Stromata

Empty Palm Plaza

The news is all about coronavirus. Can't tell the difference between fake news and real. Some locals returning from blacklisted countries continue to go out without self-quarantine. Others are panicking because of such irresponsible behavior. And latest is a catholic school had some students return from Italy but did not quarantine the students. Parents are up in arms. Unfortunately it's these religious who think they know more .... and are above the law. It's one thing to be prudent ... another to fear irrationally.

Ultra-orthodox jews praying at
Damascus Gate

The coronavirus news is overshadowing tomorrow's Election Day ... the 3rd in a year. Fearing people will not come to vote because of the virus, groups have been circulating fake news about a vaccine has been discovered so it's safe to come out and vote. Utter irresponsibility! Anyway being election day, our workers with israeli citizenship get a day off. That means I'll have to work double to cover their jobs in both libraries. Mind you the workers get paid nonetheless. And it's the 3rd time in a year. And everyone expects a 4th election as well because the deadlock between the political parties seemingly cannot be broken and no feasible coalition govt can be created.

And there's the fake news that the Pope is infected as well. It's like open season and free for all to post fake news. Some rabbis have composed prayers for the end of the virus or at least a cure for it. I wonder if that was what a group of ultra-orthodox jewish worshipper at Damascus Gate the other night ... praying in very loud voices.

And the war in Idlib up north in Syria is worsening ... with both factions increasing their attacks. Over 1 million refugees are on the move ... some young children dying in the heavy snow. It's terrible. Over here, the weather has also changed drastically with rain and gusty winds lowering the temp to 6 degrees. Even nature seems to be working against us.

So the 1st Sunday of Lent passes .... with bad news.

Rest

Bedouin veggie vendors today

Yesterday's fast was a success. I didn't eat anything from 4am to 8pm but drank lots of water. I managed to rest a bit but I also came to work in the evening. And I didn't feel hungry at all. In fact Main restaurant's Linda boiled chinese soup for me but I gave it to one of my workers instead. I felt fine. But I slept early as the doc advised ... to strengthen my resistance to illness.

This morning I was up at 4am to prepare for a retreat I have to preach. At 4am I had time to do things slowly so I don't forget anything. By 7am I was out of the house .... I don't want to be among crowds in case I catch any illness from them. You can never be too cautious. Better safe than sorry. Our grocery store sent a message saying they have boxes of alcohol gel so I quickly went over to get 2 bottles.  You can never be too sure.

Blooming almond tree

The weather has gone all cold and drizzly again. A huge change from yesterday's sunny warmth. I noticed the bedouin veggie vendors were particularly happy. The cold and drizzle keep their veggies fresh. In summer the sun burns and dries them up so by 1pm they are ruined and cannot be sold.

Finally the almond trees at Damascus Gate are blooming. The beautiful pink blossoms crown the bare branches and the fragrance is very delicately sweet. I might go to the cemetery and pluck a few branches back for our Madonna altar.

I've been thinking about how advanced humanity has come in technology and science ... yet it cannot fight a microscopic half-living thing called a virus. God used such a tiny thing to make the entire world kneel before him. It's awesome ... it's humbling. But if we can't hear God behind it all .... then we've learned nothing.

of fruit and friday

So Lent has rolled in and it's the first lenten Friday. The Way of the Cross just started but the muezzin is also singing the call to prayer. It's always this clash every Friday. Still there's not much of a crowd at the Way of the Cross, mainly because of the virus fear. Locals here believe in any rumour and they're in a mindless state of panic ... unless of course if there's money to make. Yesterday we also got an instruction from the Diocese telling us communion is only by the hand and no Holy Water should be available at the door of churches.

Fruit galore

I was prepared for the Friday fast today. Got up at 2am to study and listen to 2 recorded lectures. Then it was time to work, opening the library, getting the mail and new books registered ... settling the new orders etc. But I didn't want to go to the library and work because I wanted to avoid the Friday crowd. It's really not safe in the Old City because tourists from all over the world are walking through the streets and they could be infected carriers. Doc had told me to stay home as much as possible and avoid crowds so that's what I did today. And I bought Dettol spray to wipe everything. I just need alcohol gel ... but that means having to go to the pharmacy through the crowds.

