Carldacus@gmail.com On Fri 20 Sept 2024, 23:25 Jane McGary via pbs, < pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote: > I've just received a remarkable book from a recent visitor who manages > an NGO program for women in Afghanistan. It is "War Gardens: A journey > through conflict in search of calm," by Lalage Snow (London: Quercus, > 2018). Snow, a photojournalist working in conflict areas, tells the > stories of gardeners in Ukraine, Gaza, Israel, the West Bank/Occupied > Territories, and Afghanistan. It is hard to read for weeping, yet it > also lifts the spirit. Many of us know how much good gardening and > observing plants does to allay personal distress or pain. These stories > extend that understanding to parts of the world that many of us will > never experience directly. Through charities I support and plant-hunting > trips, I've been able to visit sites of present and recent conflicts, > including Iraqi Kurdistan, eastern Turkey, the former Yugoslavia, > Albania, and the northern Caucasus, and to hear local people talk about > their lives and present struggles. > > People turn their thoughts to the natural world everywhere on earth, and > a deep interest in plants and admiration of flowers is pervasive. It is > human. We can reach out past the barriers of oceans and politics to > share it. And we can help people who maintain their gardens and wild > flowers in the face of war, and their families. We can support the > International Rescue Committee, Women for Women International, Doctors > without Borders, Mercy Corps, and other NGOs, and we can urge our > government to give more support to UN programs. Likely you already do: > the love of living things runs deep. > > Jane McGary,Portland, Oregon, USA > > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > https://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> > PBS Forum latest: > https://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbsforum/index.php/… > _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net https://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> PBS Forum https://…