Children and Maybe Hope... It's Easter. after all...

Ross,the chaplain at my school, taught me to be generous and share my blessings, both spiritual and material, with others... he said, “No one can be happy if they do not share with others... and I want you to be happy...”                                       I agreed with him...                                                  I do not remember exactly when, but it was one of the "food drives" at our school... I had a "homeroom" class... They were one of the graduating classes... They were supposed to bring their donations to my class... Every morning I spent a few initial minutes talking about sharing and the less fortunate kids... the kids were good and responsive... The young are always good and responsive... They donated much...That made me happy... I invited Ross to my class to talk to them and thank them... He did...                                                                 But, there was one kid... very smart and focussed...,he had a lovely, smart and focussed girlfriend too..., who did not participate... and the days were ticking... and the deadline fast approaching...                                                         I told Ross about it... "I am at a loss... I do not want to target him specifically, but i do not know how to get to him...! It is a bit depressing... and I feel defeated..."                           "You have done all you can...Let it rest...," Ross advised me... But eventually on the last day... in the morning, I noticed the kid come furtively to the classroom with a bag and placed his donation on the big pile with the rest...                         The kids are always good and generous and sharing... at times, when they imitate the elders...they are mean too...               I run to the chapel and shared the wonderful news with Ross... and we celebrated the day... later in the afternoon we had our happy hour...                                                                                         ***  

Very intimate, intensely dramatic, and deeply human telling of the Passion narrative, J. S. Bach sets scripture and poetry in music of heartbreaking emotion and beauty.                We always chose the concert which was in a church... The churches always have very good acoustics... Ross and I enjoyed it very much...

 Today, is Thursday... and Ross and I always attended a concert of Saint John Passion... enchanting passion and magical voices... of course couple of glasses of vodka transformed the voices much more charming... 
I loved the chanting... Back is superb with the music... at times I tapped on my knees...Ross noticed that and smiled... he did not say anything... Today, I will listen to the Saint John passion alone... and will remember all the kid who brought a bag of food, he is a medical doctor now... and married with his high school girl friend... and I will remember Ross too... and will pour a glass of brandy on the floor just for him... in my happy hour...today...                                      ***

The kids are good... but the adults bomb and maim...and kids imitate them...

   

The Manneken Pis (or Little Man Pee...), at a famous junction in Brussels... close to the Town hall, stands proud and peeing... 

Brussels has many popular attractions such as The Cinquantenaire Park, The Palace of Justice and The King’s House, but none are as amusing as this rather small bronze figure. Manneken Pis is a statue of a young boy who urinates into the fountain bowl below and standing only 61cm high, it is a wonder that he draws such a crowd. He is thought to have originated in the Middle Ages as a mere decoration upon a fountain, but as the boy began to wither, the city ordered a new one to be made by sculptor Jerome Duquesnoy in 1619. The purpose of this monument has always been a mystery and many interesting legends surround his meaning. One was the story of a young boy who relieved himself against the door of a witch’s house, which was situated on this site. The witch was so angry that she turned the boy to stone. Another tale is of a two-year-old lord, Duke Godfrey III of Leuven, who in 1142 was placed in a basket in a tree to watch over his men as they fought the Berthouts. Legend has it that the boy then urinated all over the enemy troops who eventually lost the battle.

The bombs kill and maim... But the bombers can never have fun... and can never enjoy the Manneken Pis... They never will enjoy peace... .

The Civilized world says... we piss on your bombs...an on you too.        

The Islamist-Jihadists not only bomb Europe, but they bomb and maim their own people too...

The kids are good... but the adults bomb and maim... Let the kids dream... and leave them alone...

Zaytoun and Zaytouna … a cultural pillar in Saraqeb, Syria...

A recent cover for Zaytoun and Zaytouna encourages children to hang on to their dreams and avoid joining the war...

"The magazine has given me a way to reach Syria's children," said illustrator Jubran Jubran. "I feel happy when I write or illustrate for them. I transcend reality to reach a child-like state."

Umm Saeed, a resident of Saraqeb, says that the magazine has become popular with her son and the neighborhood kids.

