F = ma

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F = ma

Energy defines the way that we live our lives and how the world constantly is moving, regardless of what might occur.

There are no internal forces that are perfectly stable. It is in this way that we all are compelled to live together, helping to shape our lives.

We are not fully in control.

force.

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THE BIRD’SSagar NEST Chhetri JUICE OF LIFE Cora Sundmacher OUT OF REACH Allison Hess FREESarah FALL Jabbari THE GREAT SPECTACLE Charlotte Hooij DAY-NISH ATWilma HEART Leskowitsch SUPER-NATURAL Tamara Markovic FLYING HIGH Sohail Singh MY FATHER IS IN THESEPatricia TREES Kühfuss

After living apart for 40 years, 67-year-old Rosi Chhetry is together with her daughter lata in Leuven, Belgium and wants her to be with her till her last breath. But, Lata’s schengen Visa is running out in a week.

By Sagar Chhetri

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Rosi and Lata are searching Lata’s bus pass. A heart Patient Rosi panics of every little mistake made by Lata.

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She danced like nothing had happened to her when they reached the audio visual chamber of the Atomium.

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Left up. Rosi and Lata on their evening walk around the SintMaartensdal.

Left down. Rosi embraces Lata, her daughter, while Lata holds her new Belgian Residency Permit on her hand.

Right. Rosi breaks into tears from seperation anxiety a day before the final expiry date of Lata’s shenzhen Visa which could be the final day of their togetherness.

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19th of October As always Lata prepares a hot cup of tea while Rosi is still in her little praying room. She is Worried. The last days have been rainy and gloomy, but this morning was a bit less misty, early rays of sunlight through the glass window on the sixth floor of Leuven’s tallest building is reflected in the wall, decorated with Rosi and her children’s photo frames, glimmering. Yet, the situation inside the room is tense. Later this afternoon, Lata and Rosi are going to Stadhuis, the city hall. This will be the fourth time she is applying for the legal permit, if she get a refusal of a legal residence permit, if she is refused she will not be able to continue her stay in Belgium from tomorrow. She has been with her mother for one and a half years, now it has come to an end, nevertheless, both of them have hope for together today. Rosi has an undying wish to have Lata by her side forever. She is trying to be cheerful and smile but her eyes were clearly telling her inner tension. A heart patient, Rosi, breaks into tears every now aWnd then as if there is a spirit in the room, haunting her. A spirit that takes over amidst every conversations and gives a bitter climax, the separation anxiety. Rosi spend longer time praying to her God this particular morning, she even managed to write some messages to some of her friends asking them to keep her daughter it their prayers. Rosi says “I wanted to die, I went to the bathroom with my shawl to hang myself in frustration, when for the third time Lata was permission denied six months ago.” These two women on this very day, scared but hopeful were leaving home quitely with thoughts of destiny all rest upon the decision due this afternoon.

Ultimate sacrifice Rosie, 65, was a strong headed women in her thirties when she came to an unfamiliar metropolis, leaving her teen children behind and working tirelessly to makes it her home for rest of her life. Rosi has been living in Belgium for the last 26 years.

Down with the sickness In 2004 Rosi was first diagnosed with breast cancer. She remembers it as a huge meltdown in her life. She is seen as one of the most hardworking person in Leuven among other sub-continental immigrants living there, says Rajesh, a nepali student living in Leuven for the last seven years. She used to be a bright beautiful women with thick long hair and a charism started to deteriorate. She has been a heart patient for a long time, In 2015, she had a major heart attack that almost took her life. It was the evening of june 19 she was in her living room with Lata, who had just arrived in Leuven from Nepal to be with her. Lata remembers the day vividly, she recall that the doctors said that her mother’s chance of being alive is slim to none but still they gave her strong chest compressions as if they were pressing a stuffed pillow that broke two of her ribs and her throat got injured but she moved her hand and immediately she was rushed to the hospital. After 10 days in coma she came back to life. Since then she has been slowly recovering. She now has a Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) in her heart to protect her from post attack unstable heartbeats. Now she even gets scared by the sudden sound of the doorbell.

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Rosi and Lata are living together in this small apartment on the sixth floor of a social housing estate for the last one and half years. Lata is mother of three and a grandmother herself.

Lata was a teenager when they were separated. At that time when there was no internet, no telephones- living in such distance- they never got to be in contact or see each other until lately when the longing became too unbearable, things happened, Lata came all the way to visit her mother. She is now her mother’s little princess, a new friend and a caretaker.

Rosie hugs and caresses Lata, at times like when she forgets to carry her bus pass with her on her way to school, she shouts at her like she is the same 11 year old.

Bus Pass One afternoon Lata came home late from her language class without her bus pass. The daughter in her was afraid of her mother who would not go easy with this carelessness. When she didn’t find the pass anywhere, she told Rosi and asked if she kept it safe somewhere. A heart patient Rosi started to panic. She joined the search mission shouting at Lata and feeling angry for her carelessness and forgetfulness. The house was in chaos, Rosi has troubles with remembering events since the surgery and is always thinking about the Lata’s future in Belgium. Lata’s mind is lost somewhere between her mother and her children back in Nepal. Lata found the pass under the pile of folded curtains in her room. She left it there to attend her mom for some reason and forgot.

Last day of Visa The last surgery left her body especially the left hand with minor paralysis, it is a struggle for her to do anything that requires physical movement. Last wednesday, for the first time since Lata’s arrival they went out with together on a tour of Brussels city. They went to see the famous Atomium. She danced like nothing had happened to her when they reached the audio visual chamber of the Atomium. “I am very happy today.” said Rosi. They were trying to forget that it was the last day of Lata’s visa. Since Lata was denied by the authorities with legal permanent residency papers for third time six months ago and now they were waiting for the fourth and perhaps the final results. The tension was rising since Rosie does not want to loose her daughter again.

The Decision After a wait of more than one and a half years, the local city hall was about to give the most important decision of all. The decision came in favour of these women, Lata received the legal residence permit after all. A big sigh of relief. Now she can legally live for minimum five years and also eligible for the citizenship of Belgium through her mother Rosi. That one decision in their favour changed everything. It brought immense happiness to this family. There are roughly around 7000 Nepalese immigrants living in Belgium. This story is one out of many. Rosi and Lata have plans of travelling back to Nepal after sometime to meet their children.

Lata helping her mother to have her morning medicines.

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The juice of life Her guides and her helpers are the spirits. Melissas life is about connecting to the nature, closeness to this universe and spreading the love she carries with her to the world she lives in.

by Cora Sundmacher

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View out of Melissas kitchen.

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Yoga between breakfast and work. Feeling her body, staying fit is very for important for Melissa.

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The common sauna in Hallingelille is often used. After inhaling the heat, Melissa takes a swim in a little lake. Even in the winter.

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Melissa talks to plants, feels the wind, sees the present. This is a way how Melissa connetcs with nature.

“We live on a breathing living planet.”

