Anis Ibn Baddouda around the world

Talkin' 'bout my generation, this is my Microwave generation !

2009-02-14T14:10:00.000-05:00

I’m writing this note to wish everyone of my generation a happy Microwaved Valentine’s Day.

If we link a generation to a product that heavily influenced its times, then this one should definitely be called the Microwave Generation. We like so much this home appliance that we shaped our social behavior in general and love relationships in particular after this wonderful device.

We use microwaves to heat things, they are heated fast, and they get cold even faster. We eat tasteless ready-made dishes, we defrost food that ends up cooked on the sides and some even use it to actually cook things, bon appétit with your tasteless cancer-prone gourmet meal.

And another striking similarity lays in the fact microwaves only accept plastic, a noble material that we cherish particularly, we are plastic and rubber generation!

Get past your hangover on this beautiful sunny Saturday morning, look around you, do your homework and find out what I mean...

Long life my generation, turn your sound system the loudest possible, put on Territorial Pissings of Nirvana and listen up to Krist Novoselic sampling the youngbloods, then leave your microwaves behind and go get together right NOW.

Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another right now

Pax (and love)
A.

Frost/Bush

2009-02-02T06:12:00.001-05:00

I just finished watching Frost/Nixon the excellent Ron Howard movie relating the story of the Nixon interviews conducted by David Frost which led to the breakdown of Richard Nixon on tape.

I can’t stop thinking of a similar interview of George W. Bush. Do you imagine how interesting it would be to have Bush explain what happened during his presidency in his own words without previous knowledge of the questions asked?

Richard Nixon has always been considered the black sheep of American presidents, as a result of his catastrophic management of the Vietnam war he inherited and his involvement in cover up operations: the watergate scandal, but most of all because he got caught.

Nixon is to this day the only American president to resign from office.

George W. Bush, got elected twice, finished his second mandate without any serious threat of impeachment nor official demands of resignation, and no one officially came after him despite his very honorable record (not exhaustive list):

• A disputed election (allegedly stolen) against Al Gore
• 9/11 and its controversial official account (to remain politically correct)
• War on Afghanistan in order to arrest Osama Ben Laden (never got caught).
• Unfounded WMDs allegations against Iraq and Saddam Hussein regime.
• Lies and false evidence presented to the entire world at the Security council in order to push for a war on Iraq.
• Unilateral preventive war on Iraq causing +150.000 civil deaths since 2003, a civil war and an unprecedented wave of terrorism.
• Guantanamo illegal prison/ secret CIA prisons / Torture practices
• Abu Gharib and the likes of the scandals
• Major global economic crisis that’s bringing the world to its knees
• And to finish off his mandate on the bright side, he strongly backed up the war on Gaza. The truce was broken by Israel on election day, before unilaterally stopping the aggression hours before the end of Bush's mandate. just coincidence for sure.

To me, and to many others, George W. Bush is one of the most dangerous individuals in the history of humankind.

During his mandates, we witnessed major global changes that are shaping our lives: He and his administration are responsible for the birth of an era, the terror and fear era.

I. The terror era

More than the record I am citing above, what highlights W’s era is the birth of terrorism as a global phenomenon. Just think about it:

As of the 90s, terrorism was local. It was linked to small groups here and there. A few attacks have been conducted against US interests in the world. Among them the Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, the USS Cole attacks and two attacks in Saudi Arabia.

After the arrival of George W. Bush to the US presidency, terrorism became global. It started with the 9/11 attacks and then spread everywhere in the world under the Al Qaida banner.

Al Qaida is presented to the common joe as a multinational of terror, an organization structured as a global company with different levels of command and responsibilities, centralized and represented everywhere in the world.

II. The fear era

Terrorism became the new favorite word of politicians and journalists alike. I like to see the summary of interviews made by Bush, Dick Cheney, Rumsfeld, Giuliani and the likes who seem to particularly appreciate words like 9/11, terror, terrorists, axis of evil etc.

Quickly, a growing sentiment of Islamophobia stroke. Racial profiling against tanned, brown and hairy people who carry non Christian names similar to the names of the 19 alleged hijackers of 9/11.

The direct result was reverse racism, the Muslim world soon started the cocooning process: people started to become more and more radicalized, the masses started to reject the “other civilization” and the real clash of civilizations initially stated by Samuel P. Huntington started.

This reaction is apparently a normal behavior as explained by Amin Maalouf in his brilliant essay “In the Name of Identity: Violence and the Need to Belong”: When one component of your identity is threatened, it becomes the most important to you, your identifier.

The outcome was a rising fear from both sides and growing hate sentiments. As in every vicious circle escalation is the key word, and as in all kinds of escalations, there is no room for dialogue, no room for salvation.

Just take a look at the number of terrorist attacks between 2000 and 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Number_of_Terrorist_Incidents.png

That is the main legacy of the George W. Bush era. A legacy we should all hold him and his administration accountable for.

Now, he is out of office, journalists are asking whether he is the worse president in the history of the United Stated of America. Controversy, manipulation and lies are the words that come to mind when talking about George W. Bush.

Will we ever know the truth about what happened these past 8 years in the oval office? Will he ever be judged on his wrongdoings ?

Will there be another Frost ? or another Kenneth Starr, this time interested in serious issues rather than trying to impeach a president for a sex scandal?

Time will tell
A.

Bloody History

2009-01-03T03:42:00.006-05:00

Bob Marley once said in a famous song of his:

If you know your history,
Then you would know where you coming from,
Then you wouldn't have to ask me,
Who the 'eck do I think I am.

2008 ended with the non-renewal of the truce between Israel and Hamas. Why it wasn’t renewed? I don’t know. Are there any political agenda behind this? I don’t know, any hidden plans behind the walls ? I don’t know either.

All I know is that Hamas refused to renew the truce, right after they restarted launching rockets on the south of Israel giving the Israeli government a strong reason for “self defense” retaliation backed by the American government.

What is the outcome? a few rockets launched on one side causing 4 deaths. On the other side, bombs falling everywhere on Gaza causing 430 deaths so far and over 2000 wounded and counting. A balanced outcome, if we consider the 1 to 100 usual ratio, (don’t shoot me I’m being sarcastic here)

Again, the reactions are way unbalanced between the Arab world and elsewhere, in the news, popular demonstrations, people reactions on social websites… In the Arab world, all blame is on Israel. The streets are heated up to the number of deaths and injured as they watch the destruction of Gaza take place. Al Jazeera is keeping a dynamic banner on its website updating the number of deaths and injured live.

At the same time, Hamas and its leaders are intending to gain support of the Arab masses through a populist and zealous speech yet dreamy and unrealistic delivered by Ismael Haniya and Khaled Machaal and echoed by the Arab news networks who carefully choose their vocabulary to galvanize their radicalized audience. Who talks about Hamas’s responsibility in what’s happening ? no one !

What the Hamas and the “romantic” people in the Arab countries (who are still waiting for another Saladin to come and save Palestine) forgot is that Israel is not willing to give up this time, the way they did in Lebanon 2 years ago before reaching their objective.

The objective was to finish up with Hezbollah once and for all, but they didn’t and they pulled out after causing more than a thousand deaths. This pull out and Hezbollah’s resistance was considered by many Arabs as a success. What is the success in there? I don’t know… maybe someone can tell me.

This time Israel is decided to finish up with Hamas once and for all as declared by Tzipi Livni the Israeli Minister of foreign affairs. According to Israel, the blame for the death toll is all on Hamas.

Israel’s excessive military operation on Gaza is officially legitimized by the American government and by the media as self-defense measures. Israel has the right to self-defense, since Hamas rockets can now cover up to half the area of Israel.

The situation in Gaza is disastrous, disastrous not only because of the Israeli bombing on civilians motivated by the fight against Hamas. Disastrous not only because of Hamas mixing with the population and using it as human shields while keeping launching rockets on the south of Israel and refusing truce talks.

It is disastrous because it is the result of over 60 years of mistakes on each side.

It is disastrous because no one knows how to correct these mistakes and save what’s left.

It is disastrous because the people in Palestine are the only ones paying for all these mistakes.

It is disastrous because people in front of their TVs and computer screens are calling for war and resistance while comfortably seated in the first lines of their living rooms.

I’d like to listen up to what Bob Marley said and take a look back at some history and ask a question: What if peace voices were louder than the drums of war in 1948, 1963, 1967, 1973, today?

Pax
A.

Useful material to understand the fucked up situation in the middle east:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Arab-Israeli_War
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab-Israeli_Conflict
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/210072/The-50-Years-War-Israel-and-the-Arabs/overview

A day at the parc, the PinkPop parc

2008-06-03T21:04:00.005-04:00

Last Sunday I kicked off my festival season, I headed to Landgraaf, NL for the last day of PinkPop festival. I couldn't secure the 3 days pass as they sold out in no time.

So all hyped up with the awesome line up of the day, I hit the road with my buddy Seb in his green old Citroen ZX, secretly praying it won't break down somewhere half the way.

Who is showing up today for my early birthday bash ? we got on the guest list Josh Homme and the Queens Of The Stone Age setting up the mood for the great Rage Against The Machine. I thought I would never see these guys live as they split up a few years ago but when I read they reformed for the Coachella festival my hopes

revived and I kept an eye on their moves. So when they announced they were headlining the PinkPop festival I didn't think twice, I needed my ticket for the June 1st show.

To heat up the crowd until the studs of Seattle hit the stage and before the masters of Anarchy finish the job and blow peoples minds we got: Serj Tankian, Fiction Plane, Gavin Degraw, Alanis Morissette, Cavalera Conspiracy, The Wombats, The Hives...

