Cats, Kids and so on

Teacher: Ali, if you found a wallet with 100 thousand Dinar, would you report it? Student: If I know that it belongs to a poor man I would definitely hand it in. - Shakira, the golden yellow cat with one kitten of the same colour and two black ones (a bit older) that she adopted (as far as I can judge) looks well after her little ones. From time to time she leaves the basket to stretch her bones, but quickly returns. I check the kittens' eyes, which they open for the first time after approx. 9 days, yet sometimes the eyes get sealed again, with bad luck even filled with pus. Luckily I know how to handle this, something I learnt from a neighbour (first Physiol chlorure de sodium a 0,9%, clean eyes gently, then Pommade Ophtalmique). This time I discovered a walnut-sized swelling around the belly button of Shakira's little one. Before I could ask the vet (weekend), the baby kitten disappeared. I looked everywhere. There can be only one conclusion that I don't like very much. Mother nature has occasionally strange solutions. A sick/weak baby can endanger the whole family as it may attract the enemy. I experienced it once, when a dog gave birth to more puppies than I counted the next day, 2 weak ones had disappeared.(I tried very hard to find them, all in vain.) Shakira continued to feed and clean the black kittens. One day she walked out, in nature the mother has to find food and the little ones remain quiet, waiting for Mummy to return. Gloria, the other cat mother from time to time (as the kittens get a little bit older) goes for a walk, relaxes and leaves me to baby-sit. She trusts me fully, nice thought. Well Shakira did not return, I waited for 15 hrs and then decided to check whether Gloria would be prepared to adopt the black kittens. She did,   great mummy, guess what, 2 hrs later Shakira returned, looking for her kittens. It may be wrong, but I decided, as it wasn't certain after all, which cat is their actual mother,  to leave them with Gloria and her other babies.  They seem to get on very well and Gloria is the more experienced mum. I gave Shakira some food and water and she stayed over-night to sleep. On the next day she seemed to be looking for the black kittens again, went out and returned after a few hours. At times like this I wish I could explain the situation and get a reply from my cats. Well, we live and learn. Saladin, my lovely skinny Persian cat requires special food from the vet as he suffers from chronicle diarrhoea, always hungry but not putting on any weight. He tries to eat from all other plates on the floor. after a while I discovered that he's a good actor, pretends to eat and then spits it out again. He likes his food served in my hand, at least I can then control how much he then actually eats. I have to soak his croquets and hide them from my other cats, who are only to keen to have it as well. They even open doors for it. I am now prepared, lock the room door. Having had several cats operated (family planning forced onto them), I thought I could spare my Amelie (lovely Persian cat) the operation, as she lives in-doors and all tomcats have been operated. I had no previous experience with female cats and wasn't aware that when they are on heat, they suffer quite a bit when there is no admirer (tomcat) around. Similar situation with my other lovely ladies, Cinderella (white cat, darker coloured part of her face, her tail and paws, blue eyes) and Diana (Thailand cat, turquoise eyes, markings similar to those of Cinderella). All these beautiful little darlings I found right here, there are more outside but I can't provide shelter for more. Where do they come from? I feel pretty sure they or their parents/grandparents had a home before and the families moved away or gone abroad. Before the revolution I never viewed such a lot of gorgeous