Social distance: from zero to 1,5 meters

By Maxime Booi On 26 October 2020 Colour piece – How a virus has created a new social reality.Chairman Phillipe Tankink explains the difficulties of following the new Corona rules at his hockey club. It is a beautiful, sunny and cloudless Sunday. Players, opponents, supporters, friends and family come together for a day full of sports, fun, food and drinks. It’s Super Sunday. With people … Continue reading Social distance: from zero to 1,5 meters

Rage against the most persistent of pandemics

Just when the corona crisis slowed down, we were brutally reminded of the other ‘pandemic’ that has raged across the world for over 400 years. Indeed COVID-19 does not see race, status or sexual orientation. However, the pandemic has demonstrated the fatality of inequality. The overwhelmingly black deaths of New York serve as irrefutable evidence that systematic racism is so deeply embedded in our societies, that it didn’t even slip from a colourblind virus.  Continue reading Rage against the most persistent of pandemics

Time to press the green reset button

While the economy and businesses are rushing to return to normality, the Planet is in no hurry for pollution levels to rise again. It is about time we gave normality a green re-evaluation. By Veronica Kontopoulou It is May 2020; the air and water qualities have improved dramatically; the Himalayas are visible from Indian balconies for the first time in decades and videos of wildlife … Continue reading Time to press the green reset button

Friendships in the time of Corona

by Dauphine Vernimmen Silence. Empty streets, empty cities and closed restaurants. The noise moved to our computers. Everything is going online: work, friendships and meetings. All of us soon adapted to interacting with friends and loved ones solely through screens. Speaking to friends through WhatsApp and having daily Zoom meetings is useful to stay in touch but it is not the same as it used … Continue reading Friendships in the time of Corona

Their way of ‘looking’ at the world is through Bilal’s eyes

How Bilal cheers his loved ones up with his childlike purity and innocence, even in the most desperate circumstances. By Lieve Thuis The Netherlands, 2020 – “Bilal” is a film about an unusual story of a three-year-old Muslim boy living with his younger brother Hamza and blind parents in the chaotic centre of Kolkata, India. The world of Bilal shows rare moments of sharing love, … Continue reading Their way of ‘looking’ at the world is through Bilal’s eyes

WAR, LOVE AND NEW LIFE AMONGST THE RUBBLE

FOR SAMA (2019): This agonizingly intimate account of the Syrian war will make you forget about your first-world problems   Two young boys, hardly the age of ten, both covered in dust, are rushing the lifeless body of another young boy into a makeshift hospital in Aleppo. A missile hit their house. The boy, Mohammed Ameen, was their brother. Their mother arrives, looking for her … Continue reading WAR, LOVE AND NEW LIFE AMONGST THE RUBBLE

The ancient art of Ottoman cuisine

When thinking of Turkish food, what immediately comes to mind is kebab, lahmacun and köfte. However, there is a lot more to find in the Ottoman kitchen. The Asitane restaurant in Istanbul has taken 500-year-old recipes from the palace archives and turned them into an ancient culinary experience. Text by Gijs de Boer, photos by Mila Emmer The ancient Ottoman Empire covers a time span … Continue reading The ancient art of Ottoman cuisine