Books are awesome. We all know this. Books transport us, enlighten us, encourage us and so much more. Every now and then books can give a real punch to the gut that can leave the reader reeling, such as reading something unexpectedly pertinent to this moment.
While I deeply and sincerely hope the Palestine-Israeli ceasefire holds and moves forward to a peaceful and equitable solution, today I read about the Hebron shoemaker who put a tiny bit of Palestinian soil into the shoes he made so that his customers – refugees, the deported and departed, and those denied return ‘can always stand on a tiny piece of their land.’ (James Crawford, The Edge of the Plain: How borders make and break our world. 2022, Edinburgh, Cannongate) pp. 160-61.
I can only hopelessly and helplessly try to imagine the only contact I have with my country is a piece of soil in my shoe, forever divorced from the land from which it came. There, but for circumstances beyond our control, go all of us.
Significantly Different 