In the garden

Subject: In the garden

I'm sitting in the garden in the sunshine, enclosed by tall hedges, the lawn spotted with bushes and fruit trees ladened with ripening plums and apples, a verdant green oasis set under a cloudless sky to the sound of gulls proving the sea is not far away.
This is no brochure copy for an island in the West Indies but the back garden of Marie's home in Swansea and it reminded me of how lucky we are to live in this country, its lifestyle and the daily security we enjoy by being here. 

The television is awash with trauma. The Middle East is aflame with rival factions exerting their power supported by a seemingly unstoppable flow of arms coming to the region and the inescapable conclusion that tribal enmity will continue to fuel the flames of innumerable never ending contests.

At the moment it's Libya and the Yemen, yesterday it was Syria. The factional nature of these countries, primed by the political ambitions of Egypt, Turkey, Iran and the Saudi's makes for never ending misery amongst the ordinary Arab.  Hot heads ride around in their converted trucks with high powered machine guns mounted on the back and the ruined buildings are there for all to see.

It was always the signature of an Arab nation, especially in the bazaar that the men dressed in their traditional thawb were suspicious of visitors, where traders and the trade were never quite as they seemed. The contest of reaching a price was part of their makeup and often tiring when used to a shopping with the prices displayed, would find the constant bargaining unsettling. Perhaps it's this lack of conformity, this fundamental independence, every man for himself without a sense of a national politic or an administrative bottom line is where the instability comes from. In settled societies we form a general consensus on many things, we accept laws and social norms, we respect the formality of pricing for instance and the sense of conformity based on a national need.  This across the board trust is assigned on the assumption that the law can be called upon if needed and that the courts are fair. Only if you live in a patriarchal society where disagreements often lead to death, where an 'eye for an eye' has meaning then it's no wonder the concept of boarders and nationhood are pretty much meaningless.
The disturbing sight of children caught up in these struggles reminds us of how lucky we are to bring our kids up with regular meals and good sanitation. Where they won't be exploited or have an education system which, whilst not the best can offer the child  a path to a bright future.
The garden is a sanctum from the environment outside.  The birds hang onto the seed feeder  like humans queuing outside the Kentucky shop. They hop and frolic in the bird bath with an occasional glance to see if the next door neighbours cat is around. In our wisdom we have contrived an idillic setting for the birds whilst a thousand miles away there is mayhem in Banghazi