The Road to the Horizon The Road to the Horizon Short stories about travelling to remote places, working in unusual places, life as a humanitarian aid worker, expeditions and sailing. But mostly about enjoying the road more than reaching the destination. Articles
Rumble: Ostend, once more.
2008-02-14 19:34:00 The "Sea Men?s Monument" (Willy Kreitz, 1951) in Ostend, commemorates all those lost at sea. While the sailor standing at the top of the monument looks over the sea confidently, with almost a challenging attitude, the one at the bottom of the pillar mourns for his lost colleagues.Every Easter Monday, the town holds a procession to this monument honouring the victims of the sea, an event culmulating in the blessing of the sea by a priest? Traditional hedon practices in a catholic coat, with a folkloric gravy. ;-)The monument is erected right where Ostend?s first lighthouse was built, back in 1771:View Larger Map More About: Belgium , Flanders
Rumble: My Home Town
2008-02-13 20:42:00 I am still looking at the pictures we took last weekend, during our evening walk along Flander's coast...I was born and raised in Ostend, and left only after I graduated, at the age of 23. But I always come back, even if it was only for the sea. She has always attracted me. The scent of the silt, the mighty power and potential to harm or kill at any moment. Yet endlessly beautiful, inspiring and gracious. Ever changing colours and behaviour, changing moods in a flash.Maybe it was the sense of endlessness, the travel, "leaving but never knowing when you would come back" which always attracted me to the sea. Or the freedom. Just take off in a boat and... go!This boardwalk ("staketsel" in Flemish), runs along the entrance of the port, once busy with a active fishing fleet, cargo vessels and ferries to England. Every so often, a large vessel looses control over its helm, and rams the boardwalk, chewing out a whole piece. And every time, it is repaired. As a kid, we used to climb from t... More About: Belgium , Home , Town , Flanders
Rumble: FreeRice Goes Bangladesh
2008-02-12 15:52:00 I have reported in previous posts about Free Rice , the Internet game which translates your vocabulary skills into donations of rice to the hungry. Up to today, 18 billions grains of rice have been collected by all players.That starts to translate into REAL stuff. FreeRice donated over US$200,000 to the UN World Food Programme, resulting in actual rice going to refugees in Myanmar and Bangladesh :If you are a blogger, you can copy and paste code for the FreeRice widget from this post.Video and picture courtesy WFP.
News: Sometimes I Am Ashamed to Work for the UN.
2008-02-11 17:09:00 I am pissed off. Two articles were published in the last days that make me ashamed to work for the UN.Before we start, let me make something clear: The "UN" is one "brand" consisting of several parts which have completely different goals, operational practices and funding mechanisms. In fear of over-simplifying, I would distinguish three main parts in the UN:"The Political Side", UN secretariat in New York and UN security council, are probably the UN's most visible side. In this large forum "where world issues are debated and decided upon", every nation has its vote and voice. The critics would say "all equal, but some have a bigger vote and a louder voice than others".This side of the UN is funded through direct contributions by the UN member countries, and as such by the taxes citizens like you and me pay."The Peace Keeping Side", codenamed "UNDPKO", are the famous blue helmet-ed forces we see on TV. Stationed in conflict zones like Sudan , Eritrea, DRC etc... they often work hand... More About: News , Work , East Timor , Haiti
Rumble: The untamed romantic in me
2008-02-11 01:49:00 Ok. Call me a romantic, a sentimental fool, a dreamer. But I can not help it. I am addicted to the horizon, the sea and sunsets...I was home, in Belgium, for the weekend. This was the sunset we witnessed last night while walking along the coast. An almost perfect evening to an almost perfect day. Almost no wind, with the sky clear as could be. More About: Romantic
News: Sudanese Refugees Stranded in Israel
2008-02-10 17:06:00 Some 1,000 African asylum-seekers, including over 200 women and children, are being detained in Ktsiyot prison in Israel 's Negev desert. Some have been held for up to six months. In late September 2007, all newly arrived African asylum-seekers were moved into tents within the prison grounds. Activists from various Israeli advocacy groups have begun to look into prison conditions, being appalled by "harsh conditions" in the camp:"The nights are extremely cold in the desert, yet there is no heating in the tents. The wind simply blows through them. There is no warm water to wash the children, whose ages vary from three weeks to 18 years. At least 16 are under two years old."The women and children are still being held separately from their husbands, despite the prison authority's claim that moving the asylum-seekers to the tent camp was intended to allow for family reunification. There are no social workers to supervise or assist the children, many of whom have undergone severe trauma... More About: News , Middle East , Sudan , Refugees