“Feeling the forward evolution of human consciousness and our planet.

I can feel it and see it everywhere. Or maybe it is just me!”

-Melissa Gerrad-

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Melissa believes in the currecnt life of an energy shifting era.

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I

t is eight o’clock in the morning, the grass is wet and cold, the sun just kisses the earth. Barefooted Melissa Gerrad puts mentally prayers in the little bowl, on the altar, in front of her house. Two pink flowers are laying in there. One stands for herself, the other one for the people and the world around her.

Next to the bowl Melissa puts bounties as chocolate and berries for the spirits.

Live is ordinary in the eco village Hallingelille, about one hour from Copenhagen in Denmark. People go to work, children play in the garden, hens peck for food in the gras. In the evening warm light is shining from the windows, where families are sitting at the tables for dinner. It looks peaceful this life. Without any troubles and challenges. Without pain and fears. Almost like a little bubble of happiness and joy.

In house number Seven, Melissa, originally from Scotland, who always believed in truth and wisdom, is living with her daughter Salma and her boyfriend Lars.

The power of the nature, meditating, praying, spiritual rituals in groups and and her own daily doses of consciousness, making her life as worth living as it is. Believing in greater spirits is the content of Melissas life. Besides of her personal consciosness Melissa tries to spread her mindset with working in a Health Web Shop.

“I neither believe or disbelieve. I am just open. But I do believe in the powerful force of nature and creativity. And I believe in the ability of imagination. And I believe in love. “ Melissa is drinking Earl Grey Tea, with her cat Bøf on her lap, while speaking calmly about the humans power of believe.

She says, that humans have much more capabilities then they think. They just have forgotten.

As she is talking about love, as one of the most powerful force in this universe, she is getting a special kind of glimpse in her eyes.

It is proved, what you give, you receive. That negativity makes people sick und slow, Melissa says.

“If you love yourself, you will be loved. Meditation makes us conscious about what surrounds us and makes us feel better.“

mother earth and father sky Melissa feels a fear. A fear from society which causes anger and war. Are we afraid of our self courage and the justice from the outside? Loosing the feeling about humanity and our connection to our capabilities is what she truly believes in.

But were is the beauty gone? Were did the good go? The ability of seeing the value of this earth?

Living trees, which need air to breath, clean water to grow and the sun to stay strong, is exactly what we humans need. Food which fills our body with energy and makes it strong, daylight, the sun, to let our cells grow, and air which fills our lungs.

So there is a connection to this living planet, to this living nature.

“I belive that the sun has information in it. It is not only light.

Imagine sitting in the nature, in a beautiful field of flowers and the sun is shining. It comes in swirles and hits your body wich is soaking it, giving energy to every cell, even to the DNA.“ “We are having a human experience right now on this living, breathing planet earth. Our mother earth and father sky give us the opportunity of living in this other dimension of reality. “

we are all God Melissa choose to live in an eco village, to treat the nature as well as possible. Respect and protect it and a giving back, what humans take from it.

A natural water system, which makes willows clean the sewage, using almost no electricity, instead letting the sun and fire use its power, using ecological soaps, eating organic food, growing own vegetables and assort the garbage precisely, are ordinary for the citizens in Hallingelille.

gratitude to the earth center Melissa is choosing her words refined and conscious. Next to her mind she is putting her consciousness into her body, to create a physical connection to the nature. It is late October, she is walking barefoot in her house to feels the energy from the earth. The ground is made out of horse manure, which conduts the electricity directly in the ground.

“I love you!“ , Melissa says, standing outside in the foggy morning light, in front of her house. She takes a deep breath, is feeling the wind on her skin, sending her gratitude into the earth center within her intention, how she says.

Melissa listens to herself. She listens to God, to Jesus and her spiritual helpers. She doesn’t know what god looks like and who he is, but she is sure, there is something which makes things happen, which makes it worth to believe. Which makes her happy and loving.

She says that we are all spiritual but we don’t know it yet.

“We are all one, we are all connected and we are all God“ This consciousness Melissa is getting through her spiritual healing, she would like to give to someone else. To those who are scared, to those who need a guidance, to protect them from evil. Melissa is touching the two brown feathers on her altar, controlled in her prayers. Feathers which symbolize the divinity and the air, the soul and also the power and the force.

She prays for her and the universe, she is thankful for everything which receives her.

This gives her the consciousness of this human being.

This is the juice of her life.

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Out of reach For four and a half hours, Amsha Omar ran as far away from Mosul, Iraq as she could.

From the 7,000 women and girls that ISIS had captured to be sex slaves, she would be the first Yazidi woman to escape and make the exhausting journey to freedom.

by Allison Hess 23

The Yazidi people are an ethno-religious minority located primarily around Sinjar in northwestern Iraq. Noted as one of the oldest religions on earth, their beliefs can be traced back over 6,000 years. What makes this minority group different from any other in the world is what they have historically been through: more than 70 genocides — more than any other culture in history.

Amsha Omar initially escaped her city. Like many other Yazidis, she tried fleeing to Sinjar Mountain nearby. As she and her family made the six-kilometer journey to the adjacent peak, around 15 cars belonging to ISIS patrol blocked their way, capturing members of her family, including her spouse and brother.

Amshra Omar stands in the main train station in Hannover, Geramny, where she now resides.

For Amsha Omar and many others, the night of August 3, 2014 is one that they are unable to forget and think about every day. At around 2:30 a.m., members of ISIS came to her village while she and her family slept.

For over five hours, Amsha Omar and other Yazidi people tirelessly defended themselves against their attackers. In the end, ISIS forces overtook her village, killing many men and capturing many of the women and children.

“They asked my husband to convert to Islam, and he said no. ISIS killed 50 people in front of my eyes. One of them was my husband.”

Sitting a café in Hanover, Germany, her eyes look away beyond the table, toward the window of the bustling city.

“When I looked away, they killed him. They collected the people who had run away into one line, and simply killed them.”

Amsha's name is permanently written on her hand

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“I am not going to fight ISIS with weapons. I am going to fight them with my culture and with the knowledge I am gaining.�

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Amshra Omar and Nadia Murad meet again for the first time since they were both captured by ISIS.

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Fighting for her life After losing her husband and brother, she was taken by ISIS forces to Mosul, Iraq to a building where many of the Yazidi women taken from their families were kept.

Amsha Omar stresses that this place was no home. It was a prison. She was kept in isolation, within in a room that reached to nearly 50 degrees Celsius, where a man would routinely come in to rape her.

“One day after he raped me, he sold me to another man,” she says.

“In the same day, they were together in another room. They raped us anytime that they want. It was the worst thing that I have been through.”

It was at this time, in the dead of the night, that she broke the lock on the door and escaped. For nearly five hours, she ran, unsure where to exactly go. She strived to find someone to help her. Amsha Omar did not know if she would make it. At one point, she passed over a bridge and made one of the most crucial decisions of her life.

