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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 20, 2015 0:34:36 GMT
That's because there are no annoying seats to mop and buff around.
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Post by tod2 on Jun 20, 2015 10:57:47 GMT
My word, you could serve a meal on those floors! I noticed to the left side tables and chairs so I guess you could nurse a coffee until departure announcement.
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Post by Kimby on Jun 21, 2015 11:46:16 GMT
Maybe seats are Phase Two?
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 21, 2015 15:04:06 GMT
*grumble* If so, Kimby, it's past time to implement that phase. They should bring in folding chairs. Since the loud announcements are too garbled by echoes to be understood anyway, adding in the cacophony of clattering, scraping metal chairs could be a sort of musical art form.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2015 11:14:00 GMT
Yesterday was the ever popular Fête de la Musique across France and most of Europe. This group was playing just down the street from me last night.
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Post by rikita on Jun 26, 2015 6:08:02 GMT
we had a stage right in front of our house again - not across the street this time though, but on our side of the road. which made it slightly less loud inside our place (though still loud enough to not be able to turn on our own music), but had the disadvantage that everyone who was listening seemed to have had the great idea to park their bike right in front of our door. mr. r. went out with agnes and had a hard time coming back into the house.
next festival this weekend: 48 hours Neukölln ...
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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2015 3:57:45 GMT
It's been about six weeks since the camp of Eritrean and Sudanese refugees was cleared out under the elevated metro line. They were offered assistance and temporary housing but they keep returning to my neighbourhood, because it has become home for them and is where they can find their friends and get food. I was there just before dawn this morning. A radio van was setting up its equipment for a report while an NGO van was unpacking bread to begin the day.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 3, 2015 4:13:01 GMT
That's quite an encampment. Are they there during the day as well? I know this sounds trite, but I couldn't help but notice how much standard bedding they have & how clean it all appears. I wonder where they stash their stuff. What do they do when it rains? Also, how is the neighborhood reacting?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2015 6:14:48 GMT
Most of them spend the day there. Refugees really don't have much else to do. When they fill out official papers, it takes at least 9 months for the authorities to even get around to examining the case, and then the procedure for being accepted takes at least 2 years. During that time, they are theoretically forbidden from working. There is a "waiting" allocation that some of them get -- 11.45€ a day. They need a bank account to be able to receive this money, and the Banque Postale in my local post office is about the only place that accepts them for accounts, which is another thing keeping them in the area. (Try to imagine the lines that form at my post office on payment days.)
As for the bedding, most of it is donated, often by people in the neighbourhood. We are used to seeing all of these people and others, due to the main local agency of the France Terre d'Asile semi official organisation being here too. They distribute assistance as well and also serve as a postal address. On certain days, the queue in front of the office is as long as for going to the Eiffel Tower on a sunny day. About 80% of the people in the queue are African with the others being Afghan, Iraqi, Syrian, Chinese... 90% men. I am always impressed by how well dressed most of them appear, because it's easy to forget that only the ones with money manage to flee their countries and travel so far.
I have never seen any local hostility against any of these people. The only nasty things that are said are by politicians on television. When you live surrounded by them, it just makes you feel so lucky. I expect that the residents of Lampedusa have the same reaction.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2015 11:30:23 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 3, 2015 14:34:06 GMT
It's been about six weeks since the camp of Eritrean and Sudanese refugees was cleared out under the elevated metro line. They were offered assistance and temporary housing but they keep returning to my neighbourhood, because it has become home for them and is where they can find their friends and get food. Thanks for the answers, Kerouac. It would seem easier & more efficient at this point for the authorities to give them a nearby park or an empty lot as a place to stay, with a portable building(s) or even tents for shelter. The sign offering a course in French is almost heartbreaking in its hopefulness and determination. That last photo is a killer!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2015 14:49:11 GMT
They have been in a variety of parks (Jardins d'Eole, Bois Dormoy...) but the authorities refuse to accept this, because these people ARE being offered hotel accommodations and other shelters, and staying in parks where children are supposed to be playing is unhygienic. This camp will not last long, but at least they have brought in portable toilets and provided access to water, although I did see a number of people washing in the gutters today and also drinking the water which comes out of the gutter washing outlets, even though it isn't potable (and yet it is quite likely more potable than anything that ever came out of a pipe in their homeland).
