Tuesday 9 March 2010

More snow (melting)

Place des corps saintsBy popular demand, a few more snow photos, which I hope will be the season's last. Sunday's snow is melting fast and almond trees are just starting to blossom: how about moving on to spring for a change?
Les Célestins is a bar in Avignon whose terrace tables look like vinyl records, the kind that the parties of my youth were made of and which my children only see as vintage curiosities !
Yesterday was International Women's Day and on this occasion I would like to draw your attention to a blog I follow with awe : Susie's Big Adventure. Susie is an American woman who lived for 30 years in the states with her Saudi husband until 2007 when he decided to move back to his native country. Uprooting her life and their teenage son, Susie followed him in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). For Susie, moving to a country where women are not allowed to drive or work and must conform to the strictest hijab dress code has been more than challenging. She writes about her experience with courage and talent. Her account of life in KSA is a salubrious reminder that gender equality remains a distant dream in many parts of the world.

A la demande générale, encore quelques photos de la neige qui fond à grands pas. J'espère que ce seront les dernières. Ce week-end j'ai vu des amandiers en fleurs : et si on passait au printemps pour changer ?
Les Célestins est un bar dont les tables en terrasse ressemblent à des 33 tours en vinyle, disques qui faisaient les beaux jours de mes boums d'adolescente et que mes enfants regardent aujourd'hui avec une curiosité d'anthropologue.
Entendu hier sur France Inter une citation choisie pour illustrer la journée internationale de la femme : "Impose ta chance, serre ton bonheur, va vers ton risque
A te regarder Ils s'habitueront." (René Char)
Est-ce un langage qui vous parle ? Pour moi qui étais adolescente à l'époque de la création du MLF, forcément oui. Maintenant si certains d'entre vous lisent bien l'anglais , je leur recommande la lecture d'un blog édifiant : Susie's Big Adventure. Susie est une américaine mariée à un saoudien qui pendant 30 ans a vécu avec lui aux Etats-Unis jusqu'à ce qu'à l'automne 2007 il décide de rentrer dans son pays d'origine, emmenant avec lui sa femme et leur fils de 14 ans. Pour Susie, la découverte de l'Arabie Saoudite, pays où les femmes n'ont ni le droit de conduire ni celui de travailler et qui ne peuvent sortir que couverte de la tête aux pieds a été une expérience d'abord "intéressante" puis franchement difficile. Son blog rappelle sans complaisance que l'égalité homme-femme n'est encore qu'un rêve lointain dans certains pays du monde. A méditer.From the rocher des Doms public gardens, view over Lycée Aubanel and the Carmes church steeple.
Depuis le rocher des Doms, vue sur le lycée Aubanel et le clocher des Carmes.

21 comments:

Owen said...

Hi Nathalie, hope you are staying warm through all this ! Have you started to think about investing in a pair of cross country skis so you can get around more easily ? If this is any taste of what future winters are going to be like... they may come in handy. Am off to look at Susie's place. And I think it is sad that women are treated so badly in some parts of the world. And brainwashed into thinking it is normal. Or too terrified to speak or act against the oppression. We need more female intelligence and intuition in this world and less male barbarism...

crederae said...

Bonjour chère Nathalie,C'est jolie,-la table, la neige printanière,fleurie- tes phrases visuelles.
merci.-

Brigetoun said...

charmante silhouette aux Corps Saints (un courage que je n'ai pas eu).
Les femmes, un combat tranquille, non agressif (bien des changements tout de même par rapport à notre jeunesse, mais sans drapeau brandi, même dans son crâne, refuser simplement la différence imposée)

Michel Benoit said...

C'est comme dans le cochon :
<< Tout est bon. >>
Les photos et...
les mots de René Char.

chri said...

Une triste bataille à L'Isle sur la Sorgue (ville de René Char) en ce moment à propos de la maison René Char, justement. Ses mots, son génie méritaient mieux.
Son versant photogénique fait qu'on lui en veut un petit peu moins à la neige de se montrer encore.
Mais bon, il faut rentrer, maintenant...

Babzy.B said...

Incroyable toute cette neige !! Merci pour le lien de Susie :)

jeandler said...

Sainte Mère...
Ah! oui, c'est Avignon!

Anonymous said...

What we won't do for love. Hope Susie survives.
Guess the snow will be gone soon.
It may have been unexpected and messy, but the pics were beautiful!

