Wild and Gorgeous

Our new family members. 
Fleur with her babies

One poor stray

They are family, like to sleep cuddling together. 

Nikola and Melanie

 "Everyone's worried about terrorism. Well, there's really an easy way: Stop participating in it." Noam Chompsky.   "A stubborn fly will follow a corpe to the grave and be buried with it."  "It is not the stab at the back that hurts. It is when you turn back and see who's holding the knife." "Be careful when you always feed every dog that you see suffering... some need the strength to bite you. (Ungrateful people)" Ubuntu African Proverbs.              Approx. 10 of our cats are 5 or 6 years old and arrived at our door step as young kittens, either secretly abandoned or brought by folks requesting us to accept them as new pets. Seeing them now as beautiful fairly fit adults prooves that years ago cats' immune system was much stronger. I have seen and tried to help numerous kittens which sadly passed away before having a chance to more or less enjoy life for 2 or 3 months, poor babies, sudden feral babies' death has become very common. Following a lot of explainations that cat babies less than 10 days old (eyes still closed) have no chance to survive without the mother and less than 6 weeks only slim chances, at least neighbors arround here stopped abandoning extreme young feral babes. Sadly, though, kittens' life remains taff. One homeless, regular visitor to my Cats' Table, recently gave birth to 4 kittens, in a fairly secure place, near the house of an animal friendly lady. When I noted the mother carried a bit of cats' sausage in her mouth to feed her babies, I followed her. Now she comes to my door and we go together to feed her little ones. She doesn't want her breakfast before her kittens are fed, dedicated loving mum. Another 3 cute, long haired kittens arrived, than another one, missing their mother, calling her and looking for food. I worry they may get run over by a car or one of our meniac motorbike riders, but I am overwhelmed. I can only offer a bit of food and water. Occasionally someone brings something to eat for strays, a slight ray of light. Our eldest darling, gorgeous Tiger, reached this month an age of 11 years. His mother, 3 coloured Amira, allowed me to attend her when she gave birth to him and his 3 sisters, Bijou, Sandy and Soleil. All lived with us until they passed over the rainbow, extremely sad days when we lost our precious little treasures, everyone an original, Bijou daddy's girl while Sandy clearly preferred my company. She used to purr me to sleep. We hope and pray that at least Tiger will enjoy a long life. Cuddling with him is so great. Today I discovered Fleur gave birth to a cute black and one white baby. She did this without much ado and not even one drop of blood to be seen. The second time I viewed such a "perfect clean up" by a cat mum. Strange, in other cases there was lots of blood. Everything isn't always the way it seems at first sight. Apparently Fleur had 4 babies (the usual number here) , 2 unfortunately died soon after being born and later on I discovered a bit of blood on a blanket. The place where I first discovered the alive new borns, screaming for their mum, was not their original delivery site. Anyhow, I congratulated my husband on " becoming once more a gradfather ". He looked a bit surprised. So I told him, the babies are beautiful. Hopefully Fleur will look well after them. The little jewels are very quiet. I fear she may understand it as that they do not require much feeding of mummy milk. -  Heard a German say that she comes from South Africa. Asked why she says that she replied that she would like to be proud of her country. South Africa is a great country, very dedicated to human rights, achieved a lot, nontheless not yet a paradise, but which country is. When Ghandi visited U. K. journalists asked him: "What do you think about civilzation in the Western World?"  He replied: " I  think it would be a good idea." We live in a world of censorship, greed, corruption, public opinion manipulation, "Big brother watching" (1984, Gorge Orwell), enormous sums spend on weapons (enough to prevent poverty everywhere), a sad develpment for humanity's. But there will always be folks with admirable courage who stand in for their values. The internationally regonized American Associated Press (A. P.) used to report via videos from Gaza. This Netanyahu has stopped now. Even when caught in the act, gun still smoking, as long as there hasn't been a court sentence, in German media the person in question is always named the "suspected assassin". For several months, though, there is a big exception, whenever Netanyahu says something, it is treated like an in stone chiseled fact. Choise of words are revealing, one method to manipulate public opinion. Whom do you call a criminal, a terrorist, or a rebel, a freedom fighter, résistance member? Some condemned today, at a later date become members of a government. Peace negotiation usually don't take place among friends.  14,000 innocent children have already died in Gaza. Not only the families of those still held hostage by Hamas are missing their dear ones, so do also Palestinians, they too love their children, family members and friends. 