cats, many were then rather skinny, I guess cats can nowadays find better food outside (more/ better food thrown away?). My cats motivate me to get up really early in the morning, it's great, all the little trouble makers are fast asleep and we can enjoy a peaceful breakfast, only occasionally some dogs arrive, luckily well behaved and they disappear on my command. Dinner time is a different matter, the kids here love to spend every spare minute playing football, yelling at an ear-splitting level. Their balls fly in all directions against the  walls of the houses, onto the roofs, inside the yards, making even newly decorated walls look dirty, tatty. Due to oh so many bad experiences, cats fear these hooligans (as I mentioned before, stones are their favourite  toys, cats aren't even safe underneath cars). The children regard the streets as their home, including pavements, etc. why should I  have the right to feed cats on my pavement or get angry when their balls or stones hit/ damage my property or even worse, frighten or injure my fur friends? - A neighbour parked his car at  the side of my house, it has been there for quite a while now,  perhaps some folks believe it belongs to us. Anyhow, 2 tyres are now flat, one window is smashed and various parts are getting loose, attempts to dismantle by bored ignorant hooligans, one door-handle is missing, the owner hasn't got money for the repair and soon it will be beyond repair. The hooligans lack all feelings of wrong doing, they are difficult to catch as they learn from an early age onward to run fast and deny everything, even if you see them with a so-called smoking gun,. (apart from the running bit, isn't this what Donald Trump practises every day?). -  Prices have gone up, some items 10% , others between 30 and 50 %. Not easy for those who have no or only a low fixed income. A tailor told me she can't pay for the medication that her doctor prescribed for her. The flea markets with lots of clothing from Europe ruined her trade. Hardly anyone orders a new dress or other items,  the usual customer wants alterations at a low price as he/she didn't pay much in the first place for the respective item. I've been told the government intends to protect the local market and stop the influx of cheap second hand clothing from Europe. Many items were donated in Europe by persons who mend well, aid for the poor. The other aspect detonators are often unaware of, (a share of the clothing remains in Europe and often gets sold or given away by charity organisations) a large amount is sold in a big bulk to Africa. No domestic clothes store or tailor can of course compete with those flea market prices, a problem also in other African countries.Talking about selling, I found it surprising that bananas on the market are from South America (not Africa) and apples mainly from Europe (e.g. Tirol), not Tunisia, but at least oranges are and some other delicious fruits. Tinned fruit is rare and expensive, but who needs it? African leaders are meeting now aiming to make African countries support each other more, a bit like the European Union? (Exploitation, land grabbing, corruption keeps many countries poor.) By the way all posts on this block are solely written by me, also those stating a different writer. - While the winter doesn't seem to be prepared to leave Europe, even though it's spring time, we enjoy lovely sunshine, more than 30 degrees centigrade and there are more such days to come. Great to see the sun, hopefully healing many colds and flue attacks, my little treasures have been sunbathing on the roof, they love it and several are also trying to get rid of their cold. We are all welcoming the sun. Tunisia is blessed with better weather than many other part of the world who are less fortunate. At present a warm wind from the dessert (Sahara) is blowing gently.

