BERT FLINT WHO SPENT HIS ENTIRE ANTHROPOLOGICAL CAREER AMONG THE BERBERS , IS NO MORE

 My friends from Casablanca were visiting Marrakech, and they also wanted to visit the Musee Tiskiwin, the tireless effort of over 6 decades of work among the Afro-Berber people by the great dutch (morocco was his home since 1950s) anthropologist and historian of art BERT FLINT 

they sent me the sad news that Bert Flint had passed away ..

he died in his beloved museum/house in an ancient riad in marrakech surrounded by the thousands of works of art and every day creations of Berber people including the Afro-Berbers of the southern borders of the Sahara .

He was 91

i had the honour to meet him when he was 90 

I have a copy of his book on the art of Afro Berbers , dedicated to our meeting

If we cant accomplish equally great things in life, it is good to meet those who have achieved that

MIAMI TO HAVANA. SO CLOSE AND YET SO FAR AND DIVIDED

 It is one thing to be in a polemic country as USA which is divided right through the middle .. 50% fascist leaning and 50% wanting a just society and poor Blacks suffering a barrage of racism. But it is all about one self, rather than about a country or society or community. Self oriented, individualistic and totally money oriented and in general an unhappy society. But people flock to the USA attracted by the opportunities which they do not have in their home countries and live there , constantly missing the countries they are from 

I make a point of viewing the sunrise when I am in Miami because the patio of the house where I stay is situated well to view it . I was leaving the country today so I did not wish to miss it.

Normally I travel light 

a carry on luggage (rimowa salsa , a gift of my Indonesian friend, Pak Joe) and a Coach shoulder bag ( a gift of my jamaican sister)

but this short trip to Cuba, i go always with lots of luggage as the situation between USA and Cuba has resulted in a shortage of essential goods in Cuba 

so much luggage to carry!

On this trip I was allowed to check all three bags and it felt free to be boarding flight with just a backpack.

I go the airport in Miami early so that I can enjoy their Flagship Lounge.

American Airlines are not that great an airline but for my short flight to Havana, they are the ideal one.

I was the first passenger out of the aircraft and very soon was cleared of the immigration and my three bags were among the first to arrive. The customs officials can be intimidating but i have noticed this year that they are much softer and gentler. This arrival has been the fastest , within 25 minutes of arrival I was already outside where Pedro the taxi driver was waiting for me.

There is no boundary like this .. you leave Miami where the majority are spanish speaking and or of cuban descent and within minutes you are in Cuba which is so so different from the USA and its people whether recent immigrants or children of immigrants from the past.

I love the feeling of this huge airplane taking off and look down at the familiar sites..Biscayne Bay where once Christo wrapped all the small islands

 over the city of miami , on to the keys and then a short flight over the waters to enter cuban airspace, eveything happens so quickly .

before you know you are flying over Cuba and then you recognize the havana skyline in the distance. 

I am tired of travelling with so much luggage but when i think of Cuba and its difficulties, this burden becomes light.

The taxi driver brings his yellow taxi(why are taxis painted yellow?) and we load up and briskly leave the airport towards Vedado where I stay 

 

here is an obligatory photo of antique cars that still ply the roads and ways of Cuba, my driver told me this is a 1947 or 48 model

I feel exhilarated each time i take this road to the house from the airport. Heart is full of joy, there is no time to think of politics or suffering.

my cuban sister was waiting for me at home ..and the usual welcome home dinner/lunch

she had managed to get some lobster, freshly cooked rice and her own recipe of the cuban caviar THE BLACK BEANS.. nowhere in Miami does the black beans taste so good ..

to be followed by the unaldulterated, non polluted cuban cream made with plenty of cream..

Thank you, sister

Good to be home..

Soon the sun would set and it is time to light shabbat candles.

Borepri hagefen with Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc.

I AM THINKING OF YOU MY DEAR FRIENDS BROTHERS SISTERS AND LOVERS IN IRAN ON THIS CHAHARSHANBEH SURI

Chaharshanbeh Suri or Charshanbeh Suri (Persian: چهارشنبه‌سوری, romanized: Čahāršanbe suri;^[ lit. 'The Scarlet Wednesday'), is an Iranian festival of the fire dance celebrated on the eve of the last Wednesday of the year, of ancient Zoroastrian origin. It is the first festivity of the Nowruz Celebrations festival (the Iranian New Year

FIRE DANCE 

How often have I seen Fire at the centre of ceremonies in various cultures ?

India. Fiji Indigenous people of Americas...

The First Rik of the Rig-Veda( from savitri.in)

Madhuchchhandas Vaishwamitra's Hymn to Agni written in the Gayatri metre in which the first verse runs in the devabhāṣā,

अग्निमीळे पुरोहितं यज्ञस्य देवमृत्विजम्।

होतारं रत्नषातमम्।।१।।

Agnimīḷe purohitam yajṇ̃asya devamṛtvijam, hotāram ratnadhātamam.

and in English,

"Agni I adore, who stands before the Lord, the god who seeth Truth, the warrior, strong disposer of delight."

So the Rig-veda begins with an invocation to Agni, with the adoration of the pure, mighty and brilliant God. "Agni (he who excels and is mighty)," cries the Seer, "him I adore." Why Agni before all the other gods? Because it is he that stands before Yajna, the Divine Master of things; because he is the god whose burning eyes can gaze straight at Truth, at the satyam, the vijñānam, which is the Seer's own aim and desire and on which all Veda is based; because he is the warrior who wars down and removes all the crooked attractions of ignorance and limitation (asmajjuhurāṇam enaḥ) that stand persistently in the way of the Yogin; because as the vehicle of Tapas, the pure divine superconscious energy which flows from the concealed higher hemisphere of existence, (avyakta parārdha), he more than any develops and arranges Ananda, the divine delight. This is the signification of the verse.

