Gaza Art: Remembering 400 dead children

Palestinian artist Majdal Nateel, painted the following images to commemorate 400 of the  children who died in Gaza last summer - but she is not even permitted  to leave Gaza to see them currently on display in London's King Cross, after they were bought  back by the journalist Jon Snow last month.
Powerful stuff drawn  on cement bag fragments, used to to deliver limited supplies  of cement to families whose homes were bombed. Imaging the dreams and aspirations of the children who died. Ongoing restrictions of cement and other materials means that many children who survived the conflict are still without homes.l I hope the people  of the UK will get to see these pictures and understand the terrible suffering that Israel has inflicted on  innocent  children.
The artist Majdal Nateel is 29. the mother of two young daughters, and lives in Gaza city. This exhibition gives her a rare chance to showcase her work outside Gaza. Respect to Jon Snow for bringing them over. 

Si Mohammed Bel Hassan el Soudani - B, 1959, Rec. by Paul Bowles

In my opinion, a rather wonderful musical interval.
Bye for now..... heddwch/peace.

Remembering Hiroshima

70 years ago  today at 8.15, August 6th, 1945, the city of Hiroshima was destroyed with an atomic bomb. In a  matter of a few minutes, hundreds of thousands of  innocent people lost their lives in this  cowardly attack. Three days later the city of Nagasaki met the same fate. Combined it resulted in the deaths of over 400,000 people.
Today I cry,  no more Hiroshimas, no more Nagasakis, Ban nuclear weapons.
As people across Wales and all over the world will be remembering this devastation.
Sending clear messages to the Welsh government and to governments across the world that nuclear weapons are not needed, here, or anywhere. We should remember that it is a crime to prepare for mass murder. Trident is a crime, it is a criminal weapon.
It should be unthinkable today that the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki should ever be repeated. Let us remember today, and continue on our journey today towards peaceful change.
Lets forever give peace a chance.
Heddwch/peace.

No time for tears

another poem for  my  dear Jane.
holding on,  not letting go.

No times for tears, they can wait,
because under it's weight you can sink,
time now to muster some strength,
allow friends to release silent prayers,
powerful chants, in times of distress,
to  lend a hand, of faithfulness,
to  break down and open doors of light.

The brilliance of friendship,
in this present time  is good,
stitches together the continuity of hope,
sprinkles some light among the branches,
into this distracting world of thought,
giving comfort to current spaces of meaning ,
a friendly pulse, a force of good in time's struggle.

Solidarity is  love, gives us strength,
let 's keep on  delivering, it's message,
allow it to run free,
pumping adrenalin into the veins,
of all  those still grappling,
allow it to rescue and restore,
all vestiges of hope.

When then sun goes down,
and the night is long,
solidarity's breath is the master of dreams,
gives us love, harbours strength ,
so keep it protected, with all your hearts,
allow it's presence, to light  the world with change,
to serve and protect every persistent day.

Solidarity with humanity.

At a time  when people should be rising up in solidarity  about the rotten establishment, the reckless bankers, the corrupt politicians, and the greedy, people are  pointing the  finger of blame at those  that don't deserve to be attacked,  people like the unemployed, the underpaid, and  currently  receiving  much vitriol migrants.
The  language of  racism and xenophobia  on full display,  politicians daily  speaking  and inflaming the situation, with voices completely devoid of compassion, using the language of division  and hate on those most undeserving.  The spectre of fascism, once again  is on open display across Europe .
The freedom of movement is a universal  right recognised by international law, but politicians, apart from a few  do not seem to be taking this right seriously.
The crisis in Calais happening right now is a humanitarian crisis, people fleeing injustices in desperation,  we should  not be blaming  them,  or treating them like criminals, or as less than human, we should be treating  them with tolerance and dignity, offering them our hands of friendship.
It is not  by chance  that so many desperate  people try to enter the UK, as well as other rich countries, we must remember  that in their own homelands, they do  not even have  the basic conditions that dives them a means of survival. At the end of the day , they have no choice to try and escape, and try to reach Europe every day.
Collectively we must  oppose migrant detention  and removal measures to protect  these  people's human rights. The continual struggle of migrants, which they have determined  for themselves, must be supported against the daily oppression that they face. It should encourage us to  be more more active, to give  solidarity with all struggling migrants  everywhere.
David Cameron should  be condemned for playing politics  with the situation in Calais, trying to whip up fear and hostility to those that are seeking refuge, start looking  for a more  humanitarian solution to the situation. In the meantime there are thousands  of people across the  continent  who are filling the void left by politicians,  urging them to take responsibility  and solidarity in taking in more migrants.  We should also  be following the   example of   other countries, with a reasonable response,  take Sweden for example, who  are currently  allowing anyone from Syria into their country, who last year alone accepted 30,000 asylum seekers, compared to the UK's meagre pathetic 10,000.
Europe must belong to everyone, not just  profiteers,  we must continue to protect  desperate people trying to flee  imperialist wars, repression and poverty, following dangerous routes across land and sea.
No one is illegal, but solidarity is love.