Rumble: Recommended reading: The Secret Life of Bees
2008-02-09 23:55:00 Set in the American South of 1964, the year of the Civil Rights Act and intensifying racial unrest, Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees is a story of coming-of-age, the ability of love to transform our lives and the longing for the universal feminine divine. Kidd describes the power of women coming together creating a sanctuary of true family and home where the wounds of loss and betrayal can heal.Men play a secondary role in the story, often representing violence, aggression, and repression. If not, they are a mere ‘addendum’ to the universal feminity which represents the wit, the good, the mysterious divine warmth and comfort which one also finds back in the life of a bee hive: The queen bee, and all worker bees are female ensuring the survival of the hive. The few male drones just sit around waiting to mate with the queen.The story is told through the eyes and heart of Lily, radiating wit, simplicity, naivety, but also a longing for warmth and love at many different lev... More About: Reading
News: Ryanair Looking for New PR Company?
2008-02-09 11:11:00 It looks like "low cost airline" Ryan air might be looking for a new PR company.First an advertisement portraying a woman dressed in a schoolgirl uniform (inclusive mini-skirt) twirling her hair was ruled as offensive, and banned by the Advertising Standards Authority, a British watchdog agency. (Full)... and later the same week, French president Sarkozy and his new bride won a law suit against Ryanair's ad published in the French daily Le Parisien. The ad showed the smiling couple with a speech bubble coming from Bruni's mouth saying: "With Ryanair, all my family can come to my wedding." (Full)Or maybe this is the kind of cheap publicity the cheap airline was looking for? More About: News , Company
News: The End of the Last Shangri-La?
2008-02-07 14:12:00 Back in 2000, I had the privilege to spend two weeks in Bhutan. We had several school feeding project in remote areas. Kids would cross mountains at the beginning of the term, and only go back to their homes three months later. The schools had no funds for the kids' meals, and that was we came in.Over the past 20 years I have lived, or visited about 150 countries. From Antarctica to Kiribati, from East Timor to Andorra. Bhutan is the country that I would pick as the one place which left the longest lasting imprint in my mind. The people, their smiles and forthcomingness. The landscape and isolation. The culture. The "world's last Shangri-La ", I thought.This last Shangri-La seems to be no longer sheltered from the typical 21st century world problems, it seems:A bomb exploded in Bhutan on Monday, the latest in a string of blasts blamed on ethnic Nepali exiles and designed to disrupt the Himalayan kingdom's first-ever parliamentary poll next month, police said. The United Revolution... More About: News
Rumble: Could we not have stuck with paradise?
2008-02-05 13:40:00 I hope I would get just a few minutes for a private conference with God. I wanted to say, ?Look I know you meant well creating the world and all, but how could you let it get away from you like this? How come you could?t stick with your original idea of paradise??From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd More About: Paradise
News: Poor Haitians Resort to Eating Dirt
2008-02-04 08:53:00 It was lunchtime in one of Haiti's worst slums, and Charlene Dumas was eating mud. With food prices rising, Haiti's poorest can't afford even a daily plate of rice, and some take desperate measures to fill their bellies. Charlene, 16 with a 1-month-old son, has come to rely on a traditional Haitian remedy for hunger pangs: cookies made of dried yellow dirt from the country's central plateau. (full article)Source: NY Times and International Aid Workers Today. Picture courtesy WFP (Alejandro Chicheri) More About: News , Dirt , Poor , Resort , Eating
News: Arab Women on the Rise in Algeria
2008-02-01 17:04:00 In Algeria , women drive trains, hold positions as judges and make up the majority of students. Nowhere else in the Arab world are equal rights for women taken so seriously.Moudjed Naima, 32, wears tatty olive-green overalls, green rubber boots and a cap. The small, energetic woman is cleaning a white pickup truck inside and out. She has been employed here for a year, working every day from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., except Fridays. She got her diploma in photography and computer science, but it was little help -- she was unemployed until she asked for work at the gas station. "I knew there was a woman in charge," she says, "and I started right away." (full post)Read also this article from the NY Times.Source: The Other World News . Picture courtesy NY Times. More About: Women , Rise
Rumble: Brindisi Once More...