“My son learned many English words from the pictures and the educational model they present, as well as the stories I read to him from the magazine,” she said.

Saraqeb resident Abu Jamil, however, criticizes the magazine's exclusively secular tone. “I wish they would include more about the Quran and the prophetic sayings. I wish it would focus on instilling Islamic values, morals and traditions within our children, especially since Islam is systematically coming under attack,” he said.

Artist Diala Brisly fled Syria in 2013. She now lives in Beirut but she's well known inside Syria for her work on a children's magazine that, amazingly, is still printed and distributed inside the country. 

Check the marvels that Diala Brisly creates...

Close your eyes and imagine your home... the good old days... and the harvest... and peace...

Imagine the rainbow and people in harmony...

Smile and defeat the leaders of war...

All are the same... The leaders just come and bomb and disappear... The kids are abandoned... alone...

Imagine the dolls at your home... Are they still "alive?"...

Did they burn them too...? Maybe had the doll did not obey the Islamic-Jihadists rule for head cover... and so they hung her... maybe they burned her...
And then they went and bombed Paris... and bombed Brussels...
Maybe the bombers will be able to locate the kid's doll... Maybe the West will be able to find the doll...!!!
Maybe the doll is still "alive"...

The Jihadists parade their might... Who gave these trucks to 

them...? Who sold them these trucks...?

Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday that the United States has determined that ISIS(Islamic Jihadist Satate) action against the Yazidis and other minority groups in Iraq and Syria constitutes genocide... "My purpose here today is to assert in my judgment, (ISIS) is responsible for genocide against groups in areas under its control including Yazidis, Christians and Shiite Muslims," he said, during a news conference at the State Department. Kerry said that in 2014, ISIS trapped Yazidis, killed them, enslaved thousands of Yazidi women and girls, "selling them at auction, raping them at will and destroying the communities in which they had lived for countless generations," executed Christians "solely for their faith" and also "forced Christian women and girls into slavery." "Without our intervention, it is clear that those people would have been slaughtered," he said. This is the first time that the United States has declared a genocide since Darfur in 2004.

The West condemned the Darfur tragedy as genocide too... But then nothing happened... The people of Darfur still are in the desert and are suffering... 
Ross, the chaplain at my school, advised me not to take what people say at face value... He said that adults most of the time have an ulterior motive... and are expert cheaters and skilled, experienced "double talkers"...

***

But back to the art and artist...

 The artists explains...

 He's selling cotton candy. It's symbolic. He's a kid but he's selling things for other kids because he has to make a living. Most people who get this magazine are in the same situation. That's why I drew this boy happy. I can't find a solution for him but I want him to be happy anyway. He will keep working, he doesn't have any solution. 

The artist wanted the kid to be happy... 
Kids all over the world should be happy... But some work as slave labour... and then we buy those shoes!
But some are child soldiers and we supply the bombs and the weapons to them... 

The young girl lost her brother... But she still supports others... They support each other... The adults have gone to war... The adults have migrated to Europe... But the kids are still in Syria... and do not have much... They are the war orphans... 

War orphans are the other tragedy of war... 

The adults fight... and the kids pay...

What is it that adults can not share...?

Ross said they are just stupid... 

I had happier times teaching to the kids than associating with the adults... They were two faced hypocrites... and back stabbers...

The kid is begging for his last hand...
Will the adults leave him/her alone... 
The kids are good... The adults bomb and maim... 
The adults are greedy... and greed creates conflict...

I am note sure if we will ever learn how to share... 
I am not sure if we will be able to harness our greed and share...

I am not sure if we will listen to the kid begging for his/her last limb...

The adults began the wars... in the Middle East... and now they blame each other for the migrant crisis... and they blame each other for the Paris bombings... for the Brussels bombings...
Adults bomb and maim... and the kids pay the price...  




It may be the end... 
But the guy in the boat wants to document it... Both the horror and the peril...

It maybe the end... they may drown the next moment... but the guy wants us to remember... the sea... the sinking boat... the drowning people...

The adults bomb and maim...

But the kids pay the price...

  

No need for comment... 

Just a PEACE...