More about Cats continued

Kitty is a beautiful black, orange and white coloured cat, about 5 months old and a regular visitor to my cats' table, well one day I discovered her indoors, eating out of a big bowl, among my other domestic little tigers as if she  belonged to my indoor fur-family. Since the other cats tolerated her, I decided to welcome the new member. While I concluded that my capacity (space and money) is exhausted, I was in for a surprise, as spring started. One day I discovered a golden-yellow coloured baby cat on a reserve cat's bed in the small corridor between my 2 entrance doors, a cat must have brought the baby cat there without me  noticing. I  tried in vain to find out which cat is the  mother, so I finally  decided to test whether gorgeous Gloria, who lately gave birth to 3 golden-white and 1 black and white kittens would accept the addition, well she did, either because she can't count up to 5 or because she has enough love to provide for 5 kids; it would be just like her, this gentle little darling.

That problem solved, there was another surprise awaiting for me the next day. Underneath my yucca plant I noticed 2 sweet black kittens. As before, no answer to my question, which cat is the mother? There aren't many black cats around here, besides the little ones may be looking just like daddy. I tried to bottle -feed the kittens (one third cow milk and two thirds mineral water). Not easy, they obviously prefer the real thing, a cat mum with  her milk. Next day I found another golden coloured kitten in front of my entrance door, this time in the company of 3 pregnant looking cats, 1 golden-yellow, 2 white with a bit of black and yellow, 2 acting as  if they are the mother. I carefully picked up the baby and put it in a cardboard box waiting how the 3 cats will react. I placed the box in front of my Studio door, so that the main entrance won't be blocked. The golden coloured cat picked up the kitten and returned it to the previous door. Then I found a good solution. I took a plastic basket and converted it into a bed for a new cat family, 1 golden and 2 black coloured baby kittens and a golden coloured mummy (hoping I picked the right mother). It worked, the little ones are happy and so is mummy, happy little family. My husband hasn't noticed yet, guess he'll say I am overdoing it, I can't save all the cats in the world. By the way, before this happened a neighbour told me he viewed a golden-yellow cat with her baby in her mouth coming to my entrance door, presumable waiting for me, after a while she walked away with her baby kitten. Not all stories have a happy end. Eliza's kittens all died, their mum moved them 3 times, not good choices, they had to spend cold nights on cold tiles, in a place where I couldn't reach them. I think the cat didn't have much experience, but did her best to protect her little ones against the hooligans here and other dangers. So sad. A boy, approx. 12 years old, approached my house with a big black dog, I think a mastiff, the dog was on a leash, but it looked as if the dog was walking the boy. Such a dog needs a man not a boy to take him for a walk. I just started to say don't take your dog near my house, when the dog dragged to my entrance door where 2 cats were sitting and within less than a second he snapped one of my fur friends. The cat was fighting for her life, a nightmare to watch. I tried to pull the dog away from my little gentle darling, teens started to kick and beat the dog, which he totally ignored, he just wouldn't let go of my cat. Later adults also tried to stop the dog, all in vain. I asked why isn't the dog muzzled, the boys answered he doesn't like it. The dog finally walked off, still carrying my cat like a prey. The following day kids told me the dog ate my cat (doesn't the family feed him?). I got really worried a similar incident could happen again and attempted to find out the address f the owner or at least get the message to him that such a dog is too dangerous to be outside without a muzzle, he could even attack children. Various persons stated the family doesn't live in the near neighbourhood, we don't know them. The standard excuse, " bad folks come from a different area", nice try to cover up, but unfortunately not very helpful. Later on  I heard a different story.  A worried father spoke with the owner. As it wasn't the first time that this dog showed his aggressiveness, the lady owner decided to have him put to sleep. The dog isn't to blame, people made him like that, either through special breeding or abuse. From time to time I view up to 4 dogs, golden retriever and different types, same size, as well as a smaller one approaching my house, carefully watched by the cats, but thank heaven, they are gentle, I don't need to throw stones, get a stick to frighten them, just say a couple of times "shirr", which means something like go away/ get lost. they halt, look at me and then walk away. -The tiny kitten, approx. 8 days old, that I had found inside my house and added to Gloria's little ones, unfortunately died three days later. Many kittens die very young, but it always makes me sad.