“If ISIS came, I was going to throw myself over the bridge,” she said. “If they didn’t see me, I was going to keep going.”

Finally, Amsha Omar met an older man who first asked her about her religion. Many Yazidis living in Iraq, they have to hide their identity. Depending on who they speak to, mentioning their religious belief can cost them their lives.

This man and his family welcomed Amsha Omar into their home and protected her for four days. They then contacted a smuggler to reconnect her with members of her family that were still alive.

“Not everyone from Mosul is with ISIS. There are many good people. For me, this is not real Islam. This is extreme.

I do not forget that and I have tried to stay in contact with the people who helped me.”

At the first Kurdish checkpoint, Amsha Omar was finally brought to one of her brothers. Her family could not believe their eyes when they saw her alive and free.

“People were looking at me like I had come back to life from the dead,” she said.

Before she had the opportunity to move to Germany, she stayed in an Iraqi refugee camp for one year. Because she escaped after a month, Amsha Omar still does not know which of the women, her friends, are now alive or dead.

A common bond One woman, Nadia Murad, and Amsha Omar were captured together in one building two years ago. Now, Nadia Murad, a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human

Trafficking, has worked tirelessly to spread the stories of what Yazidi women have gone and currently are going through to help make their stories known. Like Amsha Omar, what Nadia Murad has gone through is incomprehensible.

Under ISIS control, she witnessed Nadia Murad’s torn clothes, a result of rape. After this, ISIS sold Murad to an ISIS driver, separating them once again.

“I asked myself how this all happened to us. Why were we being tortured?”

Since escaping, Amsha witnessed her friend on television, sharing her story, raising awareness for the outrage that had burdened that their people have carried, and communicate the strength to move forward. Holding her two children during a Yazidi conference in Hanover, Germany on October 18, 2016, Amsha Omar finally met her friend again for the first time since they both escaped ISIS. “Because we suffered together, it was like a victory for us.

It was free-- nobody forced us to see each other again. The conditions were so different from before.

Redefining home Moments like these are few and far between for many Yazidis. Some still do not know where members of their families are or if they are even alive. The vast majority of Yazidi families are still separated between countries in Europe, the United States, and refugee camps in northern Iraq.

“Before, we were poor and had no rights. We were unsure about our future,” she says. “Despite all of this, we were happy with our lives. We had our families, our children and our society. We accepted it.”

Living in her home in northern Iraq with her family is no longer an option for Amshra Omar. Still, she presses onward. Living near Hanover, she is currently enrolled in German language classes. Amsha Omar is doing her best to connect with her new German friends and to tell her story and what happened to the Yazidi.

“I am not going to fight ISIS with weapons,” she said with confidence. “I am going to fight them with my culture and with the knowledge I am gaining.”

These women’s lives, and the lives of many other Yazidi individuals, will never be the same.

“We still have 3 or 4,000 girls in ISIS hands,” she said. “We need to figure out how to help, support and free them. We are living here only for a time. My future is the future of the Yazidi future. Our future is one.”

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Free Fall Falconry, the art of training and hunting with birds of prey, is disappearing from human society. Yet in Denmark, there are falconers like Frank Skaarup, Louise Vedel Munk-Petersen and Peter Frank Wenzel who try to keep the art alive while struggling against the law, which forbids them to hunt with the birds of prey.

Diving down at 300 kilometers per hour, passing right away from ear, like a fighter plane, it is like the falcon takes your soul and flies away with it.

“My wife says: You live in dream. I tell her: I’m in middle of the dream,” Frank Skaarup, 58, says.

He is one of the most experienced falconers in Denmark. He is cutting chickens for his birds of prey in the kitchen. He started falconry at age 14, and has dedicated his life to keep and train birds of prey.

Like other falconers in Denmark, he is very upset by the legislation in Denmark, which makes it illegal to hunt with birds of prey. In 1994 after over a reduction in population of birds of prey, the government

made it illegal to keep indigenous birds of prey and falconers were restricted to keep only birds of prey of other countries. Therefore, if the trained birds of prey hunt any animal, falconers cannot take the hunted animal with themselves.

“Those who make such laws eat chicken burgers every day and never think of poor hens in factories kept under harsh conditions. The number of birds get hit by cars in roads and die, is more than what would be hunted with our birds.”

“I don’t call myself a falconer, as I can’t hunt with birds of prey. I just fly with my birds... but not hunting with them. …And it’s so sad” Says Louise Hoffbeck a young falconer living on her farm in Roskilde.

by Sarah Jabbari 30

A Young girl flies with the European Bald Eagle in Falkecenter.

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The title of honor

The Bearded Vulture, also called Homa in Persian literature and mythology, has been considered a symbol of luck and happiness. It is believed that if the shadow of a Homa falls on a individual, they would rise to sovereignty. The habit of eating bones of deceased animals, instead of hunting them, as noted by famous Persian Poet Sa’di in 1258 AD.

Homa has more majesty and honor than any other type of birds. She prefers to eat the bones rather hurting other animals

Students cut chickens for feeding the birds in Falkecenter, as part of the training.

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African Black Eagle among visitors during a show at EagleWorld

Respecting the bird is the main part of falconry. As the bird flies freely when training, it has the choice to return to the falconer or fly away. Therefore, if the bird of prey gets damaged in any way, it loses its trust in the falconer, and will never come back.

“If you go to a restaurant with good, free food with a polite servant, you will go back there again the next time. It is the same for falcons. We are their free restaurants and they happily choose to come back to us again,” Says Frank.

Known as a professional falconer in Denmark, Frank has been invited several times to museums and cultural places to perform falconry for visitors. The Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, a city near Copenhagen, is one of the places Frank had his performance for public.

“The green organizations are trying to tell people that falconry

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never existed in Denmark and is something new but hunting with falcons was one of the methods of hunting in the Viking time in Denmark. They were traveling by ship and had their birds ready to hunt sea birds, and bring them back to the ship so that they could have fresh food while travelling.” Frank says during a visit to the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde for a performance of falconry for audiences.

More than a hunting

Falconry is one of the oldest methods of hunting in the history of human being. There is no hard evidence as to exactly when and where human first trained a bird of prey, but the art of falconry was already well established in the Middle and Far East by 2000 B.C. Falconry is still practiced today as it was then, but some elements of modernity have been added. Like transmitter and receiver, attached to bird’s feet to find them if they fly far away. Falconry is more than just a hunting method, it is a way of life and people who are into it are passionate about the field and the birds.

“I don’t call myself a falconer, as I can’t hunt with birds of prey. I just fly with my birds... but not hunting with them. …And it’s so sad.”

Louise Hoffbeck after finishing daily fly with her Saker Falcon.

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The falconers spend lot of money and time to train the bird.

