The Land is Free – for Moshe.

Once upon a time, the land was free,

As free as the wind, rain and sea.

Then, on the African plain

A mutation created man.

We prospered and increased in number

Moving out across the world

Dispersing.

We formed little clans and tribes.

We were hunter-gatherers and began to think of the tracts of land we hunted in as ours.

It brought us into conflict with neighbouring tribes.

But the land was not owned. It belonged to all.

The tribes prospered and coalesced and we invented nations.

The nations had leaders who became kings and religious leaders.

They claimed the land as theirs.

They waged war against other tribes to seize their land, to pillage and plunder

And increase their own wealth and power.

The robber barons who helped them subjugate the people and conquer were rewarded.

The kings and religious leaders gave them big tracts of land.

The robber barons sold or leased off small parcels of land to the people

Thus increasing their wealth.

The people farmed or lived on the small parcels of land they were sold.

The robber barons fenced off the land and called it private.

The kings, religious leaders and robber barons waged war, set up empires and increased their wealth and power.

The ordinary masses of people were enslaved, exploited, used and abused.

Down through history.

The descendants of the robber barons, kings and religious leaders still ‘own’ the vast tracts of land they purloined from the people. They use this land to generate vast wealth.

The descendants of ordinary people still cling on to their tiny parcels of land or rent their space.

The same wealthy robber barons own Britain, the USA and Israel. They still seize land, plunder and pillage out of greed and selfishness. They do it through war, corruption, manipulation and economic control. They manipulate us through the media, through patriotism, religion, politics, nationalism, xenophobia and racism. They divide people so that we turn on each other and not on them.

So, my friend Moshe, we are the exploited ones, We are not responsible for our rulers. They are the robber barons of old. They manipulate us. History is the story of the exploits of the robber barons – not our folk.

The land is as free as we want it to be. It is never owned, only borrowed or stolen. We are just passing through.

One day we will take all the land back. Hopefully, we will find a better way of living – not part of this system of greed, inequality and environmental destruction. We will all be equally important and there will not be this inherent racism and artificial division. There will not be nations or races. There will be people.

That is why I support the UN – because it is a way of taking power from those who are presently abusing it and exploiting us, and damaging our planet.

I am idealistic, realistic and far from stupid. I clearly see what is going on.

You, Moshe, are playing into their hands.

The land is free.

Sri Lanka – The park and trees

We asked our driver to drop us off in the park miles away from the centre and told him we’d make our own way back. After walking around for hours we set about finding a local bus to take us back. The busses were so full people were hanging off them. They didn’t stop, they just slowed down. You grabbed hold and jumped on. I found myself hanging on, out over the road on the outside as the bus careered through the streets. It was quite a hairy ride.

Fabulous trees.