The great Ganges River, the lifeline of Indian civilization for millennia, understandably holds immense importance in Hinduistic tradition. So much so that devout Hindus promptly undertake onerous pilgrimages from throughout India to wash their spirits in the otherwise most polluted river in the world. That was the problem faced by hundreds of thousands of Indian workers … [Read more...]
Friendly People of the Philippines
A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.William Arthur WardWhat makes us smile in the first place, the desire to or it being expected of us? Do we feel joy or great pain as we stretch our mouths across our face and into a smile? Apart from learning Greek, I speak no other language except English, so when visiting foreign countries, body language assists me in … [Read more...]
A Random Girl, a Random Night in Cape Town
...Quite a few hours must have passed since the moment we were clinking the first beer glasses in an Irish pub until the next vivid memory I have: wondering “where the hell am I?” while drifting wasted along a dark narrow street.Only a few blurry images remained in my recollection from the blank interval in between: a Rastafari guitarist playing a Gibson off the … [Read more...]
A Tanzanian Man Waiting for a European Benefactor
...Another nice chap I got to meet in Dar Es Salaam was Ibrahim. He was one of those tout-hustlers who parasitized the tourists. I, however, as a Greek, ought to have been a sailor and not a tripper. So I wasn’t a prospective client. I had known him since the very day of my arrival. He constantly shuffled around the neighborhood, and I bumped into him all too often.One evening, … [Read more...]
A Zimbabwean Recycling Artist
...There was only that one bloke whose trust I managed to win. Akasinga was a toothless, fifty-year-old man who used to patronize the inn in the evenings. You would never see him mingle with the rest of the throng that frequented the place. He always sat alone in a dark corner of the yard, near the wall. His lit cigarette glowing through the darkness made me aware of his … [Read more...]
A Bedouin in Mount Sinai
...By noontime, as I was climbing down the mountain from the same path and reapproached that little village in the narrow valley, a jovial Bedouin man, standing by his garden’s threshold, invited me to his home. His name was Ramadan. He was one of the 15-20 patres familias who had created this heavenly oasis amid this inhospitable, divine environment.We perched in a … [Read more...]
The blind Doorman of an Ethiopian Inn
…Another man who caused me a particular impression in that place was the afflicted, aged, scrawny, eyeless doorman of the inn. I do not know it positively, but he was probably mute, too. I never heard, not a word, but any sound whatsoever coming out from his oral cavity. At least, he undoubtedly wasn’t deaf withal…He would only appear late in the evenings, after the denizens … [Read more...]
The Unarmed Guard of a Ugandan Guesthouse
...Finally, the time had come to get going and head towards new places. The sun had set for some time already. The electricity was back on, and in about half an hour, I needed to be at the station whence my bus was to depart. The station was on the other side of the city, and I had phoned someone to come and pick me up with a motorbike taxi.Then, while I waited outside the … [Read more...]
The Story of an Ethiopian Refugee
People often ask me how my relationships are with other humans while I travel all the time; whether I experience any emotional deprivation, being compelled to only develop strictly superficial ties, since limited time does not allow for a connection to deepen.My answer to such questions is what I have understood. To wit, that they fool themselves terribly if they believe that … [Read more...]
An Amputated Old Man at Lusaka’s Bus Station
...By early afternoon, I was finally roused by the squealing blares of some vendors who had invaded the bus. All of them, cardboard boxes on shoulders, were striving to sell their wares, consisting of water bottles, soft drinks, cookies, fruit, and various other edible-or-not products. Only the faster ones had made it into the vehicle’s interior. The rest had formed a mob … [Read more...]