Postscript Just the Normal Madness

" In wartime truth is so precious that it should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies." Churchill. "It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both." "Hatred is gained as much by good works as by evil." Nicolo Machiavelli. "Prejudicies are what fools use for reason." "Let us read and let us dance, these 2 amusements will never do any harm in the world." "To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid, one must also be polite."  "I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: " Oh Lord make my enemies ridiculous. "  And God granted it." Jean  Voltaire.                                      We live in a land of a million possibilities, unfortunately not all are positive. While in Sousse supply of milk appears to be okay now, but sugar remains a rare commodity, it is the other way around in Kairouan. For a short time bananas were sold at a more reasonable price but it has gone up again. Wonder why they are much cheaper in Germany. After all Germany doesn't grow his own bananas but usually buys them from the same company, United Fruit, a company with an interesting - bad reputation, the source of the expression "Banana Republic", following the wars to protect their interests with US aid. The need to teach environmental protection is nicely demonstrated looking at school buildings usually surrounded by lots of rubbish (wrappings of various kind, papers, etc). In U. K. parents of children that don't attend school can be send to prison. I was surprised to learn that the same law exists in Tunisia. I am convinced not many are here aware of it either, unfortunately. It amazes me how several kids feel they don't need to finish school but at the same time dream of a good life in Europe. The new fashion among youngsters to ride tuned up motorbikes at high speed even in residential areas ("letting off steam") , plus numerous cars on the road, burning of rubish etc. in the open, create a lot of pollution and fine dust that effect eyes and respiration organs, the waiting rooms of the concerned specialists are crowed. The pollen dispersal has become more aggressive due to air pollution, which of course also leads to many deaths. The other day a minor accident with a motorcycle, one wheel up in the air. I heard a loud bang, a young man limbed with the aid of another man to a car, the motorcyclist had to push his vehicle. Hope he learned his lesson, but that may be just wishful thinking on my part. Next day I viewed another youngsters who nearly crashed with his motorbike, front wheel up in the air, into a parked lorry, of which the driver was kind of angry. - During the Vietnam war US at first allowed journalist to fly with army soldiers in a helicopter and watch their performance. This eventually led to "unwanted" reports and pictures reaching US citizens. Not surprisingly it effected a change in public opinion and demands to stop the war. Nowadays journalism is considered one of the most dangerous profession in the world. The British-Palestinian Dean of Glasgow university, chirurgien and plastique surgeon, Ghassan Abu Sitta, spend a few weeks working in a Gaza hospital and was invited to attend in Berlin a conference about Palestine. At the border to Germany he was barred entrance without explaination, seems "German Administration Act" doesn't require this. At the time he was told, though, this would be for one month, for the Schengen countries. When the aforementioned Glasgow University Dean was at a later date invited to give witness to the French Senate in Paris, he experienced again refusal to enter an European country. The French officials didn't know why, only that Germany listed him for one year as a person to be barred. Even though Mr. Ghassan Abu Sitta had employed a lawyer to gain information denied to him by the German government, he was taken by surprise that the period of one month was expented to one year and the French Senate was also not amused, at least Germany couldn't prevent him to speak via a video link. By the way, 30 German lawyers tried to sue German politians, including Scholz, "over complicity in Gaza." Haven't heard the outcome yet. Several high ranking US state officials (e. g. Josh Paul) resigned "over US violating its own laws" concerning arms delivery restrictions to conflict zones. Simular laws exist in Germany. People will loose trust in international laws if all are ignored. Joe Biden expressed that in his opinion the International Criminal Court's juristriction has to deal with "thugs like Pution and African leaders" not with Netanyahu. By the by, my information comes from established public news sources that are neutral and not one-sided. 

