For Better, for Worse, Bound to make Mistakes.

 "Ignorant man ask questions that wise man answered 1000 years ago." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  "Before slavery Africa had a culture. We had medicine and our cure for malaria. Slavery brought diseases that we were not used to. Slavery brought industry and people were criticizing industry way back as 2000 years ago, that was to pollute the air, sea. Industry is not the way, we must deal with nature. ". Femi Kuti.  " What you seriously mean you better say jokingly. "  Wilhelm Busch.   " The noice of a frog doesn't stop an elephant from drinking water. "  Ubuntu African Proverb.                                                        One advantage of really hot sun burning down is hardly any kids on the street, crazy about playing football, at least not until later in the day. But I miss several elderly regular visitors to my Cats' Table, they used to arrive from all directions, some limping, some walking slowly - like Joe Biden lately. Wonder whether the poor darlings are still alive. No rain for months and pretty high temperatures, no winds apart from a little warm wind. At least we live not so far from the beech. Our cats are laying flat on the floor. Luckily they don't have to hunt for their food. In spite of the high temperatures our tapped water has latedly been turned off from approx. 5  or 6 a. m. until 6 p. m.  This means that those who go out early to get to work and return in the evening can't take a shower. But it is okay for long sleeping and jobless folks. Not sure whether the water is shut off because of repair works or because we are seriously getting short of our resource, probably both. Unfortunately this doesn't stop water wastage by several private households (watering the street), I know various such houses. When we saw a woman using a hose, we asked her how can she do this. She replied: "Not my house, I have been ordered to do this."

Years ago there were plenty of trees in e. g. Sousse and Kairouan. Nowadays not much shadow remains and this may well be taken by cars. Parking them on pavements is the usual standard. Where there are trees planted in such way that they form a roof, you can usually also find benches which, though, seem to be always occupied by men and youngsters. I would suggest to add benches reserved for females and perhaps elderly couples, possibly painted pink to make it obvious. As European tourists are often old age pensioners, who don't necessarily wish to stay on the hotel compound all the time, exploring the town and places worth seeing, they may well appreciate such benches. By the way, this thoughtless rubbish dumping doesn't make any town or village attractive. After the revolution many youngsters seem to respect nobody, so they will snatch elderly people's taxi, if they can, after all they are young, fit and have no time to waste. When folks try to be served first, as soon as they arrive, I frequently ask: "I see you are in a hurry. Are you wanted by the police?"  The other day I read that presently 538 folks are in jail and approx. 10,000  on the run because they have used bouncing checks. Well, they say that many  true words are spoken in jest...... It remains me of a cartoon I saw a while ago. A man with a big chain and a heavy iron ball on his leg, sitting in prison saying: "I am the Johnson that everybody tries to keep up with."  Guess I am lucky, my parents taught me to be modest, makes life easier. Doctors advice to drink a lot of water, in partcular when it's hot. Thinking of Palestinians starving and very little water available, how do they cope? Starving mothers have no, or hardly any mother milk for their babies. This is so cruel. I watch my feral mothers, they find it stressful to feed their little ones when the temperatures are so high. The still very young kittens taking a walk on the ground floor terrace, sometimes call:  "Mummy, where are you, I feel lost." Seems I worry more than Mummy does. So it is mainly me searching for them. Wonder how kids in Gaza manage when they loose their family or some family members, when there are no "save zones". Words of the great Leonard Cohen (story of Isaac, written several years ago) :  "You who built these altars now, to sacrifice these children, you must no do it anymore. A scheme is not a vision...." On German TV there is an organization suggesting to help children in Ukraine and donate 10 Euro. Good idea, but why forget Gaza where the situation is  absolute catastrophic? Kids eyes there have seen what no child should never be subjected to, many are traumatised. They need all the help in the world. I hope and pray that the horror ends soon. Hate and revenge are not good advisors. Tunisia, though certainly not a rich country, has send a ship with food, medications and expensive technical equipment for medical treatments. Following the ruling of the ICC, I wonder whether that court will remain a paper tiger or instruct the member countries to take appropriate steps. Concerning Wladimir Putin, they were quick to react.  "All are equal and some are more equal than others."  (George Orwell, Animal Farm.) 

