Fashion revolution: demanding ethical clothes

Last month, on April 24, a revolution took place. This time it was about fashion and the idea was to commemorate the victims of the collapse of the Rana Plaza textile factory in Bangladesh one year earlier. The horrible accident killed more than 1 100 garment workers manufacturing cheap clothes for our "needs" in the West. Journalist Jason Burke challenges this mindless consumption in the Guardian: "People blamed the factory owners, the builders, or the government. But isn't the real culprit our demand for cheap clothing?" Indeed it is, but rather than pillorying anyone or everyone, our responsibility now as civilized consumers is to demand for more ethical and ecologically and socially sustainable clothes as was done during the Fashion Revolution Day.

The day consisted of different events around the world to gain attention to the poor working conditions in Asia and to the lack of ethics in fashion industry. Even the Italian Vogue participated in this fashion revolution (hypocritical?). With my flatmate here in Helsinki, we went to the cute and cosy art gallery Lokal to participate in a photo session organized as part of the day's events (they had great scones for breakfast too). The point was to take photos of people wearing their favourite clothes inside-out (showing the "Made in" label). I wore one of my favourite Marimekko dresses ("Made in China"!!!) that has attracted a lot of positive feedback from my friends and strangers alike (in a scout event a German guy told me that I was the best dressed scout ever - blush!).

Wearing one of my favourite Marimekko dresses inside out. More ethical fashion, please! (You can find more photos in Twitter with #insideout)

Unfortunately Marimekko, the most well-known Finnish fashion brand, has started to manufacture more and more of its clothes abroad. I'm obviously ok with EU countries, but I'm annoyed that some of the quite expensive clothes are nowadays made in China. Who knows how the subcontractor of a subcontractor is working. I've send a few emails to Marimekko complaining about the current situation: why isn't Marimekko making its clothes in Europe any more when it is at the same time celebrating loudly its Finnish design tradition? The excuses have been weak ("there is no machinery in Finland any more" - hmmm, I wonder why) and, to my humble opinion, it's just about making more profit for the stock holders (well, of course it is). It's a pity because I'd love to buy more Marimekko clothes and wear them proudly in Finland and abroad (I should actually be given some kind of a Marimekko promotion prize for all the publicity I've done for the company outside Finland - except for this blog piece maybe...).

In the Guardian, Jason Burke continues: "Executives from big brands all make similar points when talking about the Rana Plaza collapse. They express their shock and grief... They also emphasise the importance of the garment industry to the Bangladeshi economy and the social transformation brought about by the employment of millions of young, rural women, albeit in poorly paid, monotonous jobs. One company spokesman points out that otherwise 'these women would be in the fields, in ship-breaking or shrimp farming, working as maids'. Now, he says, they are breadwinners, independent, and often with the means to pay for their kids to go to school." It is true that withdrawing the garment industry from Bangladesh would leave millions of people without a job (altogether the livelihood of 8 million Bangladeshis depends on this industry). That's why it's imperative to improve the working conditions out there. There is a need for global solidarity even though that sounds like a quite unrealistic solution. 

Personally, I think we could afford to pay much more for our t-shirts - and for ecological reasons we should pay more and buy less. However, it's sad what the business is saying (again a citation from Burke's article): "Companies do very precise work to understand the consumers and what level of quality they are willing to pay for, and a large number of consumers prefer inexpensive over respect for human rights or environment. After all, if you buy a pair of jeans at $9.99, what are you really expecting about the working conditions of those who made them or even just the environment in which they live?" This is why the strict regulations should be in the law and not in the hands of the consumers. Couldn't the EU do something (why not ask your EU parliament candidate!)?

I've discovered recently the brand Cotélac, which I really fell in love with and I think it must be somewhat ethical as the clothes are made in France and in their shops they are very willing to talk about the production. However, when I tried to inspect the issue more, I couldn't find information on the internet after a quick look. But well, Cotélac's clothes are so expensive that it is by necessity ethical and ecological as you can only buy very few of them... However, this just exemplifies how difficult it is for the consumer to know what they are buying and where all the pieces and bits are made in. Nowadays it is not even necessary to have the label of origin in the clothes; I find this actually quite shocking considering how much effort the EU is putting on the labels of food for example. I want consumer protection here too - protection against bad consciousness (or is knowing worse? it's made in China and I buy it anyway...).

