Inhalt 08/10

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Editorial

Relax, take it easy Â…

 Following the outrageous outbreak of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjalla – when Mother Nature turned on us in a truly treacherous act, devious enough for even Al Qaeda – you do have to wonder at some of the reactions to the subsequent ban on air travel. Of course itÂ’s annoying when we have to change our plans, or put up a bit of uncertainty, not to mention of course the very real economic impact it had. But let us remind ourselves that flexibility and independence are modern-day mantras. We can be at home everywhere, and everywhere is home. So long as we can access the Internet, no problem. So why should we get all hot and bothered about having to stay in one place for a while?
Evidently, the stranded holidaymakers were in dire need of an extended break, judging by their stressed reactions after just one day of the »catastrophe«. You have to have some sympathy for them, though … don’t you? Because slurping Rioja along with thousands of other burg(h)ers grilling nicely on the beaches of the Costa del Sol, or enjoying the delights of an original Thai curry in Chaweng, is what people call a holiday paradise. But as soon as that wicked witch Eyjafjalla says we have to stay ­there, then all of a sudden, it’s hell! A hell by the name of Mauritius, the Dominican Republic – in short anywhere that is not home.
Surely we should be ashamed of ourselves, allowing a bit of volcanic ash to bring things to a complete standstill. No, children, that is not the way to win the war against nature! Listen well, Mr Ramsauer and all you other transport ministers: We now have laptops that can slide under a door, and apps that tell us which shirt goes with which pair of trousers and you are telling us that we canÂ’t fly because of a few particles of dust in the air?
There were, however, a couple of good things to come out of the whole debacle: Airline staff can now understand a little better what the guards on the train have to go through when there’s a twenty-minute delay between Berlin and Hamburg. And we realised that against all expectations the global economy does not collapse en­tirely when not everyone is where they should be. And, then there’s Frau Merkel, who had the opportunity of getting to know South Tyrol a little better, a place she probably never gave a moment’s notice to before as she passed overhead …
Perhaps Eyjafjalla just wanted to teach us all to be a little more relaxed. To calm down a bit and not take ourselves too seriously: Yes, you might be able to jet around the globe in your kerosene-guzzlers in just a few hours, but I can ground you all pretty promptly with a couple of coughs.
With this thought in mind, I wish you a wonderful holiday. But maybe itÂ’s best to pack a couple of extra books in this time, just in case. You wouldnÂ’t want to get bored now would you?

Bettina Schulz

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