Great kickoff, Fiction Plane start at the main stage on this beautiful day of June, the band is rocking and we are sitting on the grass for what felt like a nice day at the parc. We moved on next to the second stage where The Wombats english sound made us feel good.

Gavin Degraw's swing on the main stage kept the good vibes in the air, the sun is shining and the weather is sweet, we are taking the sun and happiness is all around. Little detail, we forgot to buy protection cream and soon found out that the sun is here to stay... at the end of the day I was red like a tomato.

The Cavalera brothers took on the second stage, but it looked like nobody told them it was a nice day at the parc as they brought on their supersonic tempo and their double kick drums. I stayed a little while, enough to witness an epileptic guy (I guess) collapse right in front of me, then another body laying on the floor, everyone around was calling for help... nothing much serious, but still... is this all Cavalera's effect? not my thing, a little walk to the pyramid to watch Kate Nash and hide a bit from the sun was definitely a great idea.

Followed Racoon, the Hives and Alanis Morissette who sent me back to my late teenage years. Cool stuff, but serious things are still in the works. We decided to skip Serj Tankian in order to save a good spot for QOTSA who rocked the house pretty well with some hard tunes like Sick Sick Sick played energetically. The concert was awesome and the crowd around us would only agree with this statement. QOTSA did their job then left the stage the way they got to it: soberly, no encore despite the call of the crowd.

No resting time, people started piling for RATM and no one from those who were there left, we did the same ignoring the Counting Crows who headlined the second stage, I'll see them in Werchter anyway.

The long awaited RATM took their time to get on stage, the setup on the stage was pretty simple apart of two walls of massive speakers on both sides of the stage surrounding the band, man these guys like it loud, really loud.

The crowd was getting impatient until a siren broke the roar and 4 Guantanamo Bay prisoners dressed in orange suites with hoods on their head walked on Stage. They were impressive facing the crowd while the sirens called for emergency. It was the silence before the hurricane, aka the riff of Bombtrack, "it's just another bombtrack...yeah! It goes a-1, 2, 3... Hey yo, it's just another Bombtrack..."

The crowd blasted at the first riff of Tom Morello and the whole festival ground turned into a massive mosh pit. I never saw such a level of energy, guys, girls, young and older all were into it. And it didn't get any better when Morello started playing Bulls on Parade right after Bombtrack, with waves of people jumping and moshing to the powerful song riffs.

All major RATM songs followed, with Morello driving people crazy with his riffs, tricks and untypical solos . Zach De la Rocha was pretty pumped up as well, he delivered a nice speech that galvanized people, a wake up call, right on time before the Wake up song. Talking about today's generation, disrespected by politicians who believed it didn't care, he called for awarness and immediate action : "what a better place than here, what a better place than now, WAKE UP".

With every song the atmosphere got more electric and more energy was poured into the crowd. I thought it was the climax of the night as they left the stage after a sensational wake up. But that was what I thought until the final shot: them coming back for Killing In The Name to close a one of a kind show. I was feeling the heat coming from the bodies around me, heated by the sun all day long and energized by RATM's fury, the show ended on a loud MOTHERFUCKER shouted by more than 80.000 people who claim they won't do what you tell them... if only it was true !

one word: Impressive !!!!

Abre los ojos

2007-02-08T17:50:00.000-05:00

I saw "The last king of Scotland" and I remained shocked and confused for a long while. thoughts took me from the movie to reality, To Uganda, to Africa, to the bloody dictators there and around the world, to the 20th century tragedies and to the history of Humankind.

So many names, so many events, so many countries, so many dates, my thoughts were running from one to another, uncountable... At every given time of our history, rivers of blood were flowing around fed by sadist demonstrations of cruelty and hatred causing nothing but suffering... everywhere. Evil has always found its way to people's souls and blinded their hearts, making every unbelievable atrocity possible.

We realize that when it is thrown in our face in a movie or in a documentary but we don't realize that it has always been around the corner, so close to us, ready to blow us up at any time.

Just think about the 20th century alone and see how many genocides, ethnic purifications, destructive wars, world wars, atomic bombs, civil wars, exterminations, slavery, racism... The world never lived in peace, NEVER.

A century that was supposed to mark the end of colonialism, the rise of democracy, the triumph of the free and humanist minds, the ultimate expression of the human conscience and the era of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guaranteed to all people.

Where are we from all that ? Look at the last decade, look at the world now, look around the corner, look in the mirror, what do you see ?

A.

Carpe Diem...

2007-01-06T12:58:00.000-05:00

I had a great 2006 year, it was a must to part ways in the best of manners:

Première étape: Do as you please land

I started bidding my farewell to 2006 on the 23rd of December when I headed to Amsterdam with 2 buddies of mine, Onur and Onur.

I didn't know what to expect from a city that is synonymous of debauchery for some, freedom for others and made a pop culture icon by pulp fiction's "royal with cheese" scene with Samuel Jackson and John Travolta, Vincent vega telling stories about Amsterdam, the do as you please city...

whether you enjoy it or hate it, It's not possible to remain insensitive to the free-spirited liberalism of A'dam. In this hedonistic city no big deals are made of pleasures, sex and drugs are on the shelf, just help yourself.

Weed and hash menus in the coffee shops have a detailed explanation of the expected feelings and the crew is always available for an advice on which trip to have. Same goes for the smart shops, which offer other types of drugs that can be highly trippy: magic mushrooms and herbal extasy.

The red light district is something to see, girls in little apartments offering their charms behind a glass door on top of which there is a red light bulb to make them recognizable. The red lights are spread all over the neighborhood, mixing with houses and even surrounding a church.

The city is beautiful and worth discovering, built on water and surrounded by canals. Water is definitely a huge factor in the city's architecture and personality. A city that was always known for its tolerance and hospitality for religiously and politically oppressed people as well as fishermen and merchants landing for business and some pleasures en passant...

Deuxième étape: Zakopane A Malakas town

I headed after A'dam to Poland looking forward to meet a special group of people: Los Malakas.

Common points between Malakas: All are party animals with a good dose of craziness and a strong sense of friendship. A group of good fellas from all over the world that summarizes what AIESEC can do best: bringing people from different parts of the world together.

All met initially in Tunisia where most of the malakas were doing AIESEC internships. There the malakas spirit was born. Present members in this reunion were from Mexico, Germany, Poland x2, Czech x2, Tunisia x3, Croatia x2, Romania x2, Taiwan, Russia, USA and France

And so we met in Zakopnae, this peaceful little town in the Polish side of the Tatras mountains, and all we wanted to do was simply to rock the planet.

The reunion of old friends meeting again was intense and very emotional. but as soon as we got together the party started, and that was the menu every night.

We managed to do some stuff during the day though, we went hiking and after countless falls and shouting for help, we could reach the top and admire the Tatras mountain heights from above, a beautiful moment. We also did some sightseeing in Zakopane, but the main objective was to spend time together and have fun. Dinners were lots of fun and the room parties were great.

On the NYE, after spending the day skiing or at least trying to, we headed home where floods of alcohol were waiting for us: 72 beers 50cl, 3 bottles of champagne, a bottle of tequila, and a few other bottles of home made Romanian Palinka, Croatian rakija and that half a bottle of absint that was still fighting back after a couple of days trying to finish it.

We had a kind of a big bar room in the chalet for us, there we said our final good byes to the year. Katie had a surprise for everybody, she brought each one of us a glass with his/her name and "malakas New Years 06/07" written on it. It was a great surprise and we made a good use of it: we had personalized tequila shots and champagne, thanks katie. Happy new yeaaaaar !!!!

We spent the next day chilling in Zakopane, playing the tourists, buying souvenirs, had a good dinner just to warm up to... party :)

On the way back to Krakow we spent 4 hours to make the 100km between Zakopane and Krakow in a train that changed direction three times. It was so packed you couldn't make your way through the alleys, no controller came to see us and therefore the trip was free. We spent the journey standing in the alley passing the bottles of Palinka and rakija back and forth, it makes your trip pleasant ah Fabrice ? :)

In Krakow, after a (very) quick sightseeing tour, we ended up in a chicha bar, where we spent the last hours together in a relaxed mood. Then we had to say good bye...

Unfortunately not all Malakas could join and those who couldn't make it were very missed, I can't imagine what would happen to the world if all malakas could one day
meet in the same place.

For those who were there, thanks a lot for this wonderful reunion, thanks Fabian, Kasia, Elena, Sin-hi, Peter, Nesrine, Tomi, Charko the Absinth man, Ozzy, Katie, Orshi, Jochen, Fabrice and Jirka...

Thanks Beata and Big malakas for the organization, it was to the standards of the best events organization companies :) You rock !!!!

Next reunion we'll make it in Amsterdam, it's like pouring oil on the fire... and carpe diem baby.
A.

Quelques grammes de finesse...

2006-11-19T12:12:00.000-05:00

Something I enjoy in life is meeting new people and discovering new things. And it makes the encounter more special when it's impromptu, unexpected...

That's something great about Toronto, there I met great people in an unorthodox way (wink Lee-Anne). And in the same unusual way discovered two of my 2006 biggest coups de coeur: Amanda Martinez and the East Village Opera Company.

Amanda Martinez
It was during the Little Italy Street Festival on College Street right after a Brazil game followed by a Brazilian fiesta in the streets of little Portugal. I walked back to college street to enjoy the food sold at the stands, watch the bands playing completely different types of music and share the crowd's world cup frenzy.