Cotélac print from this spring's collection.

After the few negative words about Marimekko spelled above, I have to say that at least they have their corporate responsibility agenda clearly visible on their website. It is by the way surprising that of Marimekko's total production only 23 per cent are made outside of the EU. Surprising because each time I look at the "Made in" tag it says China, which after all only represents 8 per cent of Marimekko's manufacturing. All in all, Marimekko's website is a great source of information. This is already quite good while it doesn't impede me from challenging them to work more ethically and ecologically by sending them an email every now and then reminding them that there are consumers who care - by the way, you should do that too with your favourite company. 

p.s. Here are some tips for sustainable fashion brands from Finland.

A little self-discipline exercise

Today was the last day of my 6-day fast. This was my second time fasting so I really didn't have any doubts that I wouldn't make it. Here's how it went.

I followed a "menu" where I could have 1 dl of juice in the morning, 2 dl of juice and 2,5 dl vegetable stock for lunch and 2,5 dl of veggie stock and 1-2 dl of juice in the evening + herbal tea and water all day long. In the instructions I read, and which I also used the last time, they recommend to use a few products to stabilize the functioning of the stomach during the fast. I still had the leftovers of my last fast, but I have to say that Molkosan (milk serum) and Cynara (artichoke extract) taste so bad that after a little cost-benefit analysis, I decided not to use them.

Some benefits of fasting:

1. Some sources say that fasting can have remarkable health benefits.  Already Hippocrates recommended fasting to treat diseases. 
2. A fast gives the much needed rest to the entire digestive system and its bacteria to repair, renew and heal itself. Toxins are removed (de-toxification) and it also cleanses heavy metal from our body.
3. Fasting can enhance immunity, gives longevity, lowers risk of heart diseases, balances pH and blood sugar level, diminishes pains and allergies, cleanses blood, tissue and organs, restores liver functioning capacity and makes the complexion clean and radiant.
4. During the fast, one gets to observe the mind closely. The fast clears the mind. It also helps to understand of our food habits and cravings. Furthermore, fasting can lower our craving for sugar and other stimulants like coffee.
5. Many religious faiths in the world have encouraged the practice of fasting. Fasting is a time of introspection and emotional cleansing. Enhanced sense of joy and lightness may also appear together with increased energy and vigor.
6. A fast can be an inspiration and a kick-start for healthier eating habits.

(Sources: YogicWayOfLife, JuiceFastForHealth, A.Vogel and AllABoutFasting)

A few days before the fast, I tried to avoid alcohol (easy after 2,5 months without alcohol) and coffee and eat lightly. In addition, I ate dried plums and flax seeds in order to get my stomach working. In connection to the last point, every day during the fast I did colon cleansing that is said to be very good in preventing any side-effects of the fast (less feeling of hunger, no headaches or stomach problems).

Day 1. I started the day with a morning ashtanga yoga. After the exercise I had 1 dl of carrot juice and went to work. My colleagues weren't that surprised about my fasting, they remembered me drinking a vegetable stock for lunch one year earlier. I had a headache in the afternoon, which I normally never have and I was also super tired and had a late afternoon nap for two hours at home. However, I'm not sure if this lack of energy was associated with the fasting or with the previous weekend's active programme. Sauna in the evening was relaxing. 

I watched a documentary film on fasting from medical and health point of view. It really encouraged me as the evidence shows the multiple benefits of fasting even though the mechanism is not yet very clear. The main conclusion I made was: if you have an illness, why not try fasting to lessen its effects on you. I discovered that in Russia and Germany there are fasting clinics or rather fasting spas, where people go even for weeks to fast (in Russia only water is allowed - perhaps a bit too hard core for me) and treat their various illnesses. And it seemed to work!

Day 2. Last year I came to realise that weekend is the hardest time for self-discipline when fasting. Wherever you walk in the city, there are cafés, smell of baked bread, and people eating in the restaurants. This year, it was easier for me as I was attending a shiatsu massage course on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, I was still very sleepy and felt really cold all the time, but otherwise I felt fine. On the break, when others were having lunch, I had my 2,5 dl of vegetable stock again. The carrot juice started to taste awful in my mouth and I could only have a sip of it, luckily the veggie stock is enough to keep the hunger away. Went to bed around 21h.

