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Magic of the Bairro Alto

5 years have passed since I was actually a resident of this city. Even though I return often, every visit to Lisbon brings more changes, with familiar places closing up and unfamiliar faces passing me in the street. It starts to feel as though I no longer belong and there is nothing left to belong to.

But then I find myself walking up the steep hill of the Bica, and heading into the even steeper streets of the bairro alto, in search of a little place for food and life. Asking the average restaurants for a table for one on a friday night gets me turned away disturbingly often. No room. Too many reservations.

And then I turn a corner I haven’t turned in 4 years or so, only to find an unfamiliar little eatery. Looking more like someone’s tiny living room than a restaurant, I notice the menu offers numerous creative vegetarian options. And inside it is hard to tell who works there and who is a customer, and everyone seems to be talking with everyone, and the waitresses sit down and share laughs with people as they eat. One of two gorgeous twins spots me from the moment I walk in and greets me like an old friend she has been waiting for. “What’s your name?” — she wants to know my name, and after I tell her that, a few more questions follow… which she promptly relays my answers to the twin and the spanish bartender. The twin comes over to bring me some wine, “So you’re visiting family, in town from Amsterdam eh? And you’re not even Dutch, but actually Luso American!”… I amazed by both the amount of info she had soaked up in the 4 minutes I had been there, and by her warm smile.

It was only the beginning to what would become one of those Lisbon evenings that reminds me of what is so special about this city and why so many good people, including myself once upon a time, make their lives here. German couple at the table next to me start chatting with me. The neighbor walks in and sits down next to me, asking about the Ralph Nader book I have on the table next to me. A kid wearing pink shoes and a pink shirt comes sailing through the doorway, kissing almost everyone in the restaurant hello, sits down at a table across from me. A restaurant wide conversation seemed to ensue, featuring 3 or 4 languages.

One of the twins sits down at my table as I finish my tea, her friendly eyes show clear signs of exhaustion. I ask her about it, and she talks about the long hours that she works everyday, just to make ends-meat in this town. – a different kind of reminder, of why many people DON’T make their lives in this town.

Soon after there are more people floating in and others walking out, friday night and it feels like everybody knows everybody, and my lovely twins make sure that from now on, they know me.

While my evening ends about there, the story does not. After lots of hugs and kisses, I know I’ve made some wonderful new friends in my former home, and I know of one place where I’m expected, from now on.

bmtv52 Robbing the Poor to Feed the Rich

This brief entry was roughly recorded during my day in Quarteira, Algarve. As I walked through a famous street market, where indeed lots of bootleg merch is sold, all of a sudden dozens of police run in, many in full riot gear brandishing shotguns and automatic weapons. It was an string operation against the poorest segment of the population… gypsy street merchants. Their goal was to find all merchandise with brand names, confiscate it and punish the vender. Several officers wore ski masks to not be recognized. All in all, further proof of the fascist tendencies that have returned to a nation like Portugal, in this case not under the guise of anti-terrorism, but the dreaded “anti-piracy” which allegedly is destroying the obscenely wealthy corprorations of the world. This.. is robbing the poor to feed the rich.

ps- To the so-called police officer who came up to me and in a threatening manner said I could not film: Smile asshole, you and your gung ho colleagues are on the internets.

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Unsustainable European Vacationing

It has always seemed like, when compared with say – the US, Europe is credited for being more environmentally conscious.

Indeed, when you look at many Central European capitals, there is strong evidence when it comes to energy conservation, waste management, and alternative transport investment. Daily life might be said to have a flavor of “environmental consciousness”.

Yet as I look around during my recent semi-vacations to places like where I sit now – Portugal’s southern beach paradise: Algarve, there is a far different spirit.
Perhaps it begins at the airport, as you sit waiting to get on your giant carbon generating flight, a look out across the tarmac reveals a big number of new airline companies you’ve never heard of. Indeed after all the 9/11 airline industry drama, low cost flights are booming in Europe, and it would seem that every filthy rich business person is launching some easyjet style point, click, and pollute airline. And the people are eating it up, even if they militantly recycle and never leave the lights on at home.

