what's been happening?

some security issues and some scares

some travelling and some more travelling

becoming a diver in the red sea and a driver in cairo

seeing the spinx and thinking all major world known buildings are a lot smaller in the flesh

some travelling and some more travelling

enjoying and suffering, loving and hating family relations, own and other's

eating and drinking for Xmas and the rest of the year

reflecting on the year that finishes, its events and learnings

belated merry xmas to all and advanced happy new year too all too!

identidad y pertenencia

como se crea una identidad (nacional?) no excluyente, en particular en el corazon de Europa, en los tiempos que corren y con las manipulaciones politicas y mediaticas a que estamos acostumbrad@s?

para una que se siente bastante apatrida y que estudio guerras y conflictos, el debate sobre la identidad nacional es miope, porque la identidad individual tiene muchos niveles interrelacionados y dependiendo del punto de partida la definicion de "otredad" sera una u otra, lease, lo mismo que buscamos puntos en comun con unos seres humanos porque viven cerca nuestro, o porque tienen una serie de cosas en comun con nosotr@s, podiamos buscar otras no? porque ademas hay algunas que no las elegimos! por ejemplo:
ser mujer u hombre ya dan una vision y vivencia del mundo diferente
ser negr@, blanc@ o asiatic@ tambien, y otras caracteristicas como gord@s, flac@s, rubi@s, moren@s....
asi como ser de un continente u otro
y por supuesto tambien de un estado u otro
hay otras caracteristicas que podiamos mirar como por ejemplo:
ser cristian@, musulman/a, judi@, budista, hindu o ate@
asi como heterosexual u homosexual
.......

asi que, como y quien define la identidad? es el estado equiparable con la nacion? el debate es mucho mas complejo de lo que se esta planteando a nivel politico
este articulo de El Pais toca sobre algunos de esos temas

what we take for granted

there are so many things europeans, or rather westerners take for granted

when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was "voted" we thought we had set the goal for humanity and although in many countries this has been largely (but nowhere fully) achieved, the fact remains that those countries continue to be the exception rather than the rule around the world

the problem is that we now take it for granted, we have largely forgotten the struggles and what it took to get there and we're largely too comfortable to keep on pushing the boundaries, to continue fighting and to realise that the struggle is at home as much as abroad

rule of law, freedom of expression and personal security are as important as food, education and a minimum standard of living because one trio without the other does not make humanity advance

when circumtances beyond one's control render one vulnerable to attack and forced displacement, even in the most comfortable circumstances, you begin to realise that really, the minimum standards cannot be taken for granted

experimenting with their own life

Change and growth take place when a person risks themself and dares to become involved with experimenting with their own life - Herbert Otto

(gracias ladelentes)