Buenos Aires welcomed in 2009 with an almost eerie quiet. By yesterday afternoon, the streets were deserted and most businesses closed. Later, as we waited with daughter Belen to ring in the new year, we noticed how many apartments in buildings around us were shuttered and dark. Even the few fireworks (more noise than lights) at midnight were sparse.Many people here (as in Europe) take off for the mountains or the beach for several weeks over the summer, escaping the heat of the city. Our favorite pasta factory, for example, closed down Dec. 29 and won't reopen until early February. (Fortunately there are other options in the neighborhood.)
The peaceful mood here contrasts starkly with the images of carnage, desperation, and grief coming from the Gaza Strip. How can we be allowing this massacre to continue?
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