The French lessons were already offered back in the days of the original camp. They take place in the Vaclav Havel library which you can see in the background of that photo. I saw in an article that various local libraries have organised the same thing, with grouping for different nationalities depending on demand. Since there is still the problem of a tribal mentality in a lot of the groups, it is important to group people together carefully to avoid unnecessary conflicts. Their lives are already hard enough.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2015 23:29:11 GMT
I love this photo of my neighbourhood in Vancouver. This mobility scooter is parked right outside of the Pumpjack, a local gay tavern. The police office is right beside the Pumpjack. And Donair Dude across the street. It's a fun place to live.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2015 20:05:07 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2015 21:54:16 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 18, 2015 5:07:00 GMT
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Post by mossie on Oct 18, 2015 7:35:05 GMT
That is a whole new take on toffee apples
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 18, 2015 16:30:02 GMT
Very typical sight around here, Mossie. I always like the way they stand the poles on the street so that any dust, grit, etc. can waft up and stick to the candy coating. Look -- you could stand on this corner & have a full meal of meat, starch, vegetable, dessert & even some snacks for later ~
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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2015 15:19:50 GMT
In front of me at the supermarket, there was a homeless man buying one can of beer, one carrot and one onion for a grand total of 0.71€. All I could imagine was that he had caught a rat for stew.
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Post by htmb on Nov 6, 2015 15:53:38 GMT
A bit blurry thanks to the moving dog, but S sent me this picture last night of a fairly large boat traveling up the East River, NYC.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 7, 2015 14:52:43 GMT
Wow ~ two very different vignettes of Life in the Big City!
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 24, 2015 6:06:07 GMT
Just some snaps I took on Saturday ~ This first group is at the church in Xochimilco, the weaving barrio in Oaxaca. There is an organic market on the church grounds every Friday and Saturday. There was something going on inside the church and I guess these white flowers from a previous event had been moved outside:
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 25, 2015 6:22:15 GMT
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Post by tod2 on Nov 25, 2015 7:23:23 GMT
Yikes! Those spikey heels....how does that lady keep her balance Lovely photos Bixa as always. Full of interest and so many other details I like to pick out - like the cars are all spotless and shiny! There is not a scrap of garbage in the streets. Those arrangements of white roses and 'babies breath' look like they were for a wedding or funeral. Some weddings might as well be funerals.....
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Post by bjd on Nov 25, 2015 7:33:23 GMT
I like the posters -- often full of clever sayings, like the one about diapers and politicians should be changed often, for the same reason.
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Post by htmb on Nov 25, 2015 13:13:02 GMT
Nice capture of the woman's swirly skirt, Bixa!
Are the cars part of the event, or do they just drive under the signs as the marchers walk up the road?
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 25, 2015 15:59:39 GMT
Ha ha ~ love your romantic take on weddings, Tod! As far as the shoes -- it's a well-known fact that Mexican women have no bones in their feet. This is an advantage in their love for fashionable shoes and their ability to wear them on any surface. Her spikes aren't even very tall compared to some of the stilty platform numbers you can see around here.
Thanks, Bjd. Those are polite ones. Political slogans here can get pretty raunchy and pretty funny.
Thanks, Htmb! The cars are driving under the signs. An infamous trademark of Oaxaca are its bloqueos. Groups take to the streets for all kinds of reasons, stopping traffic and sometimes tying up the whole city for hours. This group decided to make its position known without stopping traffic.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 30, 2015 3:24:41 GMT
Waiting for my taco order ~
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2015 7:16:00 GMT
I love places with tons of fresh condiments.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 7, 2015 5:50:11 GMT
In that case, you're gonna love Mexico! I went to a party celebrating a girl's First Communion today. This scene might look familiar to any of you who remember my many shots of my neighborhood in Xoxo. They finally finished & painted the chapel! These were the favors that were given to me to take home. Yes, that's mezcal ~
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