2008-02-01 15:50:00 I am back in Brindisi (previous posts). Has been since late September. Seems like yesterday. Time flies.Anyway, what I wanted to say: the weather is cold, but with gorgeous sunshine. That, in combination of the sea (Brindisi has a beautiful natural port, see picture taken this morning), makes this heaven.Oh, yeah, and I am here for work, not for holidays,... Remind me..! What I do for work, you ask? Right now, I am here to check the implementation of a warehouse management system, which will make the operations of the UN Humanitarian Response Depots more effective. Details another time! :-)Our office is at the other side of the port, in the right back of the monument. Check it out with Google Earth...
Rumble: Top Readings on The Road
2008-01-31 20:33:00 Sometimes you need to take the time to watch a nice sunset. Like tonight in Brindisi...Anyway, what was it again I wanted to say? Oh yeah: to wrap up the retrospect of "The First Year of The Road to the Horizon", here are the most popular readings:Top Five eBook Short Stories:The Day I Got Deported From the USFrom Sand to a CityThe Day the Groom Got Deported From the USHow Cigarettes Once Saved My Life250 Boats Facing The Same DirectionTop Five News items:The War in Iraq - Happy Anniversary!19 cents to feed a child for a dayThe New African GenocideRecord Rain Causes Flooding in DubaiWould you Not Pay US$10?Top Five Rumbles:So You Want to Be an Aidworker, hey?Italian Men...What Have You Done Today to Make You Feel Proud?One Sort of Boobs Nobody Likes: ""Ha-boobs""!In Need of Inspiration? Videos!And for fun: The Top 10 Google searches:italian men (eh?)the road to the horizon (sure)post video (and I thought that was easy)alastair cook rome (Alastair is a famous guy, it seems!)post a vi... More About: Readings , On The Road , The Road
News: Peace Keeping in Darfur. A New UNStart?
2008-01-30 20:23:00 A United Nations peacekeeping police officer, holds the babies handed to hear by two refugee women, while on patrol in the Abou Shouk refugee camp in North Darfur . The patrol was one of the first to re-enter Darfur's refugee camps since the United Nations took over peacekeeping in Darfur this month to try to end five years of violence. (full post)I might sound largely cynical, but the way the UN Peace Keeping Operations works, with often a too limited mandate and an intrinsic bureaucracy, I would not be surprised if the same mothers would take a shot at the guy in the middle, one year from now. Mark my words.Photo courtesy AP/Alfred de Montesquiou. Source: International Aid Workers Today More About: News , Sudan
The Road: One Year Later...
