This morning I walked up the street three blocks to see the damage at a squat called Notara 26. Last night it was set on fire with 120 people inside, among them, a large number of children. When I arrived, residents and volunteers were throwing burned debris out of second story windows and hauling buckets of ashes to dumpsters. The bottom two floors are gutted. Continue reading
Skaramangas
Skaramangas is a harbor west of central Athens named after a wealthy English family. It is also a refugee camp at the harbor west of central Athens named after a wealthy English family. Since April, Skaramangas Camp is what must pass for home for 3,000 people from Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq. It is considered to be one of the good camps.
Love and Anarchy in Exarchia
Sayed’s photos of Muhtasham and Mutahar showing off their temporary tattoos.
I am back in Athens, Greece. I have returned to write, to find ways to be useful in the refugee community and to spend time with my Afghan family. So far, I am doing pretty well with one thing on my list. Sayed and Nahid and their children have enriched my life immeasurably, and they are making the most of the dramatic changes in their lives since they left Afghanistan. Continue reading
London the Culture Vulture
London is a treasure chest of art and antiquities from every time and place. I had three days to enjoy it and visited six of London’s best museums. To avoid being overwhelmed, I limited what I saw to specific works or exhibits in each museum. A few things stood out.
Imagine. Liverpool.
One Sunday evening when I was ten, my dad turned on the TV and asked me to watch the Ed Sullivan Show with him. He said if I did, I would see something important. Continue reading
A Welsh Rarebit. And Wexit.
There is something suspicious about the European public transportation system. For example, yesterday I took a two hour ferry ride from Dublin to the tiny town of Holyhead, Wales. In Holyhead, I walked down a short hallway to get on a train. An hour later, the train stopped two blocks from my hotel in Conwy, another tiny Welsh town. Really? Continue reading
Dublin
Clap clap clap! Dublin is very cool. I have never seen more pubs, cafes, restaurants, boutiques and churches in a couple of square miles anywhere. Visitors and locals seem happy, especially after a couple of pints and even after Ireland lost to France in the Euros. Continue reading
Hiking Northern Ireland’s North Coast
Ireland is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited and the Irish are taking good care of it. Once you get out of town, no billboards, no rusting cars, no corporate fast food.
Camino Milagro 
