Features

LOS ANGELES — A washing machine stands in the middle of Maria Jimenez’s California yard, like a redundant relic of modern life. Nearby are several rented mobile toilets, no longer in use.

For four months, she and her family have had no running water.

“We are trying to live a normal life,” the 52-year-old told AFP in the town of Monson, 322 kilometres north of Los Angeles.

Hers is one of a growing number of generally low-income households with no direct access to water in central California’s Valley, known as America’s food basket, where four years of extreme drought have left many residents high and dry.

Jimenez and her husband use plastic plates and cups in order to save using water for washing the dishes, all the while generating piles of garbage and extra expenses.

To take a shower, they’ve created an elaborate system that pumps bottled water up to the roof of their rented house and back down to the shower head.

But whenever possible, they try to wash at the homes of friends and family.

Even before the well that supplied their house dried up, they couldn’t drink its water, which was polluted with pesticides from nearby fields.

Now they have no water at all, and things aren’t likely to change anytime soon.

“We don’t have water in a country that is rich,” Jimenez’s neighbour Laura Garcia said.

Born in Mexico, she recalled how as a girl living in a small village near Guadalajara, she would haul water more than 1.6 kilometres to her house.

Today, even her childhood hamlet in Mexico has running water.

She doesn’t dare tell her family back in Mexico about her situation in the United States.

“They would tell me ‘Come home! What are you doing there?’” she said in Spanish.

Servando Quintanilla, who owns the two women’s houses, said the situation is a nightmare.

The retired farmworker said the drying up of his well was a financial disaster.

He can no longer charge rent to those living on his properties, which represent a $200,000 investment on his behalf.

His only option is to dig a new well, which would cost $35,000 and likely also be polluted.

Due to the drought, farmers are unable to rely on surface water and have become totally dependent on their wells, pumping much more groundwater than in the past.

Ryan Jensen, spokesman for the Community Water Centre, which works to make sure all communities have access to water, estimated that some 5,000 people in Tulare County, where Monson is located, don’t have access to drinkable water.

Maria summed up her feelings with a mix of anger and powerlessness. She said she was mad because the small children in her family needed water.

California authorities are studying long-term solutions to link isolated communities to larger cities. But that requires costly solutions and lots of time.

The Bride of Amman

Fadi Zaghmout

Translated by Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp

Hong Kong: Signal 8 Press, 2015

Pp. 250

The book cover displays the cognitive dissonance and inner conflict experienced by all the major characters in “The Bride of Amman”. While the title would seem to signal happiness, the face of the woman pictured next to it is full of anxiety and pain. Marriage, and all the expectations attached to it, is just one of the societal norms which author Fadi Zaghmout problematises in his novel.

Hard-hitting prose quickly draws the reader into the lives of four young women and a man living in today’s Amman. They are close friends and share many things, not least, the risk of total devastation if they do not abide by the rules. Some refuse to be boxed in by social norms and consciously make defiant choices, while others are unwittingly set on a collision course with family and society through no fault of their own. All are seeking love and respect. They start off as irrepressible romantics, but events carve hard, cynical edges on their souls, as they discover that it is hard to remain true to their values and dreams amidst pervasive social pressure to conform.

Leila’s happiness at obtaining her degree is marred when she finds that this is not enough for her parents, relatives and neighbours, who consider it only a prelude to marriage. It is not that she rejects the idea of marriage, but she had hoped for more recognition of her academic achievement.

Salma, Leila’s older sister, suffers from remaining single, and is deeply wounded upon hearing her grandmother describe her as “an unplucked fruit left to rot”, as she nears her thirtieth birthday — her “expiry date”. (p. 22)

The story shows that judging women only by their marriageability can have catastrophic consequences.

Hayat loses her job when someone reports on her relationship with a married man, leaving her feeling vulnerable and terrified at the loss of social respect and of income she needs to finish university and contribute to her family’s upkeep. Her vulnerability is amplified by her father’s sexual abuse, which colours her self-esteem and relationships. 

Rana has a more analytical view of society than her friends: “I’m rebellious by nature… very conscious of the contradictory messages I get from the world around me. Everyone seems to want to construct my moral framework for me, in a society that strikes me as schizophrenic and very masculine. Whereas I’m a female, a young woman trying to feed a craving for gender equality and personal freedom.” (p. 38)

But her awareness doesn’t protect her entirely from the dilemmas she faces after falling in love with a Muslim — a love she must keep secret from her conservative Christian family. 

Ali is also under a lot of pressure to get married. In fact, he does want a family, but his preference for his own sex means that a traditional marriage would be living a lie. 

By letting his characters tell their stories, Zaghmout delivers a radical critique of society from a feminist/outsider perspective, producing one of few books written by men that convincingly convey the women’s angle. Michael Cunningham’s “The Hours”, Amitov Ghosh’s “Sea of Poppies” and Arthur Golden’s “Memoirs of a Geisha” come to mind.

