I am ashamed to tell you that on the morning of Christmas Eve my gloomy mood would have made Ebenezer Scrooge seem like Santa and it was all the fault of - can you guess it? - the post office. I'd cheerfully walked down to the ritiro office, having been advised that a parcel was waiting for me, only to be told curtly that they were closed - at 11.30 am on Christmas Eve! I huffed and I puffed but didn't have the energy to blow the premises down so contented myself with grumbling all the way back.
Then I picked up the newspaper and read a love story for our times: Monday's print edition of La Sicilia reported that two migrants, Massouda from Tunisia and Mohamed from Libya, had arrived on Lampedusa - so often the backdrop to tales of deep sorrow - on separate migrant boats in April 2011. Both had suffered loss and tragedy in their respective countries and were fleeing from horrific events. They met only briefly, as they disembarked, but it was love at first sight. Massouda was almost immediately transferred to the centre for asylum seekers at Mineo and eventually obtained refugee status. This meant that she had the legal right to leave the centre but something held her back. Then one day, Mohamed arrived there too. Their love blossomed and a baby - to be named Yassine - is expected any day now.
Massouda and Mohamed say that they have been welcomed kindly in Sicily and regard the centre staff at Mineo as friends. They would like to stay here but accept that it is going to be difficult to find work. Even so, I found their story uplifting and indicative of the real message of Christmas. It is also a reminder of Sicily's cosmopolitan past.
By the time I got to the hairdresser's and was fed homemade impannatighi I felt positively chirpy:
Later, in an afternoon temperature of 20 C., I looked out at a perfect blue sky and asked myself if I really wanted to be in a country where people were so stressed about Christmas that some stores had decided to open at midnight and where shoppers were probably jostling each other and fighting over the last turkey at that very moment. I decided I did not so there is nothing for it but pazienza.
6 comments:
Crazy shoppers are in a;most every country. I refuse to go to Black Friday sales and prefer online..for a couple for buck more they also wrap and take away the hassle!! Yea, I'm lazy.
Good to see that love blossoms despite adversity.
Avoiding the shops at Christmas time helps to keep me in a Christmassy mood.
Hi, Pink. Yes, they are, but less so here, I think. Hi, jams. That's what I thought. Hi, Cherie. Yes, but I'd like a little more Xmas atmosphere, I must admit.
Glad you had such a beautiful day!
Thanks, WW.
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