Is this what it is really like in Syria?

A friend of mine shared a Facebook photo album the other day.

I should warn anyone who clicks this link, it contains potentially upsetting images.

https://www.facebook.com/hgdance/media_set?set=a.1040448679300090.1073741834.100000049035267&type=3

What these photos presumably claim to show is what Syria looks like now.

This image gives an idea of what Syria looked like before civil way ruined it.

This image clearly shows what it looks like now that civil war is taking place.

Assuming these images are what they claim to be you can understand why people are leaving.

I'm using my words carefully here. I am assuming these images are what they claim to be, but they do say the internet is full of lies. So I can not confirm where they really are from. Whether they are from Syria or not, and I can't think of a good reason, why they wouldn't be, what we can confirm is that what you see in these images is real, people are suffering and the damage in these pictures is not due to building maintenance neglect, but civil unrest and war. Death has taken its toll.

So when you read about refugees fleeing Syria or anywhere else, this is probably what they are fleeing from.

Can you imagine if this was your neighbourhood, if the was Manchester, UK. Not just your home has been destroyed, but all of your neighbours, all of your street, and all of your town has been destroyed. There is not a single safe building left. You have nowhere to lat your head, the whole town has to move and leave many of your possessions behind, knowing that you are not going to return.

150 miles justification.

I've been following the migrant/refugee crisis over the last few days, mainly since the photo of young Aylan was published that I wrote about a recently.

I was pleased to learn that since Hungary prevented them from using the trains and were being particularly difficult by being strict to EU rules and forcing over 2,000 refugees to walk 150 miles from Budapest to Vienna that Hungary have provided busses to transport them to the Austrian boarder. From the boarder, Austria are providing transport to Vienna or on to Germany.

The problem is that while this was in the news because there was a massive build up of people at the train station in Hungary, it does not solve the problem for all the refugees still entering the country and wanting to progress with their journey. Meaning that those still arriving are still being forced to walk to the Austrian boarder town of Nickelsdorf where Austria are then providing transport to Vienna. Still a journey of about 110 miles. Which is what the video in the article below states.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34165674

http://youtu.be/gGUwFr58h-w

I have also read other articles stating that Hungary are now allowing or providing further transport to the Austrian boarder, despite their original suggestion that the busses they provided were a one off. So I don't really know what's going on. Are people still walking or are they be given help?

I do want to do my part to help. As stated previously, I had the idea of walking a similar distance to raise awareness and highlight just how tough it is. And it is tough, last year I walked 60 miles in 30 hours and earlier this year, 50 miles in 20 hours, and I was in serious pain by the end of each endeavour. However doing such a walk would not be a very effective way of raising awareness if nobody is walking from Budapest to the Austria. So now I'm rethinking my idea.

I had started planning how I would walk 150 miles, and when I would do it. I thought I would walk 30 miles a day over 5 days. Walk Thursday 17th Sept  to Monday 21st Sept, in a couple of weeks. I would use my home as a base and walk along trails for 15 miles, then turn around and walk back. I could go in 5 different directions each day. To make it more of a challenge and more like what these people are going through, I would set the tent up in the garden and camp out each night and I would still expect myself to continue with my parenting responsibilities. When I get home after a day of walking which would be about the same time out of the house as a normal working day, I would still expect myself to honour my parenting responsibilities as many of the refugees are families, and they still have to look after their children along the way. But even by doing this it would still feel like luxury compared what they would have to endure.

A couple of problems with this though is that while mid to late September is the 1st most practical opportunity for me to complete the challenge (it still clashes with existing plans and either plans will have to change or I will have to incorporate them into my challenge), in two weeks we might find that none of the refugees are having to make the journey by foot, as reports now suggest that they are being supported. Reports also suggest that they will not have to walk from the Austrian boarder town of Nickelsdorf to Vienna, but that there is constant help for them once they cross the boarder, reducing the potential walk down to 110 miles.

Taking time off work to do this would be a sacrifice. A big one for my family. We would survive, but I do wounded if it is worth it, and maybe I should just donate what I might have lost in income to a charity committed to helping with the crisis.

I am still anxoius to do something to help and raise awareness. But I might need to think of a different way. It feels so easy and heartless, but I may just resort to making some extra regular charitable donations over the next few weeks and months. I do already regularly donate to 3 or 4 charities.

