Come Rain or Sunshine

 "Be kind to every kind, not just mankind. Just like you and I animals are souls trying to survive." Mohamed Salah     "Truth doesn't mind being questioned but a lie doesn't like being challened."  "No man born to be wicked, but man makes man to be wicked."  Ubuntu African Proverbs       Ramadan has started, but a bit different this time. Not every food item is easily available (e. g. sugar and milk) or often quite expensive (e. g. coffee and meat) . According to the radio there is shortage of bred in Tunis. I hope it won't last long, cheap available bred (highly subsidized in poor countries) is the one item that ensures that no one remains starving. During Ramadan and therefore late meals kids and youngsters roam the streets most of the night. Yesterday a group of 20 children and teens got together, screaming as if bitten by scorpions and running around like mad, mainly in front of our door unfortunately. If these kids are living in good families that really care much  for their children, I would be very surprised. Neglected kids have a very bad start in life, most of their time out on the street, grown up not to respect anyone and adults excusing their bad behaviour with: "They are children." Various expats I talked with expressed their disappointment with the new generation, poor manners, their changed values (ME- First), less solidarity and empathy, in addition all too often living above their means (expensive smartphones and cars). But of course not all are like that, thank heavens. I recall a time when folks could only afford an egg once a week, were happy to possess a bike, nowadays roads are congested with big new cars (more or less paid off in installments) and noisy motorcycles creating black smelling clouds. Apart from "silent hours" I miss the absolutely charming, brilliant North African smile. In my neighborhood I see instead several depressed guys, some also mentally handicapped. In Germany I obtained a diploma as "Occupational Contact Person" for the later, to help them stay in employment. I noted that mentally handicapped persons in Germany are generally in a much better mood than in Tunisia, but of course here unfortunately less support can be provided. In Germany larger firms are legally bound to employ a certain percentage of handicapped persons. Those who don't have to pay a fine for every month this is the case. That money is used to finance aids of various types for severial handicapped individuals. - Sugar still remains a rare commodity, a large hidden stock of bananas has been recently discovered, first strawberries are on sale, bananas imported from South of America (don't they grow in Africa?) are offered at a presently lower price, but quickly disappear. At varied times the water supply is blocked at night until 6 or even 10 o'clock in the morning. Pipes are rinsed daily. We suffer a water shortage, insufficient rain, like in many other countries. Pity, not everybody understands yet the need to save water. My feral family drinks a lot, seems to be much more than the visitors to my Cat's Table. One morning I discovered that Fritz could no longer walk, his hind legs were lame and he dragged himself to the toilet. Suspecting a slipped disc (in the past this occurred to our Baxter, but unlike Fritz he screamed with pain), we took him to our vet. He suggested to get an x-ray. To our surprise the spine of our tomcat was perfectly okay, so the physical problem could only be caused by the brain. Fritz moaned with pain a few times, refused to eat and drank a lot of water. On the way to the vet the next morning he expressed pain, not very loud and we thought that he will soon be better. We got a shock when we opened the transport box, our little treasure had passed over the rainbow. He had suffered a stroke and in the end did not survive. In order to make sure that the diagnosis was correct and he did not die instead of a perhaps contagious illness (e. g. silent rabbies), though we considered this highly unlikely, we agreed to have his corpse sent to Tunis for deeper examination. After a week it was confirmed that a stroke killed our poor Fritz, who had been living with us for 3 years, ever since an elderly German lady appeared and asked us to take him indoors for  4 - 6 weeks. She said her brother will then turn up and take him to Germany. She once more turned up to bring some food and that was the last I heard of her or her brother. Maybe she did actually intend to offer Fritz a new life in Germany and circumstances prevented this, who knows. At least she mend well for him and did not want him to live as a stray. Poor darling. Jane is cuddling with Amelie, then she looks at me, stops and walks over to continue her cuddling this time with me. I feel appreciated and loved by my little treasure. Madona is very special. She has been living with us for 4 or 5 months, but I am still not allowed to touch her. She just tolerates me feeding her and watches me a lot. Obviously Madona only likes cats, she cuddles with them, but she doesn't like or trust humans. Surprising that not more cats share her attitude here, in view of the bad experience many have with humans of any age, young and old. Johnny is amazing, only approx. 4 months old, he suffered a bad accident, bones of one of his back legs broken in such a way that an operation is highly complicated, considered almost impossible, one bone sticking out, but still covered underneath his fur. We had him x-rayed. Young kids found him near the Mosque brought him to me and asked to please save him. Anyhow, our black beauty decided to ignore his handicap and with a slight limp climbs and jumps like the other cats, in addition started to get interested in the lady cats around my house. He is so brave. Being still young improves Johnny's chances to cope even without a risky operation, thank heavens. We want to offer him an enjoyful life, he deserves it and this is also what those young girls felt. Many entering or walking past the Mosque saw him needing help, but only they had enough empathy to act. They gives me hope. By the way, the weather forecast keeps announcing rainy days that then actually remain dry. 