Zaghmout’s book is not a literary novel like theirs; in fact, it verges on melodrama, but it is a story that needs to be told, a novel that obviously emerges from strong motivation to catalyse social change. Having originally written “The Bride of Amman” in Arabic testifies that his aim is to generate discussion, not simply to expose. 

Transgressing taboos opens the characters up to new sides of their personalities and more positive ways of relating to others. “Are our ideas like clothes?” Leila queries. “They seem to fit initially, but they become too small for us as our awareness about our surroundings grows, and then it’s perhaps time to throw them off and replace them with new ways of thinking.” (p. 227)

While Zaghmout declares war on outdated social norms that complicate and sometimes destroy people’s lives, he does not declare war on society as such. The story points to a number of avenues for reconciliation if only people are open-minded and respectful of others’ individuality and dreams. “The Bride of Amman” is a brave intervention in a debate that is going on just below the radar. Let’s bring it out in the open, he seems to be saying.

MIAMI — Liraglutide, an injectable diabetes drug that US regulators approved last year for weight loss, helped obese people lose an average of 8 kilogrammes, a year-long study recently said.

Most patients were able to keep the weight off for the duration of the 56-week study on the drug marketed as Saxenda by Novo Nordisk, according to the findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The randomised, controlled trial was conducted at 191 sites in 27 countries in Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Australia.

Patients in the study were 18 and older and each had a body mass index of 30 or higher.

BMI is calculated by weight in kilogrammes divided by the square of the height in metres. The healthy range for most people is 19-25 BMI.

Of the 3,731 people in the study, about two thirds were given the drug plus training to improve their lifestyle habits, and the rest followed the same lifestyle intervention but were given a placebo.

The trial was double-blind, meaning that neither patients or doctors knew if they were dealing with the real drug or the placebo.

Those who received the drug were given a higher dose (3 milligrammes) than is prescribed for diabetes patients (1.8 milligrammes) and were injected with the drug under the skin daily.

People in the placebo group lost an average of 2.7kg. Those who were given the drug averaged about three times more weight loss.

A total of 63 per cent of those in the liraglutide group lost at least 5 per cent of their body weight, compared to 27 per cent in the placebo group.

Kevin Williams, chief of endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism at Temple University Health, described the weight loss in the liraglutide group as “significant”.

Williams was not involved in the study.

Side effects included gastrointestinal distress, gallstones and a slight increase in breast cancer risk.

Researchers said more study is needed on the breast cancer findings and said it was possible that weight loss enabled more tumours to be found.

“This is another approach in tackling the obesity epidemic in our country,” said Elias Siraj, director of the Diabetes Programme at Temple University Hospital, who along with Williams penned an accompanying editorial in the journal.

“Fortunately, even modest weight loss of 5 per cent to 10 per cent makes nearly all medical issues more manageable.”

Liraglutide has been used at a lower dose for treating diabetes in recent years and some patients noticed it appeared to help them lose weight.

About 35 per cent of adult Americans, or about 100 million people, live with obesity.

Two other anti-obesity drugs were launched in the United States in 2012, but the treatments carry side effects and are not widely used.

NOLI, Italy — In the homeland of pesto, a group of diving enthusiasts have come up with a way of growing basil beneath the sea that could revolutionise crop production in arid coastal areas around the world.

The pungent green herb has long been synonymous with the steep, terraced cliff sides of Liguria, the northern Italian region known for its spectacular Riviera coastline and for producing one of the world’s best loved pasta sauces.

Those two standout features of the region could now become even more intimately associated thanks to the pioneering efforts of Sergio Gamberini.

A diving nut and specialist in under-water communications, Gamberini has begun growing basil in large plastic spheres anchored to the seabed 100 metres off shore and eight metres below the surface in an experiment he has dubbed “Nemo’s garden”.

“The idea came to me because I wanted to create more interaction between the surface and the diving activity,” Gamberini told AFPTV.

Having started with a simple plastic ball into which he place a tub with herb seeds planted in compost, he is now in his fourth season of production from an under-water garden comprised of three “biospheres” which he is allowed to keep in the water for three months a year.

“I chose a typical activity of farmers, and I said ‘why not bring it under water?’” he said. “I realised that there was an opportunity to create a new site to grow vegetables.”

Evaporation ensures humidity between 80 and 90 per cent inside the spheres, the condensation provides the necessary moisture and, even well below the waves, there is enough light in this sunny corner of Europe to ensure the plants themselves regenerate their oxygen supply via photosynthesis.

Having proved the system works, Gamberini’s challenge now is to prove that it can produce herbs and vegetables in a cost-efficient way.

“I don’t know if it will be the future because we have to prove that it can be self-supportable,” he said. “If a pound of lettuce [grown underwater] costs too much, it won’t have a future.”

