Relativity

It's election time now in Nepal. But not everybody agrees.

There is a party alliance that call for a ten day national strike to prevent the election.
The situation is very complicated, I'm a swot in political analysis and I can't tell which ones are the good and the bad ones. If they are any.
Anyway, we planned a visit in the countryside (we call them 'missions'...jerk...) and to avoid the strike, which in Nepal means that all the streets and road are blocked by a yelling crowd, we went during the weekend.

We drove for seven hours, we spoke with some people, we met an NGO acting in the area, we slept in a tiny freezing room on a harder than wood mattress and, as usual, they brought us to visit a school.
I don't like to visit schools.
Especially if, as in this case, you do not have any plan to work with this particular school.
I don't like it because you always bring with you a high expectation...
"Oh!, the foreigners are coming! We are safe! We will finally have water, electricity, a computer and internet. We will not be isolated in this country side Nepalese mountain freezing village"
Then, I don't like it because they always use children to offer you flowers, to sing or dance.
And finally, I don't like it because generally children are so dirty and poorly dressed that you'd prefer to go to visit HAVING some future plans to develop in the school.

This visit was the compendium of all this, plus a icing on the cake.
The local NGO is implementing in that particular school a project aimed at increase the awareness of the students and the teacher about child and education rights.
Well, not only the children (dirty and poorly dressed) were waiting for us with flowers in a row at lunch time standing under the sun, but then they sang, played and three of them danced.
One of the dancer, one of those whom should be aware of her right as a children and a student, was forced, by one of these teachers formed in child and students rights, to dance even if sick.
For us. The ones who perhaps were coming with money.
Rights relativity.

The sick one is the one on the right almost fainting

  

Before

When I came to meet this man, he was at the end of his career.
Thirty-five years in cooperation. He was one of the first. He worked for everybody and everywhere. He met legendary people like Nyerere and the king of Afghanistan.
In those times only mercenaries and missionaries were living in countries like Congo and Cambodia, and so he was in the interesting situation to be considered one of the only objective eye on the spot.
He wrote for dozens of international magazines and, to make more money, also he started to take pictures.
He had thousand of interesting anecdoctes of this era where real adventures where not sold in internet for groups of 8 or more.
And, of course, he was an alcoholic.
Once, after a very heavy shift in Angola, he decided to take a break and, thanks to some friends, he was embarked on a luxury ship cruise as photographer.
"It was great", he told me, we were in a bar in Arusha.
"As part of the staff I could drink for free. And I was the only staff member who was allowed not to be always sober"
"And the pictures?"
"That part was also ok. But never try to work in the darkroom during a storm. Or to pee standing up. Or the two together. But, my god! what a superb whiskey, almost arrogant! And the champagne...friendly as a curious girl...Ah, the first week was memorable..."
"The first week? What then?"
"I start to vomit blood and I had to stop drinking"
"...yeah...there are more funny things to do than vomit blood"
"Of course, but you I did them before"
And his laugh was superb as a whiskey.