More about Cats

1. Two women talking: It is not easy for her, she had quadruplets, just image 4 babies at the same time. Cat overhearing the conversation, thinking: But that's normal, nothing special, just wonder how many she'll be allowed to keep. - Cats aren't stupid, they know their names, (I gave to them) even those without a home, several know how to open a door, if I e.g. don't want too many in the kitchen while I'm out, I have to lock the door as otherwise one of the little darlings will open the door for all who wish to enter. My 2 black ladies (fur like
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   velvet), Lilly and Felicitas, knock on the sitting room door whenever they want to join me there. They are the best of friends, frequently sitting together on my lap, one of my other cats joining. One could think they are from one family, but they are not. By the way, cats generally don't like closed doors. Filou used to sit in front of my bathroom door and complain if I left him outside. He knew how to open my fridge and sometimes helped himself to food that was actually intended for him anyhow. But for opening tins he still needed me. A very sad day when he passed away. Saladin, a Persian cat, suffers a lot from colds, diarrhoea, always hungry (checks all food plats on the floor), but when the cold really hits him, stops eating. The vet explain that cats won't eat what they can't smell. She suggested some rather expensive special diet (Gastro Digestive Support) to stop his chronic diarrhoea.This nutrition turned out to be of great interest to all my little treasures but Saladin and I have to make sure they don't "steal" it of him. The cats here haven't got a good immune system, generally speaking, don't think they possess the so-called 7 lives, their teeth and gum is frequently in a bad state, the poor water quality with lots of scale takes its toll. When it gets really bad they can't eat and if this continues will die. My vet recommended "Vet aquadent, anti-plaque" a bit expensive (37 Dinar) but it lasts a long time and hopefully will improve matters. By the way, our doctor advised us not to drink the taped water and this is also what tourists are told. (Tunisia could really do with a water-treatment plant.) Luckily the mineral water is fairly cheap. If one can afford it, a better choice for cats too. Those who live out on the road or where ever, as they are without shelter, drink from puddles etc. unless kind folks put some water outside for them. - Eliza, a mainly white cat and regular visitor at my cats' table, gave birth to 4 sweet kittens during the night in one of my flower pots, next to my yucca plant, near my entrance door, it was a real surprise. The little family is well protected behind the metal fencing, but unfortunately difficult to reach (in case any help is needed). At least I can put food and water underneath the yucca plant, the dedicated mummy seems to be grateful for that but she makes at the same time sure that no one gets too close to her babies. On the whole cats are always on the alert here, the result of bad experience with even very small kids, teens and adults. Their brainless stone throwing and other abuses cause quite a few injuries and death. Lately I viewed a youngster kicking a cat like a football (making the cat pay because his parents don't love him and he dropped out of school?). It made me so angry, I hit him with my shoe to show him my contempt. The next day, another disturbed young man tried to beat a cat with a string, "just for fun". I informed him that his IQ is like that of a loaf of bred, hope it'll make him realize how stupid his action was, nothing to be prowd of.  What happened to this new generation, why are some so ugly? Tunisia urgently requires laws for the protection of animals and of course employees who ensure that children and adults abide by the law. This would also make Tunisia more attractive for Tourists who are not at all happy to watch the abuse of animals. I am not saying that animals are always well treated in Europe, but there in particular cats and dogs are often seen as a kind of family member and folks really enjoy their unconditional love and friendship. Kids with a disturbed attitude, who believe chasing animals, throwing stones at them, is normal, have no feeling of wrong-doing when they injure or even kill them, really miss out, besides, are they likely to become good citizens one day, loving parents? There are of course also children from good families who love and respect animals. One mother told me, now that her son got a cat, he is so much more relaxed, another mum that her little one cried all night because the cat disappeared. They were so happy when they discovered the kitten underneath a blanket. I regard animals as a present from heaven. The money that I was intending to spend on travelling to various African countries, I now use trying to protect and help cats and I don't regret it. They are so wonderful, these little darlings. People here unwittingly made me change my plans. I try to also make the kids think twice before getting up to no good, besides, no sweets (or other presents) for throwing stones. This is what "Madam Bonbon" (appears to me my new name here) says. Tunisia can be a great country, this requires not looking the other way and speaking up when necessary, educate the ignorant, children also have brains they can use, don't apologise everything. 

Postcript Not a Jasmine Garden

A man used to always use his wife as a scapegoat whenever something went wrong. One day, when he made a mistake, he declared again that it's his wife's fault. His friend pointed out that this is not possible as she had passed away one month ago. His reply:"But it would have been her fault if she were around." Friend: "She's dead." He: "That's her fault too".   -Tunisia has some good laws which are though poorly enforced. Citizens learn very quickly whether or not they can keep up their bad habits. Why change if there is no or very little control. I see quite a few young men (even children) riding a motorbike, possessing a touch-screen mobile phone, even though they are school drop-outs, unemployed. Heard several complains about stolen motorbikes or attempted theft. Does the police control ownership? Rumour has it some threat revenge if policemen try to do their job. In order to be more effective the police force needs to be better staffed and equipped. Many say one can't rely on the police for protection and upholding law and order, they too often lack dedication and feel frustrated with their job. In addition, like most Tunisians, they don't like to criticised. Even what is mend to be a constructive suggestion, is quickly misunderstood as unjustified "criticism". Nobody makes mistakes here, even toddlers don't. If you catch someone "with a smoking gun" this guy will quickly declare there is no gun in his hand and point to another person "who fired". Kids react like that,. I watched some throwing stones, picking up some more, when addressed stating they never do this but that boy over there........ I saw a heavily disturbed young man from a broken family walking past and suddenly kicking like a football a cat sitting in front of my door, thinking of nothing bad.

