An Alien in Tunsia

A Tunisian, Algerian and Moroccan meeting.  A fly molesting the Moroccan so he draws a sword off the wall and with one blow cuts the fly in half. Another fly this time molesting the Algerian so he also takes the sword and with two blows divides the fly into quarters. A further fly arrives and chooses to molest the Tunisian guy. He tries to chase it away, all in vain. Finally he feels forced to try his luck with the sword, one blow - the fly flies away. "This fly will never have any children" declares the Tunisian.
Having spend many years in Europe, returning to Tunisia may well turn out a bigger step than anticipated. Feeling like an Alien, Tunisia has changed, kids and young folks have differed  values, manners, some are due to disillusions, lack of opportunities.  Kids without respect for anyone, is this a result of the revolution? Anyhow, for unknown reasons they like to meet near our house, coming from all directions of the surrounding area. Several folks pointed out that they are particularly bad here and they would never allow their children to mix with them. A request to be less noisy late at night these children regard as an insult and they immediately take revenge by throwing stones at our house. Wanting to beautify the house walls facing the street is restricted as we have to take into account the kids' reaction, when you are bored I guess destruction can be fun and they are not accustomed to being held accountable. A small water canister that I use (with a cut out window) to provide street cats with water, I have to secure with a chain and lock. Today I discovered inside an approx. 4 weeks old kitten, thank heaven just in time, before it drowned. The poor little darling was shivering. Having dried her with a towel I put her in my special hammock, actually a cat's invention, the loop of my entrance door curtain. Highly unlikely that the kitten got inside the water container all by itself. - While it makes sense to offer animals water in view of the heat, others feel the urge to remove these little plastic bowls (often created out of the bottom part of a bottle). I heard adults explaining to their kids that cats are dirty and must be treated accordingly. The only dirty cats I ever came across were sick ones, happy to be washed with a cloth. Cats are  never dirty by choice. Those that " hang around" in the rubbish damp area prevent the arrival of rats, mice and cockroaches (the later they successfully hunt but don't eat). We miss the sound of silence, silent rest, noice restricting middle European law and stricter environmental protections legislation. I see young folks proudly riding motorbikes, leaving a black stinking cloud behind and making a hell lot of noice. Understandable that youngsters don't dream of riding a bike nowadays, that wouldn't provide them with the same feeling of freedom (remember the film "Easy Rider"). - An unusually high bill for water consumption arrived, why all of the sudden? We try not to waste water, usually drink mineral water (on medical advice as the tapped water contains too much chalk unfortunately). Maybe we got a swimming pool in the cellar? But no, there  is no cellar, cellars are not exactly common here. It turned out to be a misreading of the water clock. That guy needs glasses. - One can't always find what one intends to buy. At first I put it down to bad planning or maybe unpaid debts of the wholesalers. But it is not always as simple as that. For example some pharmacy products disappeared, the same happens in France. The reason behind this is that that the concerned manufacturing industry decided they don't make enough profit. Not that they are poor, just greedy. -Some imports may have become too expensive, but for unknown reasons a few in Tunisia produced items are at present also not available, pity. - Transport is very cheap, even kids travel to school by taxi, at least in Sousse many do. Streets are congested with cars. A better bus and train service would be ideal, also for the environment. We feel there is too little awareness of the damage air pollution does to people's health. In view of so many well educated unemployed there seems to be lots of scope to tackle many a problem but I guess funding is a great obstacle. Much needs to be done but it is worth it. Tunisia has much to offer.