Just the Normal Madness

the late kitten, so sad

Loulou

 "To speak a language is to take on a world, a culture."  "In the world through which I travel, I am endlessly creating myself."  "The oppressed will always believe the worst about themselves." Frantz Fanon.  "Even if it is hunger that killed a man, people still want to eat at his funeral." "If your own dog keeps barking at you, someone else is feeding it." Jabah Funniebo.  "Never underestimate the power of stupid people in a large crowd." " If a dog chases its own tail, it has a reason. "  Ubuntu African Proverb. "All are equal, some are more equal than others."  George Orwell (Animal Farm).                                                   The pretty young girl who had taken home the remaining kitten left in front of my door, returned and asked for a bit of food and a sweet. The third time she arrived she wanted just a sweet. So I asked her whether the kitten was okay. This she confirmed. I felt she didn't tell me the truth, therefore I inquired: No salami (sausage for pets)? The answer was no. Strange, I thus insisted, is the kitten dead? At the same time I imitated a sleeping/dead face. Sadly she said yes. I cannot judge what went wrong, sudden death is unfortunately quite common among cat babies, in particular if separated too young from the mother, ideally only after 12 weeks, but not less than 6 weeks. My brave Johnny, who already has to live with 2 in a complicate way broken bones (back thigh) of which one is pointing outwards, now suffers from cancer as well in the same area. One morning I discovered his big lump, sized like a small melon. The vet removered a lot of blood the lump was filled with. The poor darling amazingly accepts his fate, no screaming, no grumbling. I have been advised that it can not be operated, just like already his complicated bone injury. Meanwhile the bump is smaller, roughly orange sized. Johnny decided to ignore his handicap and try to be simply a normal cat. I admire my sweet black treasure who loves to cuddle in particular with his vice daddy (my husband). Myriam is another unfortunate cat. Years ago she lived on a Mosque compound, rised there her kittens successfully. Then one day she got hit by a car, lost one eye and ended up with a broken jaw. A neighbor took a photo and asked me to help her. The veterinarian did an excellent job and suggested that we keep her. At first Myriam was a bit shy and kept a distance to our other feral family members. But then we lived happily together until a few days ago when she fell off our staircase (presumably), couldn't walk, something was wrong with both her legs on her left side. I tested gently and they didn't seem to be broken. This the veterinarian confirmed, but under shock and possibly a nerve effected, pain near her backside. Presently there is an improvement with the prescribed medication. Unfortunately I cannot afford an x-ray which would provide a clearer picture. Anyhow, Myriam also suffers from constipation now, which can become a severe problem. Don't I know it from my own experience! (My tummy was killing me. ) The veterinarian managed with special movements of my little darling's lower body parts to make her do "her big business". A rapid solution for the moment. Back home Myriam drinks a lot and uses the toilet, but she just passes urine, in spite of her diet and medication. There is an improvement concerning her movement, but she's still not steady on her legs. A chance exists with another treatment and special (expensive) croquettes to overcome the constipation. All not easy, also financially. My blind boy, Loulou, in addition to his handicap, now also suffered from inwards growing eyelashes on both lids. So one more operation and pains. Slowly getting better, but presently I can't have him registered for a beauty competition. Better to choose others, perhapps black cats that suddenly changed colour from black to a beautiful warm reddish brown more or less starting at the height of their front legs, while others remained all black. - We repeatedly had to discover that some, (as far as we can judge) poor folks, whom we have helped, have a rather strange way to show their (not really expected) gratetude. They tried to trick us to spend even more. One woman who said she couldn't meet the costs for her sick/injured cat on 2 occasions (we then did), shamelessly told the next time she visited the recommended veterinarian that my husband would pay for her. This was not agreed and in addition came at a time when we were already kind of broke. Another example that really made me mad, neigbors with limited income, whom we helped (when we only had about 12 cats and less expenses) several times with various bills, also bought food, a nozzle, a necklace and a lead for their  dog, so he won't be mistaken for a stray dog, which can be dangerous around here, killed their Shepherd sized dog with rat poison when he fell ill. Unfortunately several supermarkets sell rat poison, thus available to every ignorant person, a very cruel way to kill. I have been called on 3 occasions when criminals gave this to a cat. I saw the terrible cramps, rushed the cat to our veterinarian and saved their lives.

Some where I read: "May life treat you the way you treat cats and dogs." By the way, the only son of the aforementioned neighbors decided after attending school for 3 years that he had enough education! This didn't induce his father to refrain from asking me for money for school books. My husband was shocked to have the son knocking at our door one day, holding a shopping list with 8 items, including a chicken and a bottle of oil. He said his mother wants us to buy these products for them. Strange folks. By the way, we were told at the time that they got the dog for their son as a companion. Wonder what will become of the boy as an adult. 