When the siege is broken; A poem for Gaza

One year after the 2014 war that killed more than 2,000 Palestinians and destroyed thousands of homes, people in Gaza are still struggling to survive under awful living conditions and a crippling blockade.
A place of daily struggle for the 1.6 million living here under Israeli siege, in the tiny Gaza strip, one of the most densely populated paces on the planet, that has since 2007 suffered under the brutal Israel Land, air and sea blockade.
After the latest assault, entire neighbourhoods are inaccessible,  medical and medical disposables in shortage. The blockade has caused increased unemployment, loss of agricultural land, decline in incomes from fishing due  to restrictions imposed  by the Israeli Navy and daily problems obtaining raw materials, and everyday manufactured products. With health impaired by  a population impoverished, together with psychological problems, caused by the ordeal of confinement, to this open prison.
Lifting the blockade would enable Gaza to trade again. And if this happened the economy could grow by almost $4 billion. Local businesses and farmers could earn decent livings again. People could afford to feed their families and put their children through school or college and get access to safe water. We must be able to give some hope of a better future for the people of Gaza, it is more than enough time that they are given their dignity back to be allowed an economic life that has been denied to them for years,  to be allowed to travel and trade again.
Yes it is more than time that the blockade is lifted, for people to be connected with friends and family in the West Bank again,  the blockade of human rights and international law, an obstacle to freedom and peace.
The following a poem, that looks forward to a time when the siege and blockade is over.


When the siege is broken

From a dream within a dream,
freedom's breath kept calling,
the degradation just had to end,
a change needed to be delivered,
between the wall and sea,
the keys of promise allowed to return,
allow the struggling bird, to trace some light.

The future blossoms again,
green on the land,the dawn wakes to song,
instead of the rattle of gunfire and missiles,
the morning  moves with softness,
as cypresses sway, under the shade of oak trees,
jasmines scent floats, the smell of oranges, 
                                              sweet on the breeze.

Beyond the rubble of the past,
children play in jubilation,
farmers toil in the afternoon sun,
the fruit of their soil alive again,
a paradise is regained from oppression,
though weeping tears will never cease,
olive branches now glisten with hope,
fishermen go far out to cast  their nets,
smiling sharing salted bread,
to bring back home  a rich harvest.

Safe from captivity, no longer in a living hell,
hearts again, existing in peace,
the dream continues,
lights a path away from the dark,
as speakers ring out, a familiar call for prayer,
a conflagration of new beginnings,
returns some mercy.   

poem written last week before I became aware of extent of  my partners illness, a cause that we both share  together.                                    

Holding on

a poem, written for my wonderful friend, soul mate, partner, Jane, currently seriously ill in hospital.

Holding on

We break, get torn,
 this makes our living spaces so blue,
so we fall apart, to start again,
to shake dark shadows of our skin,
wait for calming thoughts to return,
to burn bright again,
feel the tug of another's heart,
holding on and not letting go,
souls are strong, the wind can't blow them away,
still like air, the morning she rises,
with touch and breath, smiles again,
by moonflowers and sunflowers,
we will continue to walk and talk,
allow our nights and days,
to be imbued with love.

Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah

" Love is not a victory march, it's cold and it's broken.


Hallelujah."

I have returned sooner than expected, time on my hand's,
for Alison Croydon  ( Ali) my beloved cousin, who  is being  laid to rest today,

aged 58, R.I..P.


Dear soul,

Stonehenge veteran,

intrepid traveller ,

inner and beyond, 
we light a brief candle,

both ends burning,

as we remember,

and her journey continues,
hallelujah

No to Beijing 2022

In a weeks time, on July 31, the IOC ( the International Olympics Committee will decide whether to award Beijing a second Olympic games. When China last hosted the Olympics there was a violent crackdown in Tibet and since then the repression  has only worsened. The 2008 Olympics did nothing to alleviate human rights abuses or enhance freedom, in fact since then China has become more aggressive in its attitudes to human rights in Tibet, and less willing to engage in  dialogue regarding a lasting resolution with reports of armed police attacking and beating peaceful protestors and seriously injuring many more, Tibetans imprisoned for simply singing a song, things are significantly worse than they were before. In the last few weeks over 2 human rights lawyers have been jailed in large numbers, many of which are still detained or still missing and entire communities can be punished for the act of one person.
Others too suffering, the arbitrary arrest torture, and disappearance of those they consider a threat, like the Ulghurs, southern Mongolians and Hans Chinese.
More than 175 Tibetan groups  have backed the call  for the IOC to reject China's bid. By granting China these games again, the IOC will be putting their international stamp of approval on China's continuing military occupation of Tibet. Combined with  its continuing restrictions on  civil and  political liberties this surely makes it an  unfit candidate to host these games because of it's clear contempt of human rights.

Please sign and share the following  petition. Tell the IOC that China does not deserve another Olympics


https://www.change.org/p/international-olympic-committee-ioc-don-t-reward-china-s-worsening-oppression-with-another-olympic-games

A poem for Tony Blair

Mr Blair's heart is running on empty
his soul containing only darkness,
he comes and go's as he pleases
adds nothing of value,no hidden depth
just likes to stir and pontificate
count his stockpiles of cash,
profits soaked in blood and tears
basking again today in the limelight,
showering humanity with his dismal grin
a joke that's beginning to wear very thin,
distracting us, with his vanity and deceit
can't this man be brought to account?
accept some responsibility, for all the lives he wasted
for all the pain and ruins that he created,
continues unrelentling, carries on unashamed
telling us little things,shouting down our cries,
I have become weary and unsympathetic
of this shameless charlatan, power mad junky.