Ana

(6) For different reasons, the bitter taste still persists, but Pakistan remains for me “the people” I met and I continue to care about today. And all that in a sunny calm autumn day…”

(5) …and the helpless feeling of seeing good projections going wrong at times put us down.
But when there, all the troubles of the days vanished at the same-always dinner table when laughter was made to apologise for all the hurt of the day.

(4) That night, an old sad woman’s woody hand above me caressed my hair in a dialect I did not understand… and I stood up.
All those years, I and people around me spent a lot of talks and fights and going up and down the sliding mountains to “build back better”….

(3) I saw people scared and angry and their pain grew on me. And I listened to their anger over thick sweet milky black tea...
I lost my dear friend, Ender, to a bomb blast one night; and I dropped lost in tears on the corridors of a hospital.

(2) Pakistan turned out to be one of the most complex experiences of my life up to now. Not only the good times, but also the intensity of pain that linked me to that place I thought I would never remember dearly.

(1) I spent 3 years and a half working in #Pakistan after the #earthquake of 2005. Pakistan remains for me “the people” - those I met and those I lost. This is what I was writing about it when a friend asked me how it was, some years ago:
(Comments)

This is Spirit, my best friend’s dog in Romania. He was rescued as a puppy from Pirita, an informal settlement where I also volunteer with children living in extreme poverty and social exclusion. #internationaldogday2025

Council of Europe Congress President calls for action to stop the purge of opposition mayors in Türkiye - Congress of Local and Regional Authorities - www.coe.int Strasbourg, France 11 July 2025

Congress President Marc Cools: “I deplore in the strongest terms the continued purge of opposition mayors in Türkiye, with the suspension from office of 15 more mayors – adding to almost 150 mayors dismissed and, including several Congress members”.

Read the full statement 👉 go.coe.int/5wmx0

The Social Inclusion Programme of the 2nd Swiss Contribution for Romania was launched together with the Ministry of Labor. @coe.int will contribute to the Programme through development of capacities for the implementation of integrated services in disadvantaged urban communities, including Roma.

Mergeți la VOT astăzi!!! 🇷🇴🇪🇺

My #volunteering breaks with #piritachildren are always humbling, transformative, teaching and truly happy, despite the hardships witnessed in these children’s lives, the heartbreaking stories and the systemic issues that drag them one step back for every two steps made forward. Our embraces today.

Constructive discussions, good cooperation and effective work on the planning of employment measures for the inclusion of #Roma in #Türkiye 🇹🇷 The meeting is part of the activities conducted in Türkiye by #CoE & #EU Joint Programme Roma Integration III

There are many ways Trump could trigger a global collapse. Here’s how to survive if that happens | George Monbiot It could be wildfires, a pandemic or a financial crisis. The super-rich will flee to their bunkers – the rest of us will have to fend for ourselves, writes columnist George Monbiot

“Discuss what we confront, explore the means by which we might respond. Through neighbourhood networks, start building a deliberative, participatory democracy, to resolve at least some of the issues that can be fixed at the local level.”
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The second picture is Petruta (in my arms) when she was a baby. Her older sister was carrying her everywhere during summer holidays when she attended the programme of the association in the container classroom near the community.

The first picture with Petruta today in pink is from the pottery class she attended with her classmates. She is supported to go and keep in school by the Pirita Children Association in Baia Mare / Romania

Seeing Petruta smiling at school and outings supported by Asociatia Pirita Children in Romania, one forgets that she lives in an improvised shelter in a slum. Escaping extreme poverty is not possible without commitment of authorities. Children like Petruta need a dignified living and a safe future.

“I sometimes fear that
people think that fascism arrives in fancy dress
worn by grotesques and monsters
as played out in endless re-runs of the Nazis….." michaelrosenblog.blogspot.com/2014/05/fasc...

Call for tenders: consultancy services in the field of SOGIESC Deadline: 6 March 2025

www.coe.int/fr/web/sogi/... The Council of Europe Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC) Unit is looking for consultants to support its projects that address human rights challenges faced by LGBTI persons and promote equality, in line with CoE standards

6 years ago in one #piritachildren family’s improvised home in Pirita / Baia Mare | Romania

Marrakech with view on the Atlas Mountains

Who has all their🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆 in a row? I don’t know. Photo by Mircea Restea #piritachildren, January 2020.

Romania in institutional crisis after annulled election Analysts said the constitutional court court ruling to annul the presidential election may erode institutions, trigger street protests and ultimately still endanger the nation's pro-Western course.

Romania in institutional crisis after annulled election

We vote this weekend in / for #Romania

#InternationalDayfortheEliminationofViopenceagainstWomen

3 days left until our fundraiser organized with my colleagues at #CoE to support the #children in the #informalsettlement of Pirita in BaiaMare / #Romania. See #piritachildren Association’s page & see the activities with the kids the funds collected will be used for.
www.facebook.com/share/1Pqu8K...

Nothing is more terrible than to see ignorance in action.
- Goethe.

(Bearing witness to history repeating it self - all the fascism, that people cling too, while destroying everything around them, including the morals of history. Ignorance is not bliss - it’s destruction.💔)