I hit him with my shoe to show him my contempt. One day later, a group of 4 skinny , tall young teenagers walking past my house, kicking a cat. New sport for the brainless, aggressive, result of too much junk fast food? Never viewed anything like it before. They are a disgrace for this country and any civilised society. - The Jasmine Revolution created hopes for a new, open, prosperous, democratic society. It didn't result in a big "Jasmine garden", there is more buying power but just for some. Development inequality between different regions of the country needs to be urgently tackled, citizens there feel left behind. What really shock me is the high rate of 62 percent unemployment among university graduates. Are their diplomas, efforts, expenditures, sacrifices all of no value? Yet you may encounter a surprising choice of the incumbent of post in various offices. The reason is quickly explained, many civil servants installed after the revolution do not possess the right qualification as they obtained their position based on connection rather than merit and I've often been told that if you want a good job, you have to pay for it or remain unemployed. What a waste of good education and intelligence from which the whole country could otherwise profit. In 2015 a Committee for the Prevention of Suicide has been set up,. trying to tackle suicides with a national strategy. 365 cases were reported in 2017, about half concerned persons aged between 20 and 39, many with academic diplomas. The reasons given are depression, mental illness, high unemployment, pressure from the families who often don't understand why their son or daughter remains unemployed with such a high education. One needs to be pretty desperate to commit suicide, the choice of method makes it even more sad (often hanging or self-immolation), so terrible, I am lost for words. The real figures may be even higher as there are social and religious taboos, it used to be the same with Christians, in some countries still is, nobody should discriminate or look down on the families but think about what went wrong in our society that these valuable folks took such a drastic step. By the way, after several years, refusal to bury their corpses on the holly Christian cemetery ground, Christians eventually learnt to accept that anyone with such a desperate state of mind should not be seen a person who committed a mortal sin, which God can not forgive. As the French president put it: If we don't help the young unemployed, they will never forgive us.  Tunisia can only profit from a better society with intelligent solutions, we don't need this commonplace self-centredness, clanism, fraud and corruption but solidarity and dedication and engagement for a country that can be really beautiful.