They spend a lot of time to fly with the birds almost every day, except in days which the weather does not have a good conditions, like a rainy day. Therefore, they need to check theweather forecast every day. Chicken and rats are good source of nutrition for the bird and they need to be aware of the food they have stored for their birds. In addition, they weigh both the bird and the food taken by them daily to be aware of their weight not to become so fat, as a heavy bird might feel lazy in flying and returning to falconer and stays away.

So taking care of the bird makes falconers busy, which might make them sometimes unable to spend enough time with their families.

Keeping the art alive

Living under restrictions, falconers still try to keep the art alive.

Holding falconry classes for young generation, falconry shows for public in falconry clubs or giving speech in museums about the history of interaction between Vikings and birds of prey in Denmark are activities is being done by falconers.

One of these places is EagleWorld at Skagensvej, located in the north of Denmark, a place where rare species of eagles and vultures, like Sea Eagle and Bearded Vulture, are kept. During the year, Peter Frank Wenzel and his team members perform a show with birds of prey for the public, in order to make them familiar with birds of prey and falconry. Among visitors, there are children. It is an opportunity for them to see the difference between falcons and eagles in their shape, weight, flying technics and behavioral features.

The falconers try to bring the eagles between audiences by feeding them chicken.

At the other end of the country, in a small island Samsø, Louise

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Vedel Munk-Petersen, an experienced falconer, with help from Christina lorenzen, runs the Falkecenter, putting on shows for public and breeding birds of prey. In the center, they also give classes for teenagers who are interested in falconry. “We have students who were dealing with problems like depression, but by joining our classes, they are in a much better condition now,” Louise says, the head of the center. “When I ask the students, I need some of you helping clean up the birds sections, all of them raise their hands happily and excited to help,” Louise continues.

In the classes in the center, students are obliged to prepare chickens for birds of prey by cutting them with scissors. Yellow, frozen chickens are a necessary part of falconry in Denmark.

Students are practicing close to the center. They practice to fly the birds and make them come back again.

Christina, the assistant in Falkecenter who is also against legislation, which limits falconers in hunting with their birds of prey.

She believes that, “falconry helps the falconer to be in present.

Birds of prey like horses are animals who need you focused. You cannot ride a horse or fly your falcon while thinking of cooking for dinner. You cannot be in past, you cannot be in future. You need to be in the present and focus on your bird, fly with your bird,” Louise continues. “Animals are being always now.”

“The first real falconers in Denmark were Vikings and others who could hunt with them. They used to capture birds of prey from the nature, training them and at the end of each year released them in nature. Nowadays we can’t do that as birds are not indigenous and they rarely can survive in environment of Denmark by themselves,” she continuse:Real falconers in Denmark were Vikings; we just try to imitate what they did.”

Young girl flying the European Bald Eagle in Falkecenter

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by Charlotte Hooij

Show after show after show, every day again the same song lingers in the air. It has to go on. The circus must survive. The people who travel with the circus tell the story about determination, passion, talent and the creation of a fairytale life.

The great spectacle

Isabella Enoch, the founder of circus trapez is watching the show unfold.

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40 Marian Dragnea originally from Romania, works day and night to keep the circus up and running.

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Stine-Marie Greisen is only 17 years old nonetheles she is extremely concentrated about performing a perfect show.

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As the sun sets, the stars are starting to become visible and the show is coming to an end. Stine is getting ready for her final act with the elephant, changing into her her finely crafted blue dress. She is excited.

She is tense. Adrenaline is rushing through her body.

She is ready to go to the centre of the ring— to put herself out there in front of the unknown. For just a small moment she can be a star herself.

“I was born in the circus and my family started performing in the streets and in theatre about 400 years ago.” the owner of the circus says proudly.

Isabella Enoch and Bernhard Kaselowsky are the founders of the new circus. They have an elephant, camels, goats, horses, ponies and cows. There are 25 people working to make everything possible and the

rapidly changing society.

Performers are the most important element in the circus. They make or break the show and have a big responsibility to keep everything running; to make a seamless show. Stine-Marie Greisen is one of the artists performing in circus Trapez. Barely 18 years old, she has practiced working with animals while participating in circus camps since a very young age. Now, she lives her dream performing with all kinds of animals. One of them is an elephant named Ramboline, she is almost twice Stine’s age. This is only adding to the fact that circuses are an ancient tradition, with animals that have been around for longer than most of the artists.

Show time is prime time.

“It wasn’t easy to build up a new circus in Denmark from scratch, but I think as long as there are children there will be circus,” Isabella says while looking out her office window, which is located in one of the caravans.

tent can hold a total of 550 people. Isabella says it was a dream come true to have her own circus after working in her family’s circus for a long time.

Circus Trapez is travelling from town to town throughout the whole of Denmark for about six months out of the year. Every week, two towns are being presented a show which the artists have practiced almost all their life for. This is because being in the circus means either you are being taught to perform from a very young age or you are born in to the circus.

Circus Trapez started up May of this year has proven that the art of having a circus hasn’t disappeared yet. Circuses have been around for centuries. They have proven their strength of surviving, even in our

As the music starts playing out of the loudspeakers on top of the tent to lead the guests into the tent, everyone knows the show is about to begin. You can feel tension in the air. All the artists know that now is the moment to show what they have prepared for.

The clowns are blowing up their balloons and getting countless hula hoops ready, the trapeze performer practices one last time on the ropes before going on stage. The horses are given exotic feathers to look as graceful as possible to make a great performance.

When everyone is on point, the great show can begin.

Travelling, building up the tents, eating, cleaning, feeding and preparing animals, preforming the show, sleeping, performing the show again, eating, building down the tents, travelling further again... This is everyday reality for the 25 people living the life of a Danish circus. While doing these tasks, there is also time for friendships, party and love. Of course there are also disagreements and arguments like in every other relationship.

Georgia Brumbach has been working for the circus since the beginning of the season. She is originally from Germany and has a two-year-old son. Along with her son, she is living in one of the trailers with her partner who also works for the circus and her Dalmatian who is guards the caravan day and night.

A timeless fairytale

“Sometimes the elephant breaks loose, runs around and starts eating everything she can find. Also, if during the show, she sees something laying in the corner of the stage, she will definitely steal the popcorn or the candy floss from the guests.”

Even tough everyone is very respectful towards the elephant, she still likes to joke around once in a while.

‘“Even after years of working with Ramboline I’m still nervous every time I’m going on stage.

Elephants are wild animals and they will always remain that way. They can’t be tamed, but if you show respect towards the animal, he will respect you back”

Time may run differently in a circus, but this time will just be distributed in another way. People like Isabella, Berhard, Stine, Georgia and Zora live in their own time zone. Their whole life revolves around circus— around making people see what they are capable of, to make children and grown ups feel amazed, enchanted and in some way inspired.

They’re creating a different world, Circus Trapeze is all about composing a timeless fairytale based on every day life encounters, for all the spectators to escape from their own reality for just an hour or two.

Zora is happy to be a freelancer, “no one owns me.

