemployed you'd think service must be excellent here, but no, if you need a tradesman to carry out some repairs in your house, forget about "the customer is king" as the saying goes in middle of Europe, you are in Africa, feel more like a beggar. "Servicewueste" you can take literally here (of course there are exemptions, but too few). The tradesman will never say: sorry, I can't make it until.... Instead he usually pretends that he'll turn up at an agreed time (there are very few exceptions) but actually you can be pretty sure he will neither meet the time nor the date.  If you try to phone him, you will hear that message on tape that he isn't available, when you eventually reach him, he will give you another time that he also won't meet (I call it rendez-vous Arab). By the way, if you don't want to see him again, give him an advanced payment. Many a true words spoken in yest.  Just imagine in central Europe, a working couple arranges an appointment and one of them takes time off work in order to be present and possibly monitor the tradesman's performance (I strongly advice the later here). Taking leave because you are waiting for the tradesman? You may need a whole month or even more. The guy who wanted to carry out our last order turned up at 22.00 hrs, intending to work until midnight or stop when he's tired and promise to return within the next few days. Noisy works late at night? Not a problem, as far as I know there aren't any restrictions, some seem to even love it loud, not only children who are experts in creating noise. 

Noise avoidance is all too often not practised, not even following a celebration until early morning. Expats returning from Europe seem to arrive with a different mentality, though some men eventually change their attitude towards women and their duties around the house, (become rather conservative), difficult for European wives and in contrast to how a modern Tunisian woman sees her part in life. There is too much self-centred attitude. - In Germany Yugoslavian restaurants flourished with the cooks,the waiters, the owners coming from different parts of the country, Serbs, Bosnians, etc all working together until Yugoslavia fell apart and they started to hate each other. Then these restaurants disappeared. Doesn't this show the advantage of working together, accept diversity? Me-first, bad feelings like hate, envy, malicious joy, aggression don't provide us with a good life. If we instead see us as part of the community and try to contribute towards a tolerate society, educate the ignorant, teach respect, empathy, not accept corruption (the basis of a lot of evil), we can all contribute towards a great Tunisia.