I have always been fascinated with the "Aryan Connection" of Iran and India 

Tonight is the Chaharshanbeh Suri in Iran 

I wish you well, my dear friends all over Iran, you are my family, you are my brothers, you are my sisters, you are my lovers.

From Pablo Neruda

For where a man has no voice,
there, my voice.

Where blacks are beaten,
I cannot be dead.
When my brothers go to prison
I shall go with them.

When victory,
not my victory,
but the great victory comes,
even though I am mute I must speak;
I shall see it come even
though I am blind.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A DOCTOR WITHOUT BORDERS ON ONE INTERNATIONAL MISSION

When I answer people's query about my imprecise profession, I mention International Medicine, they have visions of me, struggling through tropical rain forests or zones of conflicts in Africa!

These photographs all taken on the same day is to dispel the myth that International medicine is about shortage of food and syringes and medical equipments and Metformin.. at a great risk to ones health.. 

If your happiness arises out of helping others, rather than thinking about your welfare, then it does not matter which country you are working in, the contentment follows.

THERE MUST BE A PROHIBITION AGAINST NOT BEING HAPPY, A LAW AGAINST UNHAPPINESS ?

 This poem was erroneously attributed to Pablo Neruda but the author is Alfredo Cuervo Barrero, a young spanish poet.

Queda prohibido

ALFONSO CUERVO BARRERO

¿Qué es lo verdaderamente importante?,

busco en mi interior la respuesta,

y me es tan difícil de encontrar.

Falsas ideas invaden mi mente,

acostumbrada a enmascarar lo que no entiende,

aturdida en un mundo de falsas ilusiones,

donde la vanidad, el miedo, la riqueza,

la violencia, el odio, la indiferencia,

se convierten en adorados héroes.

Me preguntas cómo se puede ser feliz,

cómo entre tanta mentira puede uno convivir,

cada cual es quien se tiene que responder,

aunque para mí, aquí, ahora y para siempre:

queda prohibido llorar sin aprender,

levantarme un día sin saber qué hacer,

tener miedo a mis recuerdos,

sentirme solo alguna vez.

Queda prohibido no sonreír a los problemas,

no luchar por lo que quiero,

abandonarlo todo por tener miedo,

no convertir en realidad mis sueños.

Queda prohibido no demostrarte mi amor,

hacer que pagues mis dudas y mi mal humor,

inventarme cosas que nunca ocurrieron,

recordarte sólo cuando no te tengo.

Queda prohibido dejar a mis amigos,

no intentar comprender lo que vivimos,

llamarles sólo cuando les necesito,

no ver que también nosotros somos distintos.

Queda prohibido no ser yo ante la gente,

fingir ante las personas que no me importan,

hacerme el gracioso con tal de que me recuerden,

olvidar a toda la gente que me quiere.

Queda prohibido no hacer las cosas por mí mismo,

no creer en mi dios y hacer mi destino,

tener miedo a la vida y a sus castigos,

no vivir cada día como si fuera un último suspiro.

Queda prohibido echarte de menos sin alegrarme,

olvidar los momentos que me hicieron quererte,

todo porque nuestros caminos han dejado de abrazarse,

olvidar nuestro pasado y pagarlo con nuestro presente.

Queda prohibido no intentar comprender a las personas,

pensar que sus vidas valen más que la mía,

no saber que cada uno tiene su camino y su dicha,

pensar que con su falta el mundo se termina.

Queda prohibido no crear mi historia,

dejar de dar las gracias a mi familia por mi vida,

no tener un momento para la gente que me necesita,

no comprender que lo que la vida nos da, también nos lo quita.

It's forbidden

ALFONSO CUERVO BARRERO

What is really important?,

I search within myself for the answer

And it's so hard for me to find.

False ideas invade my mind

accustomed to masking what she does not understand,

stunned in a world of false illusions,

where vanity, fear, wealth,

violence, hatred, indifference,

they become beloved heroes.

You ask me how you can be happy

How among so many lies can one live,

each one is the one who has to answer,

although for me, here, now and forever:

It is forbidden to cry without learning

waking up one day not knowing what to do

be afraid of my memories,

sometimes feel alone

It is forbidden not to smile at problems,

not fight for what I want,

abandon everything for being afraid,

not make my dreams come true.

It is forbidden not to show you my love,

make you pay for my doubts and my bad mood,

invent things that never happened

remember you only when I don't have you.

It is forbidden to leave my friends,

not trying to understand what we live,

call them only when I need them,

not seeing that we too are different.

It is forbidden not to be me before people,

pretend to people that I don't care

play funny as long as they remember me,

forget all the people who love me.

It is forbidden not to do things by myself,

not believe in my god and make my destiny,

to be afraid of life and its punishments,

Don't live each day as if it were your last breath.

It is forbidden to miss you without rejoicing,

forget the moments that made me love you,

all because our paths have stopped embracing,

forget our past and pay for it with our present.

It is forbidden not to try to understand people,

to think that their lives are worth more than mine,

not knowing that each one has his way and his happiness,

to think that with his lack the world ends.

It is forbidden not to create my story,

stop thanking my family for my life,

not having a moment for the people who need me,

not understanding that what life gives us, it also takes away.