No circus owns me. I travel around on my own and I am free to go wherever I want to go. Although now I’m not that free anymore, not because of the circus but because I have children now, I have to stay in one place so they can go to school and do what children need to do.”

Zora Nikodemova is one of the trapeze performers who doesn’t live with the circus, but at her own house. She comes and goes to Circus Trapez whenever she is needed. Zora works with a lot of circuses all around the world including Greenland, New Zealand, Japan and a lot of other countries, to show the world which tricks she has in store for a public of many different cultures to witness.

“Circus life is tough when you have a two-year-old child, especially when it gets colder in the autumn months. If I don’t get my quality time with my child in the evening, I wouldn’t be able to live,” Georgia says.

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“No one owns me. No circus owns me. I travel around on my own and I am free to go wherever I want to go� Zora Nikodemova

[day-nish] at heart In the face of the current migrant crisis, Denmark is finding itself in a whole new position to find an answer to the question: do you belong to a country you are not born in?

by Wilma Leskowitsch 46

“Yes, we feel and we are Danish. We are born here and our parents are Danish,� Family Krogh from Aarhus says.

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People from the city center venture out to the Brabrand neighborhood. The construction is increasing on outskirts of Aarhus.

“I think it‘s funny in Denmark to see babies sleeping outside in their buggies. Even if it is cold.,” Miriam Guttmanova says. Her husband and her moved three years ago from Slovakia to Aarhus.

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If Queen Margarethe II of Denmark, who represents the citizens of the Danish nation, says, “I don´t think that Denmark is a multicultural country,” a public television debate ended with a politician, who is becoming more and more popular, telling a student that he is not a real Dane, even if he is born in Denmark, it is opening old discussion: is there a national identity?

“Denmark is not a multicultural country,” Shira Ahmed admits. He has been living in Denmark for 15 years. He sits in the midst of the noisy and colorful chaos of Bazaar Vest at the only empty, simple brown table, surrounded by his friends.

With a glass of black tea in his hand, he is discussing politics of one of Scandinavia‘s largest oriental markets, a melting pot of cultures in Brabrand, in the outside region of Aarhus.

Shira lives in Brabrand the so-called ghetto where you will mostly find people with a migration background. The people are so well integrated that many speak Danish fluently.

“We need to visit the language school for three years,” Shira Ahmed explains. “Otherwise you are not eligible to apply for Danish citizenship.”

[day-nish]: Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark.

Like Shira, his friends had to escape from the ongoing civil war in Somalia. Hundreds of thousands people have lost their lives in this war that has last since 1988. The ones who could escape found a new life in different countries, altough far away from their culture, friends and families. For him, coming to Denmark meant having a supportive government system. Not repressing one, not a killing one.

After living in Denmark for almost 15 years, Shira says,“No. I don´t feel Danish. I thought I was a part of the Danish society, but I realize that the Danes don´t want me to be a part of it, when it comes to school education or work. And they are always saying negative things about the nations that are muslims. It´s like you are not welcome in Denmark.”

“Multicultural means accepting everything else.”

Within the entrance of the town hall of Aarhus, Denmark’s second largest city, you will find an open certificate where the former hospitality of the Danish society is immortalized.

In the 1980s, the Danish immigration policy was as one of the most liberal in Europe. However, since the 1990s, the immigration policy towards non-Western immigrants has constantly been tightened and is now considered one of the most restrictive in Europe.

“Multicultural means accepting everything else, but Denmark doesn’t do that. It is a country where people share the same idea. The same perspective. If you are holding on to your culture, you are not welcome,” Shira says.

Sune Lægaard, lecturer and researcher of culture and identity at Roskilde University says, “Before going into the debate about what it means to be Danish and try to find answers to the question, we should pause and consider the question itself.

It presupposes that there is something – what it means to be Danish – that exists and is ‘out there’, but which people simply disagree about.”

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Miriam Guttmanova, carries her new born tightly in a baby sling, surrounded by a group of mothers during a support group for new parents. She moved together with her husband from Slovakia to Denmark three years ago.

“If I would like to be Danish, I could change my clothes, style, and home into more Danish.” she says.

Miriam answers that it is not all about the outer appearances.

Ethical values, like trust and kindness are typical Danish for her. This is something she experienced together with her husband when they visited Denmark. They felt the way of living Danish fits more to their mindset.

“In Slovakia the mothers are alone with their new situation with a newborn. Its not uncommon to meet up with other young mothers who are now in the same new situation like you, to have an exchange or to share tips. I was really delighted that it´s so simple and natural here in Denmark; that you have such groups and support from the people.”

Does she feels Danish? Miriam answer is straight, “No, I define myself as Slovak, because that´s in my head. But in my heart, I define myself more as a Dane.”

Outside black inside white

The water of the Aarhus Creek is slowly trickling through the middle of the city. The cold, harsh wind is blowing away the empty cans that lie on the ground. Abdi, 38, sits on wooden stairs next to the creek. He has been living in Denmark since he was 14 years old. The people call him “Super Abdi” because he is a survivor. He came with his father and his siblings from Somalia, hoping to find a secure and livable place to reside.

Abdis life is in Denmark now. He feels Danish. He speaks Danish. He is a Dane.

“Or maybe not,” he says, after a few minutes of break. “I am not a Dane. How can I be a Dane if I am black? How can I be a Dane if my family doesn’t understand me that I feel Danish?

Sometimes I really don´t know who I am. But in my heart, I am Danish. A European. Outside black inside white.”

Denmark is in the middle of a debate that might not ever end.

“The most interesting thing is that the debate about what is Danish is an old debate, where people never had, and probably never, will agree.

Ever since Danish citizenship was introduced in 1776, the debate has been ongoing. The positions have been more or less the same since then. Some think you are Danish if you have citizenship, some think you need to have Danish parents, some think it is about speaking the language and having certain ‘values’ etc. Even if people agree who are Danish, they tend to disagree about in virtue of what. And there is nothing new in that,” Sune Lægaard says.

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If Abdi feels Danish? “Yes, but I am not really sure..

In my heart I feel Danish.” he says.

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Super-natural Old beliefs and customs hailing from the deep Slavic pre-Christian past are still alive and experiencing a revival in a small village in central Serbia

by Tamara Marković 54

FACING PAGE: A traditional mask, used in the Bele Poklade carnival in the village of Lozovik

Mladena Uroťević, in the living room of her house in the village of Lozovik, Serbia

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„I believe it’s true“ Mladena Urošević says. She is speaking of suđenice, the three spirits who come in the shape of three beautiful young women to visit a child once it’s born. According to belief, they come to fortell the day of its death. In her house in Lozovik, a village in Serbia about 80km south of the capital Belgrade, the old beliefs come to life. Lozovik is a village of some 5000 people, and like most rural areas in Serbia, a welcoming, but at the same time a closed community. Poor, with a single road passing through, surrounded by wooded hills, and cut off from the larger towns, the main sources of income here are related to farming.

