Dear Alan, Life just goes on regardless doesn't it. I suppose that those who are fighting a war are doing what they do. Those who need to live in peace are living a peaceful life. If we could all be like these farmers what a different world it would be. James ----- Original Message ----- From: "Allan Balliett" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, April 04, 2003 5:45 PM Subject: Fwd: [Market-farming] Tomato farming in the midst of war
> > > > > >In reading this article, I recognized a similarity in independence of spirit > >between many on this list, and the farmers described in the rticle. -Jill > > > >http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,929142,00.html > >Tomato republic > > > >Burhan Wazir discovers that a little thing like war does not prevent Iraqi > >farmers from focusing on life's priorities - such as getting their produce > >to market > > > >Thursday April 3, 2003 > > > >On the dusty and wind-torn flats that lead into Zubayr, a market town near > >Iraq's second largest city Basra, local farmers can often be seen tending to > >their tomatoes. > >The tomatoes - and I recently had the pleasure of tasting one - are large > >and sweet, rendered bright red with natural fertilisers. Each morning, > >wooden carts pulled by donkeys and laden with these ripe tomatoes make their > >way into the town centre. > > > >The tomatoes of southern Iraq are famed in the region for their taste. And > >the farmers here, unused to modern agriculture methods, diligently raise > >their plants to face the sun. Watching the field men work, and eventually > >tasting their produce, one realises the benefits of natural farming. > > > >The farmers, for the most part, are fascinating in their indifference to our > >presence. As we roar by in armoured vehicles, spitting up large clouds of > >dust, the farmers seem to pay no mind. Three weeks ago, the tanks darting > >past their fields would have been those of the Iraqi Republican Guard. > >Similarly, and I am sure of this, the farmers would have ignored them also. > >Their latest neighbours have provoked no curiosity. > > > >As the war in Iraq builds to a crescendo, with campaigns in both Baghdad and > >Basra at its centre, these farmers remain unaffected by our arrival. For > >nearly 50 years, perhaps longer, they have diligently tended fields and > >harvested their tomatoes. We see them walk around abandoned Iraqi tanks. > >Soon, perhaps, they will walk round the rubble left behind by coalition > >forces. > > > >Politicians, wars and all the trappings of western democracies are beyond > >them. In that way, I find, they enjoy a more fulfilling version of freedom. > >Zubayr's tomato farmers have come to expect nothing from the Ba'ath party: I > >am convinced they have no interest in accepting what we, the coalition > >invaders, have to offer them. > > > >As western conglomerates line up to "civilise" the countries at the heart of > >the American-defined "axis of evil", containers of western branded goods > >will soon land at the nearby Basra International airport. I hope the farmers > >will reject their contents in favour of their own lifestyles. > > > >This is undoubtedly a dilemma in the forthcoming rebuilding of Iraq. The > >farmers of Zubayr, for example, do not use toothpaste - they are accustomed > >instead to using the herbal wood, sakh, favoured by Muslims in this part of > >the world. The benefits of sakh are multiple, and well documented. > >Similarly, they have had no need for soap, televisions, cars, pesticides and > >tractors. That may rapidly change as the west imposes its values on them. > >And while the elder generation of Zubayr's farmers will undoubtedly flinch > >at such modern accoutrements, their offspring, unfortunately, may not > >display such a strong affection for history. > > > >To me, it would be a nightmare to return here in 30 years time to find it > >littered with shopping centres, cafes, American tourists and electrical > >goods shops. Life here has always managed to survive the onslaught of > >invading armies in the past. To some it might appear medieval. To others it > >possesses a certain harmony. > > > >Still, as we drive past each morning, in a sandstorm of motorised rumbles > >and English chatter, the farmers continue to ignore us. They have yet to > >come forward and ask for aid. They have yet to stop our tanks and our trucks > >to plead for modern medicines. Instead, they are concerned with their own > >economic survival. Life revolves not around politicians, non-governmental > >organisations, "shock and Awe" or the legal machinations of the United > >Nations. > > > >There are more pressing matters in hand. Namely, the prompt delivery of > >those delicious, plump red tomatoes to the bustling local market. > > > > > > > > > >_______________________________________________ > >Market-farming mailing list > >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > >http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/market-farming > > > >Get the list FAQ at: http://www.marketfarming.net/mflistfaq.htm > > >