Postscript Summer Time and it Ain't Always Easy

German animal cemetry 
 "No problem can withstand the assault of substained thinking." "Appreciation is a wonderful thing, it makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well." Voltaire    "It is possible to love a human being if you don't know them too well." Charles Bukowski.  "The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination." Albert Einstein.  "Milk and honey have different colours, but they share the same house peacefully."  " A wise man fills his brain before emptying his mouth."  Ubuntu African Proverbs.                                    The heat is getting a bit much and no rain for months, difficult in particular for those with a poor immune system, several sudden deaths. I miss various regular visitors to my " Cats' Table. "  In addition there  are usually among the teens and adults 4 quite young lively kittens, but sadly this morning only one arrived. So I was happy to discover another one 3 hours later. This Calcivirus is " killing me". It starts off with attacking cats' teeth, not always immediately noticeable, then the gum, tongue and eventually gets into the blood and may effect the liver and kidneys as well. A bad smell from the mouth comes as first warning. When I try to clean with Betadine (mixed with water, the green coloured bottle is actually better suited for inside the mouth), then my cats appear to think I intend to do something bad for them, while I hope they "won't kill me". Next step some blue stuff the vet prescribed (Methylene blue solution 2%). But this doesn't mean that the poor little darlings can be spared a visit to the dentist. Not being exactly fit myself, I did not always discover the symptoms in good time. Having a big feral family doesn't make matters easier. Unfortunately I haven't got the means to get my sweeties vaccinated, it would have prevented a lot of pain and tears, we mourn the loss of 3 adult and one teen treasures. Heaven help us all. The other day a man addressed my husband in front of a pharmacy and suggested that he pays for the medication that his wife needs for her too high blood pressure. My husband replied: "What makes think that I can? Besides, I don't even know you." I adviced my man to inquire the next time whether the guy would like to buy in return my regular pills, amounting to presently 200 Dinars........ We have helped so many, we are exhausted. Every morning my first worry is whether all of our feral family members are okay. Unfortunately our noice restriction laws are pretty slack. There seems to be constandly some hammering, knocking down, rebuilding or restoring works, drilling, grinding, chiseling etc., sounds like a construction training site, 7 days a week, even until late at night, then often followed by extreme loud music from some sort of outdoor celebration plus fireworks, in spite of the heat. Some cats (and surely other animals too) panic, poor souls. The last three fireworks landed right next to our house wall, sounded like directly inside. A kingdom for a quiet neighborhood! Years ago folks were happy to possess a bike, nowadays many youngsters proudly ride a motorcycle, creating big stinking clouds, not worrying about polluting the air. Wondering how they finance this, I have been told those motorbikes are often stolen in Eastern Europe, e. g. in Romania, and then sold to North Africa. Tunisia intends to introduce extensive laws against polluting. The offenders can apart from fines also be sent to prison. Sounds promising. Ignorant folks only change their bad habits if forced to do so. But of course fines etc. only work when those concerned see that they are being monitored and ignoring can be expensive.  Many Tunisians feel they are bit like Europe. One idea I wish they would adopt is a cemetry for animals. A piece of land not suitable for growing fruits and vegetables could be used, surrounded by a wall and a warden employed to ensure that stupid people don't arrive and get up to no good. Folks who mourn the death of their beloved pet would be happy to burry their animal in such a place and pay for it. The Ilford Animal Cemetry in London was founded in 1920,  more than 3000 burials of family pets and military animals (e. g. search and rescue dogs, several with bravery medals). In other European countries you can also find cemetries for pets, why not here? Not mentioned in the Quran? Neither are TV, mobile phones, Internet, etc. - The situation in Gaza is beyond description, a living hell. When Putin attacked a children's hospital in Ukraine, there was a big outcry in Europe. I was amazed that so much empathy existed nowadays. Why then is there hardly any for Gaza and the Westbank? Destructions of hospitals and schools, Safe Zones, Mosques and churches, nothing special? The massive killing and suffering of civilians, including medical staff, journalists acceptable? Lord have mercy, we are loosing our humanity. 

German animal cemetery. 

Sweet Tareqa passed over the rainbow. 

Jeremy and James. 

 Nicola, sleeping beauty. 

Life goes on, Jane's babies.

Madonna's babies

An animal grave in London, Animal Cemetry, founded more than 100 years ago. 