I stopped at the first stage attracted by a nice adaptation of "Besame mucho", a sweet voice accompanied by nice afro-cuban beats. The song that followed I didn't know but I found myself swinging and singing the words of the verse that I quickly learnt, It was "Guajira Sola". Eventually, I remained there till the end of the show as it was absolutely fascinating. In the mean time I was approached by a smiling young lady who gave me an invitation to the release party of Amanda's first album, it was on my last night in Toronto, a week later. At the end of the show, I asked her for a picture, and told her that I'm convinced she will be a famous artist.

I was there at "the Drake hotel", and I didn't regret it. I was late, my friends were already in, It was packed and I couldn't get in, so Veronica (the smiling girl) whispered a tip to me on how to avoid the crowd and get in from the back door... so I did :)

The show was great, after it was over, we stayed at the bar having drinks and chatting with Veronica, waiting for Amanda to sign my album.

Amanda is Canadian born to a Mexican father and South African mother, she was already established in a banking career when she decided to drop everything and live her passion for the music. It was the right decision, "Sola" her first album is captivating, hard to get out of the CD player. It includes a mix between Amanda's songs: like the sexy "Cantame", "Guajira Sola", "Volar" the shivers giving ode to her adventurer father in the pursuit of his dreams and fabulous covers: the intense "La llorona", the joyful "Gracias a la vida" and the poetic "Alfonsina y el mar"

Everyone I made listen to Amanda was charmed by her singing, her pure strong voice and the great arrangements on the album. Unfortunately Amanda is not widely distributed which is a pity as I believe her work can and should be a worldwide known treasure.

Looking forward for the second album, Amanda ;)

The East Village Opera Company
We were a bench of friends sitting at the beer garden of the Yonge street festival at the corner of Younge and Eglinton, taking it easy on that saturday summer night. I didn't know who was on stage, all I know is that I left my friends to go closer to the stage, I was captivated by the heavy guitars, the strings and the captivating voices.

It was the East Village Opera Company (EVOC), a NY band that revisits opera classics, adding strings, heavy guitars, drums and new arrangements to the great voices of Tyley Ross and AnnMarie Milazzo making them more intense and powerful.

I lined up to buy their first CD "La donna", As you put it to play you get the feel of the CD with the guitar riffs announcing "Vesti la giubba" from the Opera "Pagliacci", my favourite piece of the album. I particularly like "Questa o quella", "Una furtiva lagrima", "Maria, Mari" and "La serenata".

Even though I liked "La donna" I thought it was shy compared to what I heard from the band on stage. A few months later, as it was released, I ordered EVOC's second album, and it turned out to be a masterpiece...

The arrangements were obviously more mature and audacious than in the first album. The addition of AnnMarie brought more intensity and energy to the mix and some duets on the album with Tyley are absolutely amazing. My favourites are Gianni Schicchi's "O mio Babbino caro", Dido and Arenas "When I am laid on earth", La Wally's "Ebben? ne andro lontana", Turandot's "Nessun Dorma" and Carmen's "Habanera".

What a bold way of editing these classics of opera, I closed my eyes more than ones and intensely felt the pain of Dido, the insecurity of the wally or the daring Calaf challenging death. I am sure their original creators wouldn't find them outrageous, but definitely exquisite.

I feel lucky for discovering the East Village Opera Company and Amanda Martinez, unknown independent artists that should have a larger fan base, just for the good sake of spreading beauty in this world...

Pour savourer quelques grammes de finesse... dans ce monde de brutes.

A.

Free

2006-10-24T17:03:00.000-04:00

I've been going through a trip lately, long and painful... my own journey to freedom.

I am struggling to free myself, free myself from fear, from inhibitions, from stereotypes, from hatred, from every negative feeling or thought that stands between me and myself.

I want to explore the inner me, the one that was there before to get infected by all the sickness of this world. I want to meet the genuine me, how would I think, who I would I be if I was free of all strings attaching me to the filthy ground...

Emancipate myself from fear, fear is always around the corner. Fear of the unknown, fear of those who control my life, my thoughts... We've been well taught how to auto-censor ourselves, how to avoid thinking, how to accept a distorted reality that it's impossible to stand...

Learn to free my mind from the society around me, and all its hidden catches, all the strange looks when you express something different or act differently. All the judgments, all the ironic comments, the surrounding conformism, the narrow minded people...

Remove all inhibitions, sins, explore the world as if there were no consequences: no punishments, no hell...

Pinch myself every time I'm having a nasty thought about a different person, just because this person is different...

I want to get rid of these feelings, I want to love mankind just as it is, diversified and different... destroy all thoughts presuming that THEY are different, that THEY are weird, that THEY are evil...

We are all weird, we all have our unique differences that make us uncivilized and strange, aliens to the eyes of some other people.No matter who you are, no matter where you coming from there will be always someone thinking that you are fucked up... so why don't we accept these differences as particularities interesting to explore, instead of turning your head and mumbling: pfff those !@$#$%

I am trying to make the little free spot in my mind bigger, I figured out it was very small. I finally understood that I am a prisoner of my own mind... I want to dig into it and see where it's gonna take me... and from there come back to the world...

hopefully as a free man...
A.

Guantanamera

2006-09-09T07:19:00.000-04:00

This picture got me into trouble and almost to Guantanamo bay...

On my last day at work in Toronto, I decided to make a photo report of my journey to work. Considering that I take a tram, 2 subways and a bus to go to work, I wanted to make it unforgettable, this journey I was doing twice a day.

So I started by the tram stop, the tram coming, me in the tram, the subway entrance, first subway stop etc... at the second subway's station I continued my artistic work, took this picture and got into the wagon waiting for the subway to leave.

But it didn't leave, the subway stayed there for long minutes. While I was worried about the bus I'll miss, a constable came in with his talkie walkie: tchh tchhh walking back and forth until he stopped in front of me:

Toronto Transit Commission Constable: Would you please follow me sir ?
A.: pardon me !
TTC: I would like you to follow me, please.
A.: ME ?
TTC: Yes sir, please
A.: well, OK
TTC: thank you sir
A.: You know that it is my right not to go with you without you giving me a good reason... but not to make troubles I am going with you
TTC: I know that sir and I really appreciate your assistance.
A.: It better be serious coz I am missing a party at work now, u know ?
TTC: sorry for that sir...

So he leads the way to the control room, where all the subway lines of Toronto can be monitored... He offers me a seat:

TTC: It shouldn't be long sir
A.: I'm just curious to know what's the reason for all that.
TTC: you'll know soon sir...
A.: mmmm don't tell me it's because of the pictures
TTC constable in his talkie walkie: Tchhh tchhh the suspect is asking if it's because of the pictures, what should I say ?
A.: SUSPECT ???

so we sit there for 20 minutes and chit chat, I tell him I'm a foreigner and that it's my last day at work, that I loved Toronto and that's why I'm taking bits and pieces of my life here in pictures as memories...

A.: So I decided to make a photo report of my everyday life, the places I like etc..
TTC: great idea
A.: wanna see the pics ?
TTC: sure

When my TTC constable friend saw the innocent and funny pics...

TTC: I'm totally sorry sir
A.: don't worry, I understand. I am taking it from the good side, it's funny for me to be arrested on my last day at work while my colleagues have prepared a surprise for me and are waiting for me to come...
TTC: Maybe it's funny, but it's so sad too
A.: True true
TTC: I'm really sorry for what's happening

In the mean time, three policemen arrived, with their tough faces...

Policeman 1: So you are the one ?
A.: if you say so
Policeman 2: so you're taking pictures in the station
A.: Yes, (explaining the story from scratch)
P2: Can we see them
A.: of course
P3: do you have an ID ?
A.: yeah sure

Policeman 1 calls the Toronto Police for an Identity check, while I am showing the pics to the other 2... I go through the day pictures and then accidently show them a few pictures of world cup games celebrations and a brazilian party...

P2: nice pictures you have here
A.: yeah
P3: so did you like your stay here ?
A.: I had a great time, I love this city... and the country
P3: good to hear, you know that's the real thing, unfortunately times are hard now, remember the people arrested last week... u only hear about terrorism plots here and there
A.: that's so bad, it's like a phobia everywhere, a situation like this is ridiculous
P1: yeah but better safe than sorry, we prefer to arrest innocents for a couple of hours rather than take a chance... here you go, your ID
A.: Thanks, I guess I won't ask you for a picture...
P2: (laughing) no you better not :)

better not, better not
A.

Queremos Paz… pero como ?

2006-08-12T09:34:00.000-04:00

As astonishing and dramatic the situation in the Middle East may look, it doesn’t seem that a sustainable solution is on the way to be found…

How is it possible to find a solution when the balance of powers is so unequal? When one side is allowed to ignore the international laws, treaties as well as UN decisions and the other side is left alone to face its destiny…

An autonomy given to the Palestinian authorities without territorial sovereignty nor respect of a free election results… How is a permanent solution possible when violence is the only response made by the Israeli state to every issue? like the unnecessary destruction of Lebanon, the killing of more than a thousand civilian, the ongoing military operations in Ghaza and the kidnapping of ministers and deputies of the Palestinian authority parliament.

It is “known” that violence creates a vicious circle, which only outcome is escalation and more violence. I say “known” cause’ it never seems known by any of both sides and the same process is happening over and over again: the previous Israel-Arabs wars, the Lebanon civil war, Intifada I, Intifada II, the actual Lebanon war and it's unfortunately not an exhaustive list of the conflicts that happened in the Middle East and which ending is only deaths and destruction.

In my previous post “Queremos Paz” I sound a bit harsh with the Palestinians and Lebanese, assuming that Tsahal is an evil monster that should never wake up from its sleep as it will destroy everything around it; wondering if it was worth it, all this destruction for kidnapping the soldiers in Ghaza and in North Israel?