150 miles - Budapest to Vienna

I've read a lot of articles on the Syrian crisis since yesterday.

One of the latest articles I have read is the following.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34155701

In short, it would seem as though hungairian officials are denying the refugees passage from Budapest to Vienna via train, forcing them to make the journey to Europe on foot.

I have been pondering to myself about how I can help. I do feel helpless and useless. I need to look after my family here. What can I possibly do?

Well, as soon I read that these refugees are having to make this 150 mile journey on foot, I had a crazy idea. I will walk 150 miles.

It is easy to sit in an arm chair or at your office desk an assume 150 miles is not a big deal. But it is a big deal. It is a massive deal. Earlier this year I walked 50 miles in less than 20 hours, by the end of it I was in a massive amount of pain. I could hardly walk or stand. I had very saw blister covered feet.

These refugees will be making this journey, unprepared, carrying their worldly possessions with them, with no special footware or blister pads. It will take them weeks.

I have discussed a basic outline of the idea with my wife who supports my idea to do this to raise money but also awareness of what these people are through. I will publish a plan of how I will achieve this within the next few days.

My heart now goes out to them.

It is late. I am in my bed writing this, the refugees have probably assembled their makeshift shelter and are sleeping rough. They have endured so much, and they have another big day ahead of them tomorrow.

Humanitarian Crisis

Dear Father.

I am so sorry for not paying attention sooner. Please forgive me.

Yesterday a heartbreaking story of a family seeking a better life has come to light in the media. It has changed me. It has made me pay attention and I suspect it has done the same for many others not just in the UK or Europe but possibly the world.

The BBC reported the following.

Drowned boy's father speaks of heartbreak

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34143445

(Picture of Abdullah grieving over his lost family)

From what I understand Abdullah Kurdi is a hero. After the original 'captain' of the boat bailed, he took the controls of the boat to save everyone. Sadly, in saving others, he was unable to protect his own family and they perished.

The father must be feeling terrible, feeling responsible for their deaths. Guilty for bringing them on this journey.

Possibly feeling a little remorse for saving many others others.

Along with Abdulla's story a photograph of a young boy has been published. A photograph that I suspect will become a symbol of the humanitarian crisis that is happening at the moment. Not just in Syria but in many parts of the world. The photograph is of Abdullah's sons body washed up on a Turkish beach.

(Picture of Aylan face down in the sand)

It breaks my heart to see this. It looks like he is sleeping. But we have heard lots of stories about desperate refugees drowning lately to know that he is not.

I have a son, just 3 months old, he is right here by my side peacefully and slowly falling asleep. It is hard to imagine what I would not do for him. I cannot look at this photo without comparing this young toddler to my own and not feel incredible sadness. I really do want to cry.

Yes it is disturbing, and part of me says because of it's disturbing nature it should not be shared. But also because of how it has affected me and opens my eyes, it is necessary.

The young boy (Aylan Kurdi) did not die in vain though. He is also a hero.

As disturbing and as wrong as it is, I suspect God has had a part part to play in this. I believe the photographer was there that morning to take this picture so that it could open my eyes and the eyes of many others in Europe and the world.

If Aylan's picture will soften the hearts sufficient to prompt more dramatic action then he has helped this humanitarian crisis massively.

This picture has stirred the souls of many and the internet is now buzzing with activity pleading for the cause of these refugees.

Has one picture shifted our view of migrants?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-34142804

I've known that this is a crisis for a while now. It's more than just young men seeking illegal entry into the UK to claim benefits from the soft UK government. I heard or read a very powerful line in an article recently that said 'this is not a migrant crisis, this is a humanitarian crisis'.

I can't imagine what it is like. Fathers (men my age) have a choice to make. Stay and probably perish for lack of facilities like food and water or leave everything that you spent your life building, including your home, your pets, your prized possessions like your car or favourite piece of furniture, musical instruments, books, photo albums, your garden, your neighbours and your job, to hopefully find refuge somewhere that has the necessities of life. For all those things I listed above, as desirable as they are, they cannot sustain life.