Not a Jasmine Garden

Wife speaking to her husband: "I feel depressed, please speak to me with a non-aggressive voice." Husband: "You need to see a neurologist." - The bill from the waterworks (Soned) was extremely high, looked like we didn't pay for 2 years. Checked the meter and discovered they made an error. The man at the counter said come back on Monday, you must speak to the guy in the office. My husband returned as advised only to be informed Soned requires a photo as proof. They obviously mistrust their customers. A lie, though, could easily be uncovered at the next reading, whenever they choose to send someone around. In Germany you can fill out a card with your own recording if you are out when the waterworks' employee arrives, leave the card at your door or mail it. There are also other services here that mistrust their customers, like e.g. Orange (Internet). Non-Tunisian nationalists who live here permanently are refused a contract as "they might decide to leave Tunisia some time in the future." This also applies to those with an unlimited permit to live here. Their only alternative is to get their contract signed by a Tunisian or do without. I guess Tunisians never leave this country, except on a holiday and can therefore be granted a contract. - Talking about trust, leaving food for homeless cats outside, in front of my house entrance door, is regarded by some youngsters as free take-away food for their dogs. They are not fussy, they'll accept a plastic bowl as well as a nice one.- I remember a time (before the revolution) when quite a few were dreaming of possessing a TV set, a bike or even just a fridge, eggs were a treat, not every day food, everywhere half finished buildings, waiting for more money arriving from abroad, Tunisians eager to receive chocolate from Europe "as we haven't got chocolate here". In view of the poor quality of local chocolate at that time this may pass as a kind of white lie. What a difference now, bikes are rare, expensive new cars everywhere and so are construction works (talking about the better-off part of the country). Interesting to watch construction works, so different here, who needs protection like helmets, safety shoes, scaffolding, etc. ? Across the road 2 more storeys are added, a tradesman shovels debris through an opening from the second floor onto the street. Smoke gets into my eyes and nose. A fire anywhere? From my roof I can see an open fire in the almost finished added construction to the old house. A protest because of insufficient pay? May be the workers just decided to have barbeque for lunch or it has something to do with local construction methods, you never know. - We don't live in a little palace with a park or beautiful garden, we haven't got a car (thank heaven for that with all those hooligans in the neighbourhood and quite a bit risky driving, some appear to have more luck than brain), you would not expect envy? Some folks watched we buy a lot of bottled water....... The seller explained he also needs people who pay cash, he finds us as customers very helpful. Unfortunately the water from the tap is very hard (chalky) and it is on medical advice that we don't drink it. It can create stones in your body and even animals suffer, their teeth is often in a poor state for example. I now bought "Vet aquadent" anti-plaque from the vet to reduce cats' teeth problem

s. It may seem a luxury, but if you love animals and see how they suffer here, it becomes a different matter. Tunisia urgently requires water-treatment plants in order to protect people's health. Not everybody can afford bottled water. So much needs yet to be done, I'd wish rich folks would donate money to support Tunisia, after all they would profit as well if they contribute to a better world.

