Over

Musrara market

Christmas season is almost over. It wasn't very festive, given the situation we're in. But this year at least we had a couple of Christmas trees. Still the entire Christian Quarter of the Old City had no public decorations nor events. It's sad. 

But we're ready to face the rest of the liturgical season ... Lent coming soon on March 5th (Ash Wednesday). We're praying that peace returns so we can celebrate Easter joyfully and publicly.

The weather seems to match our mood. It's cold and damp though we've not had rain the past week. The dew is so heavy that even at 5pm in the evening the streets are already wet and slippery. These few nights it's been so cold even my little heater isn't enough. I couldn't sleep as a result. The cold air also affects my throat so I cough a lot. So are many people. The problem is we can't tell the difference if it's due to the cold or if it's the latest epidemic. I'm very cautious when I go through crowds as I'm very weak as it is. If I catch the virus, for sure the end for me.

Musrara market

We've been hearing occasional explosions in the night ... 2 or 3am .... It's far away but it's a constant reminder of our precarious situation. People go out for necessities, but not for leisure. I noticed the Musrara open market is a lot quieter than usual. The stuff there costs more, and there are fewer buyers. Being winter, the sky gets dark by 4.30pm. It adds to the gloom.

One thing though ... the lack of local shoppers is made up by the rise of migrant workers. A lot more indians, filipnos and chinese buying basic foodstuff. The local economic trend is over. A new demographic has taken over.