A mixed bag of things: blogs, Palestine/Gaza, Xmas letters

Hello again

My lovely downstairs neighbours surpassed themselves this past night: at two am, three or four of them came home in a huge commotion, with people probably very drunk, shouting and their dog barking. It sounded like someone was either attacking someone else or being attacked, and the furniture taking a beating in the process. Being ripped out of a deep sleep like that and having to hear their fighting actually made me feel sick to the stomach.
About half an hour later, the police were seen taking two of the miscreants away. However, the pair came back another hour later, rousing the dog that barked again. And so it has gone, with noise disturbing the quiet of this very quiet place every hour or so. I do love my neighbours -- almost to death! ;)

So, rather than tossing and turning, I have been awake and catching up on this and that. One thing was re-reading at leisure all the lovely Xmas circular letters I received over the past month or so. Some of them are true gems, with sophisticated layout and beautiful illustrations. Each one of them contains gems of information, news sad and happy – of dearly loved relatives dying; but also of others making miraculous recoveries after serious illnesses; of weddings; scholarly, professional and publishing successes; and of new babies coming into families; of fantastic holidays undertaken and enjoyed -- it's fascinating and enriching to be allowed those glimpses of dear but distant friends' lives. Thank you, each and everyone: Althea in Basel, Pam & Peter in "Washers" (aka Washington, DC), Philippa, Heidi and Sue in Switzerland, Susan in Surrey, Ros & David in The Netherlands. And thank you, everyone else who sent me messages and greetings. There was quite a laundry line of colourful cards in my hallway. Lovely! And this time I really mean it! :)

On a much more sombre note, one of my friends here has a great blog. Quite apart from some truly spectacular photographs, a post from just a few days ago caught my attention and I would like to quote from it here:
"Israel claims to be waging war against Hamas. Strange, I see pictures of civilians dying in great numbers. I teach small children and it always pains me to see small children maimed, killed and distressed. Today it was reported that the death toll has reached 1000. I know that Israel wants to stop the rocket attacks but there is no justification for this atrocity they are committing. There is no proportionality here.
When will Israel learn [...]?"

Back in 2003, millions took to the streets protesting against the illegal war on Iraq. It's been disheartening to realise that the powers-that-were took absolutely no heed of the people in those colourful protest rallies and vigils. I know many people who have been refusing to buy products "made/produced in Israel" -- I try to avoid them myself. Not buying the products from that country was one of several strategies that helped end the Apartheid regime in South Africa...

And to those out there who smile condescendingly at people like me, I can only say this: just because the vigils and one-person boycotts have seemed to have no effect doesn't mean they were pointless. We need to keep supporting those who are wrongly done by and ostracize those who commit obscenities even though we know that it may not appear to make a difference. From my work with and for amnesty international I know that at least 30% of all the letters written to demand the release of a political prisoner make a big difference in that person's life, even if they may not get the person out of custody straight away.
Yesterday's Oban Times (15 Jan 09, p. 4) carries an article about Andrew Muncie, 34, from Spean Bridge, embarking on a medical supply ship bound for the Gaza Strip from Larnaca, Cyprus, on a voyage organised by the Free Gaza Movement.
Sadly, according to the Free Gaza Movement blogsite, the "Spirit of Humanity", "carrying five tons of supplies and 21 passengers, including three surgeons" (not 30, as the Oban Times claims), was threatened by the Israeli Defense Forces (that's another "newspeak" kind of term blurring the fact that those forces are as much about attacking other countries as defending their own), so the ship has gone back to Cyprus. What a waste!

The people in Gaza lack the most essential supplies. According to the Oxfam site, "As fighting between the Israeli army and Hamas militias has intensified over the last two weeks, the impact on civilians is appalling, with innocent women, men and children being killed and injured. For people living in Gaza, four out of five of whom were already largely dependent on food aid, this comes on top of 19 months of blockade. They now have little or no access to clean water, food or power. Medical and sanitation systems are also on the verge of collapse."

Aerial photographs shown on TV recently revealed the stark reality of mostly parched earth in Gaza surrounded by mostly lush green fields on Israeli territory. I wonder why that is...

Even though the "Spirit of Humanity" has been turned back, people like Andrew Muncie deserve our wholehearted support. Israel has been violating international law and committing crimes against humanity for years now. High time the Israeli government was taken to account!
(And no: I'm not being anti-Semitic, nor do I defend Hamas' often reprehensible actions. But they were elected to power in what was a fairly "clean", democratic process. When you have nothing left to lose, why not toss everything in the balance?)