At the popular destinations, Europeans seem to also take a break from their green lives. Renting cars and driving all over beach resorts, many of which have no public transportation anyway, and you don’t vote or live there so no chance to vote on that issue anytime soon. Instead there are cars everywhere, including the SUV’s since many Mediterranean getaways involve some crazy uphill offroad pollute-the-place driving.

Then you head to the hotel, where the towels are washed everyday with lots of industrial chemical filled detergents, and people specialize in leaving the lights on or turning the air condition nice and high. Or maybe they buy a fancy new vila built on what was formerly the natural habitat of plants and animals.

All this can be topped off by a big meal at a local restaurant that uses lots of non-recyclable materials, maintains all kinds of energy in-efficiant fridges, and gives you lots of plastic bottles which you happily take and possibly throw into a random trash can later. Or it stays on the beach and the beach fairy recycles it.

I know there are ambitious green vacation projects taking root, even in places like Portugal where I recently stopped at an ecological farm. But I also know that an unsustainable number of middle and upperclass Europeans are coming to these massively popular destinations and getting away from it all, including their sense of respect for the environment. And the tourist destinations themselves aren’t doing nearly enough to help in the process, keeping the priority to the timeless goal of making big bucks this summer and worrying about everything else later. Even if there is no later.

Going green in our daily lives is more than a nice idea, it is absolutely necessary for having any kind of future. But it is not something we as Europeans should pat ourselves on the back for and then take a vacation from it as if we’ve done enough. It is a lifestyle for everyday, anywhere and everywhere.

From Portugal Remembering Newark

Greetings from Lisbon, where in theory I’ve just begun my vacation, even though I can neither take a vacation nor do I believe in taking them. There’s never a moment that Im not observing or thinking up something related to the world around us… hence.. Im never not “working”.

On the flight over and the bus ride from the airport, I’ve been listening to testimony from people remembering the rebellion of 67 in the city of my birth: Newark, NJ.

Rather than try to convey what happened and more importantly – why it happened – I refer you instead to the recent democracy now program featuring people who lived those powerful days in Newark.

In addition, PBS has also released podcast accounts, remembering Newark in 67. Amazing times, especially comparing all this to what I knew and saw growing up in and around Newark.

Teaching and Talking About Srebrenica

When the Srebrenica massacre took place, in 1995, I had a limited understanding of what was happening in the world. But 2 years later I reached an age where I became conscious of the world beyond my school and the unnecessary suffering and destruction in different parts of the world.

12 years since Sebrenica, this month being the anniversary, I wonder what today’s teenagers are learning about what took place and why. To this day I still find I lack all the facts and a full understanding of how such a thing could be allowed to happen.

For this reason I’m working on a podcast that will take some time to put together, focusing on remembering Srebrenica and passing on the terrible story and the lessons, if any, that the world learned.

While the research is still ongoing, and the interviews will take some time to gather, I’m starting with some general resources that have gathered vital information. I hope teachers in different corners of the world are doing similar this month.

Burma Radio Reports

Over the past few weeks I’ve finally started sorting through programs offered by Radio Netherlands via podcast. I have long heard that the Dutch sponsored English language radio had some great programs worth listening to.

Little did I know one of my first choices to subscribe to, The State We’re In (not to be mistaken with the fine blog of my good friend Brian – TheStateImIn), is in fact hosted by a former classmate of mine – Jonathan.

Beyond being hosted my an old acquaintance, The State We’re In covers some solid issues that I would say are under reported by mainstream media. Case in point, the most recent show features a report about the terrible death and suffering going on in Burma. A place that is completely ignored by big media and much of the international community, I for one was glued to my mp3 player and thankful that someone is dedicating time and energy to reporting about it. Go give it a listen. (and for those who prefer text, there’s a text feature as well)