While speaking, Mladena Urošević looks ancient, and the tale she tells seems to come directly from her own experience. This is a hidden Serbia, in which the pagan beliefs have filtered down through the years, and become intertwined with the predominant Orthodox religion and popular folklore.

Vito Petrović, a local school teacher, and visitor in Mladena Urošević’s low-ceilinged living room, listens solemnly to her tale. He is a lean man in his late fifties, with startling blue eyes and greying hair. Since arriving in Serbia in the early ‘90s as a Serbian refugee from Croatia, Vito Petrović has tried to fit in to the village life. „This village hasn’t accepted me“ he says.

Mladena Urošević is one of the villagers who provide Vito Petrović with a direct link to the local beliefs, bringing understanding of the intimate connection between life, death and nature.

Ancestral spirits Standing in front of a 500 year-old oak tree in the local church yard, Vito Petrović runs his hand across the deep scar in the tree bark. The tree was inscribed with the sign of the cross, countless years ago. The bark has grown over the scar, forming an organic shape. There is a candle, placed within the etched cross. „The old ones say, the church is where the people are. The people would usually gather under trees. So they would mark the tree with the sign of a cross, to signify that this is a place of prayer.“, Vito Petrović explains.

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CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Vito Petrović, largely responsible for the revival of the Bele Poklade carnival, beside the inscribed oak tree in the village of Lozovik, Serbia An old oak tree, in the church yard of the village of Lozovik The sign of the cross, inscribed on a 500 year old oak tree in Lozovik A mask bearer, a participant in the Bele Poklade carnival in Lozovik

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A mask made from natural, locally occuring materials, used in the Bele Poklade carnival in the village of Lozovik, Serbia

In pagan tradition, the souls of the dead ancestors were believed to reside in trees, among other places. The old oak is slowly dying, it’s heavy dry branches sticking out of the still green crown of leaves. Once it dries up, the villagers will be hard pressed to find someone to move it. The inscribed tree is believed to be sacred, and the person who harms it cursed. * Zapis – An old oak tree inscribed with the sign of the cross. In popular belief, the tree had the sacred status of a church, and held the souls of the deceased ancestors. * There are several such trees in the vicinity of the village, usually located at a crossroads. They hold a central place in the pagan belief system, and make their appearance in some of the Orthodox faith ceremonies.

Tomica Marković, a sprightly man in his early eighties, with a bushy white beard and mischievous eyes, is another villager who represents to Vito Petrović a link to the local culture. In the late autumn sunlight of his yard, surrounded by countless pots of flowers and palm trees, Tomica Marković speaks of another pre-Christian custom, also involving the inscribed

oak trees, that has carried over into Christianity.

Tomica Marković, in the yard of his house in Lozovik, Serbia

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Aleksandar Milosavljević, 14 years old, mask bearer in the Bele Poklade carnival in the village of Lozovik

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Slava - a celebration in honour of a protector saint, a religious custom which exists only in Serbia. * Slava, a religious celebration involving ritual feasting, is a tradition in honour of a protector saint. Each village and each household has its own protector saint, and the tradition stems from the cult of the dead ancestor. The spirits of the deceased family members were also thought to reside under the entrance to the house, and act as protectors of the family. On occasion of the village slava, a religious procession would be organised. But the arrival of the communist government during the Second World War put a stop to this, as all public practice of religious customs was forbidden. * Litija – a religious procession on occasion of the village slava, in honour of the protector saint. * „The procession used to go all around the village and visit all the inscribed (Zapis) oak trees. The last procession we had was in 1947. In ’48, they (the communist militia) stopped us with machine guns. They told us that we can only walk within the church yard. The first time we had the procession again was in 2005.”, Tomica Marković remembers.

After 58 years, Tomica Marković was there to witness and participate in the revival of the ancient tradition.

Revival Vito Petrović had become an amateur ethnologist by accident. He speaks of how his interest in the old customs began. „The villagers would burn fires every year before Lent, the beginning of the Easter fast. But the fires were fed with old tires, and the rubber would burn for days, polluting the village.“ So instead of trying to stop the custom, Vito Petrović decided to help bring it back in its original form. Lozovik is now experiencing a revival of the old custom, on the occasion of Lent, called Bele Poklade. * Bele Poklade - a pagan celebration taking place on the occasion of Lent, on the last day before the beginning of the Easter fast. The celebration involves a carnival, where masked boys in their early teens go door to door in the village, and

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chase out evil spirits. Wearing bells, and frightening masks made from natural materials, they usher in the new season with a lot of noise and pomp. The celebration culminates with the burning of a ritual fire, ljarga. The masked boys will jump over the fire, and dance a symbolic ring-dance called radava around the fire, signifying the change of the seasons. The fire is fed with decaying natural materials, cleared from all the yards in the village. Practically and symbolically, it purifies the village and prepares it for a new agricultural season. * The mythical, yet according to the villagers, true story of revival involves two brothers, rummaging around in the attic of their family home in the small village of Lozovik.

They’d heard tales of their great-grandfather, supposedly keeping something up there, locked up in an old trunk.

They find the trunk, and in it a mask. A curious, frightening effigy bearing strange symbols. As they reach into the trunk to take it out, the mask crumbles and turns to dust beneath their fingers. They are the only people living today who saw the mask before it disappeared.

Some 15 years have passed since then, and things have changed in the village. The tenuous link with the past which survived in an old trunk in an attic was one in a series of steps which led to the revival of the Bele Poklade carnival. With the help of anthropologists, Vito Petrović has managed to reconstruct the custom of Bele Poklade.

Lozovik is now the sole village in Serbia where this custom takes place in its original form.

In early spring, the mask bearers gather in groups, coming out of hiding, out of nature. They make a tremendous noise, heavy bells strung around their waists, ringing, announcing their arrival. They are boys in their early teens, as many as 50 of them, wearing frightening masks and draped in sheep-skins. Making their way around the village, they are masked so that the evil spirits won’t recognise them. The village clears before them, and the ritual fire they light purifies the place. In their snaking ring dance around the fire, they symbolically represent the circular change of seasons.

There are no people living today, who have seen the original carnival. The many wars, changes in government, and movements of population had disrupted the expression of ancient beliefs. Yet a link survived, and brought about a revival, echoing the larger cyclical connectedness of human life, death, nature and the rebirth of a new season.

Koruba, a heavy traditional mask made from an old wooden trough and animal horns, used in the Bele Poklade carnival in the village of Lozovik, Serbia

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FLY HIGH Live what you die for

Three best friends born and possessed with the talent of flexibility and strength inherited from their parents who played for the national’s themselves. They were the second generation of gymnasts in their family.

Story by Sohail Singh 62

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“More than that it’s the adrenalin rush and that amazing feeling you get after achieving something new. That is what we live for, and no one else will ever be able to understand our passion for this sport.�

Mikkel Rudi Kjeldsen

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On the day of 14th October 2016, In Czech republic where the european championship of gymnastics were held. Denmark’s national team bagged in the gold medal and became number 1 in Europe.

