How doomsday prepping went mainstream
'Do I need to purchase camels?' Australian preppers have found their voice since Covid, but tough questions remain
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The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
Are we letting ‘stranger danger' get in the way of connecting with our community?
About six months ago, a friend and I took our kids along to the shopping centre in Ballarat for some school holiday activities. When I rocked up, my friend was already deep in conversation with another mum, who was not initially known to us. I joined in on the yarn, in my usual fashion, and by the end of it we'd all exchanged numbers and invited the new mum over to our home as well as an event at our community hub. Friends often gasp when we retell this story. Approaching someone unknown and proceeding to ask for their digits? The audacity! We have become so used to operating in isolation, segregating ourselves from the world and those around us, that it has become a challenge to push beyond our comfort zone and engage with people we don't know. God forbid we exchange words with someone random, let alone extend our circle of friends. According to the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey, an estimated 15% of Australians aged 15 and over were experiencing social isolation in 2023. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare states that social isolation and loneliness can harm mental and physical health and may affect life satisfaction. Sign up to receive Guardian Australia's fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter So why aren't we making more of an effort to embrace more people into our lives? To connect with more people? To even meet our neighbours? According to a 2020 study, there were 40 reasons which prevented people from making friends – with the main one being low trust, followed by lack of time, and introversion. But growing up, I saw how my parents and broader community constantly worked to foster friendships – old and new – with love, warmth and openness. Time wasn't a barrier. The aim of the game was to open our home, to invite people in, to share a meal. I will always see in my mum and dad their willingness to connect with those around them. Even now, more than 30 years after I moved to Ballarat, I'll see people from my childhood down the street and they'll stop to chat. 'You were my neighbour! I still remember eating all those Persian sugar cubes in your house!' And when we recoil at the thought of meeting new people, because we don't trust anyone or it's too hard, we run the risk of our children modelling our attitudes and behaviours. It makes me sad that we teach 'stranger danger' with no context, rather than teaching our children about how to be safe but still promoting that, at the end of the day, we are all part of one human family, interconnected and bleeding the same. I'm not suggesting we lead a life of ignorance. People have lost trust in humanity – and for good reason. We have become aware of harrowing cases of institutional child sexual abuse – in Ballarat in particular that trauma is never far from the surface. The recent case of a Melbourne childcare worker charged with the alleged sexual abuse of children and infants in his care has amplified parental concerns and sparked immediate childcare safety reviews and reforms at the federal and state level. Our interactions need to be approached with a level of wisdom and safety has to be a top concern. This isn't about welcoming everyone into our home without a second thought. Conversations about personal space and safety need to be a high priority in all settings. It's about being vigilant and educating the community – especially our young ones – about the signs to look out for, about when to speak out, about who to turn to for help. But we must not let fear come at the expense of community. I was recently reminded of the saying: 'A stranger is just a friend you haven't met yet'. I can't imagine my life without my friend who I met from being friendly at the shops on that day six months ago. We share our thoughts, clothes, food, and even shared our birthday together this past month. My village expanded the day I met her, and other friends like her, simply because I stopped to say 'hi'. A 2020 study found that preventing and reducing social isolation and loneliness required 'a comprehensive socioecological framework that fosters a broader culture of connection, rather than relying solely on individual-level interventions or targeting only vulnerable communities'. Quite often I'll be running errands and strike up a conversation with someone I don't know, wondering if they'll be my next new mate. My children wonder why I'm always talking to random people, though my son said just the other day that he too loves talking to strangers. I hope this openness will remain throughout his life, but more than that, I hope society will be in a position to have normalised it. Sign up for the Rural Network email newsletter
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
How doomsday prepping went mainstream
Read more: 'Do I need to purchase camels?' Australian preppers have found their voice since Covid, but tough questions remain
South Wales Guardian
6 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
Pope celebrates Mass for local homeless people and invites them to lunch
Leo celebrated Mass in the St Mary sanctuary of Albano, near the papal summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo where he is on holiday. The Mass was attended by around 110 people cared for by the local Caritas church charity, and the volunteers who run the diocese's shelters, clinics and social service offices. In his homily, Leo celebrated the 'fire of charity' that had brought them together. 'And I encourage you not to distinguish between those who assist and those who are assisted, between those who seem to give and those who seem to receive, between those who appear poor and those who feel they have something to offer in terms of time, skills, and help,' he said. In the church, he said, everyone is poor and precious, and all share the same dignity. Leo, the former Robert Prevost, spent most of his adult life working with the poor people of Peru, first as an Augustinian missionary and then as bishop. Former parishioners and church workers say he greatly reinforced the work of the local Caritas charity, opening soup kitchens and shelters for migrants and rallying funds to build oxygen plants during the Covid-19 pandemic. Later on Sunday, Leo was to preside over a luncheon with the guests at the Borgo Laudato Si', the Vatican's environmental educational centre in the gardens of the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo. The centre is named for Pope Francis' 2015 landmark environmental encyclical, Laudato Si (Praised Be). According to the Albano diocese, local caterers were providing a menu of lasagne, eggplant parmesan and roast veal. For dessert, the menu called for fruit salad and sweets named for the pope, 'Dolce Leone'.