But is it right to put the responsibility of keeping the peace in the area only on the Arabs when Israel’s operations are still on (prior to the war)? And at the same time withholding all the Arabs demands in a stand by situation… No Palestinian state, no real autonomy, no settlement of the prisoners and the refugees issues…

But let’s not get into the “who started?” game coz it will never end…

Unfortunately the balance of powers is so uneven, no one is backing the Arabs, no one is pushing for a real solution… and the idea that keeps coming back to my head is that Israel and the Israelis are more humane, that Arabs blood is cheaper and that it doesn’t really matter if they die…

Suffice to see the reports on CNN and BBC world to see this fact, long reports on destroyed cars or big holes in houses touched by Hezbollah rockets… what about the other side? what about the destruction of a whole sovereign country and a 1000 deaths toll and a humanitarian and ecological tragedy… you know what ? it’s OK they are only Arabs after all…

Reactions like the US one, sending missiles and blocking cease fire talks or Stephen Harper’s (Mister Canadian prime minister) who said that Israel’s military operations were justified and proportional are just shameful and inhumane… it makes me feel sick and wish I was a bird, a bull or a dog but not a human if this is what it means to be a human…

A dead person is a dead person, no matter what’s the religion, the origin, the language or the ethnic background. I’m bleeding at the sight of Lebanon being destroyed but not rejoicing when seeing the Israeli civil victims or counting their numbers while praising Hezbollah… Violence is a bitch no matter where it comes from, Tsahal, Hamas, Hezbollah, ETA or the Oklahoma City freak.

I’m hoping for a lasting peace in the region, but unfortunately it won’t be for tomorrow; when there is no real political will to find a permanent solution for this everlasting stinky situation.

In the meanwhile the horror reality TV show is still on, enjoy…

A.

Amused to death

2006-07-19T14:18:00.000-04:00

Angie my dear, you asked what happened to the Human race... This is some kind of an answer...

Doctor, Doctor, what is wrong with me
This supermarket life is getting long
what is the heart life of a color tv
what is the shelf life of a teenage queen

Ooooh western woman, Ooooh western girl

News hound sniffs the air, when Jessica Hahn goes down
He latches on to that symbol of detatchment
Attracted by the peeling away of feeling
The celebrity of the abused shell, the belle

Ooooh western woman, Oooooh western girl
Ooooh western woman, Oooooh western girl

And the children of Melrose strut their stuff
is absolute zero cold enough
and out in the valley, warm and clean
the little ones sit by their tv screen
no thoughts to think, no tears to cry
all sucked dry, down to the very last breathe
bartender what is wrong with me,
why am i so out of breathe
the captain said excuse me ma'am
the species has amused itself to death

amused itself to death
it has amused itself to death
amused itself to death

we watched a tragedy unfold
we did as we were told
we bought and sold
it was the greatest show on earth
but then it was over
we ohhed and awed
we drove our racing cars
we ate our last few jars of caviar
and somewhere out there in the stars
a keen eyed look out
spied a flickering light
our last hurrah
our last hurrah
and when they found our shadows
grouped round the tv sets
they ran down every lead
they repeated every test
they checked out all the data on their list
and then the alien anthropologist
admitted they were still perplexed
but on eliminating every other reason
for our sad demise
they logged the only explanation left
this species has amused itself to death

no tears to cry, no feelings left
the species has amused itself to death
amused itself to death

Roger Waters
Amused to death

A beautiful song full of sens... it is probably what is going to happen to the human race, which amused itself to death; the whole album is full of songs like that, they speak to you and they are so painful of truth...

The monkey sat on a pile of stones
And he stared at the broken bone in his hand
The strains of a Viennese quartet
Rang out across the land
And the monkey looked up at the stars
And he thought to himself

Memory is a stranger
History is for fools
And he cleaned his hands
In a pool of holy writing
Turned his back on the garden
And set out for the nearest town

Hold on, hold on soldier
When you add it all up
The tears and the marrowbone
There's an ounce of gold
And an ounce of pride in each ledger

And the Germans killed the Jews
And the Jews killed the Arabs
And the Arabs killed the hostages
And that is the news
And is it any wonder
That the monkey's confused

He said Mama Mama
The President's a fool
Why do I have to keep reading
These technical manuals
And the joint chiefs of staff
And the brokers on Wall Street said
Don't make us laugh
You're a smart kid
Time is linear
Memory is a stranger
History is for fools

Man is a tool in the hands
Of the great God Almighty
And they gave him command
Of a nuclear submarine
Sent him back in search of
The Garden of Eden

Roger Waters
Perfect Sens, Part I and II

I can't comment on this, just listen to the woman's voice singing this aweful truth and tell me how u feel next...

A.
Sick and tired

Queremos Paz

2006-07-17T14:13:00.000-04:00

There is powder smell in the air, I can’t watch the news anymore. Talks are only about Lebanon and Israel and right when you think that no worse can happen, you have just witnessed the opposite on your TV set.

Israel is destroying Gaza and all Lebanon, 150 Lebanese civilians dead in 5 days. Why ? Because 1 soldier was kidnapped near Gaza and another two in north Israel. So Mr Haniya, Mr Nasrallah is it worh it !?

Poor Lebanon, poor Gaza: Hijacked by Hamas and Hizbollah, destroyed by Tsahal.

When is it going to be understood that PEACE is the only option for the Middle East. That Israel can’t be displaced neither can be all the Arab countries around. That based on this simple fact, the only option that remains is that Arabs and Israelis live together in peace.

Violence will take nobody anywhere, how many escalations the region will know before both parties understand that violence is useless. It brings only destruction, death and mourning.

Israel and Tsahal are like huge monsters that you don’t want to wake up cause’ they will destroy everything around, and when they hit there is always “collateral” damage. And in today’s case they reached an exceptional level of cruelty. They decided to deal with the Hizbollah problem for the last time.

So please, somebody help me understand what’s the logic behind the hijacking of the soldiers !?

Am I mistaken to think that peace is what every human being is naturally looking for!?

It In these times of war I am shocked every time I read the head titles on some newspapers: “Hassan Nasrallah promised Israel to do so and so…” it reminds me of my first year of high school, when we stayed awake to see the start of the first gulf war live, as if we were in a theatre or watching a video game… except it was for real. The people dying were real, and what happened and is still happening in Irak is real.

All through the war I was reading “Echourouk” which was praising Saddam Hussein’s army and their achievements as if they were winning the war. Then you realize that what’s happening around is so wrong, that war is so wrong. I was a kid and I understood it… but it seems that some people never grow old, they still want to watch war on TV as if it was a reality show, and are still following a fake reverie of lost primacy.

There must be some other ways to fix issues in the area other than throwing missiles, hijacking soldiers, blasting human bombs, bombing civilians, destroying a country infrastructure…

But for now, all we got is madness… and reality horror TV.

A.

The hero and the antihero

2006-07-10T11:36:00.000-04:00

Zidane with his golden shoes missed yesterday the highest altar on the Olympus when Gigi Buffon stopped his shot with a firm hand. 2 goals for the second time in a world cup final would have made of Zidane the supreme football god and a French president for life. But history didn’t want it this way. Zidane fell from his half god class to finish his career as a mere mortal.

Marco Materazzi, the antihero who struggled to make it all the way to Inter Milano and then to the Italian national team, won it all instead, the world cup final night was his night: Tying the game, giving a good performance on the field and scoring a penalty kick to win the right to put his tricolor clown hat on the world cup trophy.

But how a kind and humble player like Zidane may loose his cool this way in the final minutes of a world cup final and after almost scoring the victorious goal!? Like the whole planet that watched yesterday’s game I wondered what did Materazzi tell him ?

The replay images show how M.M tied his arms around Z.Z in the penalty area followed by a brief dispute between the two players. Zidane run away before suddenly stopping to fire a head at Materazzi’s chest. It seems that M.M kept insulting Z.Z all game and the last one he just couldn’t bear.

According to the Nouvel Observateur and the Guardian, Materazzi may have insulted Zidane’s Algerian origins and called him a terrorist. Only one thing is certain, what Materazzi told Zidane was pretty serious, to make the best player in this world cup loose his mind in his last game and to make Gigi Buffon ask for forgiveness. You could read it on his lips: Scusa scusa…

This sad episode recalls the allegations of fascism on some Italian players like Di canio who was fined 10,000 dollars for giving a fascist greeting after scoring a goal against AC Rome. As well as rumors around Materazzi, Di Rossi… Is it acceptable to be keen on a fascist ideology and practices when you play for a national football team and carry the national flag on your chest ?

Even if I don’t excuse Zidane for what he did, I believe sportsmanship should be on both sides and I regret what Materazzi did. You may say this is part of the game, maybe it’s true, but there is some kind of a line not to cross, and by doing so, Materazzi gave yesterday’s cup a bitter taste. He refused to comment on it after the game and walked past the journalists, anything to be ashamed of Marco !? Hai vergogna di qualcosa !?

Italy deserves the cup, they had a great world cup and the game against Germany was fantastic. The French team has nothing to be ashamed of and especially Zidane, who was at the starting point of the French revival when everybody called the French dead and gone.

There is only one World champion, Zidane had gold shoes on, but Buffon was all in gold, He claimed his dues when he won his direct confrontation with Zidane. This is the confrontation I want to remember, a two heroes one, between the best player and the best goalie of this world cup.

Good bye Zizou and thank you for everything, what “les bleus” did has not been done by any French government. You could make a whole generation of disillusioned and rejected youth, dream and be proud. You are and will always remain their hero.

A.

lov'em and leav'em.