Postcript Difficult Times

"Tunisians are naturally happy people who like to get together." I found this on the Internet and yes, I remember cheerful folks with an absolute charming smile, really catching. Nowadays elderly persons often walk with their head down, as if they are looking for something they lost, must be their smile, hopes and contend with what they possess. A lot of young Tunisians feel disillusioned, don't trust politicians and see their only chance in Europe. In theory it could be ideal. In Germany e.g. the population is getting too old, the country is running out of young working folks. 70 year olds can not look after 90 year olds (with few exceptions) and the pension scheme is build on the income of young people, when the elderly retire their contributions have long been spent on those who were old age pensioners while the now retiring generation still belonged to the workforce. Nowadays there are schools closing, villages dying because there are too many empty houses, mainly in East Germany. In Tunisia, as in other Arabic countries the vast majority of the population is very young. Could be a solution young  fit folks come to Germany and fill those unoccupied houses with life again. Tunisians tend to quickly learn another language, need to learn another culture with stricter rules and regulations, also for noise avoidance, environment protection, behaviour of children. Can be done as those Tunisians who came many years ago proved, nice theory, it may well be a chance,though, for refugees from Syria and very few other countries. At present Tunisians have a bad reputation in France and Germany, understandable if one thinks of the terrorist attacks there and the frustrated young Tunisians who behaved like hooligans. Approx. 10 percent of all Tunisians live abroad. Unfortunately some of that new generation now, those who know no respect and act out their frustrations, make life difficult for Tunisians well integrated in Europe and who've been sending money home to their families and thus supporting the Tunisian economy often for centuries. These frustrated young men that did not find the paradise they expected to find, can quickly destroy a good reputation and high regard that took long to acquire. So sad, they don't know what they are doing or just don't care. - The unequal distribution of income is obvious. The majority of wealthy Tunisians live in Tunis, the majority of the poor and unemployed in the south. The currently 6 percent under the poverty line receive heavy subsides from the government. The in 1998 founded solidarity bank offered thousands of micro-credit loans to young graduates and small business owners, those who invested in the tourist trade are misfortunes. Many shops have closed down. I remember when tourists were everywhere and it was difficult to get a seat in a cafe or restaurant. At present some wholesalers and retailers are worried as Turkey's president declared a stop of exports to Arabic countries. Erdogan like Trump believes in punishing countries that don't agree with his politics. Products from Turkey are not necessarily of high quality, but they are cheap. You can buy one pair of socks for the whole family, when new the right size for the father, after the first wash fitting the mother and so on, eventually okay for the baby. Imports from Turkey presently amounted to 4,1 percent, cheap clothes, plastic and pottery, watches, various equipments etc. items mainly for folks with little income. There must be an alternative. I wonder why more can't be produced directly in Tunisia. Just imagine one day Turkey wants to supply again and the answer is: no thank you, we don't need you, we buy from our local production. Tunisia requires additional innovations. Those with creative ideas often lack funds, hopefully they will receive more support  in the future. Inventions made Germany rich, not mineral resources, and foreigners from several countries contributed a lot to the striving economy. Those returning to Tunisia  surely bring back a lot of ideas and experience. Are they appreciated or subjected to envy and considered to be strangers now? Hospitals are of a different standard here but for those who can afford it clinics offer a good alternative, they are clean, modern and well equipped. I am now talking from experience . Prior to a bowel endoscopy I was a bit nervous, but with anaesthetic all went well and the niece ladies presented me a piece of cake and a yogurt afterwards. What needs to be improved is the emergency service, it practically doesn't exist at night, so I am told (apart from Tunis). They lack qualified staff who are willing to work night shifts. - The children appear to be on holiday most of the year. In addition they are some times sent home after 1 or 2 hours lessons, because they are too advanced? Skilled and motivated teachers are of great importance for the further development of school students. Pedagogical innovations if known and applied go a long way to improve learning and the kids can even enjoy attending school. If the majority in my class needs private tuition, I would wonder whether I am a bad teacher or are my students particular stupid? Here I am told private coaching is regarded by teachers as a pleasant extra income and those who choose them for this task will receive better results. One mother returning from Germany advised her son never to ague with his teachers, let him think that he is always right, they are like that here. Discussions are not encouraged. A young lady told me one of her female teachers informed her that animals must always be seen as very low creatures, never say he or she, always it, an item, not a "fellow creature". Always support the poor if you can, don't waste your money on animals. I guess she considers this as an highly educated attitude. Scientists see this differently. Those who are cruel to animals are also cruel to human beings. Caring for an animal is good for a child's development. If you never experienced the unselfish love of an animal, you really missed something. Stroking a cat is relaxing and can lower a too high blood pressure. Old people's homes that allow pets discovered a positive effect on the inhabitants. A video on Internet showing the abuse of animals in Egypt resulted in many Egyptians demanding laws for the well being of animals. This gives me hope for a better world.

