Being a good citizen
Being a good citizen of the 21st century requires knowledge and awareness so that we can make good decisions on an individual level, about what products to buy, what to do and what not to do.
On the other hand, our individual solutions have very little effect, compared to those of the big companies and climate criminals. What Greta Thunberg points out in her book is that despite the relative insignificance of small individual decisions, when they join together to form a mass movement, such as a mass boycott, they count for more – so we need to be public about them.
But being public about anything reminds me of past instances of moral hypocrisy. So, when someone tells me they are flying to Prague or Paris for three days for a “short getaway”, it’s hard for me to say I’m not sure that’s the right thing to do during a climate crisis. And I can’t say I’m going to set a good example by flying less, or not at all, because that’s not something I can be sure I’ll do, in a country where the only way to reach Europe or the rest of Asia is by flying. So I keep quiet and don’t say anything, which means again, that whatever I do has virtually no effect.
Hamsin
The hamsin is supposed to let up by this evening or tomorrow. It’s currently 41°C outside. A hamsin is actually a kind of sirocco, which Bedouin colourfully describe as issuing from the mouth of hell. Yesterday afternoon, we were sitting on the balcony of La Brasserie by Mary’s Well in Ein Kerem when a sudden blast of wind surged up the valley, felling huge, stone-mounting umbrellas, which in turn gave one of the diners a nasty blow to the head and toppled her to the floor. She was OK. The restaurant owner apologized profusely and offered the couple a meal on the house. He said he’d been there for 11 years and this was the first time it had ever happened.
Musical performance, Marwan Halabi
On Thursday evening Magdalena organized a musical performance at her photo studio in a nearby village. There was only room for about 20 people but we all squeezed in, to hear Marwan Halabi, a young Druze singer-songwriter with a sublime, amazing voice. Accompanying himself, just with a guitar, he sang some of his own compositions; some were traditional sufi songs, and one or two Egyptian. Most were in classical or spoken Arabic, with a couple in Hebrew. He can be found on Spotify and SoundCloud – I include a SoundCloud link because that’s the service I usually prefer – worth a listen!
Links
16 year-old girl murdered in Delhi street; no one even bothered to call the police
There were so many people when the murder took place, but no one helped the girl. Even if they would have shouted, maybe the girl could have survived”