PostScript Diamonds and Stones

Djego poor puppy found on the street

 "Teach a child not to be cruel to an animal and you will teach him one of the basic principles of the human condition." Caroline Earle White.                                               In Tunisia you can find them both, those who love and those who hate animals. James Baldwin once said: "People will always hate what they can't understand and they hate so much because they understand so little." A woman from the neighborhood accused me of feeding cats in front of her house and causing dirt, stated she's allergic to cats and her children are sensitive too. I actually don't, she saw me being followed by cats and drew the wrong conclusions. A neighbor told her she's mistaken, the rubbish near her house has nothing to do with me and why does she live here if she wants a sterile clean surrounding. My husband adviced her that Allah punishes those who hate animals, that is why countries where they respect and love them are better off and they have clean streets. Humans, children and adults, dump their rubbish on the street, not cats! Running out of arguments that woman accused me of loving cats too much. Poor cats and dogs have to look for food among the rubbish, often real beauties, surprising to see them  there. Some folks discovered that their ex family member on four legs attends my Cats' Table. So I pay for their food, but I don't know where they are sleeping, nights are getting cold and we have a high amount of moisture  in the air. These cats miss their families and love cuddling, I often noticed this, kicking them out for convince is so cruel. If I could I would offer shelter to all of them, not just food. Many Tunisians feed what is left over from their meals, thus noodles, couscous, rice, vegetables, a bit of sardines, bred... (spices are not ideal, in particular salt, nor are beans etc). Unfortunately those who feed often forget to tidy up afterwards, as cats can't do this themselves, the remains stay on the ground, usually on a bit of plastic. Still, good to see folks who care and don't treat cats and dogs like vermin. Only yesterday I watched two boys throwing stones at a dog (not a stray, gentle, but outside on his own). A few days ago, after 5 a.m. I heard a dog wimer interrupted by cries with pain. Following a short search I discovered a puppy lying on a piece of cardboard, throat wounded, a cut or a bite? Close to dying, suffering a lot of pain. I informed my husband and we decided to take him to our vet and try to save his life. The poor soul just fitted in a cat's transport box. After the vet cleaned the wound (deep but not as big as it seemed at first sight), it become obvious that the poor puppy had been bitten by a dog,. I presume a dog trained to fight, those illegal street fights, for which cats are misused for training. The poor little treasure stayed a few days at the vet's, she did an excellent job. Now Djego, as my husband named him, is on the road to recovery, still a bit weak and we are happy he hasn't got a broken leg ( at first it looked as if ). A neighbor informed us that the puppy had been seen sleeping underneath a car the night before the attack. Various folks inquired what happened to him. Nobody knows an owner. We won't put him out on the street again, but with so many cats it won't be easy, if we can find a good family for him, he can be adopted. He is so sweet, gentle and shy. Parting from him won't be easy, we will see. By the way, at present, end of October, the puppy weights 2,5kg and is 2,5 month old.- Near a rubbish heap I viewed a Burmese cat, once a upon a time the most expensive cat in the world, the poor little treasure most probably had a home in the past, these cats are highly in fashion here. But this doesn't protect them against being kicked out if they cause any problem or require medical treatment. Superfisional love, it is better to never depend on such folks. We decided to take Allan, as we named him, to a vet for a check up. He didn't seem to be well and suffered from diarrhea. The vet kept Allan for a few days for control, it turned out that he is approx. seven years old and must have been homeless for quite a while, which means aging quicker, such a difference to mine indoors darlings of the same age. "Animal Hearts Tunisia" met the costs for Allan, much appreciated. Having been washed in Fatima's clinic one can see his still remaining beauty. I hope our other cats will accept gentle, modest, elderly, Allan and he will have a good life with us for his remaining years.

Allan, Burmese little treasure

Diamonds and Stones

 "Our country produces enough to feed us all. Alas, for lack of food organization, we are forced to beg for food aid. It is this aid that instills in our spirit attitude of beggars.            Thomas Sankara 1983.                                                                     When prices are raising it is good to receive lemons, cactus fruit, olives, etc. for free, but unfortunately they are thrown onto our roof and not yet ready for consumption. Please harvest later and don't be shy if you want to thank us for all the toys and sweets we donated to the kids around here, no need to throw secretly. We learned that stones thrown at our house are part of an old local tradition (historic documents already mention inhabitants in North Africa costal  area throwing stones), kids like to spend their time either playing football or throwing stones, they think it's funny. But to be fair, not all are like that. Some ask me to help cats in need. They watch me a lot, so I can't complain about too little attention. Every morning my cats test how many fit into my small kitchen. Once they are all fed, I attend to my visitors to my cats' table. A new arrival is a bitch, German Shepherd with four puppies (she had seven, three died I am told). The female is very gentle and patiently waits whether there is any food left over for her. I am disappointed with my little darlings, they want to steal the doggy food from her, but the bitch remains totally non aggressive, I have to chase some cats away, so she can enjoy her food more or less undisturbed. Her puppies are in the meantime sleeping on a matrass that kind persons provided in an unfinished house. The bitch seems to be known and tolerated around here. This is in line with the demands of the Quran the teachings of Prophet Mohammed, thank heavens for that.

