numbly helpless

 

hello, im bluepuffin!

 before i full on write how i've been feeling, i'd like to share a song that scratches a feeling in me, for some reason: Spring Into Summer by Lizzy McAlpine. (no, before any potato i know in real life gets to this blog, this ain't related to anyone you know xx).

the Madleen, my late night chaos

 hey, im bluepuffin. 

 I was awake until like 2:30 AM, but it was for a good cause: I was seeing the hidden news unfold, right from the people on board, of the hijacking of the Madleen.

 On June 9th, the Madleen, a humanitarian aid vessel aid which sailed to Gaza, was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters. This is what unfolded in real time, from the eyes of those like me who scrolled through Instagram and Telegram and also from the activists on board.

 The Madleen is a vessel that sailed, on the first of June, from Italy with 11 activists, such as Greta Thunberg; and one journalist, with the goal of reaching Gaza. They had humanitarian aid on the boat: 100kg flour, 250kg rice, baby formula, medical kits, et cetera. This aid would definitely not be enough to end the famine in Gaza, but it would be symbolic. 

The Madleen

 However, unlike the last time the Freedom Flotilla Coalition tried to reach Gaza with aid, the Madleen wasn’t attacked when they sailed near Malta. They were attacked during the dead of night, the earliest of morning, on June 9th, Monday, by Israeli forces, and I was desperately looking for information on social media. 

The "Conscience", a Freedom Flotilla ship who had the same purpose as the Madleen but was attacked when they sailed near Malta

 Guess what? 2 Israeli quadcopters surrounding the vessel, spraying a white, paint-like substance that passengers described as an irritant. Minute by minute, I posted Stories on Instagram updating people with information. No one cared, or so it seemed. The radio on the vessel was playing disturbing messages, sabotaged. The communications? Eventually, cut completely. Shortly afterward the “paint attack”, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition reported losing contact with those on board. Sorrowfully, as the vessel was about 185 kilometers away from Gaza, Israeli forces entered it and took control of it. The ship, seized; the activists (and that one journalist), kidnapped. 

 By the way, a video Greta had recorded before being kidnapped which was to use in the situation of being kidnapped, which she was, was posted. The other passengers did the same, with their videos posted too. I shared, on my Story, on Instagram, Greta’s video. I was shocked. Unexpectedly, a friend reached out and I found a partner to share this with, but then we had to sleep, since it was later than 2AM in Portugal. Not like we have school anyways.

 Today, the 9th of June, afternoon, the vessel has stopped on the Ashdod port. If the passengers choose to stay, they will suffer detention. If they agree to leave, they will be taken to their countries of origin.

 The events are still unfolding, and I hope everything is okay by the time I post this on Friday. Though Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called their vessel a “selfie yacht”, as if the activists were there for a sort of publicity stunt, even if that came to be true, that doesn't erase the fact they came with humanitarian aid. Imagine attacking an aid vessel. How does giving aid to starving people in Gaza affect Israel in any way? What authority has Israel to seize a ship sailing in international waters carrying aid? Imagine being attacked for trying to help.

 Okay, now it's June 10th. Greta was taken to France with 3 other activists, and the remaining on board the vessel are in detention in Israel... They are being treated as if they came to Israel illegally, when they were TAKEN to Israel illegally. Keep in mind the French-Palestinian Rima Hassan, a member of the European Parliament, who was born in a refugee camp in Palestine, is now in detention in Israel. For trying to give aid to her own people. If that doesn't hurt you, I don't know what would. 

 Now it's June 11th. Wednesday. Rima and Thiago Ávila, another crew member, are now both already or to be put in solitary confinement. Rima had written "Free Palestine" on a wall of the prison she is/was in.

 Now it's June 12th. From what I've heard, 6 of the 8 activists which were still in detention are too be freed (including Rima and Thiago). Let's wish the best of luck for them, and also for the children in Gaza who struggle so much. I have to study now. 

 today's song sugestion is Construção, by Chico Buarque.

bye guys!! cya sweeties

 

hiccupy bread and Mapuche?? what :v

 Hey, I'm BluePuffin!!

