Helsinki, history passing by

Helsinki, today exactly 200 years ago Sweden lost 30% of its territory. Stupidly we backed up Britain when, at that same time, Napoleon dominated Europe and just had signed a pact of friendship with Russia. The Russians attacked in the east and the Danish threatened us from the south. If they had invaded us we probably had been eaten up. Non existent.

Before this date Finland had been part of Sweden for 600 years. The Finnish got independent from Sweden but remained dominated by Russia. Now we are two free and equal neighbours with much in common – both cooperation and competition. So Kippis! and Skål! great, small nations!

The Picture? I usually first choose the picture, than find a story. Today the story was number on. The photo is from Helsinki, looking out over winter gray, icy waters, part of the Baltic Sea, the one uniting us.

Stockholm, typical or not

Stockholm, June 6th, summer begins, Sweden celebrates its national day. Thousands and thousands of balloons, blue and yellow cover the sky. What is it to be a Swede? Immigrants sometimes have difficulies to identify a sharp picture of the typical Swede – if there is any. Sure, it's stupid to imagine national characters. Still it's nice and comfortable. I guess the human mind always is attracted by simple models for fast and easy understanding – by classifying we get orientation.

The thousands and thousands of balloons sweep around, individually in different directions, and toghether painting a new, still changing picture. Unpredictable, as every step you take?

Beirut, burning tyres, quiet fishing

Beirut, February 2005, the airplane is almost empty. One week ago Rafiq Hariri was killed by a car bomb explosion. People are worried, expecting the worst. Walking the coastline on Avenue de Paris I can soon see the terrible effects of the explosion: a huge crater covering the street, buildings close by are partly destroyed. After three minutes walking I turn my face towards the sea.

Calm down, let the brain be swept by fresh air, all worries fly away and start fishing! It's a paradox – quiet fishing in a city with barriers, blockings and burning tyres. A paradox and a manifestation of human adapability as well as dignity.

A hundred meters away a face on a poster. I guess that man has at least one enemy. Fragments arises questions, who is the man on the poster? Anyone knows?

Barcelona, what's wrong with you?

Why keep building a church during more than a hundred years?

Barcelona, a top number in so many tourist guides, gives expectations. I found a city without character, two rough and dirty old cities, Barri and La Ribera, filled with prostitutes and criminals. Las Ramblas, a kitschy, commercial and totally uninteresting piece of street that can be found everywhere. Unkind people in service functions, restaurants slow and unkind like in Romania 1972, often with bad food. Ugly, bombastic and overestimated Gaudi architecture.

For more than one hundred years they keep on building the Gaudi church Sagrada Familia. For me a church is a place of quiet contemplation – not a neverending, noisy building site. What do they try to build and why?

One good thing to do: turn your back to this mediocre city and breath the glittering Mediterrenian. What's wrong with Barcelona – or what's wrong with me?

Nan, the Mlabri people moving

Nan province, northeastern Thailand, "They used to live deep in the jungles of Thailand and were rarely seen. Banana leaves were used as a roof on their shelters. When these leaves turned yellow a week or two later, they moved to a new place in the jungle to continue their hunter gatherer lifestyle".

This summer I met a small group of Mlabri people. They were now living in some very simple cottages built by another minority people. A governmental aim is to transform this ancient civilisation into modern life. No hunting anymore, no moving to new places for a two week's life under a banana leaf shelter. The old men were sad. The children on the picture had just finished their school. Not comfortable with the clothes someone put on them, they now receive som candies from the teacher – who is not a Mlabri woman.

Times are changing.

London, windows and transparent people

London, exactly one year ago. Like in the forest during late evenings when darkness hides a lot of things away, the artificial lights of a city transform the urban scenery. Lights far away create a focus of interest and questions are arised: Who are in the flat up there and what are they doing? When looking through the camera you already see the picture – real life changed into a coming frozen documentation. And I am not longer sure: did some people walk by or not?

Paris, snow in the air

Paris, New Years Day in the morning. Still quite dark outside, and through the Agora St Germain hotel window I see some snowflakes whirling in the streetlighting. I stand there for a while, glancing out. It's like a movie from times passed...