Stories and News

Stories and News No. 1067 According to recent estimates by Oxfam , 42 persons hold the same wealth as the 3.7 billion that make up the poorest half of the world's population... Once upon a time there was a world. A planet that has been balancing on itself since immemorial time. A proportion as old as man himself. In fact, precisely because of the latter, although the above position was precarious and perpetually on the edge of the precipice, this absurd contrast of weights and balances was immutable. Let's face it frankly, okay? Inequality was a state of affairs. It was persecuted, sought with enthusiasm and commitment, I would say with extreme dedication. Then, to be defended at all costs, as could be done with civil rights or democracy, in a naive story of romantic visions. As proof of that, the most portentous claim didn’t concern the real distribution of fortunes, more or less lawfully earned, but the nature of the present and the future which the various c...

Stories and News No. 1060 Mount Taranaki in New Zealand will receive the same legal rights as a person, becoming the third geographical part of the country to get a "legal personality". With the spreading of the surprising, good news, of the fundamental words narrating it - as rights and person, the consequences became a story, of simple shape and dreamy content... I am also like Taranaki, said a girl child of the traveling species , the ones with a delicate ticket, who leads to heaven, but only if someone designs it for them. I am a hill , not a mountain, but one day I will become one, if you’ll give me enough space on the map. Me too, like her, exclaimed her mother, a little older than her daughter, a typical trait of those who are hungry for life. I am a lowland , I give peace and relief to tired limbs, I see the sky and I’m not ashamed to staring at. Taking advantage of the courage of the two, the father join the show. I am a lake and I reflect those I love, I...

Stories and News No. 1056     My name is Kaimah , I'm ten years old and I'm poor. I didn’t choose it, as I didn’t decide to come into this world. I cannot do anything about it and I will do nothing with what doesn’t depend on me. I have no time to waste with what I cannot change. The World Health Organization and the World Bank declared yesterday that almost one hundred million people in the world are forced every year to daily choose between health and food , education and basic necessities . For the rest of humanity, a hundred is just a number, as well as a million times as much. Greatness doesn’t matter, unless it’s one and that one is you. In this case, I choose, each day, each week. Monday I ate, yes, I had to, I couldn’t help it. A little and with joy, with extreme calm and attention to every crumb that could run away. I love you, tiny piece of edible life. Don’t leave me, stay with me, in me. You’ll see that I won’t waste every gift from you. And I’...

Stories and News No. 1016 A recent survey by the International Rescue Committee reveals that 85% of Americans, the richest country in the world’s inhabitants, aren’t aware of millions people literally starving to death among Africa and the Middle East . We are happy day finders . A simple one, if you want. We wake up in the morning with half-eyed eyes and we mix each other between the running hours. Because, after all, there isn’t so much to see, you know? Small is the horizon, because that's the screen. Too much is more than the maximum permitted inches in an average size hand that should lift the world. It has to be light . It should be as the air conditioning refreshing face and heart. Lightweight too. It should never betrays the intellect, not used to complications. Lightweight , as well. We are the worshipers of the surface of things . Because touching means ever being on the verge of , and watching , soon forgetting . That's how the skinny, brown ch...

Stories and News No. 1009 According to the United Nations, South Sudan, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011, faces its "highest level of food insecurity." About 7.5 million persons , almost two-thirds of the population, need humanitarian help. In some areas, half the inhabitants are malnourished. "I buried my little baby under a bush," said Mary Cholil, who sought food and shelter after his village was burned, talking about his deceased three years old daughter. Quickly. I have to be quick before it's too late. Before I get used to the thing , and it will decide to stay. The thing , yes, I don’t have to give it a name, otherwise it gets familiar, close, mine. I cannot afford it, not now, not me. And what can I do? Here it is, I look at it for a moment, with strictly fixed-term feelings and thoughts. A woman burying an only three years life under a bush . Done. Now, fast, I take the picture and hide it. Where? There, down there, there...

Stories and News No. 1004 According to Save the Children , Yemen is now close to a total collapse and the simultaneous presence of almost famine and paralyzed infrastructures are driving the spread of cholera. In particular, a child is infected every thirty-five seconds ... Once upon a time there was a story. A short one, don’t worry. Indeed, what do we really have to worry about? It takes a little, believe me. Five minutes, six at the most. This is the time I've used to write it. Nothing, isn’t it? And when time is zero, what's the problem? Yes, seriously, what is it? Anyway, you’ll need less to read it. Two minutes, one and a half to be quick, just one for those with fast eye and easy brain. Which may also mean light , but without offense, trust me. Nothing personal. And why should we get angry, then? Do we really have to? Therefore, I chose a short story by definition, profiting of slim moments, which a large part of the recent, common screenplay is ...

Stories and News No. 965 Saleh Saeed , head of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), says that in 2010, only seven years ago, shortly before the Arab Spring, there was an atmosphere of optimism in Yemen . Although it is one of the poorest countries of the Middle East, the economy was developing and emerging tourism industry was emerging, taking advantage of golden beaches, turquoise sea, breathtaking mountains, the UNESCO heritage sites and fascinating history. Today the horror and uncertainty are part of life. Statistics tell us that 14 million people suffer from hunger , while nearly 19 million ( 70% of the population ) are in need of humanitarian assistance ( to donate : DEC website ). Meanwhile, they have to survive... Once upon a time there was a starving country. Made so by war and poverty which are always everybody’s fault. Unless the people of that country don’t aspire to become everybody’s people. You know what I mean, right? In the country that you already ...