Myriam

Postscript The Way It Is

 "The more you can increase of fear of drugs, crimes, welfare mothers, imigrants and aliens, the more you can control all of the people." Noam Chomsky.  "Every saint has a past and every sinner a future."  "I don't want to go to heaven, none of my friends are there."  Oscar Wilde.  "Only he, who himself enlightened, is not afraid of shadows." Emanuel Kant.   "If you act like a rotten plumb, bats will eat you." Ubuntu African Proverb.   "Every time we fall in love, we ascend to heaven. Every time we hate, envy, or fight someone, we tumble straight into the fires of hell." Elif Shafak.                          Threat of extreme bad weather in parts of Tunisia, hard rain, flooding, storm, in Tunis, as well as in the the south and Kebili, near Kairouan. Friends warned us it might effect us as well. I worried if we can't leave the house, have we got enough food in the house for our cats (shops were closed for several days because of Eid Al-Fitr)? So far we have been lucky, I would hate to see our little treasures starving. As for me, lately I keep getting stomach ache every time I eat something, so I won't need much. It can only get better. Watched from the roof a lovely little kitten, still very young, walking on the pavement, trying to attract the attention of a man. Didn't work. Then the tiny darling decided to walk across a street crossing. Two cars arrived, almost meeting, the kitten disappeared. Was it dead? Miracle, not flattened on the tar, but there seems to be something wrong with its back legs. A passing man saw this, showed empathy, picked up the poor little sweetheart and placed it on top of the small shelter in front of my house. So I went outside and took the tiny feral treature inside, in spite of full house (felling exhausted in every respect). The beauty got long, mainly white hair, with a bit of black and golden-yellow. It turned out to be female. I named her Aicha. Took her for a check -up to the veterinarian. No leg broken, but suffering from the traumatic accident. In order to repair the effected muscles the vet prescribed Vitamin B (Tetra B) one quarter for a few days plus less than a quarter of Toledine, a pain killer designed for cats. Glad it exists, those tablets for humans aren't really suitable, can even be deadly. Anyhow, gorgeous Aicha was well received by our big family and quickly found friends, not just among our other 3 kittens. She receives a wash from some adults. My only displeasure, Aicha does "her business" in front of the toilet, not inside. But eventually she will probably learn from the other cats the correct way. We live in a neighborhood with several very inconsiderate folks. They like to pass on their problem with too many cats (spay and neuter would be a solution) to others, e. g. to us. If we try to explain that we reached our absolute limit (presently more than 30), they won't listen and just leave their cat babies in front of our door, near a street crossing. I know a woman with a simular experience and when she just couldn't take more, she secretly moved house. Anyhow, this morning I sadly discovered 4 lovely, poor kittens, approx. 4 weeks old, placed in my temporary shelter, designed for adult cats that perhaps need protection against heavy rain, or just a bit of rest because of a slight injury following a fight (happened a few times). Folks who shamelessly dump their "feral problem" on others can not wash their hands in innocence, whatever dire hardship their kittens or adult kicked out cats have to endure, they remain responsible!!! I explained to a group of females students why I can't take additinal cats inside and that it is irresponsible to place kittens, especially very young ones, in front of my house, where there is a cross road, a group of stupid youngsters performing there acrobatics on motorbikes, and also love to speed as if we got a racing track here, plus up to often rude 22 kids. Besides, Prophet Mohamed loved cats and taught that Allah wants us to have empathy with animals and rewards those who do with empathy in return. Some time later young ladies arrived and took 3 of the lovely long haired kittens to offer them a new home. So one little treasure remained. While I was wondering whether she would be okay on her own, a pretty young girl appeared and told me she would love to have the kitten. Wow, great experience, I felt happy and full of hope. Nonetheless I checked in the morning and the following days whether any of the kittens were returned  (parents perhaps causing problems). It looks promising and hopefully it's a win-win situation. Scientists say having a pet is good for children, they learn empathy, responsibility and that animals have a lot of love for humans. A young woman phoned and declared she intends to bring me 2 adult cats for a month while she's abroad. I replied that I can't take any more cats and even my ferals don't want our big family to extend further. They would fight and the situation is getting too much for me, after all 30 is really a lot. She advised me:  "If you have 30 another 2 won't matter." Amazing logic. I forgot to remind her that she already brought 5 in the past. (2 died plus another one already very sick on arrival. ) Further, one of these, a lovely tomcat (Alien) hates another tomcat (Ricardo) in my house, they threaten each other daily and if I don't arrive quickly actually fight fiercely. I may add both were a few years ago spayed and  neutered. Anyhow, she arranged a time to visit me on the next day. She didn't turn up though, and didn't phone. One day later she phoned and suggested another date. But again didn't come and didn't phone, this is called here "Rendez-vous Arabe". Surprise, surprise, next day she decided to actually come (?) with her 2 cats, at least this what she told my husband over the phone. I took the whole event as a warning that the lady is unreliable and it's risky to accept "one month only."  After all, no one who ever brought me cats returned to ask if I need help of any kind or to pick up their pet again as previously promised. So I decided this time not to answer the phone. By the by, several of my cats are sick and I keep on taken one or two to the veterinarian, even when I am not well myself. Keeps me "off the road" as the British say. My biggest worry: one day no longer being capable to support my big family of ferals. 