Day 3. I woke up in the morning with nasty stomach pain and I was sweating like hell as if having a fever. I already felt desperate that I couldn't go to my shiatsu course, but after an hour of turning around in the bed, I finally felt ok. At the bus stop I gulped impatiently the rest of my grape juice and started feeling better immediately. The first two or three days are said to be the worst during a fast. Last time I even threw up in the morning of my second fasting day. This time it was much easier. However, the veggie juices start to disgust me... Even the tomato juice that normally tastes so good (well, normally = in the airplanes). 

My flatmate who started fasting two days after me was not feeling so well, she either had a problem with not drinking coffee or she just reacted to the lack of food with an awful headache - I've been much luckier. I gave her a shiatsu mental relaxation massage that relieved the pain at least momentarily.

Day 4. I dared to try morning yoga again. I said to myself that I could do my exercise a bit more easily and even skip the last asanas, but in the yoga shala I felt fantastic. I suddenly felt a lot of energy and vitality within me and the asanas seemed easier than ever. I felt very light. The whole day, I had almost an euphoric feeling.

In the evening, I attended my first ever housing cooperative meeting with my new neighbours that I so far haven't met almost at all. I managed to avoid all cooperative board responsibilities. An excellent day, I should say.

Day 5. Still a great feeling but the taste of all the juices really suck - even the herbal teas bore me. The new juice, beetroot, was just awful, I decided to save it to make a risotto with it after the fast. Instead, I bought some normal organic apple juice to drink - ah, so much better (and cheaper).

In the evening, I did gardening work with my neighbours. Great that I can do gardening while living in an urban apartment. Gardening is a mental holiday, it enhanced the effect of fast on mental clarity; I was fully concentrated in cutting the bushes from the correct spot.

My flatmate still had a headache, poor her. We were thinking that it might be because she didn't do the colon cleansing. Follow the instructions...

Day 6. I woke up even before the alarm rang. I was at work super early and super efficient. Last day of the fast, but I could have even continued if I hadn't planned all  sorts of food activities for the following days. Next time, I will definitely try to make it longer if my calendar allows me. 

In the afternoon, a yoga class again. It felt purely fantastic. I could do some asanas much better than normally. I wonder if it's because I have lost some kilograms and even this little change in weight makes me able to move myself better. Less belly fat on the way to hinder flexibility. Or maybe it's my super focused mind now. Who knows, but this is a good motivation to obey a lighter diet in the future as well. I felt almost sad to break the fast, it has gone so well. But ah, doing grocery shopping at Stockmann was also very nice. 

I could definitely feel the benefits of fasting: a clear mind, lighter body, increased vitality, better focus - and for sure, a greater trust in myself: wherever I set my mind, I can do it with a bit of self-discipline. I also started to think that my usual diet - even though very healthy and vegetarian - might contain too much sugar that reduces my potential energy levels. A lesson learnt, I try to cut down my sugar intake in the future in order to prolonge the feeling of vitality reached during the fast.

As you should start a fast with careful preparations, you should also break it with some precautions. Thus, I had a light meal in the evening to prepare myself for a regular food as of tomorrow. Banana-blueberry smoothie with some flax seeds and bread with avocado. Ah, the taste was so delicious. And the feeling of biting and chewing, very cool sensations. Little simple things really make you happy after a fast :)

And the food-related exercises are not over yet; I was planning to spend a month noting meticulously everything that I eat and check how much I spend on my food. Let's see if I manage to reduce sugar in my diet as well and how to rid myself of sugar cravings. The idea is also to try to eat eco-healthy but with an aim at affordability. I'll try to write some descriptions here on this little study later on.

Burmese Days

Time to write down a few words about my trip to Burma - my amazingly great trip to Burma, or Myanmar as the country is nowadays called.

Ah, these pink shoes are made for traveling - just looking at them makes me wanna go go go!

I wanted to travel to Burma before it's spoilt by other tourists (because I'm a better tourist, of course...). Indeed, the Myanmar government wants to increase the number of tourists to 20 million per year in the near future. I didn't want to see another Thailand (the likely future if 20 million of us go there annually), I wanted to see a country that people had told me to be like Vietnam two decades ago - lush forests and uncrowded sights with authentic atmosphere.

It was also interesting to visit the country just now when it's going through massive changes. The country is opening up in such a fast pace that my Lonely Planet from 2011 was in urgent need for an update. The New Yorker article The Burmese Spring from August 2012 also felt a bit old in some facts, although it gave a good overview of the political situation in the country.