I'm feeling much better after the bout of cold but I'm not lowering my guard. I'm drinking lots of water and eating lots of fruit ... which is just right because there's lots of Spring fruit on sale in the markets. The colours are amazing. Today however I fasted. Had only a cup of lemon juice at 4am. I'll probably break the fast after sunset ... maybe at 7pm. Tomorrow there'll be the lenten vigil at the Holy Sepulchre at midnight. I might join in.

News just in. There had been scuffles at the Gaza-Israeli border in the south. Some people were injured. That's a sign that the weather has warmed up. For the past few weeks when it rained and was almost zero degrees, there were no violence at the border.

Of corona and chives

Buying garlic chives

... and things are getting serious .... now that Saudi Arabia has banned foreigners from entering the country for the haj. And Israel has advised all Israelis from traveling abroad. I've been thinking alot about this and futile it is because firstly no one knows how many arabs in Palestine are infected. There is no procedure or control over the virus in there. Secondly as long as the palestinians continue to enter and leave Israel for work or whatever, the virus will continue to spread.  So blocking foreigners is not a solution ... it will only slow down and limit contamination from abroad ... but the local contamination will only get worse.

My doc is going to love my lenten regime: total vegetarian diet. He's been telling me that for some time and I kept it for a while but when I have to rely only on leftover kitchen food ... many times I have no choice. Mind you I'm eating only white meat when I have to. No red meat for the past 8 months. But my blood pressure and sugar is very high and my liver or pancreas has been hurting twice this week. But my cold sore is gone and my coughing is over .... it's due to the cumulating phlegm. A good walk in the fresh air clears the throat and lungs and I'm ok. Still doc insists that I'm overworked and have insufficient sleep so my resistance is very low. All I need is rest, sleep and simple fresh veggies and fruit. And keep me far away from problematic people ...... please.

Garlic chive dumplings

Yesterday while at Jaffa, I took the opportunity to go to the wet market to buy garlic chives. Our chinese sisters love it and use it alot in their cooking. But it's never sold here in Jerusalem. In Jaffa they sell lots of it. I bought 5 bunches ... making sure I didn't buy shallots like I did the last time. Today the sisters made garlic chive dumplings. That's in keeping with my vegetarian diet. Good stuff!!

Anyway garlic, onions and their leaves are good to keep away the cold virus. And I'm avoiding crowds at all cost .... especially italians. This morning Israel has barred them from entering the country.   

Ash Wednesday

It's Ash Wednesday ... and we don't have coronavirus lockdowns ... so the Mass went ahead and we all received the ashes. I asked the sisters to lend me an old chalice so I can celebrate Mass with it without having to use the common chalice so I don't spread my cold and cold sore. That's what the doc advised.

Choppy sea at Jaffa

I decided after Mass to leave the Old City and go to Jaffa for a quiet day's recollection. Doc said my sickness is due to lowered resistance resulting from lack of sleep and overwork. Everyone in both y libraries tell me to go and rest. So well ... I did. I brought a book with me to read and no food ... being a fast day ... and was really looking forward to a reflective day. The beach promenade was very quiet with very few people. The sea was choppy and waves smashed into the rocks every few seconds.  It was really a lovely setup for meditation and quiet thinking. Then the messages kept beeping in .... from the workers in the library. No photocopy paper, one wants a holiday tomorrow .... It's all a conspiracy. It's a setup to send me away and then dump more problems from a distance.  

Field of tulips

Well I had to come home earlier than planned. That's Lent at it's best ... forced to do something I had not planned or expected. The long one hour ride was stuffy in the 10 seater minibus. The old man next to me was coughing and sniffling. I got off near the King David's hotel and walked across the park just to get my last breath of fresh air. It was a wonderful sight ... fields of wild clover and tulips in bloom. That was one positive thing for an otherwise ruined retreat.

While in Jaffa, fighter jets were flying overhead towards the south ... probably to bomb Gaza. The unexpected flare up in fighting between Gaza and Israel lasted the past 2 days and we now know its because of a video showing Israeli soldiers using a bulldozer to move a dead gazan's body. Well it's all over and today Israel is reopening the borders and even extending the fishing zone for gazans.