Postscript Tolerance and Different Cultures

 "Knowledge without wisdom is like water in the sand." "Those who live in jungles aren't animals. All those who live in the city aren't humans either." Ubuntu African Proverbs While it is considered a typical European attitude to regard pets as family members, I was pleasantly surprised to hear such a statement from a young boy talking about his cat. He showed me her picture, for most Tunisians she would be nothing special, neither Siamese nor Turkish (in Europe called Persian). Great lad!!! Unfortunately she walked out the other day and he couldn't find her. The reason he came to me. To my regret I couldn't help. During our conversation he told me that his neighbor poisones cats outside, she had already killed 2 of his. Unlike what most Tunisians believe, what she does is against the law and of course a sin for Moslims (Haram). Besides, in an area where many very young children play on the road without supervision ( their protection: other kids) , poisoned food can also be eaten by these little ones. I have seen here cats that were given rat poison, they suffer terribly. If found in time they can be saved. In the past I've brought 3 to the vet. The owners were so happy they recovered. I have seen children cry when their pet dies. - Sadly there is presently a discussion whether people of colour and immigrants from other African countries belong to Tunisia. It seems to be a strange conversation for an African country. After all the darker colour is just a protection by nature against skin cancer. When I was very young I was playing a lot ouside, thus got a nice colour, was maybe a bit dirty as well one day, when I was mend to play in front of my parents' house but moved away from there. People who discovered me brought me to the police station and said: "The gypsies left a child behind..." My father was a bit shocked, while I when I heard the story years later, thought it'd funny. So much is just a question of attitude. Anyhow, some folks believe Tunisia belongs to Europe (many there are "not happy" with the manners of the new generation of North Africans), others think to Arabic or generally Islamic states and last but not least we also have of couse Tunisians who say we belong to Africa. Many countries, not just Arabic ones, can learn from Morocco a different than the nowadays usual approach towards immigrants. Those who respect the laws and regulations of the host country are welcomed, allowed to stay, become residents, work and are even entitled to financial support if needed. Since Morocco is not a rich country the EU helps to fiance this. Why not? Sounds like a win-win situation. Looking at history, welcoming folks from other nations has generally been beneficial to the host country. We can learn from each other, the Occident learned from the Orient. Great people are born in every country. 