Knowing that the journey will take weeks, maybe months, and that it is dangerous, many have chosen to do this rather than stay. I think we underestimate just how terrible things are and how desperate they have become.

A friend of mine posted the following article of Facebook.

http://archbishopcranmer.com/aylan-kurdis-drowning-reveals-our-hypocrisy-towards-europes-refugee-crisis/

It is bold and damming to the guilty reader, but so true. We have been complacent. We have been selfish. Why has it taken us this long to create the desire to reach out and help as suggested in the following BBC report?

So now that I feel an overwhelming sense of compassion for them, what is to be done. What can I do? Obviously any efforts to help that I make are just a drop in the ocean. But is that a reason not to help? We know the answer to this is no. There are some who are fortunate enough to be in a position where they have gone to help centres in Europe to give of their time. I can't do that. I do have a responsibility to my family. I need to work to pay for our home and food. My wife needs to be home to look after our son. The answer is typical and easy. Give some of your money. Do your research and select the charity that seems to assist in the way that best suits your desires. There are good people out there who will put that money to good use. It will alleviate the suffering that many of these families are going through. I think we can all afford to give something, we all can make an extra sacrifice and make ourselves a little more uncomfortable to help ease the burden of another. A little bit or a lot, it doesn't matter. 

But can I suggest another way we can help. One that might require a little more faith.

Migration is a difficult subject. It was a big subject just 3 months ago when the leadership candidates were discussing policies in the hope to win votes for the position of prime minister. The country back then wanted tighter boarder controls. They wanted fewer people to come into the country to either work or glean off the government. We all want a stable future and allowing more migrants into the country means there are fewer jobs to go around and the welfare budget gets stretched even further. It basically makes things harder. So if I recall correctly, each of the main party leaders proposed some form of immigration control.

Now that everyone's had a change of heart and wants to help the prime minister now is under pressure to change his policy. If he does not he is perceived to be a heartless monster.

David Cameron: UK to accept 'thousands' more Syrian refugees

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34148913

I'm pleased that we have had a change of heart, but I am saddened that we are so easily swayed by the media and almost two faced. The country's leaders want to make the general populous happy so the make promises relating to immigration, then the public cry for those promises to be broken making the leadership look like monsters when they try to honour their initial promise.

In addition to giving our money, which can feel almost casual and heartless, we can be more accommodating and give them an opportunity to find peace in our land. We can accept them, despite the challenges we might face as a result.

Lyrics in music - perspective of reality

Most of the time when I listen to music I don't pay much attention to the words. But now and again there will be a line that you hear that paints a clear picture in your mind.

This morning I was driving in to work and I reard a song by Rod Stewart called Love Is. There was a verse that caught my attention.

A day I'm never allowed to forget

There was a girl that I met who I dreamed I would wed

Forever our lives entwined

She said "you gotta stop worrying about the future"

"You know we're far too young for that"

"I wanna spread my wings like a willow in the spring"

I never saw her pretty face again

Specifically the line, you gotta stop worrying about the future.

When I heard this line I started to ask myself is this really true?

I guess Rod, who is twice my age and therefore wiser than I am, wrote this. He's probably got a better perspective of reality than I do. So I shouldn't dismiss this idea straight away.

But I do often wonder is the advice handed out in the media, music lyrics, TV shows, movies etc, is the advice and depiction of reality accurate?

For example if I do completely stop worrying about the future then I will end up only thinking about today. I might have a great time now, but any lack of foresight will probably leave me with nothing tomorrow, much like the prodigal son who took his inheritance and 'wasted his substance with riotous living'.

It is possible to watch TV and see stories depicted of people chasing their dreams, they go through a hard time, but come out victorious having realised their goal. Stories like these are inspiring, but it go back to my question, how much of a reflection of reality are they. Yes, these events worked for one individual, but how many other people are unsuccessful?

I know we are not meant to be on this earth to to be robots or slaves to the system of work to pay for food and shelter for our families, there is more to it than that, but ignoring these responsibilities by thinking only of today will surely see you suffer tomorrow.

I do worry about the future. I suppose I shouldn't, but I should also not stop planning for the future.

I worry that if I loose my job, I will not be able to get another one to pay for the mortgage. I shouldn't worry, I have been fortunate enough to be consistently in work for the last 18 years or so since I started a paper round.