Another obligatory travel reading was obviously George Orwell's critique of colonialism, the novel Burmese Days. The introduction to my edition of the novel was written by Emma Larkin and it had some interesting insights to the book that is partly based on Orwell's own experiences in this British colony in the 1920s. Larkin writes that Orwell's later books also mirrored Burma's recent history and some Burmese intellectuals actually call him "the prophet". Retrospectively, one can argue that Burmese Days, Animal Farm and 1984 form a trilogy portraying Burmese historical events from colonialism to socialist revolution and finally to dictatorship and dystopia. Luckily, it now seems that another epilog can be written to the story. Luckily, because the country has so many things to offer - let's see if I manage to post some more stories and photos here in the near future.

Great anti-colonialist travel reading. Several people also sell it in Burma, but don't be taken aback by these sellers, it's a great read!

Logistics...

I first wanted to travel to Burma from Bangkok by land, but I came to notice that it was hard to find any reliable information on the border crossings on internet, as the recent changes in the Burmese policies (to my understanding some borders were opened in July 2013) haven't yet found their way to the travelers' fora. With a visa from Berlin embassy (quick and handy, though it's quite easy to get it from Bangkok as well), it was safer to fly into the country. 

Most of the practical information on traveling in Burma was obsolete (and the Lonely Planet accommodation prices one fourth of what they are today!). I had packed a pile of new bills of 100 dollars with me and I was ready to exchange currency in the black market as was described in the guide books, but as soon as I arrived to the small Mandalay airport, I was in a queue to an official money exchange. Gone were the days when one could pay for two weeks trip in Burma with a pack of cigarettes and a bottle of whiskey. Less exciting for sure, but definitely easier. And all those stories about no ATM's accepting international credit cards in the whole country, no longer valid. 

It is actually quite easy to travel in Burma. But remember, what looks like 150 km on the map will take around 10 hours in a bus... On a boat trip from Mandalay to Bagan (11 hours), I thought I could actually bike faster to my destination. 

If someone worries about the foreign money going to the government, it is a good point to raise but you don't need an official government-approved guide to take you around, you don't need to bribe or pay for the government, and actually, to my understanding, a lot of the money spent there goes to the local people. Some guides are aware of where the money goes to the government and won't even take you there (some sights close to Mandalay). In Bagan, you must pay an entrance fee around 15 US dollars to the site and this also goes to the government. But then, is it pure hypocrisy to think of your tourist money going to dictator when you don't consider human rights in your every day life back home?

Becoming a "bobo"

It all happened very quickly. A dispute with my neighbours due to stepping on the still-a-bit-wet wax on the stairs, being annoyed, upset and desperate, questioning my relationship to Eira ("do I really belong here if my neighbours are so unfriendly..."), and finally taking the whole thing as a Sign.

The waxing scandal happened on a Wednesday and on the following Sunday I went to see an apartment that I then bought a couple of weeks later. Tadaa, surprise (at least for myself)!

And here I am writing this blog in my new kitchen in Käpylä. An action lady I am. An indebted action lady to be more correct. Were there signs or not that I should move from Eira, I now have twenty years to pay my mortgage. I take it as a sign of a deep serious turn in life. Hopefully it doesn't mean that I will be stuck here for the rest of my life. Although, I'm in the first floor that suits disabled elderly people perfectly... 

So, in less than one month, I transformed from an elitist Eira dweller to a bohemian bourgeois ("bobo") of Käpylä. So far there are no regrets, but I'm sure that in some time I will miss the sea and the beautiful neighbourhood of Eira - the most beautiful in Helsinki after all. 

On the day I was moving, I went for a morning coffee in Viiskulma's Brooklyn Café and said to the American waiter that they should open another branch in Käpylä. The guy replied that there might not be so many cafés in Käpylä (are there any?), but I would have nature close by. I guess he's the only person who could say something positive about me moving from Eira to Käpylä (well, he hadn't seen my charming place in Eira), except for my parents who are thrilled.

Hitherto, it has been quite impossible to get to know my new neighbourhood (or the surrounding nature for that matter) because the days are so dark and I've been immensely busy reading interior design magazines, painting the walls and trying to fit all my stuff here. One thing is for sure, I do not need any Christmas gifts, there's nothing material I can possibly need.