2008-01-30 19:50:00 The Road to the Horizon is one year old (eh.. young). Hurray, Hurray...! A retrospect:Early January 2007, we had a week holiday in Vienna. During that time off, I was playing with the idea of (at last!) publishing some of my short stories and an Dutch book I wrote back in 1994-1995 on the Internet.I never published anything on the web before. I had a go with Dreamweaver on a test page. Found it too complicated to be flexible. Tried something on live.com but that did not give me the features I wanted.Mid Jan 2007, I ended up on "Blogger". The first blog went online with the Dutch Ebook about my three expeditions to Antarctica and the Pacific. In one year Verslaafd aan de Horizon ("Addicted to the Horizon") got over 6,000 visitors.At the same time, I started "The Road to the Horizon". Originally meant as a web-platform to publish several articles and short stories I wrote for magazines, or had sent to friends... Little did I know that a year later -now- I would end up with over 90,000... More About: Year
News: A Visit to a Gaza Rocket Factory
2008-01-30 10:09:00 The young man pulls the door of the taxi closed. He is wet. There is a light drizzle in the Gaza Strip. He turns around and greets the passengers in the back seat with a quick handshake. "Are you ready?" he asks them. "As of this moment, we could be going to paradise at any time." The other people in the car don't respond, and the driver of the Mercedes hits the gas. "I should have phoned my wife," he says after a while. "She should start to keep an eye out for a new husband." (full article)Source: The Road Daily. Picture courtesy Der Spiegel More About: News , Middle East , Israel , Factory
Rumble: Song of the Day
2008-01-29 13:21:00 I can flybut I want her wingsI can shine even in the darknessbut I crave the light that she bringsRevel in the songs that she brings,my angel Gabriel.I can lovebut I need her heartI am strong even on my ownbut from her I never want to partShe?s been there since the very start,my angel Gabriel, my angel Gabriel.Bless the day she came to be,my angel Gabriel.Pina Colada [Jazz Mix] by Digby Jonesfrom the album Café del Mar Vol.8(text slightly modified) More About: Song
Rumble: Airport Security... Eh?
2008-01-28 18:59:00 When coming back from Kuwait , checking in for our flight to Rome, we went through the first security control, at the entrance of the airport departures building. I put my bags through a large Xray machine, and stepped through the screening frame. It beeped, as I still had my mobile, wallet and coins in my pockets. I had not even taken off my heavy overcoat. The security guard did not blink, gave me a quick superficial frisk while was smiling at Liz, one of my travel companions: ?Hey habiba, where are you from?? I could have carried an AK47, he still would have had more attention for my blond (female) colleague.The second security point was just a check if you had a boarding pass, after which you got into the tax free shopping area. After immigration, came the second Xray check. I was about to take off my overcoat, and the security guy waved me through ?Habibi, jalla, jalla!? (My friend, fast, fast!). When he saw I hesitated, he smiled at me ?Come, come. It is ok!?, referring to the ... More About: Security , Airport
Rumble: New Short Stories
2008-01-27 17:49:00 My friend "E" and I edited some of the previously published rumbles written by Cyprien, Enrico and herself into eBook short stories. By coincidence, all stories are about life in Sudan, but mostly about life as an aid worker. Enjoy!This Man... (by "E" herself)Murphy's Law in Sudan (by Enrico Pausilli)How Deep Is the Deep Field? (by Enrico Pausilli)The Pit Latrine? (by Enrico Pausilli)Twenty-Four Hours in Aweil (by Cyprien Hiniolwa)The Theory of Relativity (by Enrico Pausilli)The Forces of Nature (by Enrico Pausilli)The Perfect Balance (by Enrico Pausilli)The Driver's License (by Enrico Pausilli)Remember you can find a introduction and summary of each story in the eBook in the Readers' Digest.Thanks again for all the good work, E!Picture courtesy Ulrik Pedersen. More About: Stories , Short Stories , Short
News: 45,000 People Dying a Month in Congo
2008-01-24 07:49:00 Some 45,000 people die each month in Congo as the world's deadliest humanitarian crisis has failed to improve despite five years of relative peace in the Central African nation, according to a report released Tuesday.An estimated 5.4 million Congolese died between 1998 and April 2007 because of conflict, most from the rampant disease and food shortages stemming from fighting. (full)Picture courtesy AFP More About: News , People , Dying , Month
Rumble: Did you see the moon this morning?
2008-01-23 08:30:00 Drove into the parking lot at work, this morning. Was around 7:30... The sun was just coming up and the full moon just disappeared at the horizon. Aren't we lucky with all the beautiful things in our lives? Do we appreciate them enough? More About: Moon , Morning , The Moon
Rumble: A Lovely Day..