I worry that if I do treat myself and spend a bit of money on 'riotous living', a holiday, an item of clothing or some other want rather than a need, that I won't have enough money to pay the bills. I have always managed to scrape by. I could probably spend a bit more on the fun stuff.

I guess what the lyrics in the song are saying is basically that there are plenty of other fish in the sea. There will be other great opportunities in the future, don't just go for the 1st one that comes your way.

And we can be guilty of this too. You could say 'carpe diem', which is becoming known as seize the day, even if this is not a literal translation. You could say, 'just do it'. You could seize the opportunity because taking chances will make you happy. But you could also say 'let it go' which is a very popular phrase at the moment due to the children's movie Frozen. Let this opportunity pass. There will be others, and there will be better ones.

An example of this might be thinking you have found the perfect item on e-bay or auto trader. Items for sale on these websites come and go all the time. Sometimes I feel like I must have it, I become obsessed with what I have found. I can't stop thinking about it. And then it is gone. I'm not actually that devastated and before too long I have found another perfect item to obsess over.

So what's the point of all my thinking and this blog entery?

I guess, as I have continued to ponder this idea of seizing the opportunity verses letting it go, we need to consider our happiness, we should always do what makes us happy. We shouldn't compromise our future either, so decisions need to be balanced and we need to ask ourselves how frequent these opportunities are likely to come and happy they will make us.

Given the task to review the last 10 years

Recently I was given the task of sending an update of the last 10 years of my life to an old friend. The 1st place I started was writing a small time line. The following is what I came up with.

2005 - got married, graduated, Rachel started her photography business

2006 - started working for Morsons engineering firm, aerospace industry, design, 

2007 - purchased house, started working in Chester

2008 - 

2009 - fitness craze started

2010 - got a new kitten, princess kitty witty

2011 - 3 peaks challenge weekend, called onto bishopric, 

2012 - 

2013 - brought bike from e-bay, now loving cycling again, 

2014 - did a ton of sporting events including 8 hour endurance event and 30+ hour 100k hike, came out about having baby problems, found out we were having a baby, called back onto high council, 

2015 - walked from temple to stake centre, had a baby, raising a baby

Rather worryingly there are huge gaps. Was my life really that empty? I can not think of anything significant to put into some years. I suppose some years will be like that, we won't always have life changing events. It doesn't mean we haven't had a good time. We've been on holidays, we've toured the UK, we've spent time with family and friends, we've made lots of memories.

The exercise prompted me to retrieve our archived annual photos and put them on our home server. This makes them more accessible and I have since reviewed many forgotten memories.

You may be interested to know what I ended up writing to my friends. Here is my update to them.

We had a think about what you would want to know. The 1st thing you would probably want to know is that we are both still married and active in the church. Since 2005 I have served as EQP in Stretford, served on the high council, as a member of the bishopric and I am now back on the high council. Rachel has also served at stake level in primary & young women's. She is currently teaching youth Sunday school.

Shortly after our wedding in July 2005 in September 2005 Rachel started her own business and started taking photos for a craft magazine. And by January 2006 I was working for an engineering firm in the Aerospace industry.

We celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary the other day. It was an anniversary unlike any other we had experienced before. Previously we have gone away for the weekend, gone on a grand day out or maybe even a restaurant. This year was quite different. This year, were exhausted, we got a take away and watched over our little boy.

After quite a few years of no success and a lot of emotional turmoil in 2014 Rachel finally made our situation public by announcing a fundraising activity we would do to support an infertility charity. We hiked round an entire county, the Isle of Wight, 106km in 30 hours. It was a relief to finally be open about something that most people kinda knew already, but didn't talk to us about. Shortly after the hike we went to the hospital to start IVF treatment. All we had to left to do was call the hospital at the right time of month to start with all the drugs and stuff that's involved. Well, that time of month never came.

Let's say, miraculously, after all the training and big hike, and after having no hope, we discovered that Rachel was finally pregnant.

Troy was born May 17th 2015. We don't need to go into detail about how dependant they are and how tired we have been feeling, I'm sure you are familiar with that. We are very delighted he is here. We love him to bits.

