War in Syria - Who's Watching?

'Return to Homs' was screened in Brussels on Tuesday night as part of the One World film festival. It was a gripping and heartbreaking portrayal of the war in Syria from the rebels-eye-view.

About 200 people attended the screening at the Czech Representation to the EU. Only about half of those stayed for the panel debate afterwards.

Šimon Pánek, director of People in Need, the NGO behind the event, looked grim-faced and weary as he listened to Syrian opposition figures express their frustration with the international community for not helping them.

After 20 years in the humanitarian relief business, one sensed that he'd seen it all before. He referred to the siege of Sarajevo. Eventually something was done there.

Who knows how long it will take for 'something' to be done in Syria.

Overall, the event was an admirable and well-organized effort to raise public awareness of the war in Syria. One just wishes that it could have reached more people. There was no evidence of media coverage.

With so many conflicts in the world, where do you start?

At least another 200 people have a greater insight onto the war and will hopefully pass on their experience to family and friends.

Europeans have the luxury of choosing which conflicts to follow. How long before that choice disappears?

One World Brussels 2014 film festival runs until 02 April, tickets are free and the programme can be found here

People in Need

Review of the film

John Mayall - 80 Years Young

Veteran British bluesman John Mayall is on his 80th birthday tour. Some of these guys never stop! In some cases this is a good thing. Old Johnny rocked the house in Brussels on Friday night.

His voice was as clean as a whistle as he ripped through bluesy odes to young love like Wild About You and the cheeky Help Me with the refrain: "You got to help me, baby I can't do it all by myself!"

The band sure did help their frontman to pack a punch. The rhythm section really were as tight as a camel's ass in a sandstorm and there's no denying it. Greg Rzab on bass and Jay Davenport on drums really kept the crowd shaking. Rzab even unleashed some slap-bass wizardry. Davenport kept low-profile and a real drum solo wouldn't have gone amiss.

Mayall is known for bringing up countless guitar greats like Clapton and Green, and Rocky Athas didn't disappoint. On his sunburst Les Paul his tone and attack would have done the late great Gary Moore proud. A fairly implacable showman, but he let his guitar do the talking.

Mayall was a scion of good health, prancing from keyboards to guitar to harmonica and back again. Maybe we should all give up alcohol 25 years ago like him. Whilst his fret work was a little shaky, his keys and mouth organ were a real delight.

The overall sound balance was perfect and Ancienne Belgique everything a modern concert hall should be - sleek, refined and convivial. After the concert the whole band began dishing out autographs like sweets in the bar. Somebody's Acting Like a Child indeed!

2014 War of the Worlds

The 100th anniversary of the beginning of the First World War deserves to be marked in many ways. Centeneries don't come around very often and when they do they're usually worth a second thought.

But what should commemorations of the first conflict that took on global proportions and slaughtered millions of men look like? Do we need big official ceremonies or small localized initiatives? Should we look at the winners or the losers?

Arguably it was the Great War which crystallized the modern concept of the nation. The idea that your only loyalty should be to your nation, and that other nations may be well and good, but they are no match for yours.

So it is no surprise then that the commemorations this year will have a distinctly national touch. Britain, France and Germany will all go their own way about doing it.

Meanwhile, the European Union has avoided organizing anything at all.

A spokesman for the Commission told news source Euractiv that this is because "... 2014 means very different things to different countries but... the President and Commissioners may attend specific events, if invited.”

It is sad that 100 years after the first major modern conflagration in Europe there can be no common drive to understand this history and learn from it.

Further reading:
Historian Richard J Evans looks at compelling parallels between 1914 and today
Journalist Simon Jenkins laments the glorification of the war in Britain