I am in a tizzy

Been building Ikea furniture for two days - 2 night tables and a dresser so far - and my lower back notices being bent over slabs of wood lying on the floor. I’ve gotten pretty quick at drawers. There is more to build: I can handle another somewhat bigger dresser, but I don’t know about the big wardrobes. And one week left to pack in. Okay, nine days.

But the hell with it all tonight. It’s our anniversary - 6 years!! - and we’re going downtown to see K.D. Lang play free at an outdoor venue, as part of the Luminato series of events.

Switch moving brain off. Switch music and R&R on. I genuinely hope it’s not too crowded down there, but hey, it’s K.D. Lang.

I'm hopeful

     I had the chance to go to a talk at Luminato on June 12th about restructuring the narrative in the Middle East.  There was many topics discussed although unfortunately most of the questions had to do with Israel and the Palestinians and there was absolutely no discussion about Bahrain or the women’s rights in Saudia Arabia.

     I will put my hands up right now and say that of everything going on in the Middle East and North Africa there are 4 countries that I am following.  Three are the scenes of massive bloodshed and violence and the 4th is finding it’s place in the all of this.  I religiously follow what’s going on in Bahrain, Syria and Libya and I follow what the Turkish government is doing in reaction.

     The reason I brought up the Luminato discussion was that Libyan author Hisham Mattar was one of the speakers and he made a point that I was so happy that he made a point that I’ve been making for a while.  What he said is that he has real hope for Libya especially with what’s been done in a short period of time.

     I think of all of the countries overtaken by revolution Libya is the one that I have real hope for.  I think it has the potential to be amazing.  The National Transitional Council was set up quickly and has already begun addressing problem including what will happen when the war is over.  They’ve stated they want to follow a similar model to South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Panels.  It’s all happening quickly but the rebel army is becoming more and more structured.

    What gives me real hope is the women of Libya and what they’re place in society will be.  There is proof that the Libyan army is using rape as a weapon against women and as a result their families as well.  Libya is a deeply conservative Muslim country where people usually don’t talk about that sort of thing.  Once Eman Olbedi broke that taboo it’s become something that people talk about and I don’t think it’s going to be something people forget quickly either.

     I can’t imagine living through what these people have lived through.  I can’t imagine being in Misrata and living under a siege for months not knowing if you were going to die or not.  I can’t imagine not knowing if men where going to break down a door, storm into my home and then rape the women and girls living there.

     It’s a country that will have physical and emotional scars for a VERY long time but I also feel that Libya has the potential to be great and I can’t wait to see what it becomes