The Way it is

 "The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum." "I was never aware of any other opinion but to question everything." Noam Chomsky.  "Agreeing with a fool is like giving a drunkard keys to the distillery." Ubuntu African Proverb. "Rats will never mourn the death of a cat."  Chewa Proverb.                                                                             My "woman - power" feral daughter,  Fleur, returned. She found that none of those handsome admirers courting her, could offer her a house like the one she already got and besides, there is nothing like "hotel vice-mummy." Guess I better try to stay fit and healthy so I can provide a good service to my spoiled kids. Minusa's ancestors lived in a palace and only the royal family was allowed to keep this beautiful Siamese cat with those unusual brilliant blue eyes. She is a bit of a princess, not always easy going but after all she comes from a high class family, neither we nor any of our neighbors had forefathers living in a palace! Unfortunately exotic cats and dogs are in fashion, breeding for this special demand led to "a flooding" of e. g. Siames cats and they loosing value. Sadly several even end up as "strays", unable to sell because of not perfect markings, kicked out for convienence, to save money necessary for medical treatments, or when their owners got tired of "their feral toys". I joke:  If you are not high class, at least your cat should be........   - Tunisia takes third place in the Arabic world reference food wasting (after Egypt and Morocco). Much is due to subsidized bred which is only nice while still very fresh and in addition there is an insufficient preserving tradition. My mother taught her children that wasting food is a sin. In many countries recipes exist for surplus bred (scroll down on my blog and you can find several). We use a toaster to refresh bred, this is though, unfortunately not available to all. We prefer bred from the bakery, more expensive but worth it if you can afford other bread than the in ex- French colonial countries so common white flour baguettes (or Arabic bred). If it didn't rain last night in parts of Sousse than it must be 'water - wasting - day' today. Bad habits die hard. The water monopoly belongs to Sonnet. In order to save money they employ students to read the external water meter. There is a saying that if you want to pay peanuts you end up with employing monkeys. Anyhow, in our experience these students are not exactly dedicated but interested in getting the job done as quickly as possible. For the second time we ended up with much too figures. My husband was advised to pay nevertheless the stated amount or the water will be cut off. It will take time to check the correct consumption, even though we presented our present reading for comparison. The gentleman in the office kindly offered that  should the issued bill turn out to be too high, then the difference will be deducted from future charges. Hopefully folks with very low income don't have simular experiences. - One of our local "stand - man - motorcycle boys" (riding his motorbike with one wheel in the air and in wavy lines like a drunkard) is only approx 14 years old and now occasionally lets a 4 year old kid sit behind him. A  woman remarked that it is dangerous here, the parents should stop this. After all we have a few elderly folks and lots and lots of children in the neighborhood. I replied their parents don't seem to be able to cope. One father said he would take away the motorcycle and sell it. Sounds like a solution, but actually nothing happened. A minor accident happened the other day, a boy on a motor scooter hit a motorcycle with 2 men on it. These were not amused, one of the 2 guys got so angry he wanted to beat the boy even though nobody got injured and there was almost no damage. Luckily the other man held him back. The boy looked shocked. Close to the end of Ramadan and a long break, up to 6 days including weekend, thus reduced income for shope keepers etc. Usually children get new clothes for Aid El Fitr, fairly expensive, even more so for large families. I would personally go to the flea market. Before the revolution the quality of clothes sold there was very low. Nowadays one can find also new items from expensive shops in Europe. Occasionally I even discovered some with a price tag still attached. The advantage of the other second hand clothes is that  hazardous substances often used by the producers (in the colour, to preserve) are already washed out. 