Except that...

Reading all those interior design magazines and moving around my furniture in the new living room, I feel that my stuff doesn't fit the atmosphere of the 1940s apartment. Hmm, I guess this blog will turn into a design blog for a moment or - as you can guess from the pace I post anything here - not!

And as for the fact of being adult: I luckily recruited an old friend from Florence to be my flatmate. Two bright PhD ladies, it will be cool! But before that, one month of holidays in Asia. One week to go, and a zen master will be writing here shortly... Shanti!

The non-zones

Airports. In a way, I love them, they are often connected to new adventures, new places and great expectations. On the other hand, it's a lot of waiting, boredom, goodbyes and existential crisis. Airports are similar non-zones regardless where you are, places that do not have any characteristics except for the characteristics of your own trip and flight experience. You can be at the airport of Bangkok or Cairo without realizing it, it could be London or Helsinki as well. The only trouble you have is with the currency exchange rate.

In the past one month or so I have spent too much time at the airports. It makes traveling annoying and boring. The glory of air traveling has lost its attractiveness. And indeed, the glory was very far on my trip to Luxembourg last Monday. The autumn storm was disrupting ("irregularities" as the flight companies put it) air traffic in Amsterdam so I was ordered to fly through Copenhagen. Why not, the Danish guys are tall and handsome. 

However, the storm had already advanced to Southern Sweden and Denmark. With our second try, we finally managed to land to very windy Copenhagen (people were vomiting at the back of the plane, I was meditating) and the airport was then closed (also trains and metros stopped working). I got in a transit center queue with a Danish sandwich and a beer and calculated that it would take around 20 hours to serve the 800 customers in line in front of me. "Luckily" after 1 hour 40 min, I realized that I had been waiting in a wrong queue and eventually took a number for the correct counter. Only 100 numbers before me (and a tall and handsome Finn!).

Too bad I was overly focused on getting a new flight to Luxembourg (+hotel room) so I wasn't able to go around in the Copenhagen airport which is probably one of the nicest ones in Europe. You find there good shops and many different kinds of cafés or restaurants, unlike in Helsinki-Vantaa airport where you only get one type of vegetarian sandwich in all the cafés of the airport. No wonder my friend told me on Facebook to concentrate on shopping and not on the tall and handsome Danish guys.

Usually I tend to connect airports with lots of emotions. Crying out loud at the counter in Paris-Orly when I had misunderstood the flight schedule (I made it however and got in time to Berlin to see my new boyfriend), buying a 300 EUR Ryanair flight to London when I had foolishly missed my initial flight (and got to see my boyfriend - not the same one - almost in time), leaving my Senegalese tax-free products in Madrid security check (not properly packed liquids) after a lot of negotiations and - on the more positive side - all the proseccos I have enjoyed in order to celebrate a wonderful upcoming adventure. 

Something that I also find thrilling at the airports are other people traveling and expecting great adventures, the feeling of big expectations. It can be contaminating. But then, you also have these usual Brussels bureaucrats, dryly moving from one capital to another.

Airports can also be a place for cultural shocks. When I arrived to the luxurious airport of Bangkok after traveling on budget in Cambodia and Laos, I was disgusted by the boutiques of Louis Vuitton and Prada and the glittering diamonds and golden watches in the shop windows. At the Arlanda airport in Stockholm, on my way from Addis Abebe back to Finland, I was depressed by the Starbucks café (and capitalism): after all the excellent Ethiopian coffee that was roasted before my eyes, I was just uninterested by the Swedish barista asking me if I wanted my cappuccino with a single or double shot, tall/medium/large and made with Guatemalan/Columbian/Costa Rican/Ethiopian /Kenyan /+10 other choices coffee. "Just give me a bloody coffee, will you!" The modern capitalism has given us the illusion of liberty to choose, but to choose what, the coffee beans for my toffee frappuccino latte macchiato. Who cares, and does this illusion of endless choices make anyone happier (I'd say it's the opposite, and what the fuck is "tall cappuccino" in any case)? 

The luxury at the airports can be also nice in certain circumstances. After rough traveling, I love to go to the duty-free shop in my hiking outfit, wearing my last almost-clean clothes and try on the super expensive Sisley hand cream (and wonder who the heck will pay 100 euros for a hand cream), some lipstick and perfume and think that I'm ready for the urban life once again. 