Summer Time and it ain't always Easy

 "The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone."  "The way you see people is the way you treat them, and the way you treat them is the way they become."  "Let everybody sweep in front of his own door, and the whole world will be clean." "Wisdom is only found in truth." "Doubt grows with knowledge."  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.                   To begin with it seemed that lovely Jane only gave birth to two babies, but she just had a break and next day surprised us with altogether three lively ones (an additional one had died). I first feared that only one remains, and it would have no sister or brother to cuddle with. The new borns simply love to cuddle with each other! So cute. Jane is amazing. Until shortly before her babies arrived she climbed up walls like an athletic, now she is a devoted mum. But nothing like Madonna, she hardly ever gets up and doesn't seem to want to leave her lovely babies even for a few minutes. We now have mothers with their new borns in a basket, in a padded draw (underneath a sink) and in the wooden cave like box of the big " climbing and claw grooming tree". Due to my poor health lately I had missed taken these three females to the vet to get them spayed and neutered in good time. Fleur's kittens are lucky, they are now 5 weeks old (at an age when local folks usually have already long  separated the babies from the paws of their loving mother), and their mummy still looks well after them, provides them with her milk. Did our " feral daughters" read Karl Marx? Anyway they follow his advise : "Trust is good, control is better." Whenever I check how the little ones are, the respective mother quickly arrives and watches me closely. Fleur's lovely all black and the Siamese baby enjoy cuddling with our gentle blind boy, Loulou. Hamdullah so far all the little families are fine. Joe Biden accused Donald Trump of having the moral of a street cat. Joe Biden doesn't seem to know much about street cats. In my experience they are generally well behaved, they show respect, are great mothers. Several brought their kittens to my Cats' Table, so that they know where to find food and water. On other occasions they carry their piece of cats ' sausage to their babies. In my experience strays, cats and dogs, are here non-aggressive and always grateful for a bit of food and water. I would even go as far to say their manners are much better than that of the local hooligans on our street, who believe the street belongs to them, no matter what, and unfortunately are in the habit of screaming while playing football, as if bitten by scorpions. In addition we had a wedding celebration on our street, lasting 5 days, right around our house. All very nice and impressive, if it wouldn't be for the music at a deafening level, up to 2 a. m. in the morning. Not to forget the usual fire works, in spite of the high temperature. Luckily all went well and they didn't start an unwanted fire, unlike that on a Greek island (fire works from a yacht, even though forbidden) . Nothing more enjoyable than the sound of silence....... pity folks here don't see it that way. - Thank heaven for the election result in France and Great Britain. Citizen aren't so stupid after all. The new prime minister of UK as first measure cancelled the shameful contract with Ruanda, which was designed to rid UK of  asylum seekers and other refugees, depose them to Ruanda, a country that they may well have no connection with whatsoever. For this service Ruanda received 300 million dollar, seemingly attractive to a poor country. (They meanwhile hinted that they won't reimburse what was paid under the deportation deal.) Strange idea of a (Hamdullah meanwhile ex-)  prime minister, Mr. Sunak, who quite obviously himself has foreign roots. Anyhow, human rights activists tried to stop the practicually cancelling of rights to gain asylum. By the way, immigrants can be quite profiable to a country. Proof is there, e. g. those who fled Germany because of the terrible Nazi period, several advanced the US economy and enabled their new country to fly to the moon. New ideas and different experiences enrich a country. Nonetheless some German politicians thought they could perhaps learn from Mr. Sunak and maybe even send refugees back to Afghanistan. Those who have to fear for their life and that of their family under the Taliban, on account of their previous jobs, e. g. working for the German forces, had been given verbal confirmation of asylum in Germany. So they sold their possessions /properties and packed their suitcases. Then there was a sudden change in German policy, all already

Cat mum taking her kitten to my Cats 'Table ". 

Baby sitter Loulou with Fleur' s babies. 

Jeremy watching from the top. 

After the celebration

Sweet Bonita looking impressive. 

approved applicants were interviewed and all of the sudden declared a security risk. No further explanation and no visas. What has become of Germany? So shameful, several civil servants declared off the record that human rights have lost their value. Germany seems to be no longer interested in helping those who need protection with the exception of Ukraine and Israel. But even Jews who criticize Israeli politics are no longer welcome in Germany. Isn't it a democratic right any longer?- It is getting hotter, we may even have 50 degrees centegrate tomorrow. During summer banks are only open half day, I presume the employees have a better ventilation system in their houses.