Friday 22 June 2007

Europe is our playground...


It took some time, but it was needed. A lot of things happened since my previous announcement; things inspiring enough to be added to my post.

Stupid to speak about the weather, I hate it when people do, but weather is really not helpful at all for the mind, my mind, to be productive.

But now it's OK, I am in my balcony and there is some fresh air crossing my nose occassionally. And some good, trippy music in my ears...

And Suede's "Europe is our playground" is finally downloaded...

Honest as I am with you, the idea for this article came after my participation as a trainer in the European Youth Week held in Brussels, beginning of June.

Now that I am looking back it seems like it was a naive feeling; a feeling that I am "European"...Well, maybe this was the reason why we were all there; and it seemed to have worked on me...no, no past tense, it works even now. I am just trying to scrutinize if it is just a naive feeling. There were many things to make you feel "European" there; the big buildings, the celebrations, the "officials"...Artificial or superficial, you would correctly respond.

And there were people; many people; different people; again, different people. And the outcome was explosive; I mean the cognitive flow within my brain, was explosive. So many ideas and thoughts about us, people. About our role in Europe. About our voice in Europe. About our responsibilities and rights in and for Europe. All in all, I had a wonderful time there, because of people. And this is what made me feel "European" at the end. Or it simply made me feel a human being with a geographically (and a bit, politically) defined label, useful enough to the extend of being adequately general for my brain not to explode.

Practically speaking, I worked there with a wonderful group, participants and trainers/organizers. We made music. We discussed. And we blended music with what we discussed in a unique and creative way. Despite the outcome - that was impressive and incisive, at least - the process was the real achievement. And the people was the "chaotic" force; the creative determinants. Great great great to have been there...

Don't still know why I have chosen this particular song and although it is played for 4th time in a row, can't really get it's meaning. Another "chaos"; be patient Sakis, it will come...

Writing these lines now, my brain is more or less stuck to the memories of the near past but also to what is happening in Brussels today and tomorrow. Talking about the Summit. So many things going on there; or they better go on because it takes a lot of effort and work from everyone involved there for something good to occur; otherwise we are heading to a failure. At least, this is how I see it. Or, as I recently learnt, IMO.

And the contradiction; I have seen "Europe" working great and has a reason for existence (Youth Week but also all of my related experience) and at the same time there are forces (see Summit) trying somehow to dismantle "Europe" as if it was an atomic bomb. Because no one can convince me that what is demanded by those demanding it, is for the good of "Europe" and its people; no loves, it is for their own fucking good, or what they believe it's good for them...or they are just misleaded, confused, what to say...

"Europe is our playground" because, yeah, let's just play...let's just open up a little bit, and be curious, and let's just be scratched as well; we will never know if we don't try...

Pufff, it's getting late and I am gonna be camping tomorrow :)

Spent a day in the mountains recently. It was also somehow related to "Europe" (and somehow everyday I discover for my self how related I am to "Europe"). Organizing a training there soon and went to explore a bit. Wonderful places and an amazing discovery in the middle of the forest (seen in the photo) and one in the end of the forest (unfortunately no photo yet); six puppies. Abandoned puppies. In the size of the palm. Cruelty at its worst. Someone left them there. But destiny can not be avoided; so we caught up with the puppies. We took them away from cruelty and did our best to ensure a safe life for them in the future.

The singer just said "Europe, with my baby now"...Wise words...Practically, it's the only way to build a real "Europe"...to find our "babies" there...Think!
Another great way to build "Europe" is the so called couch surfing but this is a term coming from the States. Take a look at cafebabel.com and you will know what I am talking about.
Naive feeling I said in the beginning; maybe naive should be to be real and worthy...
Great to see many of my new friends blogging. New Democracy I would call it. Need to work on this thought a bit more to explain adequately...Or maybe Democracy 2.0 :)
7th time listening to the same song...

DON’T KNOW WHY I’M SAYING THIS
DON’T KNOW IF YOU DARE
JUST EMBRACE EACH OTHER
SHOW THAT YOU CARE
a piece from the song produced during our creative times in Youth Week...
Goodnight.




Thursday 7 June 2007

Europe is our playground...

This would be the title of my next article...And the question is: Why don't you write it now Sakis? Well, simply, because of 3 things: over tiredness (almost no sleep last night, long train traveling etc.) , not having the song with the same title with me (somewhere in my oooooold CDs, lyrically not something special but back in time, rather inspiring for some naive thoughts) and last but not least, being in Gouda in the Netherlands and still facing the "stupidly smart" ability of blogger.com to recognize the languages of the countries where my IP comes from...
Well, I ll be back home in few days...huhhhhhhh

Sunday 3 June 2007

Silly

My silly photo on the right doesn't match at all with the atmosphere created by my last texts and I would love to change it...but the stupid blogger.com (well, it is a great tool and I am thankful to its people for giving me this space, but at the moment it is stupid...) is smart enough to track my Belgian IP and change all of the menus into dutch/flemish language...So I don't really know how to do it and I felt like making this comment...
G'night...

Saturday 2 June 2007

For Amalia

...I never got to know this person; neither did the thousands of thousands of the people that have taken a mass, organized and "online" initiative to support her struggle against a Health system which for once more has proved to be more than a system and much less than health...Amalia is dead now and I am personally very touched by her story; sitting now in my room in Brussels and feeling an inner force to make a reference to it in my "own world", shaped partly by this blog. It's the second death I make reference to the last days; simply because I am touched and I am inspired. She didn't stop fighting for her right to life, even at the very end, even if she has been suffering for many years...Her blog (in Greek) http://fakellaki.blogspot.com/ has become a reference point for legitimate and justified angerness, among others, towards bloody doctors that besides their incompetence that sometimes is annoyingly obvious, they ask money from people in need just because...just because they have been given (by whom?) the legitimacy to do it...or simply because they are fucking bastards...
Friends and people inspired by Amalia's story have created a blog where texts in different languages, other than Greek, can be found http://giatinamalia-blog.blogspot.com/; videos in Youtube can be watched also; the movement is growing rapidly...There are so many side effects of this action that maybe it is not appropriate to comment now...
The death of Amalia (may she rests in peace unlike the monsters that made her suffering) is proving that there are human beings still left; and that they have power to bring about change. It is really sad that such stances are nourished and developed mainly after unfortunate events but at the same time we need to focus on the positive aspect of it; which is that people are not indifferent or better, that there are still people that are not indifferent...
Even a moment of reflection about her, can constitute an important part of the overall change that we, all of us, need to go through...
...you will be happy, wherever you are now; thank you for reminding me my human side...