2006-06-20T16:29:00.000-04:00

My time in Toronto is up... and again I have to say good bye and leave... Once again, I met wonderful people in a great city where I enjoyed myself to the max. But now it is time, my train is calling...

I have confused feelings these days... I am excited to go home, meet my family and friends and enjoy summer in Tunisia. But at the same time I am sad to leave my friends and my life here. I will definitely miss Toronto in every aspect, I fell in love with this city.

When I remember how I wasn't thrilled about my life here in the beginning and how I was thinking about leaving after 6 months... I am happy I took the decision to loose my return ticket and stay longer.

As I work in a far suburb of Toronto (Richmond Hill), I lived close to work at first... big mistake as you absolutely need a car to have a decent social life. It wasn't an option for me, so I had to live without it, which meant living a very limited social life.

It wasn't easy for a social butterfly like me, used to have my friends around and a million things to do every day. My first months meant staying at home the whole week to go downtown in the week ends where I was hosted by good friends of mine. Fortunately they were there otherwise I would have gone insane...

Then I started to make the best of it and enjoyed it in every way...

I enjoyed every season, even winter and its beautiful snow falling, snowboarding and ice skating; fall was beautiful with all its colours and the falling leafs, spring and the rebirth of nature after loosing its bed of snow, there is something magic in how everything turns green after it was all white. And summer where Toronto goes crazy with a different festival and cultural celebrations every week, camping, outdoor activities and bonding with mother nature...

And the food in all this… for a gluttonous guy like me it is a must factor in my definition of happiness. I will tremendously miss Toronto and its mosaic of cultures and foods. Here you can eat whatever food of the world you want; I got introduced to all types of food and just loved the mix and variety… I even prepared a schedule of restaurants to go to before I leave...

I had a blast going to concerts (PJ, DM...), sports events, crazy parties, road trips, street festivals... But all of it wouldn't mean anything without the special people I enjoyed being with... some left me, and some I would leave... some I would meet soon, and some I don't know if I will ever see them again, where and when...

I was lucky to find great people in Toronto; I have amazing friends with whom I shared great moment and who were always there when I needed them. It is wonderful to feel appreciated and to know that there are friends over there that you can rely on…

But now it is time to go...

It is hard to strip yourself from a life… but I knew I had to from the start. I know how it feels, I experienced it before and it was tough… I did it when I left to Spain, then when I left Spain… when I came back home to have an awesome time with my friends, then leaving them to start a new adventure…

I knew it but went for it regardless; maybe I am a masochist for tormenting myself and leaving pieces of my life behind… Maybe… But, all I know is that I don’t regret anything, that I cherish the friendships I made and value everything I lived…To all my friends a big thank you and a big hug, I will miss you tons…

Stop that train I'm leaving...
Stop that train I'm leaving...
Stop that train I'm leaving...
Stop that Train I'm leaving…*

A.

*Peter Tosh

Superheroes

2006-06-08T11:30:00.000-04:00

Today's super heroes do not wear masks, have super powers or are called Superman, Spiderman, V for Vendetta or the incredibles... Today's super heroes are regular people who are not committed to help respect the law in their cities but instead have received divine killing permits and have been assigned a mission directly by God: Force the respect of their religion by... making bombs.

During the week end, 17 young men have been arrested in the suburbs of Toronto and have been charged in an alleged terror plot. 5 underage people are among the arrested.

Apparently, the suspects were frustrated by the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and by the mistreatment of Muslims around the world... they thought they have to do something to change things and defend the humiliated brothers and sisters... so they came up with the brilliant idea of terrorist attacks.

These kids, warmed up by images of war and heated radical preaches by a fundamental imam (arrested with the gang) lost their marbles and believed they were the missionaries of God to spread its "love" among the people...

Once again, the name of Islam has been stained by fools who play war games and think they are being sent to heaven in the first express train to leave planet earth.

It's so painful to read the news and realize how radical and stupid people can be. Realize that these people belong to the same religious community as you... Once again...

I was in Valladolid, Spain (200 km north of Madrid) when the train attacks happened in the Spanish capital in March 11, 2004... I remember how everybody was astonished by what happened and the mixed feelings of disbelief, confusion and anger. As Aznar's government started pointing fingers at the Basque terrorist group (ETA), spontaneous demonstrations took place in all Spanish cities with the biggest in Madrid where 2 million people took the streets, chanting the main slogan against ETA terrorism: "BASTA YA"... I was part of the Valladolid one.

The following days, the two main national newspapers were giving completely different info (due to the upcoming election): El Mundo (close to Aznar's El partido Popular) was accusing ETA, El Pais (close to the Socialist Party) started mentioning Radical Islamic terrorism... I was secretly hoping it wasn't the latter.

Unfortunately, it was...

When the information became official, I wished I could disappear from the face of the earth. I couldn't look in my friend's eyes anymore. But, I was blessed to have great friends who helped me to get over it; they were tolerant and intelligent enough to make the difference between the self declared warriors of God and the rest of the Muslim world. But this isn't the case of everybody...

It needs a massive reaction from the Muslim world to fight this extremist and erroneous ideology that made its way among the God freaks. EVERY terrorist act has to be strongly condemned and those who spread radical ideology in the name of God or nationalism should be sued... Starting by Haniya and his Hamas.

Thanks to you, Superheroes, Islam became the public enemy #1 in the world... Mission accomplished... thank you very much.

A.

Walking in my shoes

2006-05-20T18:42:00.000-04:00

Lots of people would have loved to walk in my shoes Thursday May 18^th… at Depeche Mode’s Toronto date of Touring the Angel 2005/2006 world tour.

I got the tickets a few minutes after it went on sale sometime on March, excited to see DM live… But to my big disappointment, when we were there, I realized that we had the crappiest seats ever: located on the side, at the same level as the stage, 3 rows from top. We could only see one side of the stage and therefore miss all the lights and video effects… Damn it.

There were a few empty spots in the Air Canada Center, so we were hunting for empty seats where we would sneak at the beginning of the concert… but then during the opening act, we decided to go right away to an empty section facing the stage, stay there and try to negotiate with the usher if he spots us. Ain’t got nothing to loose, let’s go…

We sit there as if we were in our seats… Everything goes smooth until an old usher, apparently of a higher rank starts talking to the ushers around the section we sat in, pointing at us and the few people sitting there. What’s going on !??

guess what…

We were kindly asked to move… DOWN TO THE FIRST ROW of the lower bowl, straight from the highest point in the arena to the lowest… No wayyy. Two sections strangely remained empty, so we were asked if we wanted to go there. You must be kidding me, of course, we do. We were still a bit far from the stage but WHO CARES !??? We were facing the stage and close enough to perfectly enjoy the show… EXCITING.

The crowd was very diverse, gray haired people to youngsters, this band has been around since the late 70s and they are still in very good shape, no matter what your age is, you will be rocked tonight.

Lights off, let the show begin…

The show starts with “Give me a pain that I am used to” introduced by very cool lights effects… The sound was perfect, the beats were so heavy that you couldn’t stay still, you had to move…

The set list was a mix of songs from the last album “playing the angel” like Give me a pain that I am used to, John the revelator, Suffer well, Precious and older big hits like Behind the wheel, Personal Jesus, Walking in my shoes, I feel you, Enjoy the silence...

The set list was really cool and the video effects changed with every song, the best intro was the one for I feel you… it was AWESOME !!!!! Dave Gahan is such a show man, he has the power to galvanize the crowd whenever he wanted… people were going crazy at each of his moves…it was really fun to be there

However, I left the show a bit disappointed. We were not full and didn’t have enough of the show. We were really enjoying it when they just left the stage after “Enjoy the silence” (a hint) to return for a very poor 3 songs encore: “shake the disease” performed by Martin Gore ballade style, photographic and then “Never let me down again” that I like a lot but it wasn’t enough to end the show. They just saluted us and left. The crowd was still there, asking for another encore for a couple of minutes until they turned on the lights... Everybody thought they will come back… they didn’t !!!!

We left the show with a taste of unfinished pleasure… There wasn’t that extra bonding with the crowd that makes shows memorable. They barely talked outside of the songs, the only things they said were the “thank yous” and the Dave Gahan’s signature “sing it” and “Come on”… They were just doing their job after all…

Some extra spices were missing, but the show was really good…

Vows are spoken
To be broken
Feelings are intense
Words are trivial
Pleasures remain
So does the pain
Words are meaningless
And forgettable

Enjoy the Silence
A.

Thursday may 18^th 2006, Toronto Air Canada Centre

Intro, A Pain That I'm Used To, A Question Of Time, Suffer Well, Precious, Walking In My Shoes, Stripped, Home, Judas, In Your Room, Nothing's Impossible, John The Revelator, I Feel You, Behind The Wheel, World In My Eyes, Personal Jesus, Enjoy The Silence
Encore
Shake The Disease, Photographic, Never Let Me Down Again

Peace and food... Part II

2006-05-16T09:00:00.000-04:00

It seems that I was wrong in my previous post Peace and food: Apparently our culinary traditions and cultural similiarities are not that peaceful after all; tensions are arising between Greek Cypriots and Turkish about who does the Baklava belong to… is it my post that created this conflict !??? :)

According to the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet (thanks a lot Jo for the link):

Baklava tension increases; protests planned for Istanbul

"Turkish baklava producers are protesting Greek Cypriot claims that the sweet dessert is their own national creation, with support for their protest coming from State Minister and EU Chief Negotiator Ali Babacan in the EU General Secretariat. Plans for a press conference are underway for later today, and tomorrow a march in which banners proclaiming "Baklava is Turkish, we will not allow the Greek Cypriots to feed it to the world" are held is planned for Istanbul. The owner of renowned baklava producer "Haci Sayid Baklava," Halil Dincerler, had this comment on the situation: "Baklava is Turkish, what the Greek Cypriots are presenting is just a copy. We will go all the way to Brussels, and we will let the EU ministers taste real baklava."