We've put together a time line of the last 10 years so you can see some of the significant events. Rather worryingly, some years are complete blanks to me. 1 because photos are not easily accessible of these times of our life, making it hard to review. 2 because we probably were just coasting through life.

I had been quite used to saying to people that I was just plodding along. Everything was constant. It has not been particularly easy, but it's not been massively hard either. It's just been constant. We have had good times and made memories together. We have had holidays, we have even made it to Salt Lake City in 2008. We bumped into the missionaries in China Town in NY NY in 2006/2007 and we have met missionaries in Bangor, North Wales.

Some of our more recent adventures include the great outdoors. Climbing Mt Snowdon numerous times and then extending our hiking repertoire around the country. I'm not sure when we decided to climb Mt Snowdon for the 1st time, maybe 2009, but since then we have embraced the outdoor environment and not just enjoyed climbing but other forms of fitness. Mainly running but also cycling. We have entered many running events over the last 3-4 years (all on a Saturday) and the best ones we have done have been the muddy runs. People think we are crazy, but trail running is so much more interesting than running on the road or on the treadmill.

The only other things worth a little mention is that we purchased a house in Urmston, Manchester, in 2007. Bad timing, but we brought it intending to stay, so the fact that it has depreciated in value isn't too much of a concern. We moved Rachel's cats, Lucky, from her Mums house into our place shortly after we moved in. She stayed with us for 3 years before she died. Then about 6 months after that (mid 2010), we got what we thought was a lovely little kitten. I named her Princess Kitty Witty. Turns out Princess is actually quite nasty. She tolerates us but does not like anybody else. Since Troy arrived she has kept her distance and might be suffering from a bit of depression as we turn our attention away from her. She'll be okay.

That's about it. It's incredible to think that a decade ago we just coming out of the student phase of our lives into responsible adulthood. We had many great times as YSA & have fond memories of these defining years.

In 2014 I grew a beard.

We both love Thai food.

We also included some photos. These are just a couple of 100's I could have chosen.

This was our Christmas photo of 2014

This was us on our epic 106km hike. I'll write more about this in another post.

The three of us the the Preston Temple. Troy's 1st visit.

Rachel with her cat Lucky

This was us completing our 1st official mud run (Hell Run) in 2013. That was a fun day.

Myself and our cat Princess Kitty Witty.

Just the two of us at a friends wedding. The friend was our matchmaker & chief bridesmaid Zoe.

The three of us at Troy's blessing and our 10 year anniversary weekend.

This is how we spent the evening of our 10 year anniversary.

Election time

I try to vote for the party that supports 'the family' in general, not necessarily my family.

They say you shouldn't talk about politics for a reason. However, when election time comes around, it is kinda forced on you. This year was the 1st year that Facebook really saw a lot of action with people posting links to articles and personal views regularly.

I'm all for people haveing an opinion and a voice. What I don't support is people being offensive with their voice (in this case in written form). You can say what needs to be said without offending others. You could say, so what if you find my comments offensive, what's the worst that can happen. And sometime there are people out there looking to be offended and will take offence as non-offensive comments. But we should all seek to be good to avoid alienating either ourselves or others.

Many of my friends on Facebook are Christian. We try to follow the example of Christ. He would not go round deliberately offending others. Sadly, many of my friends forgot this. It made me sad.

I personally don't tend to comment of the politics but I did make a point of commenting on people's behaviour in the hope of reminding my Facebook friends that name calling and mud slinging is not the lords way.

Below are a couple of examples.

My 1st comment was put up on 30th March, some time before the hype had really got going. I thought the message was clear.

I'm always disgusted by the parties that do things like hire billboard space to say something like "don't for them because..." Rather than "vote for us because..."

The problem is they are all doing it. So there isn't a single good, moral party out there.

The next comment was in reply to a long string of comments, many people were getting offended and I was trying to keep the peace.

And finally, right at election time. I couldn't hold my tongue any longer. I was getting really frustrated with some stupid comments and behaviour.

The irony, despite being quite bold here, in asking people to stop persecuting and name calling, a couple of individuals who liked my comment, then went on to continue to post heavily biased articles of Facebook.

Some people just don't get the message. Which then makes me question their skills of rationalisation and subsequently question the validity of their political opinions.