At first I wasn't sure whether I can feed a dog as well, not just financially but also because usually dogs and cats don't get on well together. I guess my feline darlings, my little diamonds, have to get used to the new situation and they sometimes even chase new comers away. (Closed shop?) - A lot of noise, a car parked next to a motorbike, both engines running, men shouting at each other aggressively, close to having a fight, not an unusual sight here, but still, I walk outside and ask them to please not start a war. They look at me with surprise. What do you mean? I repeat my request not to start a war, we had a revolution not long ago, please calm down. Well it worked, following their encounter with that strange woman they departed peacefully. - My doctor advised me it has been recently discovered that 70% of the Tunisian population have too little vitamin D in their body. I remarked it is the result of the way many woman dress, allowing hardly any skin to be exposed to the sun. He replied that is one important aspect but others are effected as well, strong sun doesn't necessarily mean plenty of vitamin D, which bones need. Tourists like to gain a bit of colour on the beach, while face cream on the shelves here try to attract customers with the slogan: Perfect White. Whens  you are required to pay a larger sum, e.g. by a dentist or optician, and are offered installment payments, you will be surprised to learn they actually mean one advance payment and the rest on delivery/ completion of work., rather than the sum being paid over several months.  Hard luck for those who can't manage. - The director of a university in Sousse issued an order that students are not allowed to feed cats on the campus. I wonder what is going on in his head, does he seriously believe this will keep the area clean or is he just one of those ignorants that hate cats and dogs? He should be proud of students showing empathy. Surely students are not too stupid to understand the need to keep the feeding area clean and cats are by nature clean and

 ( unless they are sick) they kill cockroaches, mice, rats, etc.

Amazing, clean cats among a lot of rubbish, so who pollutes the environment?

Samples of fruit donations

A stock of stones in many places

  In the Middle Ages, when cats were killed on a big scale, this led to the spreading of the pesticides, millions died. When Egypt was more advanced, going back in history, killing a cat mend capital punishment. The citizens knew their value to protect cereals. A clean environment without cats? Folks "wash" the streets with a lot of water, they try to protect the roads and pavements against Corona by throwing their face  masks on the ground and " decorate" various areas with plastic and papers. So cats are the problem?

PostScript Positive Changes are Possible

 "Let everyone sweep in front of his own door and the whole world will be clean." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Prices are raising for medication, fruits, vegetables, animal food and other items. A misunderstanding? The president had asked for the opposite in aid for the country. One explanation one hears is the exchange rate for the Dinar, it lost value. While this of course makes imports more expensive, why should it effect locally produced goods? Folks employed to harvest fruits and vegetables are badly paid and without women willing to accept this there wouldn't be much on the market. I wonder whether they profit from the higher price or is it all pocketed by the sellers? You may think the sausage produced for animal consumption is a luxury product, hungry cats and dogs feel differently. Many Tunisian feed the leftover from their meals, thus heavily spiced couscous, noodles and rice, bred. Not exactly what veterinarians recommend and it explains the often bad immune system and short life of pets and strays. I buy the special sausage for cats in addition to the croquettes. Since the prices keep raising and raising, I am forced to reduce the amount I donate to my in-house cats and outside guests. By the way, from time to time a dog or another one arrive without a collar, not sure it's a stray, always well behaved and gentle. Cats don't fear them, one or two even dare chasing the dog away. Lately a bitch that appears to have puppies comes looking for a bit of food. Her tail she presses between her legs, looks like she has been abused a lot and accustomed to having stones thrown at her, a German Shepherd dog. I feel sorry for her and will try to find out whether she has a house and if perhaps an animal protection organisation can help her. Poor darling. - Bad habits die hard. In Tunis folks who damp their rubbish anywhere, if caught pay a 60 Dinar fine and 300 guys are employed to trace those who pollute the environment. It happens even where better-off residents live. For unknown reasons some consider it too much effort to drop their waste in available containers or waste bins. The ignorant just don't care and kids watching this act like wise. Certainly no way to attract tourists. We used to have a place close by with three containers for the residents' waste, a lot used to be damped around the containers, leaving an unpleasant job for those who collect the rubbish. Following a person's  certificate of a doctor that it can be harmful to one's health to live in the direct neighborhood, the containers got removed and a waste collecting lorry arrives at night instead to empty the household bins or pick up the waste bags. I use 2 or 3 small cheap bins since expensive ones might get stolen, and leave them in front of my house, as I am not sure at what time the lorry arrives, usually fairly late. For several days some badly wrapped bags,  partly torn, with  food and other waste were placed next to my rubbish. Neither wanting flees nor cockroaches attracted, nor other neighbours perhaps also deciding to do like wise, I had to find out who acted so selfishly. One day, with two bags containing rubbish already standing next to my bins, I view a neighbor with another bag, seeing me he goes past my house and leaves the bag at a little distance. Next day I see big open black plastic bags in the middle of the road, open,  containing rubbish spread. Where does it come from? Usually our street is quite clean.  Surprise, surprise, a direct very special neighbor, I have written about him before, he invented laws just for us that no one else ever heard about. Further, he advised me that Tunisan folks are very clean, unlike those from the Middle of Europe; my cats are too loud, his son's motorbike tuned to be extreme loud and his racing around here are perfectly okay though. Some people are happy with themselves and as they never do anything wrong they see no need to change.- My husband dreams of a medicine that cures cats from sneezing and running noses. A lot of cats can quickly mean a lot of sneezing, in particular with those cold, damp nights. At present we are all still enjoying the gratuite sunshine, put up with a bit of sweating, early darkness - well not quite, there are too many street lights for that, in our opinion less would do. We hope our President will introduce animal protection laws. Unlike what the uneducated and ignorant believe, there is nothing in the Quran stating that dogs are unclean, dirty, stinking, should be killed, it is fake news! And hopefully folks will learn to protect the environment, it is worth it, Tunisia can be beautiful. I heard expats' children watching people dropping wrappings on the street asking: "Why do they do this?"