Another comment on the international food fight was made by the President of the Baklava and Dessert Producers Foundation, Mehmet Yildirim. He said that it was time for Turkey to stand up and claim its national treasures, and recalled that the Turks had brought baklava with them all the way from Central Asia. Yildirim also said that there were documents which proved that baklava belonged rightfully to the Turks." Hurriyet

The Baklava war I started, what will be next !? kebab world war II, ozu / raki peace talks, turkish/greek/Arab coffee armed conflicts... !?

Good luck people
A.

I wish I was…

2006-05-15T11:33:00.000-04:00

When I was in the member committee of AIESEC Tunisia, I once designed a leadership session in 2 parts for the Tunisian Leadership development Seminar. The first part was a “personal objectives” session and the second was a leadership session. The aim was to encourage AIESEC members to define their objectives in life and set their personal vision, as a first step in becoming a positive agent of change and a leader.

I am particularly proud of this session as it is an eye opening experience. A large portion of people don’t take time to think about their long term future before taking very important decisions such as choosing a degree, a university, a career, a place to settle down… The feedback from the delegates was exciting; they said it was an inspiring experience.

I started the session with Pearl Jam’s song “Wishlist” , I love this song with all its “I wish I was…” The song was complemented by a power point presentation with the song lyrics and visuals so the delegates can get the whole meaning of the lyrics (considering English is only the third language learnt in school and not that practiced in Tunisia).

Then 3 questions, one at a time. Asking the delegates to describe their life in 20 years… what they have to go through in those 20 years to get to that situation… then what they have to do now to start making their vision of their future real. They were given 15 minutes to think about each question. I was playing Pink Floyd songs while they were spread all over the plenary. In the beginning a few delegates were fooling around, thinking it was absolute bullshit… it was fun to see them submerge slowly slowly in their thoughts as the session went on… I was enjoying it.

When I did it myself, I was picturing myself at 40 years old surrounded by a beautiful family. I was successful in my career and preparing to retire in order to open a small restaurant and start writing. My ultimate goal in life is to write, I think it is the most beautiful thing: creation.

My immediate goal was to focus on a business career, thinking it was the right way to go to ensure a decent life. I had to go against what I was really interested in: literature but mainly history and geopolitics as their path was leading no where back home. As teaching or academic oriented jobs are not paid well, even after many years of studies and research… I know something about it.

So I preferred the more secure way… I don’t regret it cause’ it shaped my path so far and I could have all these experiences, meet AIESEC and learn so much about life, cultures and myself.

But what If I was in another place, another time… what would I wish to be!?

I wish I was a teacher… to help build the future generations…
I wish I was a poet… to spread love around me…
I wish I was a guitar player… to sublime people’s minds…
I wish I was a movie director… a writer… a novelist… to inspire people…
I wish I was a radio DJ… to share my love for music

…

I wish I was a neutron bomb, for once I could go off…
I wish I was a sacrifice, but somehow still lived on…
I wish I was the evidence, I wish I was the grounds…
I wish I was a messenger and all the news was good…
I wish I was the verb 'to trust' and never let you down…
I wish...
I wish...

A.

Living with war

2006-05-11T21:33:00.000-04:00

“You can't get away from the topic of immigration nowadays. Here comes aging falsetto folk-rock singer Neil Young with a ditty in which he urges us to impeach President Bush. Sample: "Let's impeach the president for lying, / And leading our country into war; / Abusing all the power that we gave him, / And shipping all our money out the door . . ." You get the idea.

What's this got to do with immigration? Well, Neil Young is not a U.S. citizen. He's Canadian. He can't even vote. He's been in America for 40 years, and has never bothered to take out citizenship. And this interloper from the land of moose and Mounties is telling us to impeach our president! For goodness' sake. If it's not Mexican fence-jumpers trying to dictate legislation to us, it's fur trappers from the wilds of Ontario insulting our head of state. America's business is everyone's business, it seems.”

National Review
May 5, 2006
The Week
by the Editors

This hate sentiment towards Neil Young is the result of his last album "living with war" where he heavily criticizes Georges Bush, eaven calling for his impeachment.

This article perfectly echoes the neo conservator’s ideology: Xenophobic, racist and hegemonic. I liked how “the editors” described their two neighbors: Mexican fence jumpers and fur trappers from the land of moose and Mounties.

Well, indeed, America’s business is everyone’s business as long as this administration controls other countries and regions politics. The way the USA is governed clearly affects the whole world, since this administration appointed itself as the world’s police and sole governor.

Neil young, Born and raised Canadian lived 40 years in the U.S. Americans should be proud of Neil’s patriotic feelings towards the country he adopted. Instead he is kindly invited to watch and shut up:

On Fox News, host Mike Gallagher complained, "Neil Young is rich and famous because the country he's trashing made him so. Wouldn't his words carry a little more clout if he bothered to become a citizen of the country that made him rich and famous?"

Another Fox commentator, John Gibson, accused Young of disrespecting the memory of 9/11. Gibson suggested the singer take in a screening of United 93, not realizing, apparently, that Young paid tribute to the victims of that flight with his 2002 song, "Let's Roll." Toronto Star

But old Neil doesn’t really care about cons critics and it’s not really his habit to shut up. He is famous for his politically charged lyrics and his anti war activism: This is not the first time Young has disturbed the waters politically. "Ohio," a response to the killing by National Guardsmen of four Vietnam War protestors at Kent State University in 1970, was a hit for Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young that has endured as an anti-war anthem. Toronto Star

"I was waiting for someone to come along, some young singer 18 to 22 years old, to write these songs and stand up," Young told The Los Angeles Times. "I waited a long time. Then I decided that maybe the generation that has to do this is still the Sixties generation."

It is sad to hear Neil Young say that, as if the sixties generation is the only one that kept its mind free and lucid to fight for its right to express different opinions and not be submerged by main stream opinions. In this case: support our troops, support the war and if you speak against it then you’re not patriotic and do better shut up.

It is not completely true though, a few artists spoke up: Green day’s American Idiot, Pearl Jam’s world wide suicide, Life wasted, Army reserve are songs against the war in their just released album. While Ben Harper’s “Black rain” is a severe critic of the Bush administration management of Katherina’s aftermath while focusing on the war instead. A few spoke up, but not enough…

I still can’t understand how Georges W Bush got reelected, while clearly lying and misleading Americans to war on false reasons: Saddam Hussein’s Weapons of mass destruction, his ties to Al Qaeda, to 9/11 and sending troops to free the people of Irak. Intelligence reports can’t be blamed, cause’ it is clear as water that everything was planned. W is even still carrying these arguments in his speeches.

I am wondering what the quartet Bush family – Cheney – Rumsfled – Wolfowitz is preparing next. Did you hear W suggesting Jeb Bush to run for the next elections, saying he would be an excellent president!???

Everyone, not only Americans, should stick with Neil young’s plea:

"Don't need/No more lies"
"Don't need/No more lies"
"Don't need/No more lies"
"Don't need/No more lies"
"Don't need/No more lies"

A.

Given to fly

2006-05-10T22:34:00.000-04:00

In 2001, a friend of mine from Turkey told me that he saw Pearl Jam live in Istanbul… That day, I felt so jealous, why not me!? The only big concerts I saw were Sting, Michael Jackson and… Eros Ramazotti… Pathetic

Same goes for you Angie, with all the concerts you went to: I saw Manu chao last week, oh I saw U2 yesterday and next week it’s the Roling Stones… oh I have tickets for Depeche Mode but I don’t wanna go… Grrrrrrrrrr

Yesterday the curse was broken… I saw Pearl Jam live at the Air Canada Center, home of the Toronto Raptors and the Maple leafs… and it was absolutely GREAT.

Opening starts at 7.30p.m by “My morning Jacket”, good band but the sound was so fuzzy and squeaky. I was like “NO f**ing way, that’s the sound at the ACC !?? Is it gonna be this way during PJ’s concert!???”

They play for half an hour, then lights on again, to let my fellow concert mates empty the arena to go buy their beers, pop corn, hot dogs and other Pearl Jam’s goodies at - the not so expensive after all – 30 to 50$ for a tee-shirt, 15$ for the night program and 10$ for a poster…

8.30, the crowd start cheering and calling the band out, the arena didn’t get full until that time, I was there since 7.15 pm… oups. Lights off, unleash the beast, let the show begin. The fun starts with an awesome kick off with “Severed Hand” …

As soon as they played the first note, the fans (in a synchronized move) took their lighters out. Not to accompany the song, but to light their smokes and perfume the air with an... “herbal” scent.

The atmosphere was great, the sound was great and the crowd in a total communion with the band. One of the great moments of the concert, was Eddie Vedder playing the intro of “Better Man” alone on stage with the crowd singing along, then “She lies and says she's in love with him, can't find a better man...” and the band jumps in to rock the house.

My seat was a bit far from the stage, I enjoyed it from there until the adventurous in me took the power and I sneaked out after the first set to get closer… I got very close to the stage, until an asshole usher asks me”where is your seat buddy!?” who cares where is my seat, are you in an opera show dude!? Hello, it’s a rock concert, since I am not bothering anybody and I didn’t jump any fence, leave me alone. He insists, he doesn’t even let me take a picture… so I gotta go back the stairs, but hey I found an empty seat a couple of rows up, asked about it, no body was sitting there, BINGO.