The story begins at the sports center Holing which is the middle of open land surrounded by fields, canals, lakes and industries of Herning, Denmark. Walking through the corridor of the sports center, crossing huge windows open to view athletes training. Each window gives a new view to different courts and sports. From young gymnasts doing their stunts to old retired men playing badminton to girls from different colleges competing each other in a basketball match. You have this wide view to huge courts. It’s like a corridor of inspiration filled with these athletes training with strength and power and watching their huge wall filled with medals and trophies.

Their new addition were the gold medals which the national team of gymnastics Gjellerup SDR won in European championship in October, 2016.

Gjellerup SDR trains on alternate days of the week. Training session consists of super intense individual workouts to performing as a team. They start with changing clothes and then the gymnasts start jumping on trampoline as high as they could for warming up their bodies. In the background they play fast beats music for the intense workout. The gymnastics court smells chalk and sweat as they apply lots of chalk to their hands before performing their stunts.

In the team there are 3 young men who are also best friends, aspiring to be selected for the national team who are already training with the national team in Holling sports center in Herning, Denmark.

Mikkel Rudi Kjeldsen 20, Nikolaj Sass,18 and Johnnie Zack Zülauare,19 Three best friends, they are the youngest practicing with the national team now. They have been practicing and started learning at the age of four as their parents were really supportive and were gymnasts themselves.

So they are like the second generation of gymnasts playing for the same team. Mikkel says ‘ when I was born, maybe even before I was born I was brought to this sports center’. He also says when he was born, his mother used to get him along for her training. So its like these guys were born with the flexibility and possessed with the talent inherited from their parents.

Nikolaj shares his thoughts about gymnastics and life, he quotes “Well, i guess the gymnastics helps me in the way of having a healthy life, i am able to do a lot of things that i would not be able to if i haven’t done gymnastics. it also gives a lot of experience by travelling around the world with gymnastics and have a closer look at other cultures and walks of life.

My parents are supporting me a lot for gymnastics. They were both gymnast at the same team that i go to now (Hammerum Rep. hold) and they know that you get a special bond to the people you are with, because they still see a lot of there friends from gymnastics.”

I asked Johnny about his thought on gymnastics and life, he quotes “I think its nice that you’re in an entirely new environ68

ment, and surrounded by some different people, than the ones you know fro back home. For some those people might be the same, but none of the friends i’ve grown up with, from my home town, are doing gymnastics. Also i feel like i can really be myself, when i am practicing because all of us who attend wants to improve, and that makes it a really nice training environment.

My mom comes to see us almost every time we perform, because she thinks its amazing what we do, and supports all of us very much (my siblings also do gymnastics) This summer was the first summer i travelled with the team and it really was a success. All of the people who went (45 gymnasts) got along really well, and we really got to learn each other in a completely new way. I know we train a lot during the week but most of us rarely see each other in out spare time, so this trip really got us to know each other in a more personal way, and made us even closer than before.”

Mikkel’s thoughts while having a walk around the sports center where he says that gymnastics for him is a way of living.

It helps him to maintain balance in life. He also loves the adrenalin rush which he gets while performing his skills. Then he told me about his girlfriend and how good athlete she is.

He says that we were little different in a way as his girlfriend liked to compete herself in every possible way to be faster by a second every time she ran, but Mikkel thinks differently and says he does not do gymnastics to compete or for any kind of results but for his inner happiness which makes him calm in life. He says gymnastics has taught him to have control over his body and mind. He also thinks gymnastics is such a meditative state that even the slightest of errors in the focus while performing gymnastics could be lethal so they have to maintain this balance to keep the focus on. He has performed in many individual gymnastics competitions and bagged in gold medals. He likes to be on the top of the podium at some point. He is now planning to study further in a bording gymnasium here in Denmark. He says when he is flying and doing his skills, he has this particular kind of feeling which he fails to describe and wants to do over and over again all his life.

Personal thoughts from Mikkel Rudi Kjeldsen Gymnastics. Its not just a sport. it’s my whole life. without it just don’t know what my goal in life would be. When i am at school, all i want is to be in the gym. When i am at home, i just want to be there. It’s like that’s all i enjoy in my life. because in the gym, there’s this safe heaven where nobody judges you on what you wear or how you look, or how you act. you don’t have to worry about the drama or anything else. Yes its hard, no one except other gymnasts understand how emotionally and physically hard it is but you love it, and its the one thing no one can ruin or take away. And then you think about all the hours you spend in that chalk filled gym, day after day, year after year, and ask your self, for what? It’s those few minutes on the first place podium the chance to say that you truly are a gymnast. More than that it’s the adrenalin rush and that amazing feeling you get after achieving something new. That is what we live for, and no one else will ever be able to understand our passion for this sport.

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UP: Rocco Ciurlia is setting fire to raked leaves after having cut away all the dead parts of his family’s olive trees. This way diseases are kept from spreading and the ash can be used as a fertilizer.

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My father is in these trees A bacteria imported from Costa Rica is killing the ancient olive trees in Italy.

It is a disaster in slow motion.

by Patricia KĂźhfuss

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„I expect all my trees to be dead in two years, I have to find a bridge until science has found a solution.“ ­ It was a night he would remember. On August 9, 2013, Donato Boscia was sitting outside the house of his parents in law in the very South of Italy, enjoying the warm summer air. Crickets were chirping, and the family was having one of these extensive Italian dinners that leave you with nothing to wish for. When all the plates were empty, Donatos father in law said: „Would you come with me tomorrow to have a look at my olive trees?

I think there is something wrong with them.“ Donato agreed, and followed him to the grove the next day. „I divide my life into a before and after that day. Everything changed.“ Puglia, situated in the heel of the boot of Italy, is famous for sun, a breathtaking landscape and its fluid gold - high quality olive oil. When landing with the plane in Bari, a carpet of green dots in tiny squares unfolds, no end in sight. About 60 million trees have been planted down to the very eastern tip of Italy, it is one of the oldest farming traditions in the world.

Many trees are several hundred years old, some even more than a thousand. Because they are so old, the small groves are family heritage — handed down from father to son, the trees becoming family members themselves, with all their odd shapes and personalities.

Trees becoming skeletons „As a plant pathologist, when I discovered what happened with the trees of my father in law, it was like if a volcano erupted in the garden of a volcanologist - it was impossible to turn away“, Donato Boscia says today.

He is one of the main researchers at the National Research Council in Bari, a plant virologist. What he found on the trees, to the untrained eye it may seem unspectacular in the beginning: Some dried leaves on the outer part of the plant, as if they had been dipped in brown paint. But the withering continues, takes over whole branches, and in the end leaves a dead stump.

Donato started researching with his team, and found that the cause is a bacterium called Xylella fastidiosa pauca. It is spread by froghoppers, tiny insects that drink from the fluid inside the plant, injecting the bacterium with their mouth like a syringe.