Meantime some rabbis have been publicly calling for an end to anti-asian and racist aggression. It is bad .... really ... here. And the rabbis remind the jews that they too were once strangers in a foreign land, blamed for the ills of their host country and made as scapegoats. They should empathise and not victimise asians.  https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/loving-the-stranger-in-a-time-of-covid-19/?fbclid=IwAR0m1bGgDf_UuPo27g3DsTtkN2tbDYX1yZI96LhViVoSneKSEvLwT5XaaZU

Mardi Gras

Rain at the 3rd Station

I was reminded this morning by my library workers that today is Mardi Gras or Martedi di Grasso in italian. That's the day before Ash Wednesday and Lent. The europeans have their usual carnival ... which comes from the latin "carne" meaning meat. They eat and eat and eat before fasting tomorrow. Definitely not my type of spirituality.

We had a lot of rain today ... as forecast. I didn't want to work tonight as I really felt I needed to rest ... I'm still recovering from my bout of cold. But a film producer was coming to see our library and maybe include it in their documentary. So I walked in the rain to get there ... my feet were all soaked from the flooded streets because my best rain shoes have lost its soles. It's probably 7 or 8 years now and had served me well all through these winters. Anyway I stopped past Jack the Baker and got some chocolate volcanos for our librarians .... being Mardi Gras. They'd like that.

Freezing cold last night

Then it was a full hour of introducing the producer to our ancient books. Then a few more meetings at the Economato and then I walked back home in the heavy rain. Stopped by Al Amin bakery to get some eclairs for the other group of librarians at the University. They really enjoyed it. Well .... tomorrow it's Lent so they'll have to work harder.   

Sahlab and salmon sandwich

This morning jet fighters were roaring overhead. Israel had been bombing Gaza as retaliation for the missiles fired by Gaza. And the corona outbreak in Italy is the talk of the town ... what a disaster. The country was not at all ready for it ... but then again no one expected them to be ... especially the italians I live with. And this evening the great laugh was the Iranian deputy health minister catching the coronavirus. Meantime the local panic and rising anti-asian feelings have also seen a rise of loud voices against racism and bigotry.

Last night I finished work late ... having to follow up the work of the team digitalising our manuscripts. They work late into the night and most of the time I must be around to check on the manuscripts and work done. It's part of the project by the British Library. At 10pm when I left, I was quite hungry. A friend called to ask if I wanted to eat something ... what a coincidence. He had just finished work as well so we met up and went to a nearby restaurant for a cheap salmon sandwich and a cup of hot sahlab. It was a nice snack and it was good we met to chat. Then I went back home in the freezing cold drizzle ... a 2km walk. 

Drastic measures

And the quiet at the southern border was broken yesterday with barrages of missiles fired from Gaza into Israel and Israel's retaliation. Borders in the south are closed ... all roads, train lines and the like are closed. But anyway borders all over Israel are closed to many countries because of the coronavirus. Hundreds of arriving koreans were turned back at the Israeli airport or quarantined in a desert hospital. Israeli residents living near the hospital have rioted against the arrival of the koreans. They burnt tires and threw stones ... just like the arabs in Jericho did 4 days ago. There is a very aggressive anti-asian sentiment in the country and it's advisable that we asians keep a low profile and stay home as much as possible.   https://www.timesofisrael.com/residents-protest-reported-plan-to-quarantine-south-koreans-in-their-settlement/?fbclid=IwAR1iilKmquhTJ5MWcG2G7J2cYMlwOe1LTOsgPDs-MW1Ex91sYVt6LKI2HC8

Chinese herbal tea

Now Australia and Italy are blacklisted at all Israeli borders ... obligatory quarantine will be imposed. In fact news has been leaking that the Health Ministry is mulling on closing the entire border and isolating the country for further contamination from outside countries. Of course every country must act in the interest of its citizens ... no matter how drastic the measures may seem.

The chinese sisters have brought lots of chinese herbal tea ... different types ... to reduce the heatiness that caused my cold sore. Pretty effective. This morning half of it is gone. Hopefully by Wednesday all will be gone. I daren't go out with this core as people immediately shout "corona" and avoid me. These are tough times. Asians are keeping a low profile to avoid being harassed by arabs and jews.