To conclude, here are some of my observations about some airports I've travelled through:

- Entebbe (Uganda): UN flights leaving to South Sudan with peacekeepers on board made my own travels seem quite uninteresting.

- Istanbul: flights all over the world, Muslims wearing their best clothes on the way to Mecca or Medina. Flights to Teheran, Baghdad, Kigali etc. A place to start a real trip!

- Italian airports: last chance to have a cheap and good cappuccino on the way back home.

- Brussels: they have finally ended with the construction work of the train station at the airport, but still, arriving to Brussels still feels like arriving to some backward country in the 1970s, nothing functions. But chocolate is good and last chance to have a cheap Leffe on the way home.

- Amsterdam: the self-flushing toilets are just annoying and uncomfortable.

- JFK: you expect glory and you find concrete. What the heck?? A truly disappointing airport.

-Bujumbura (Burundi): two gates, no screens, and outside some very rusty and old Air Burundi airplanes (to be avoided).

Love and Anarchy: Camille Claudel 1915

I still need to mention this one film, Camille Claudel 1915, that I saw at the Helsinki International Film Festival, because I happened to visit a little exhibition of Camille Claudel at the Musée Rodin in Paris by coincidence a week later.

Jeune fille à la gerbe, by Camille Claudel. Photo from the website of Musée Rodin.

Camille Claudel was first Rodin's student and later his lover. It didn't end up well as we learn from the film. Claudel ends up in a mental institution where she spends the rest of her life, though she obviously doesn't belong there.

Juliette Binoche played Claudel in the film and she was absolutely fantastic in the role. In her face, you can feel Claudel's dolour, despair and hope. Not much is happening in the film, but the intensity of Binoche's presence is outstanding. The use of actual mentally handicapped people in the casting was courageous, but as it turned out, the best possible solution. I can't understand how the people next to me in the theater could have been eating popcorn - constantly, during the entirety of the film - while watching a film as agonizing as this (who invented the combination of popcorn and cinema in general? Argh!).

At the Musée Rodin, which is by the way a very comfortable museum to visit, I wasn't very impressed by Claudel's works (above one of them). But I really like this one sculpture by Rodin: Voix intérieure ou la méditation.

Love and Anarchy: Grigris

Grigris, an African film from Chad, that I saw at the Helsinki International Film Festival had pretty bad actors (or maybe I'm just not used to African style of acting) and very traditional storyline, but I just loved watching it. I felt so happy seeing the African landscape and the African dusty roads and villages. It must be pretty weird, but I felt a bit home-sick.

Too bad, my next holiday flights are already booked for Asia... 

Hmm, I guess I need to live Africa through culture for a while then. Luckily, I have a pile of African literature waiting for me and our last book club reading was The Last Flight of the Flamingo by Mia Couto from Mozambique. How funny, by the way, that we wanted to pick up an African novel by a female author and chose this one among many alternatives. So it was a bit of a surprise when I opened the book the first time and a photo of a white guy greeted me. Mia...

Love and Anarchy: Omar

Once again the Helsinki International Film Festival "Love and Anarchy" offered an excellent selection of movies. 

I went to see five films and while I can recommend all of them, I was perhaps mostly touched by the last film I saw on Saturday. It was a film called Omar by a Palestine film director Hany Abu-Assad. Probably I would have been satisfied just watching the gorgeous principal actor Adam Bakri, but not only that, the film was excellent. The story was like a Shakespeare's tragedy and the spectator can only wish the movie to end quickly so she knows how badly it will end. At some point you just realise that it won't end with a honeymoon in Paris.

Already the beginning of the film is powerful, showing the crossing of the wall surrounding West Bank. The wall is absurd and depressing, anyone should see that. However, the film is not strongly taking sides in the Israel-Palestina conflict. It rather shows the human tragedy taking place in this context - love, betrayal, loyalty, trust. The insanity of wars! The vicious cycles connected to this conflict. In short, a film worth watching, though be aware of some post-film anxiety. 

The conflict in the Middle East hasn't interested me for ages because it seems to be without an end. However, after a good friend of mine spent some time in Palestina as a volunteer, I have taken a new interest in the place. Omar also shows beautiful aspects of the country (and I'm not only talking about the actor playing Omar, but the film in general). Definitely a place to visit in the future.