The bacteria clogs the veins of the plant, so it essentially dies of thirst. The disease is nothing new - it is common in North

and South America, causing milllion dollar damages in the wine- and citrus industry, but the olive tree is new, there is no experience. By testing the DNA of the bacteria found in Salento, the origin seems to be Costa Rica. There is the hypothesis that it was introduced with ornamental plants imported via Rotterdam. „I tried to make my father in law understand that it is not his fault that his trees are dying, but he still feels terrible about it. Now, he has nothing to give to his daughter.“ says Donato Boscia. The farmers have a hard time seeing their trees becoming skeletons, so they cut away everything dry and burn it. The smell of burnt wood hangs over the land every day. Yet, there is the theory that the cutting just speedens up the decay, because the bacteria is getting closer and closer to the trunk of the tree. „There is no blood in them, they are all dry.“ Cosimo de Luca looks up to his barren 700 hundred year old tree in the dying light and searches for words. „Look at this. The trees are so old, they have seen so much.

In the old times, people used to sleep under them in summer, because the air was cool and fresh in their shelter. And now they are all dead. Just dead.“ He is a farmer near Gallipoli who was one of the first to notice changes in his trees, already nine years ago, he says. When he asked people what was happening, nobody could tell him what was going on. Like many of the farmers, he feels left alone with his problems by the politicians. By now, there has been no financial support for anyone affected by Xylella fastidiosa, as the Italian government considers the EU to be responsible. „I have cried so much, but now I don‘t have tears anymore.“ Cosimo de Luca wasn‘t the last to lose his trees.

Hunting for a scapegoat The monoculturing of olive trees makes the region an easy victim for the bacteria. There are no natural barriers, the insect can easily jump from tree to tree. This way, it spread over the whole heel in Italy in the last three years. The EU is desperately trying to force Italy to contain the spread, as it threatens agriculture all over Europe. The bacterium might take over not only millions of olive trees, but also other host plants,

UP: Cut olive wood is lying to dry in the yard of an olive mill. The price of olive wood has halfed in the last 3 years.

DOWN: Gino Scarcia just discovered that his trees got sick. “ The moment my trees got sick, I got sick. They are like sons to me.”

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LEFT: There is a big discussion amongst the farmers whether to use pesticides to fight Xylella or not.

This tree is treated with an all biological infusion of accacia, grapefruit and beech. .

DOWN: Samples of olive trees from the region are prepared to be tested on Xylella.

UP: Angelo De Stradis, a member of Donato Boscia’s team, is reflected in his transmissionelectron microscope. He takes pictures of cultivations of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa with added nanoparticles, which aim to destroy the surface.

LEFT: There is a big discussion amongst the farmers whether to use pesticides to fight the bacterium or not. This tree is treated with a biological infusion of accacia, grapefruit and beech.

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like almond, citrus and oleander. It’s not easy. In 2015, a lot of fighting was going on between the owners of the trees and the government of Puglia, which tried to enforce the emergency measures of the EU for areas infected with contagious plant diseases: cutting down and uprooting not only the infected plant, but also all the plants in a 100 m radius. In some places, this would have meant creating a desert. These radical actions were met with violent resistance, questions were raised: Who could really proof the cutting would help? Was Xylella really the cause? Or rather the excessive use of pesticides in the region? Wasn‘t all of this a big plot by the big companies to take the land of the small farmers? Or the mafia? And what if a cure was found, and all the ancient trees were cut, this heritage would be lost.

It didn‘t really help that the decision process in the EU is slow, being able to react only once a month, while the disease was spreading with alarming speed in the region. In result, communication with the farmers was poor, and the voices of the conspiracy theorists on social media were much louder than the voices of the scientists. The search for a scapegoat got more interesting than the search for a solution. It ended in a lawsuit against the scientist, that resulted in stopping all actions in fighting the disease. Today, the Salento region is considered lost to Xylella by Italian scientists, but it would be really important to keep the disease from spreading further north by cutting down the new infections. Still, none of the politicians really wants to make these unpopular decisions. „My father died two years ago, my brother is in Milan, so now its me that has to look after the olive grove“, says Chiara Liaci from Véglie. She is 26 and after tumultous times in the family tries to get her feet on the ground. This also means to understand what is going on with the trees she just got responsible for. There is little information for the owners of the olive trees about Xylella, but a lot of fear. The newspapers contradict each other every day when they write about the bacterium. Chiara‘s trees are not yet infected, but already one thing is clear for her: „Who says the cutting would really help something? I would never ever cut down my trees, even if it might save others. It is my father that is in these trees.“ RIGHT: Cosimo de Luca had his groves next to the outbreak of the disease close to Gallipoli. He has lost almost all the trees of his family heritage.

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Finding the One Giovanni Melcarne, an olive oil producer near St Maria de Leuca, doesn‘t have time for conspiracy theories, nor is he interested in them. „I expect all my trees to be dead in two years, I have to find a bridge until science has found a solution.“ He dug deep into his own pockets to do what he thinks is important to save his existence. To sit and wait for help from above is not his manner.

He invested 30.000 Euros into an experimental field near Presicce, where he grafted 250 different cultiva of olive from all over the world on 1000 trees that were about to get sick, in collaboration with the scientists from Bari. The idea is to find a cultiva that is very tolerant or immune to Xylella. That it might exist, suggests the cultiva of Leccino which can be found in Salento, the only trees that are still green in a sea of dried out trees. Only 1-2% of Xylella fastidiosa can be found in the leaves.

The tree gets sick, but dies much slower than other cultiva. Will there be trees that don‘t get sick at all? „Right now we have not realized yet with our hearts that we are on the edge of a disaster. We really believe there will be a solution. But it‘s a race against time.“ Giovannis phone is ringing and he is off to take the call.

Back to the roots To Jolanda de Nola, part of an olive producing family business, this solution might not be a fast one, in fact, she might not even live to see it. „To me, this disease is a warning sign by nature, telling us that the way we have treated the olive trees the last 50 years was not right.“ The monoculturing, the excessive use of pesticides, only pressing money out of the trees and the soil without considering the cost - for Jolanda the trees are simply not strong enough to fight the bacteria on their own. She decided for herself to take the first step: Together with her father Gaetano she turned to biological farming of her olive groves. Still, the trees got sick.

Infusion bags are hanging from the branches filled with a mix of grapefruit, accacia, and beech remind one of a beloved family member brought to hospital. The treatment it is expensive, and it is only an experiment. Anyway, for them, the use of even more pesticides is not acceptable. „It all comes from the soil, so we have to start from the soil again. It will take a very long time. But somebody has to start sometime.“

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WilmaLeskowitschSohailSinghSagarChhetri SarahJabbariPatriciaKuehfuessAllisonHess TamaraMarkovicCharlotteHooijCoraSundmacher

NOTE: Thanks to everybody who helped realize this publication!