Wednesday, January 17

Competition? Just set them on fire!

A really loud bang last night disturbed the silent cold night. Initially i didn't see a thing. However, this was both too close by for fun and quite obviously not firework.

Over the last few weeks two young guys from Jaffa worked really hard to paint and restore a small store on Yefet street and turn it into a fruit and vegetable store.
In Jaffa we don't go to a supermarket, there are none close by, actually.
We used to have a really nice market (which was closed down by the municipality last year, damn) and we buy vegetables & fruit for the day in a close by vegetable store. There are many of those; Fresh stuff, every single day. Most are the sort of small stores, where everyone knows everyone else, the greengrocer knows your taste and keeps some stuff especially for you, tells you all the neighborhood gossip. If he doesn't have small change, you simply pay the next day. A family having financial problems when there are stil a lot of days until the next payday, won't go hungry.
So these 2 young guys invest a lot of time and some money in opening up their own little store. They buy produce and were supposed to have their grand opening today.
Well, they didn't as someone torched their place last night. They (that is, people on the street) say it was done by a guy operating a greengrocery on Jerusalem Boulevard. I have no idea. News and gossip travel quickly in Jaffa.
A lot of friends of the young men came over today, and towards the afternoon hours a lot of cleaning and painting had already be done.
I don't think anyone complained with the police. They aren't too much trusted in Jaffa. Usually no one talks, no one has seen a thing and ofcourse no ione knows anything. But the street talks.





7 comments:

Lirun said...

yesterday i bought my first lot of groceries in yaffo - on j bvd..

and had my first quick dinner from a new turkish restaurant..

getting a feel for my new hood and totally digging it..

had a bicycle ride around the place and crossed back up into telaviv all the way to ramat aviv.. and back..

i liked coming home..

have had the most restful sleeps of my life..

:)

yudit said...

Welcome!
If i wouldn't love living in Jaffa so much,i guess i wouldn't be here.

As i really love the place and a lot of the people, i try to show what's hapening here, because i care.

Jaffa's home to me, so, Lirun, be welcome!

Anonymous said...

What about an accident, someone could have done something wrong ad left something burning, a propane bottle or a few raggs on the wrong spot and ..................
Not having enough money to make a proper investment they too will not have the shop insured.
If they would have, they had called the police and the technical unit would have found out the starter of the fire.
Most humans like to put the bill at somebody elses desk, if there is this small amount of money to invest and we do make a terrible mistake, would you tell it all the world?

yudit said...

it could have been, but when the day before you're given the choice (by two visiting gorillas) not to open your business or pay the price, and then a few hours after that your place burns down, the fire starting with a loud bang, you do become more than a little suspicious.

Protection rackets are common in Jaffa.

yudit said...

Lirun, which restaurant?

Lirun said...

some new turkish joint on j boulevard..

its interesting what you say.. i overheard conversations as i was walking today about people theorising who was to blame for "something" and anticipating what the outcome might be..

felt tense..

would be nice if the police could do something about those rackets..

Anonymous said...

"Gorillas out of the mist"

It is a pity Dian Fossey is no longer amongst us, otherwise we could have sent her an email and ask how to get rid of these creatures.