Bonfires and Rage

I love bonfires, I love fires actually.  I get mesmerised by the leaping and flickering of the flames.  I love watching things melt and twist and shrivel and burn until they disappear into a fine ash.  Maybe I am dangerous, never leave me alone with matches okay please!!!!  We had a bonfire in our dry creek bed on Saturday night.  Our neighbours suggested it and I of course with my pyromanic nature, jumped at the invitation.  We took pizzas and beer and Southern Comfort and Coke, what a wonderful end to a busy day.  We chatted, laughed and solved the problems of the world as we sat and fed our little fire.

So Aussie this scene, it's almost embarrassing.  The rusty ute tray in the background the stubbies at Adrian's feet, the dry earth and the Aerogard (blue and white tin sitting next to the chair).  You have to have Aerogard in Australia.  Yes we are the land of the spreading plains and wide blue oceans, but we are also the home of darn mossies.  And they love me.  So I am almost tied to a tin of Aerogard.  I spray myself to the point of marinating in it and I hope the little blighters can't get through my mode of defence.  This night I won not a bite on me, suckers I finally beat you.  HA HA!!!!

Now to the rage, I am sad, angry, frustrated, furious, scared, bitter, and every other rotten adjective I can imagine.  Watching the news last night, the story of the rebellion in Libya came on.  Into a restaurant filled with foreign reporters ran a woman, screaming that she had been gang raped by Gadaffi's military and the response horrified me.  Women waiters serving in the restaurant pulled a cover over her head, reporters were pushed away from her as they tried to protect her, security men surrounded her and pushed her into a car and drove her away. Please watch the video I have linked to and read about her story if you have not already seen it.  Even now as I type this I feel the bile rising in my throat and my breathe is shallow, I am terrified for this poor woman.  This incident reminds me of the treatment given to the Jews in WWII.  How many millions of people were treated like animals, like chattel with no value and worth.  I am afraid for the poor woman, our news coverage here has said she will most likely die for having spoken out.  That is the usual treatment for anyone who speaks out against this regime.  Unfortunately I believe this to be true.  I have met and spoken with refugees from many countries.  I have seen the backs of 3 young men, who were held in jails in the Congo and beaten and tortured for 7 years.  I have talked with women who have run from these very middle eastern countries now in the media, as the young people try to bring change to the dictatorships.  The fear they have lived with is unimaginable, that we as free nations have stood by and done nothing for fear of disrupting our oil supplies, or our trade agreements is to me and in my opinion absolutely disgusting.  I am sorry if this offends but as a woman with three daughters and a grand daughter I am disgusted that we can continue to let women be treated like this.  What to do, that is my quandry.  I can write a letter, post a blog, talk about it, yell about it, but does it change things and does it change them in time to save this woman.  I don't know.  For this I am so terribly sad.

So for now the fire in me rages and I am angry and I hope and I pray that the world will not be put off by the images of this part of the world that we have seen since 9/11.  I hope we will begin to know that not all the people from that part of the world are evil.  They are not all wanting to kill the infidels and destroy our way of life.  Many want to join with us, to be free, to be able to live as we do.  They may still wear their scarves, their long flowing robes, really does it matter?  Really !!!!! I hope we will see change from this fighting, change that allows those that want freedom to experience it.  And for now I cling to the hope that this poor woman is okay.