THE WAY THINGS ARE

The recently-widowed and aged Cypriot neighbour of a friend took to going to church in the evenings unaware she was being watched. One night, she returned to find her home wrecked, burgled. A nearby construction site provided culprits. Then, I read an elderly woman was pulled from her car by a young man and brutally beaten in his outburst of road rage.

I noticed a man had taken to sitting on steps opposite my home, ostensibly looking at his phone, never speaking. I remembered the widow, called a pal in the police who said, unsurprisingly, there was nothing he could do as he had not, as yet, caused any problems. I took a photo; he saw me and shifted to the corner of the block.

He may simply be a worker walking home and taking a break but suspicions arise.

A young Syrian squatted in the dilapidated house next door. He was a known schizophrenic and drug addict. When out of meds, he’d roam the streets shirtless, yelling, gesticulating, throwing stones at a friend. Scary. The police responded to a call but he disappeared when they arrived.

Sympathy aside, that kind of neighbour reminds that addicts desperate for a fix may steal. Thankfully, he moved south.

The VE Day anniversary events gave due remembrance and respect in the UK and among allies, to lives lost in WWII. Stories of bravery and camaraderie abounded, but it was depressing that we never learn to avoid the human cost of wars. Nor the hideous pollution we know they now pose to a threatened atmosphere.

Russia lost 27 million citizens in that war, and the way the victors carved up the spoils was responsible for later troubles that arose from those divisions. Biden, leader of the most powerful country in the Western world, made no effort to stop Netanyahu from occupying with intent to annex, territory in Gaza, herding its people like cattle, under the threat of death, in the hopes many would leave. Ethnic cleansing by any other name.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s intentions are obvious, to continue his personal war as many Israelis and Jews outside Israel, journalistically and vocally protest his failure to release hostages, knowing some unfortunates may die in the onslaught he talks of inflicting: they are not his family. Thousands died with the help of American and European weaponry, while their leaders paid homage to victims of the Holocaust.

Ireland’s President Higgins spoke of Gaza during the commemoration of Holocaust horrors, as did Irish BBC journalist Orla Guerin, one of the most experienced, unbiased reporters of warzones worldwide. Their honesty in expressing an opinion saw them vilified. How dare they use such a time to remind the world that people who carry the pain of Nazi persecution, now have a government in Israel persecuting and murdering thousands of innocents, as though the crimes committed against Jewish lives were of greater significance than those committed against Palestinian lives. Israel calls Ireland an antisemitic country.

When I was young, Dublin had a popular Jewish Lord Mayor, Mr Briscoe who served two terms. Expressing disgust at Israel’s unlawful actions by people who care for the hostages’ freedom aligned with Palestinian safety is not antisemitic. Genuine sympathy does not imply acceptance of the Hamas massacre. Netanyahu’s actions sparked hate.

Then, after many depressing news items, David Attenborough’s gentle tones spoke of the self-healing power of the oceans despite our making them a toilet flush for our careless waste. He believes recovery is possible. He offers hope in the power of nature to recover.

If a president of the world existed, I’d vote for a man whose documentaries are watched and loved all over the world, we learn from his knowledge and wisdom. it’s obvious he cares deeply about the planet and our human survival. Sadly, many of our leaders need to be reminded they don’t care enough.