Berlin on New Years Eve is a war zone. It seems that anywhere is acceptable to set off a firecracker, in the street, on the train tracks, inside the underground train. I was not impressed by the people throwing firecrackers from their windows as I was walking to my Silvestern party spot, Dumpling. Dumpling, the coolest cafe im Berlin, is owned by Tracie and Marge, who with an eye for beauty and talent, asked me to perform some songs to say goodbye to 2008. It was a short but rousing performance and the crowd took over the singing. A great way to kick off my 2009 No Trouble World Tour. I'd like to thank the staff of Curry 66 for preparing my first meal of the New Year, french fries with curry ketchup and mayonnaise, and Felix, the organic farmer, who helped us order our food and provided some much needed inspiration for the walk home.
Berlin, glorious in it's greyness. Someone described it to me as "the trashy girl you don't want to take home to mom." I took a walk to the Wall this afternoon, to walk-off the toxic remnants of my New Years Eve celebration. There were lots of tourists out with me, taking in the vibes of the Wall. I love the Berlin Wall. It's grey, ugly, covered in graffiti, and it stands as a monument to people power (I also have a fascination with communist relics.) So didn't feel much of anything, not even my toes, as I walked along the 1.5km stretch that is the Eastside gallery. I just let myself walk, breathe and enjoy the murals that have been been peeling since 1990. The deep reflection could come later
Walls, like borders, are man-made, meant to divide, conquer, and control. Like unjust laws, walls will only come down if people come together break them down. Reflecting on the Berlin Wall today, January 1st 2009, stands as a reminder of political tyranny and of the need to resist the oppression that walls create. While the political maneuvers that brought the end of the Cold War can be discussed and debated, the people did not love the communism that Mother Russia had force-fed them since World War II. They resisted and resisted, were terrorized, tortured, arrested, and disappeared. But the people kept on coming together, and demanding justice and a political system that they could have a voice in, and they grew strong, like Solidarnosc in Poland, and the USSR got weaker and weaker.
It's the 15th anniversary of the Zapatista Rebellion and the 50th Anniversary of the Cuban Revolution. I hope they partied because I did. I'd like to be optimistic, it being the New Year, but then I'll do something silly and read an article about the massacre in Gaza (http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10089.shtml) and I think to myself, Is the world in self-destruct mode? No it's not the world, it's people in it that are screwing it all up. Someone somewhere is deciding to blow up a mosques and put up walls. It's ok, because laws and institutions allow for violence to occur and oppression to continue. "Laws are made by people and people can be wrong."
My cousins asked me this morning, Ula, what do you want in life? I rambled off something about peace and happiness, for everyone! It's a new year! In 2009, I'm going to be more creative, with more outputs for all my inputs. So I'm lacking specific goals and resolutions, I'll work on those.