Tolerance and Different Cultures

 "Cry about the simple hell people give to other people - without even thinking. Cry about the hell white people give to coloured folks, without even stopping to think." "The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience." Nelle Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird  Quots  "  - " Europeans, Westerners, Russians, Arabs. If you were to get to know them, not as a category, but individually, then you can see how we are all, more or less, flesh and mind, the same. We can only recognize ourselves in the faces of the other. " Elif Shafak.                      It is a sad truth that racism, to a higher or lower degree, is a reality in most countries in the world. I read that it didn't exist before the slave trade. Anyhow, Arabs were the first and last in modern times to ship millions of Africans out of  the continent as slaves. The total figure for the 19th century was 1,2 millions slaves to Arabia. Most of the Arab trade slaves did not regain freedom, unlike those in Europe and America. Tunisia was the first country to abolish slavery. 10 - 15 % of the Tunisian population are "of colour" (should one call the others colourless?) many are descendants of slaves. Possible compensation for the horrible past appears to be unthinkable, instead several citizens discriminate these Tunisian folks of colour and shameless ignorant  persons nowadys sometimes  even address black folks with  words like " Abid" (slave in Arabic). Very sad and embarrassing for a civilized society. James Baldwin once explained racism which is widespread among poor uneducated white day labourers:  They want to think that there is a group of people who are "even less worthy" than they are. In 2021 approximately 21,000 sub-saharan African immigrants lived in Tunisia, many arrived legally to work or study here. But due to complex administration procedure, often experienced as blown up bureaucracy, (Tunisians created a good satire: "On the Divan in Tunisia") 60% don't have valid residency permits, even students attending private expensive universities that costs more than 3000 Dinar in a year. These people are given on arrival a 3 months permit to stay in the country. If they don't manage to achieve an extention in time they have to pay 80 Dinar for every month they stay byond that date. In December 2022 approx 9,000 refugees and asylum seekers came from countries like Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia according to the figures of the UN Refugee Agency. Undocumented migrants who want to leave have to pay a fine for overstaying their visas. In Tunisia many, in particular from the better off areas at the coasts, in the North and middle of the country, feel they belong rather to Europe than Africa. They believe their culture is more European and are proud if they have lighter coloured skin. A simular phenomenon exists in India, where Anglo-Indians like to marry among their group in order to keep their lighter colour and continue to believe they are superior. Anyhow, which culture belongs to which part of the world? After all the craddle of mankind stood in Africa. In Germany some stupid ignorant politicians and others stated that Islam doesn't belong to the Christian Occidental culture. Even if one wants to ignore that meanwhile several millions of Moslims live in Germany, neither the very popular beer, coffee or potato, algebra nor letters were invented in Germany. The churches structures, the "dresses" of clergyman including the pope and also the clothes of nuns look quite oriental. Once upon a time sciences were much advanced in the Orient and the Occident slowly learned from them. It seems to me mankind civilization is no longer developing. Scientists say people are getting less intelligent. Sub-saharan folks are nowadays suffering discrimination in Tunisia. They are accused of wanting to destroy the culture of their host country. Some are said to slaughter cats and dogs for meals or strange ceremonies. Tunisians are understandably horrified. Police should be able cope with this, so that those backward individuals understand that they must stop or face prison and deportation. In Al Alaoui, near Tunis, shopkeepers insulted and refused to serve students of colour. Neglected and disturbed uneducated children spit on them, swear und throw stones.  Prophet Mohamed clearly stated that Allah doesn't allow racism. Anyhow, it is stupid to think all Sub-Saharan peoples are the same ( are all Tunisians alike?), they share the same continent with us. Unfortunately many, including students, are now frightened of racism attacks, only leave their buildings if necessary and they are well adviced to carry documentation. In addion they fear unjustified  arrests in the streets, on public transport or even at work. Groups of young Tunisians gather outside of buildings where migrants live. One building has already been ransacked, many items destroyed or burnt. In Germany years ago a diplomat (of "wrong colour") got attacked by racists who accused him of being a froud asylum seeker wanting to exploit the social system. Though times are difficult, Sub-Saharan folks cannot be blamed for shortages of basic food items, the reason why is corruption, theft and greed of local citizens. Recently 20,000 tons of coffee were discovered hidden in Kantaoui (Sousse). Greedy citizens were intending to do big business during Ramadan. Thus it is not surprising that coffee has become a rare and very expensive item. Let us all remember Tunisia used to be praised as a friendly, tolerate state that made foreigners, including students and residents from other countries, not just tourists, feel welcomed!