Myriam, once living on a Mosque compound, had a car accident, the vet discovered a broken jaw and the poor girl also lost an eye. For several years now she belongs to my big family. 

All my Perls and Diamonds

" Don't think money does everything or you end up doing everything for money. " " Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers. " "Truely, whoever can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." "Cheerish those who seek the truth, but be aware of those who find it." Voltaire.  "Experience is merely the name men gave to their mistakes."  "A good friend will always stab you in front."  Oscar Wilde.                           Being accustomed to welcome 12 to 15 visitors to my Cats's Table I was shocked to only see two this morning, a little later another three turned up, one running from some distance, viewed him right at the end of a long road. What happened? Knowing that this here is not exactly a paradise for cats (and dogs), I worry and checked several times later whether some little treasures perhaps overslept. Did not look like it, only a lovely gentle puppy appeared. His chance to enjoy a bit of saved sausage. Minusa, Salvador, (more or less Siamese beauties) and heavy weight boy Ricardo had to pay an urgently needed visit to our veterinarian - dentist, discolored theeth and red gum. Happy to see them in a much better shape afterwards and to be advised that suddenly appearing black spots on the gum or even black gum is not a sign of any illness. Minusa and dainty Salvador are now receiving Antibiotics on account of an infection. Riccardo is feeling fine, thank heavens.  Black beauty, Masud, wants to "eat out" and thinks the croquettes fed in another room are more tasty, though actually taken from the same 20 kg bag. Not feeling well I went to bed after breakfast. When my husband wanted to check how I am, Malek joint him, sneaked into the bedroom and greeted me like a long lost friend. So much pure love!!! Those who don't like pets miss out on such a lot. Feral light orange-golden coloured gentleman, Nikola, never gets angry. He allows others to snatch his piece of sausage and when he gets attacked he just closes his eyes, when threatened just walks away. Unlike several kids in the neighborhood (plus some adults) he certainly doesn't require an anti-aggression training. While I was lying sick in bed young girls were calling me, "Madame, Madame, Madame.....". It sounded urgent and got me worried that they discovered a cat in stress. But then they demanded "Bonbon, Bonbon, Bonbon" (sweets). I remained quiet and of course did not attempt to get up. Next I heard stones thrown against the metal fencing of our house. My husband was shocked, he had thought stone throwing would be just be a specialty of not very bright boys. Looks like there is no longer a big difference between the behaviour of boys and girls here, at least as far as kids of families are concerned that tend to keep a distance from education (as little reading as possible, no books in the house apart from school books temporarily). For a short spell (too expensive in the long run) I bought fairytale books and presented those to the children here, hoping they would discover the beauty of books. In addition I hope to teach them respect for animals. They do watch me and occasionally comment on my special relationship with ferals, which is new to them. One women looked astonished at a guest to my Cats' Table and explained: "This is my cat. What is he doing here?" Then she picked up the little beauty and carried him to a house in the neighborhood. By the way, now 12 cats again attend my Cats' Table, so I needn't have worried about their well-being, though, of the regular 4 more or less completely white cats only 2 returned. I had offered shelter to pretty brown-black Fleur with blond streaks because she was pregnant. She mainly lived in one of the 2 wooden pet houses on the roof terrace. After she had her kittens and finished feeding them, I missed the appropriate time to get her spayed and neutered. So she decided one day spring is a good time to enjoy the freedom of the road, an opportunity to get as often "engaged" as she feels fit. Fleur now just returns for meals (she really loves her sausage, locals call it Salami) and if need be she can always make use of one of my outside shelters. Beautiful little darling, I respect her wish and I am always happy to see her being well. 