So the whole show was awesome, a nice mix of new songs from their just released album and older ones… even though I think they played too many songs from “Ten”. I particularly enjoyed “Given to fly”, “Garden, “Inside Job”, “Alive”… For me, the best moments of the concert were “Better man”, “Sad” and Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the free world” (I told you it was a great version by Pearl Jam).

I would have loved to see them play one of my all time favorites “rearview mirror” and two great songs from their album lost dogs “Alone” and “Hold on”. “Lost dogs” is a remarkable collection of unreleased songs, but unfortunately didn’t get the attention that it deserves; they only played “sad” from it.

You could feel they wanted to please their fans. BUT, what’s going on with those super expensive goodies? and the bootlegs of every show available to download for money. Where are the good old days when they were fighting Ticketmaster to reduce the concert prices?

But it is all good, I had a great night. They played for 2h30 almost non stop. They only took two short breaks after the first set and the first encore. The band was very cheerful and Eddie was toasting to the crowd with his bottle of wine. When they returned back to the stage for the second Encore, Eddie goes “People told us you shouldn’t play that long, you are playing tomorrow… I don’t care about tomorrow; I just wanna have fun tonight”.

I had fun too, thanks guys... That night, I was “A human being that was given to fly”

A.

2006-05-09 Toronto Ontario Air Canada Centre

Set 1 Severed Hand, World Wide Suicide, Life Wasted, Marker In The Sand, Given To Fly, Better Man, Even Flow, Unemployable, Garden, Sad, Corduroy, Present Tense, Daughter, Grievance, Not For You, Inside Job, Why Go
Encore 1 Do The Evolution, Jeremy, Come Back, Alive
Encore 2 Porch, Rockin' In The Free World, Yellow Ledbetter

I love this game

2006-05-05T10:48:00.000-04:00

Fans will immediately recognize the NBA slogan, and remember the mid 90s “I love this game” NBA campaign. Well indeed, I do love this game.

Yesterday I couldn’t go to bed, even though I was extremely tired. I couldn’t sleep thinking that game 6 of the Phoenix Suns – L.A Lakers series was on air at that time. I went to bed at halftime, thinking reasonably that I should get some decent sleep after a tiring week so I can wake up fresh and go to work. The sand man didn’t come; I think he was in the Staples Center watching the game.

I love when the game goes beyond sports, when it involves passion, excitement and the players drop their “blasé” attitude and show their human side. Yesterday it was a game between humility, team spirit and sportsmanship VS egocentricity, narcissism and selfishness. It was the game of Phoenix against Kobe.

I am not summarizing the Lakers to Kobe like TV commentators and Lakers fans do, the team has great players that are full of qualities like Lamar Odom or Luke Walton who are great team players, but in this team it is indeed all about Kobe and therefore it is Kobe against Phoenix.

Yesterday was game 6 of the series in L.A’s Staples Center. The Lakers leading 3-2 after they stole game 4 with a buzzer beater by Kobe and two fumbles in crucial times by the (to be named) back to back MVP Steve Nash. It was a WIN or GO HOME game.

To add to the drama, Raja Bell, Phoenix’s defender on Kobe committed a flagrant foul on him and got ejected and suspended for game 6. Of course Kobe didn’t miss the chance to humiliate Raja, saying “I don’t know the kid, do you think I care about this kid!?” KID!??? F***ing cocky bastard. The referees don’t pay much attention to his dirty elbows thrown at R.Bell and yesterday at Leandro Barbosa, why does he get away with it!? Coz he is a star !?

Anyways, yesterday was a very tight game, Kobe was unstoppable (50 pts) while Phoenix didn’t look very inspired. Shawn Marion was invisible, as he was for all this series, weird after his monster season. Boris Diaw and Tim Thomas were quiet, and it was all about Steve Nash, Phoenix can’t win if they play this way. The only way Phoenix can win is to score, they need everybody to score starting by “the matrix” Marion.

So much drama, Phoenix is behind by 3 with 20 seconds to go, Nash spinning around with the ball with no open shot position, the suns start to panic when they miraculously find Tim Thomas for the three pointer… a beautiful fake sends Kwame Brown in the air, T.T calmly sends his missile BOUM, BUCKET, NOTHING BUT NET.

Tied at 107 with 3 seconds to go, Kobe gets the ball with Marion on him and Nash double teaming, takes the shot…. Ohhhh… aiiiiiiiiir balllllllllllllllllll.

Overtime… Diaw finally takes advantage of his match up against Smush Parker, the Suns finally run the ball, 9 pts advantage. Game over !? nooooo. Kobe scores two downtown three pointers (dunno how he gets them in). Nash gets fouled at every possession and doesn’t tremble; he makes all his free throws to send everybody back to Arizona for game 7…

“We did it for Raja” said Nash at the post game interview.

2 great games in 2 nights, the previous night I was jumping in the living room wearing a Lebron James jersey (a Reebok replica that I got at Kensington Market for 13$) when he scored his overtime buzzer beater lay up against Washington Wizards who played like champions and deserved to win it, led by a “stop me if you can” Gilbert Arenas.

I am excited like a kid again, when I was spending my late nights (consider the 6 hrs time difference with Tunisia) watching the Bulls stick together to win their first and second Three peat. I was a Bull in my living room, jumping at Paxson’s and Kerr’s threes to seal championship games.

First thing I did when I came to Canada!? I bought the 90s Dynasty Chicago Bulls DVD set, 4 double faced DVDs filled with documentaries and the essential Bulls games… yay

I really love this game

A.

Salam Pax… the clandestine diary of an ordinary Iraqi

2006-04-28T16:46:00.000-04:00

I found this book by accident in a little book store… The cover wasn’t really attractive, but this quote captivated me: “The most famous and most mysterious blogger in the world… Salam Pax was the Anne Frank of the war… and its Elvis”

Salam is an Iraqi young man who started blogging, a few months before the second Golf war, in order to keep in touch with his friend Raed who went to study in Jordan. That’s where the blog title comes from: Dear Raed

Eventually, Salam started talking about his everyday life, about his evil greedy boss, about his frustrations living in a country devastated by decades of Tyranny, wars and a ravaging embargo combined with a useless “oil for food” program.

As you get to explore Salam’s universe, you get a better picture of how is the real life in Iraq. You get to understand how the Iraqis got used to the tough times, understand their confusion between the fear of war and the excitement of getting rid of the bloody Saddam.

‘Let me tell you one thing first. War sucks big time, don’t let yourself ever be talked into having one waged in the name of freedom. Somehow, when the bombs start dropping or you hear the sound of machine-guns at the end of the street, you don’t think about your ‘imminent liberation anymore’

-------

‘No one inside Iraq is for war (note I said war not a change of regime), no human being in his right mind will ask you to give him the beating of his life, unless you are a member of fight club that is, and if you do hear Iraqi (in Iraq, not expat) saying “come on bomb us” it is the exasperation and 10 years of sanctions and hardship talking. There is no person inside Iraq (and this is a bold, blinking and underlined inside) who will be jumping up and down asking for the bombs to drop. We are not suicidal you know, not all of us in any case.’

-------

‘[…]Do you know what I read in the NY Times also? the American troops they are studying how the Israeli Army fought in Jenin. Jenin. remember how jenin looked like after the siege? how comforting is that.’

-------

‘Do you know when the sight of women veiled from top to bottom became common in cities in Iraq? Do you know when the question of segregation between boys and girls became red hot? When tribal law replaced THE LAW? When Wahabi became part of our vocabulary? it only happened after the Gulf War. I think it was Cheney or Albright who said they will bomb Iraq back to the Stone Age, well you did.’

Although, despite the regretful situation and the sad events he talks about, Salam remained very funny. His sarcasm and humour are extremely hilarious… Salam even offers some didactic courses on Iraq’s history and the accession of Saddam to power, on the Shiite religious holiday Achoura and its origins… Some gossip too about Saddam & sons “achievements”, the Baath party members etc. etc...

‘In the early eighties the Iraqi Hunting Club had a new indoor swimming pool built. Quite big and state of the art. They decided to have some sort of a party to announce its opening. A nice classy affair. at around eleven Uday comes in with his entourage wearing a white tuxedo and top hat, there is still a photo of him in that tux being printed on calendars but without the top hat, has a couple of drinks, decides that the party is boring and to liven things up a bit commands everyone to jump into the swimming pool, and unleashes his dogs = bodyguards to push people into the pool. Has a good laugh and leaves, A fun guy eh?’

Then, as the drums of war get louder, you get to share the Iraqis fate and their preparation for war… it is so disconcerting to realize that it becomes an everyday life thing… you get to share their uncertainty about the future, their time waiting for the bombs to fall, concern and fear… it feels like living the war in Baghdad…

‘Other normal stuff we did this week:
· Finished taping all the windows in the house, actually a very relaxing exercise if you forget why you are doing it in the first place.
· Installed a manual pump on the well we have dug because up till now we had an electrical pump on it.
· bought 60 liters of gasoline to run the small electricity generator we have, bought two nifty kerosene cookers and stocked loads of kerosene and dug holes in the garden to bury the stuff
· so that the house doesn’t turn into a bomb.
· prepared one room for emergency nasty attacks and bought “particle masks” - that’s what it says on the box – for use if they light those oil trenches […]
· got two rooms in our house ready to welcome our first IDPs - internally displaced persons’

-------

‘A couple of hours earlier we were at a shop and a woman said as she was leaving, and this is a very common sentence, “we’ll see you tomorrow if good keeps us alive” – itha allah khalana taibeen – and the whole place just freezes. She laughed nervously and said she didn’t mean that, and we all laughed but these things start having a meaning beyond being figures of speech.’