Difficult Times

A tradesman looking for a job finally found someone willing to employ him: " Okay if you are that keen, but I must point out there is a snag to it." Being asked what he means by this, he said: "I'll explain later." The tradesman started to work and his employer continued to say: "I'll explain later, it is still too early." When all the work was finished, the tradesman got really curious as he hadn't discovered any "snag". So his employer told him: " You did a good job, thank you very much, now I can tell why I warned you, the snag is I can not pay you. - The new year started with bad information for most of us, as the government has to repay a loan from the World Monetary Fund, granted with stipulations, taxes and prices increased for many items like basic food, electricity and cooking gas, coffee and tea, telephone, Internet, alcohol, medicine, imports, vehicles, etc. For those with very little or no income a real problem. I was in the past already surprised that some folks buy bread (220 Millim approx. 10 Ct) and ask the seller to write it down in his book with outstanding bills, to be paid at some later date. On the other hand streets are congested with masses of new expensive cars, which can only mean many have plenty of money or managed to obtain a bank credit that will cause a problem at a later date, as quite a few new cars on the street are for sale again, one must assume this. One pharmacist declared he will try not to charge more in spite of higher taxation, as he fears many of his customers won't be able to cope otherwise. - The other day a man handed me a sheet of paper in front of my house and said: " Belladia (town administration authorities) tax." When we tried to pay the requested sum, the reaction was a real surprise. The woman stated  that we would not only have to pay that amount for 2017, but also in addition for the last 5 years. Strange, we never received such a request before. The first explanation for this: Students tasked with distributing the bills were too lazy to do a proper job. Second explanation: People were after the revolution frightened to hand these bills to the concerned house inhabitants. How about then making use of the letter boxes, where ever possible? Nonetheless, Belladia even demanded a surcharge on account of late settlement of their bill, thus pay interest for bills we never received and were not even aware of. Strange, but the world is really full of surprises. Always expect the unexpected. By the way, various folks in the neighbourhood remarked they can not and will not pay Belladia, their very limited means won't enable them to do so. Well, the government is aware of existing poverty and intends to help these people: free medical aid for unemployed youth, increased state pensions, a housing fund to make housing more affordable, increased financial assistance to poor families (hopefully in such a way that the children will also benefit), government decisions as a result of the demonstrations on account of the imposed austerity measures. While 2018 won't be an easy year it is supposed to all get better from next year on as the economy is expected to improve. Let us hope so, frustrations are understandable, aggressions, destruction frenzy, looting, any kind of violence, though, is not helpful and it doesn't solve any problems. If we want more tourists to return to our beautiful beeches (some tidying up would be a good idea), historic sites, and much more that Tunisia has to offer, it can be done and creates jobs yet again. When folks with an academic background can't find work that matches their qualifications that is so sad and at the same time means a lot existing potential in the country is wasted. According to the OECD unemployment among Tunisian graduates amounts to 62 per cent, this is really tough. During school and later on semester holidays I often used to work, jobs like: factory works, cleaning, tree nursery, selling in a department store, warehouse, sweetshop, copy shop, potato harvest on farm land, washing up, kitchen help and waitress in a restaurant.This was an interesting experience and helped me understand a lot, at the same time I was happy to know these jobs would not be what life holds for me and I appreciated having to do them only for a few weeks. I can therefore understand how difficult it must be for people with an academic education to be forced to work in a factory, or as a taxi driver, etc. just so that they can make ends meet. They invested a lot in money, energy and time, so sad when it seems to be all wasted. While the foreign lenders of the 2,8 bn Dollar loan demand cuts to civil service and broader austerity measures, their usual demands (often not taking into account a country's special situation), 15 per cent are unemployed, even more in the less advantaged south and other parts of the country. There is so much work to be done if it could be financed. We need playgrounds for children, some require anti-aggression training. The other day 3 pre-school children climbed on top of the roof of a one-floor building, amazing, without a ladder, only had some difficulties climbing down again, one kid fell, cried, just suffered some bruises. A construction site on the other side of the road (owner decided to add another 2 storeys to his building, happens here everywhere) is regarded by the local children as a playground, there is a heap of sand, there are staked bricks, piles of pebbles and other stones, their favoured "toys", that they can not walk past without picking some up to throw at cats, dogs, buildings, people or each other. Whenever I tried to explain why they should stop this, the usual answer is: "It wasn't me." And yes, they are willing to stop - at least for a couple of minutes. While their parents take little interest (if at all) how their siblings spend their days out on the road, I feel the kids need to be taught how to play and creating playgrounds would be very helpful. I'd wish there would be donations from better-off countries to further this. Some folks with a short memory say it was all better when Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was in government. Well, he ruled for 24 years and what did this dictator, his greedy wife and equally greedy in-laws do for Tunisia? If they loved this country they could have done so much, e.g. playgrounds for children I only saw on hotel grounds for tourist children, there were many more plastic bags polluting the country site than nowadays, did Ben Ali get any waste-processing plants built, etc? And last not least, would they have robbed the country? We don't need a "saviour" like Ben Ali, Tunisia deserves better. Latest update: more than 6000 jobs are promised to the people from Kasserine, approx. 250 000 families will receive financial support from the government. Investigations into allegations of corruption will be carried out. Sounds promising.