Postcript Not Always What You Expect

 "Be yourself everyone else is already taken."  "You can never be overdressed or overeducated." Oscar Wilde.  "Comman sense is not so common."  "Every man is guilty of the good he did not do."  "Optimism is the madness of insisting that all is well when we are missable."  "Think for yourself and let others enjoy the priviledge of doing so too."  Voltaire. "Don' t do to others what you don't want to be done to you." German Proverb    My lovely Malcom X loves the croquettes and in particular the sausage I provide for my little treasures in- doors and at my Cats' Table, being able to walk again approximately one week ago he disappeared after eating his food and did not re-appear when I called him. Did this several times in vain. Seemed he may have gone back to where he came from. Since he was not undernourished when kids brought him to me following his accident, I hoped the gentle boy may have a family, a garden, a house, more or less for himself, as he doesn't like the company of many cats. In any case, Malcom knows my house and feeding times. Well, this morning Malcolm returned, not in perfect shape, patches of tar and sticking pebbles on his back thigh and tail. I offered him his favourite food and manged to remove a lot with a brush and cats' shampoo. Not at all a pleasant procedure for the poor darling. He demonstrated this by biting my hand - without injuries to my skin. Not sure how he managed this, (done it before) my special honey. Malcolm was feeling tired, may be had to do a lot of walking, so he decided to rest in his box, like he did in the past. I was happy my lost son was okay and returned to his foster mum. - Strange, bananas sold in Tunisia are not an African product but come from the same middle/south American countries as those in Europe. Comparing prices makes you wonder why they are more expensive here. For a while actually quite expensive, up to 15 Dinar a kg. The government arranged that 200 tons are supplied by Morocco, to be sold at 5 Dinar during Ramadan, according to Internet. All we found were offered at 9 Dinar and 

for a couple of days none at all, then again sold at 9 Dinar per kg.

Found on the internet, don't let this be our Ramadan!!! 

Yesterday we enjoyed a lovely sunny day and so did 2 kids on a motorbike, naturally without a safety helmet (pretty rare item here) and even top-less, hopefuly their skin works well as an air bag...... Among the ignorant not just the environment but also road safety is not much of an issue. Kids are seldom advised not to overstep a certain line. A case of try and error, learning by doing? Adoption appears to be handed in the open, I know of some kids that have been adopted. Do I need to know? Don't think so, wonder how the concerned kids feel, inferior because their parents didn't want them, or wondering whether these were no good? One youngster is playing mad, his foster dad doesn't know how to handle him. If I had adopted a child I would say: "You are very special, chosen. Love at first sight." As a teenager I admired Josephine Baker. She adopted a large number of children from different nations and taught them tolerance, you are all equal, the colour of your skin is of no importance. Instead of adopting children I ended up as a foster mum for numerous beautiful homeless cats of all colours. -There was a time when it was of great importance to have many children. Not all lived long, all too often died at a very young age. The survivors  were a kind of old age aid and protection. Nowadays it is mainly the poor who have big families and the more educated tend to have just one or two kids. At the same time folks live longer. This resulted in several, mainly European countries, but also those like Japan, having a population of predominantly eldery citizens. With other words, their economy and social services require young immigrants to fill vacant posts. In Germany 60,000 foreign doctors are presently working and still not all doctors who wish to retire because of old age can hand over their practice to a successor, in particular in the countryside (less attractive place for academics). The Dean of Tunisian engineers declared: "Tunisia annually gifts about 650 Billion to economies of foreign countries."  "Brain drain, 6,500 engineers leave Tunisia annually after finishing their university education. Approximately 100,000 Dinars are spend on education." This means not just a big economic and financial loss, but also missed chances for local innovations. And it is not just engineers. So rich countries profit on a big scale, it allows them to quickly fill important, profitable posts, save time and investments. Shouldn't they in return compensate the often poor countries who shouldered the enormous costs? Sadly it is not just the educational expenditures that cause a big problem to poorer countries, the situation is even much worse concerning the exodus of e. g. Tunisian physicians. Khemaies Zeyed, the president of the Tunisian Union of Free Exercise Physicians stated that in 2023 there were 1,325 young doctors leaving the country while between 400 and 500 graduate each year. "Currently the majority of doctors operating in hospitals are 50 years old or older." One can easily work out when this drain of medical men will lead to a collapse of the health system if nothing is done quickly to make Tunisia more attractive and a good reason to stay. It is not mainly a question of low pay, but circumstances like badly equipped hospitals, the quality of infrastructure, the environment in general and security that make others countries like France, Germany more attractive. Those who leave and maybe decide to return one day are hopefully welcomed with open arms, which in my experience is often not what expats encounter, but rather a lot of envy,  little understanding and appreciation of  support given to Tunisia while abroad (e. g. money sent to relatives) and now on return. I don't want to grumble, not all is bad, we met some great folks and discovered gorgeous gentle cats who definitely appreciate our presence.