Jim

Louis la Vache said...

«Louis» applauds you for the gentle reminder about the reality of life in the Islamic world. We in the West need to remember that they are more than willing to impose that on us as well.

Davine said...

Groovy Tables. I must say I will miss the photos of the snow, but then thats easy for me to say in our hot weather.

Thérèse said...

Superbes comme toujours ces photos!
Il me semble avoir lu une partie du blog dont tu parles... sans commentaire.

BLOGitse said...

You know I've been following Susie's blog for a long time.
Her posting today is really scary.
I can't understand that that kind of men can rule a country (full of money and education!) like that!

But too many Saudi women are only interested about shopping and socialising with their friends - not working of course.
What kind of life, inner life, those women have whose only important thing in this life is shopping?

Until women want change nothing will change.
But they don't want because their life wouldn't be that comfortable...

If you get more freedom it means more responsibilities...Are Saudi women ready for that? I don't think so...

BLOGitse

Lynne with an e said...

After suffering through many harsh Canadian winters, your Avignon variety just look so pictuesquely quaint to me. Sorry!

I will definitely visit Susie's blog. OMG: the things we do for love.

mum said...

Bien contente de voir la Place des Corps Saints sous la neige... superbe !

Muriel said...

Je suis allée voir le blog de Susie: quelle vie horrible dans la soumission, la dépendante et la suspicion. Inacceptable pour moi. Ces chefs religieux sont des dingues dangereux. Mais, c'est vrai, pourquoi les femmes de ce pays n'éduquent-elles pas leurs petits garçons dans un état d'esprit différent?

Youth_in_Asia said...

Beautiful photos. I'm glad I found your blog!

Susie of Arabia said...

Nathalie - I am really touched by your post and I wanted to thank you. Blogging helps me get my frustrations out and makes me feel like I am doing something worthwhile by drawing attention to some of the issues that women in KSA face. Unfortunately BLOGitse is right about many Saudi women being apathetic toward change. They don't want more out of life for themselves or for their own daughters.
I love both of your snow shots, but especially the 2nd one - it's gorgeous.

Nathalie H.D. said...

Muriel, c'est inacceptable pour moi aussi. A chaque fois que je vais lire le blog de Susie j'en sors révoltée. Mais si tu as lu les commentaires de son dernier billet, Blogitse explique bien que les femmes d'Arabie Saoudite, comme les hommes, vivent richement des produits du pétrole et n'ont nullement envie d'aller travailler. Elles préfèrent leur prison dorée.
En plus le lavage de cerveaux permet de leur faire croire qu'en occident les femmes ont des moeurs dépravées (elles se baladent le nombril à l'air!!!) et/ou sont des victimes d'une société qui les traite en objets de consommation sexuelle. Elles disent que la burqa leur donne la liberté de l'anonymat.

Tant qu'elles-mêmes ne seront pas demandeuses de changement, il ne se passera rien.

Dina said...

I learn so much from my "neighbor" Susie of Arabia's blogs.

Your record tables are funny.
I can even remember what came before the LPs. They were very fragile records that spun around at 78 rpm.

Catherine said...

Tu as fait grésiller la musique sous le diamant ? On ferait bien aussi tinter les verres sur les tables des Célestins.

Une très bonne citation, bien articulée, car chaque courte phrase découle de la précédente...et c'est justement la première qui me plait le mieux : "Impose ta chance".

crederae said...

Nathalie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bonjour.I agree with you Nathalie 100 percent that women should have equal rights to men to vote to work to education and in as much as they don't I do view them as being victimized.

However people should be reluctant to view through a cultural bias.Nathalie what each individual woman does with her life is up to her but in the western world women can be treated as sex objects through pornography and the fashion world. I have heard of law suits against the fashion world for employing teenage girls half dressed in lewd positions stating that this was an act of child pornography.

Women should have equal job opportunity with men I agree but in the western world single mothers are the largest group that is living below the poverty line. OH big deal mother go out and work at some unrewarding job of labour abuse-is our economical system fair?-In the mean time her kids are at home alone.
The familly as a socializing unit is no longer working here.Kids are suffering emotionally - there is no one home with them anymore.

So Arabic women where too much clothes and canadian women don't wear enough. oh my doorbell just rang.I am going to have my income tax form prepared.
Bye Nathalie!Keep protesting!Not all the world is sweetly perfumed we need people like you!

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