-------

Poll Results
frankie still says war, but you said....

first week of february..haj or no haj, it's going down ---- 29
second half of february. it's warmer. ---- 30
It's not happening till march/april ----14
nah....not until next autumn, it's closer to the elections that way ---- 9
what? are you blood thirsty? there will be no war. ---- 9

Salam’s courage is amazing, he was the voice of Baghdad before and during the war despite the heavy censorship in Irak and the risk of being executed at every entry he writes in his blog : ‘I spent a couple of days thinking this is the end. And then you wait for a couple of days and nothing happens and you say, “OK let’s do it again.” Stupid risks, one after another.’

Only one word remains to say Salam: MASSIVE RESPEK

A.

Fever…

2006-04-25T16:25:00.000-04:00

The NBA 2006 playoffs just started and the fever is hitting town…

Very exciting couple of months to come… from the first round to the finals we’ll have very interesting matchups to enjoy!!!! Here are my predictions…

East:
1 – Detroit Vs 8 – Milwaukee
David against Goliath, Milwaukee has an interesting team with lots of upside for the future. The Bucks are capable of magic any given night, but the Pistons are simply too strong to beat. I predict: 4 – 1 for the mighty pistons

2 – Miami Vs 7- Chicago
Same as Milwaukee, The Bulls have a young and very promising team… they may make it hard to Miami to win… The Bulls are even the favourites of Scottie Pippen I don’t agree with the Pip on this one, I think he went a bit sentimental… I think Miami is gonna advance to the next round, simply because they have a polyvalent team where many role players can step up and make a difference (Walker, Haslem, J.Williams, Posey, Payton, Zo Mourning) add a dominant center in the person of Shaq to the mix and spice it up with an incredible versatile player that can beat a whole team by himself: Mr Dwayne Wade and you get a championship contender… Unless they are broken by injuries, 4-1 for The Heat.

3 – New Jersey Vs 6 - Indiana
NJ ended the season very well… while Indiana suffered a bit; Now they have Jermaine O’Neal back and if Stojakovic excels they may cause troubles. NJ is the favourite to win this series, although surprisingly, the Pacers won game 1 and have home court advantage now. Time for the magic three (Kidd, Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson) to show us what they can do… Waiting for some V.C hang time wonders! 4-3 for the Nets

4 – Cleveland Vs 5 - Washington
Lebron Lebron Lebron… this guy is amazing… After a HUGE season, first playoff game in his career and he gets a triple double along with 31 points. Lebron James is the future of basketball, his set of skills is unlimited and most importantly he has the mentality of a champion: Humble, a team player, focused and eager to win… and he is only 21!!!!! 4-2 for the Cavs

West:
1 – San Antonio Vs 8 - Sacramento
Please somebody beat The Spurs… or at least they should get a little bit more exciting to watch by playing more on Ginobli and Finley. For sure the Kings won’t have this privilege, The Spurs are way too dominating… 4 – 0 for The Spurs

2 – Phoenix Vs 7 - L.A Lakers
Interesting matchup if the Lakers play the same way they played in game 1, as a real team where everybody takes responsibility and Kobe passes the ball. Huge game one from Lamar Odom… Phoenix should win though, 4-2

3 – Denver Vs 6 - L.A Clippers
This case shows how much the new standings system is f’d up… Denver is seeded #3 while has a worse record than Dallas, Memphis and L.A Clippers. That’s a very interesting series, but only if Carmelo, Camby and K-Mart play at their best level. The Clippers are hungry for wins and for once they are the best team of L.A. 4-2 for the Clippers

4 – Dallas Vs 5 – Memphis
That’s a very good matchup, probably the best one in the first round… these two teams will exhaust each other. Memphis has a great defence while Dallas has an overwhelming offence with threats coming from everywhere on the court (obviously I am not talking about Eric Dampier)… it is the batlle of the two European skilled big men Dirk Vs Pau... Venga Pau Venga!!!! I think home court advantage will be decisive in this series, probably Dallas in 7.

So for the second round in the East I would expect to have: Detroit Vs Cleveland and Miami Vs NJ. Unless the Nets use their talent to its fullest the conference final would be Detroit Vs Miami, exactly as last year… Detroit would still win it!

As for the West, San Antonio Vs Dallas is a huge matchup and Phoenix Vs The clippers is a very spectacular one… San Antonio Vs Phoenix in the conference finals… and that’s very tough to predict who would win…

I would love to see Detroit Vs Phoenix in the finals, the opposition of styles would be very exciting. Last year’s finals were a bit boring, Pistons – Suns should be an excellent one… crossing my fingers…

Great playoffs a todos

Saludos

A.

What goes around… comes around

2006-04-21T12:57:00.000-04:00

Immigration has always been a hot topic in the industrial countries and the word has always carried a negative connotation. As a matter of fact, it has always been omitted how immigration was one of the main factors for the economic progress in the prosperous era post WWII.

As Europe was devastated after the World War II, it needed a growing workforce to implement the Marshall Plan to rebuild a dying continent. Colonial countries went shopping again in their colonies to bring people from whom it was only needed to work hard. Again after the “chair à canons” literally “flesh for artillery” brought from Africa and placed in the front lines of the colonial armies, during the WW I, WW II and colonial wars like the French Indochine war.

De facto, immigration was seen as a temporary strategy to provide workforce. It was never expected that the glorious era would last 30 years. Immigrant workers were eventually allowed to bring their families, who stayed in ghettos as well. That was the cradle of the integration issues of immigrants in Europe, what goes around comes around…

Other countries successfully dealt with their immigration. The best example is Canada which probably has the most multicultural population in the world. First, European communities immigrated (Italians, Greek, Irish, Brits, Polish…); they were eventually followed by Asians, south Asians, West Indies, East Europeans, Persians and people from all over the world. It is great to see this mosaic of cultures living together in harmony.

Now, the issue is back on the plate: the demographic changes in the industrial countries make it a necessity to recruit work force again. The baby boomers reached the retirement age, the population is ageing and the birth rates are very low.

A growing proportion of the population will retire, receive pensions and wouldn’t pay taxes while spending their savings. This means, less tax money, more government expenses on the elderly and less capital to finance investments… DISASTROUS

By 2025 the number of people aged 15 to 64 is projected to dwindle by 10.4% in Spain, 10.7% in Germany, 14.8% in Italy, and 15.7% in Japan*.

By 2040, 26 percent of the U.S. population will be at least 60 years old, up from 16.3 percent in 2000 […] At least 45 percent of the populations of Japan, Spain and Italy will be 60 or older by then. In each of those countries, there will be one retiree for every worker. **

How the high-income industrial countries will deal with issue!?

Through history, every time Europe faced economic stagnation and needed resources they faced south: sending their ships to conquer the new world; creating colonies, “collecting” their resources and enslaving autochthones in their own lands. Later, they brought the autochthones as cheap hard working workforce to reconstruct their economy and now they are seen as invaders. (Reminds me of “les envahisseurs” des inconnus… Bijour Monsieur Vincent)…

It is time the “developed world” drops its colonial attitude towards the south and creates win-win partnerships with their ex colonies. A good initiative is the EU- South Mediterranean countries partnership, even though it is going a bit slow and it has to go faster than that to make a difference…

The world is interdependent. The north can’t prosper when the south is living in misery… what goes around… comes around

A.

* Business week
** Washington post
*** Diagram

Lucky...

2006-04-17T13:28:00.000-04:00

It is so nice to comfortably sit down, look back and realize that you’ve made something nice out of your time…

I realize how lucky I am for having had the opportunity to get out of my comfort zone and discover different places, ways of life and people. It is just a wonderful thing to do that I wish for everyone to experience.

Some would say”there is no luck involved; you make whatever you want out of your life”. True somehow, you make your own decisions in life, and if you want something hard you will end up finding ways to do it, however there is lots of luck involved, and thankfully I’ve been lucky…

It is a fact that we (Tunisians/Africans, all those not Europeans/north Americans) don’t have the same opportunities to travel as European or North American youth. And when I say I am lucky it is in comparison to so many friends of mine that didn’t have the chance to travel anywhere.

First, it is very expensive to travel, and young people usually cannot sustain their expenses without their parents helping them. It requires lots of funds and parents are not usually willing to make such a great sacrifice. The lower the family income is the greater is the sacrifice.

Second, people are not free to move, a visa is needed to go almost anywhere. Those who didn’t have the “chance” to deal with consulates don’t know how fun it is to wait in line for long hours to apply for a visa, collecting all the necessary documents (proving the reason of your stay, how much money you’re taking with you, an invitation letter and so on…) And the most fun part, is the uncertainty of it all. You never know if you’ll get it or not… you are not even allowed to ask why you’ve been refused a visa… All the frustration you go through makes it worth celebrating every time you get a visa to somewhere…

Then, the processing time: How many jobs I’ve been accepted to until the employer figures out that it needs a few documents and a few months waiting for the guy to join… I obviously get a “sorry but we need this position filled ASAP”. I even had to resign from a one year term with the member committee of AIESEC Italy because of a similar issue… I had to wait 3 months to get my visa to Spain and 2 months for Canada…

All this makes me realize how lucky I am… for having encountered AIESEC that changed my life… for my supportive parents who encouraged me all the way and most of all who gave me the freedom to choose my path without any pressure… for having the patience to go through a bazillion interviews, excitement, hopes and disillusions…

I wish everyone could have the same luck as I did coz’ I have wished for so long… how I wish for you today*

A.

* Pearl Jam/Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – Long road
“Dead man walking” Soundtrack