2008-01-22 19:02:00 I can't believe this... Was in Kuwait last week, and it was 3°C. Chilling to the bone. Came back to Rome , and it was just over 20°C. Here is the proof! Middle of January, on the beach and 20°C !!!The beach was deserted.. You would not recognize this place in summer! Another four months, and you will not be able to find a free spot to sit down. This weekend, there were just a handful of people...The beach is just 200 meters away from where I live. I realize how lucky I was to find my apartment. Quiet, lovely neighbours, nice restaurant and coffee bar downstairs. Here is a view of my street. More About: Lovely
Rumble: For Safer Roads in Kuwait
2008-01-21 08:06:00 Another story my Kuwait i friends told us: As there are so many road accidents in Kuwait, they considered to make the light poles flexible. This way, the impact would cause less damage and casualties. Here is a video of that 'pole' technology.It would of course be better, if they did something about the cause of the high accident rate. ;-) More About: Roads
News: Record Rain Causes Flooding in Dubai
2008-01-17 14:32:00 Talking about the weather in the Middle East , and "what people do not know about the Gulf": It DOES rain here. Sometimes it really pours for a long period, specifically around this time of the year.Below some pictures Mats sent me from the flooding in Dubai after the heavy rains the last days. The main roads were blocked, with cars floating around, some of them even with people inside, like the white car in the middle picture. (see also this news article). More About: News , Rain , Flooding
Rumble: Is Kuwait's weather state-controlled?
2008-01-15 06:12:00 We had dinner in Kuwait City last night and talked about the cold weather here. Our resident hosts, told a funny story:There is a law stopping all outdoor work when the temperature rises above 50°C (120° F). This means the country's construction and road works would come to a halt most of the summer, if it was not that the official temperatures are never "registered" to be above 50°C, but rather "hover around 49°C". Even though often temperatures climb up to the mid 50-ies.I thought our friends pulled my leg, and looked it up on the Internet, to find a Human Rights report from the US State Department registering this rumour. Some bloggers joked about it, and the Webster Online Dictionary mentioned it too.So would Kuwait be the only country where the weather is state-controlled?Picture courtesy Wikipedia More About: Weather
Rumble: In Kuwait and it is cold!
2008-01-14 21:15:00 One of the many things people do not know about the Middle East : They see pictures of deserts and palm trees, but forget it gets cold here in winter too! I am in Kuwait and it is colder than in Rome! 6°C or 43°F (with the windchill, it feels like 3°C or 38°F). That is cold!And as most of the houses and public areas do not have heating, often we get chilled to the bone... Oh well, summer is just around the corner..! More About: Cold
News: Did Bush Forget to Tell Sarkozy What the Deal Was?
2008-01-13 19:34:00 Today, French President Sarkozy starts a three-nation tour of Gulf Arab states eager to share France's expertise in civilian nuclear technology with the Arab world.On his first trip to the region since taking office in May, he will visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), three states interested in developing a civilian nuclear programme despite their oil and gas wealth.Sarkozy will land in Saudi Arabia as US President George W. Bush tours the region to rally support for his policy of isolating Iran over its "controversial nuclear activities".Apparently, the UAE has already signed the deal with France, making it the third Arab country to do so, after Algeria and... Libya. (Full Post) More About: News , Middle East , Nuclear
Rumble: In Kuwait
More articles from this author:2008-01-13 15:04:00 Flew to Kuwait today.. Crammed Air Kuwait flight. If you are a frequent flyer, you know how often the inflight entertainment systems fail. This one was no exception. The movie restarted three times and finally aborted.. Sometimes I ask myself the question if they can not get a simple system like that to work, how the hell they manage to take off and land. Those systems must be much more sophisticated than an inflight entertainment system, no?We are staying in the Kuwait Ramada. Question asked by the receptionist: "We ran out of rooms, would you and your colleagues mind sleeping in one room?" Answer: "Yes, we would mind. We are all married to other people, you see..." ;-)Picture courtesy Tomi in Kuwait 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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