Back home!
As I have been blogging I have just spent 3 weeks away in Turkey and Jordan, and have finally made my way back home to Brisbane. I’ve been thinking a lot about how I can wrap up my trip, and have been struggling. It was such a diverse and interesting experience that I don’t really know where to start. So instead of going through everything in detail, let’s talk about how wonderful the world really is.
I reckon we can get a pretty awful picture of the world these days. War, disease, famine, environmental destruction – everything looks awful. I hear it so often – ‘the world is a terrible place’. We talk about this in our own politics – everyone hates Australian politics and the awful things we do. Everybody is seen in such a cynical light – humans are awful beings. But we talk about it more when we look overseas – we see places like the Middle East and think ‘what an awful world we live in’.
Now, I’m not denying there are awful things that happen in this world. Watching the events of Syria and Egypt recently I cannot help but be depressed (as were the people I met in the Middle East). But coming home from a good trip I cannot help but think that behind all of this, there is some sort of wonder to this world too.
If you wanted to look at awful things happening in the world, then Turkey is probably a good place to start. Police violence against protesters has lead to seven deaths (I think that’s the latest count), and when I was there 30 people had lost eyes due to police action. The Government is considered to becoming more authoritarian and conservative – against the people’s wishes. It is a sign of potentially awful things to come.
But within the bloodshed and pain I saw a movement of amazing quality. People were coming together as a community to fight not just for themselves – but for their community. As I was leaving Turkey, the Islamic holiday Ramadan was beginning (it goes for a month). Ramadan involves a fast during the day, and feasting after the sun goes down. On the first night activists involved in the gathered on the main street of Istanbul to have a community feast. Anybody and everybody was invited to bring food, and a huge feast ensued (unfortunately I missed it). It was the sort of vibe I found throughout Turkey – a community coming together to campaign collectively for their community. A really wonderful community.
In Jordan I stayed with a Palestinian family on the edge of Amman. The family had little in terms of possessions. Six people crammed into a two bedroom apartment. Yet, they were the most welcoming and open people I think I have ever met in my life. They were excited to have me stay and would have done anything for me whilst I was there. Every night friends, family and members of the community would come around just to hang out – a great sense of their community.
You could see it all around Jordan. It is a country that has gone through its struggles – it is still going through struggles. But the community survives, and more than that – the community stays as one of the strongest communities I’ve ever seen.
There is something great about seeing other parts of the world. You get some sort of different perspective. It’s often even better to visit the places that you think are doing horribly – that are suffering under terrible fates and you have no idea how people survive.
Yes, there are bad things in this world. People undergo true hardships. There is so much to fight for. But if I could say anything for my trip, I think it reminded me that in the end the world, and people, are pretty wonderful. We live in a wonderful place and people are wonderful beings. It’s useful to remember that sometimes.
ps. I have some more posts about the trip I am intending to get up soon – particularly some videos from Istanbul Pride. Otherwise it will be back to my usual political ranting (with something different in between).