 Today is Tuesday, the 3rd of June, and I’m going to share a song and an experience related to the Mapuche indigenous people. Don't forget to click any or both of the buttons below to help people for free! ☮

 

 

 I'm sharing "LO QUE PASÓ A HAWAii" by Bad Bunny. The song shares the fear of what happened to Hawaii happening to Puerto Rico, Bad Bunny's homeland. Puerto Rico suffers from over tourism and gentrification, which leads to loss of cultural identity and displacement. Hawaii is now a popular destination for its beaches while the indigenous Hawaiians suffer, and Bad Bunny doesn't want that to happen with his land. For a resume on Hawaii's history on the native Hawaiians suffering, watch this video by JuiceMedia below. It was authorized by the Department of Military Occupations Disguised as Tourist Destinations. 

 Moving on, today I had the incredible chance to watch a play called "The Mapuche Sister" by the theatre "O Bando", in Palmela. It's based on "One Thousand and One Nights", and it was a partnership with the Uruguayan collective "Tatuteatro". Thanks school! It was about 2 sisters, both being Mapuche indigenous people. One, maybe for the power she'd get, took the chance to marry The King. However, The King was once cheated on, and, from then, he killed every new wife he had gotten. His new wife saved herself by, whenever he planned to kill her, telling him a story and leaving him on cliffhangers. Hence he always wanted to know more and more and more, and, by then, the idea he had of killing her was long gone. 

 I sadly forgot most of the play, but one of the unforgettable moments was when The King seemed to be in distress, and the sister of his wife sang songs in Spanish in the background while hitting what seemed like a drum. You won't get it, but The King was literally in need of a psychologist. He was hot as fuck, so his wife is lucky, but his personality? Shit. He was throwing a tantrum... For me, the song seemed like an attempt to get the evil out of The King.

 Moreover, The King only spoke Portuguese. The wife's father had to speak it whenever he had to talk with The King. The father and the sisters spoke Spanish, and the sisters sometimes spoke Mapudungun, the Mapuche language. 

Words I learned:

mari mari - hello (lit. 10 10 because their handshake unites both hands, forming a "ten ten")

mari - ten

mapu - land

che - people

"lamian" - sister

 Another metaphorical moment was when The King was trying to remove a tree, for no reason at all, and couldn't. That says it all. 

 Here's some pictures regarding the play and script, but they're all in Mapuche, Spanish and Portuguese, unlike the recipe I will share shortly. Click them to expand.

 Now, I'll share a recipe I used to make bread with my classmates. It was transmitted by Mari Cruz, who represented the wife's sister and is Mapuche. It was tasty. I'll share both the translated and untranslated version. In the untranslated version, there's a picture of Mari Cruz and possibly Chelín, the one who gave name to the recipe, "Chelín's Bread". By the way, Mari Cruz lives in Cabo Polonio, in Uruguay, so she doesn't live in a Mapuche community. Gladly, she allowed me to share the recipe :)

Chelín's Bread🎀
our bread of Cabo Polonio

-1kg wheat flour

-2 tbsp dry yeast (dry!! mandatorily.)

-1 teacup of warm water with 2 tbsp of sugar dissolved

-1 teacup of warm water with half tbsp of salt dissolved

-olive oil

 Mix the flour with the yeast, then add the water with sugar. Always mixing with the spoon, then add the water with the salt and combine with the olive oil. Mold the bread and let it leaven (ferment?) in a warm place. Once grown, to the oven it goes.

EAT AND LAUGH.

 It was tasty, but I had hiccups because I ate my part all at once, lol. My mom wanted to try but I ate it all - sorry! Now I'm gonna probs have a croissant with an egg filling my mum bought for me at the nearby cafe, eek!! :3 🥐

 I hope you clicked the buttons at the beginning, teehee........ Thank you "O Bando" and "Tatuteatro", and, of course, my teacher and school for allowing me to have this experience! The 6€ I had to pay and the 2.8km I had to walk to reach the theatre were worth it, even if I didn't fully understand the play.

 Bye sweeties,

 BluePuffin