Parasite-free zone

The primary advantage of underwater growing is the stability of thermal conditions.

“The sea maintains the temperature without a great difference between day and night,” said Gianni Fontanesi, who is in charge of running the project.

In late June, at the start of the European summer, the water on the coastal shelf of the northern Mediterranean is 25oC, while inside the spheres the temperature reaches 29oC.

The plants are thriving in an environment where they are protected from the insects and parasites that would normally be giving a basil grower headaches at this time of year.

The results so far have been encouraging, with the spheres producing more densely-leafed plants than is usual — perfect for being ground up with pine nuts, parmesan and olive oil to produce authentic Ligurian pesto.

An experiment with lettuce is already underway and mushrooms, tomatoes, tomatoes and green beans will all be given a go this summer.

“In the longer term, this could be a solution for arid regions next to the sea,” said Gamberini, who admits there is still much work to be done to work out how to apply his principles on a larger scale.

But he is not the only one to have faith in his idea: under-water basil was one of the 20 food-related innovations chosen to represent Italy at the ongoing World Expo in Milan which has “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life” as its theme.

NEW YORK — Benjamin Booker’s raspy voice and piercing guitar demonstrate an emotional intensity in overdrive, yet until a couple of years ago the rising young star had never played live.

Booker has captivated audiences with a style that sounds fresh despite its retro roots, combining the cadences of blues guitar with the power — and attitude — of punk rock.

Yet Booker, who just turned 26, is polite and even shy when asked to expound on his music, even though he originally aspired to be a music journalist.

“It was terrifying at first to go up on stage and sing these very personal songs, but there was no reluctance,” he told AFP.

“I think now, you always try to put yourself in the place where you were when you were writing these songs,” he said of his trick to playing before crowds.

Growing up in the Tampa, Florida area, Booker had not given much thought to his own musical ability.

He recorded a handful of rough tracks when — with no job in journalism available — he was moving from his parents’ home to take a job with a nonprofit group in New Orleans.

The response — and the speed of his success — stunned him. His songs caught the attention of a blog and then Sirius XM satellite radio, where after an on-air session a label representative approached him in the parking lot to offer a record deal.

Booker released a self-titled debut album last year to positive reviews and was encouraged to play live — and found himself selected as the opening act for one of his heroes, Jack White.

This year Booker is playing many of the world’s top festivals. He has already performed at Glastonbury, UK, Coachella, Bonnaroo and New York’s Governors Ball, with an upcoming appearance at Fuji Rock in Japan.

Raspy yet sensitive voice

Slender in a sleek dark jacket, Booker not only keeps up an energy level in the crowd during sets. He also stays fuelled up himself on stage with a constant flow of beer and cigarettes — a factor perhaps in his imposing yet scratchy voice that could be mistaken as coming from a singer of twice his age and build.

Despite the often heavy music, the lyricism is full of introspection and sensitivity on songs such as “Have You Seen My Son?” in which he reflects on his parents’ disappointments.

Booker looks sombrely at the state of the world on “Slow Coming”, singing, “Honestly, how can I be proud right now? To tell you the truth, I ain’t been sleeping too well.”

In a video for the song, Booker, who is African American, is depicted driving meditatively through scenes that resemble the segregation-era South, with white police officers holding back protesters.

Booker in the song also links the Civil Rights Movement to the struggle for gay equality as he sings, “Although our parents fought to be equal / The state decides true love / If they only knew it.”

Yet Booker does not consider himself a political artist and said he did not time his song to accompany the burgeoning US protest movement against police brutality.

“When I put out the album, I didn’t sense it as political at all. I guess it was just me writing about the people around me,” he said.

Inspired by punk and blues

Booker’s musical tastes vary widely with influences ranging from Blind Willie Johnson, the early 20th century blues artist known for his deep growl, and hardcore punk band Black Flag whose fury appealed to Booker at a younger age.

He took the stage at Governors Ball to a snippet from Bessie Smith, the pre-World War II blues legend whom Booker admires both for her voice and risque life.

One major inspiration was The Gun Club, which built a cult following in the 1980s by merging punk with blues and rockabilly.

A looser parallel can be seen with Alabama Shakes, a label-mate on ATO Records that has won a critical following by bringing charged rock elements to blues roots.

Booker sums up much of his musical thinking — and perhaps persona — in his song “Spoon Out My Eyeballs,” in which he deplores “songs produced by 40-year-olds in high-tech studios”.

“Give me something that I can tap my toes to / And scream at the top of my lungs / Til it sounded like I’ve been smoking from the day I was born.”

BERKELEY, California — At a University of California, Berkeley laboratory, engineers are building cockroach-like robots with a noble purpose — search and rescue.

Smaller than the palm of a hand and weighing only 28 grammes, the robots are fast, nimble, and equipped with microphones and thermostats to detect sound and heat.

“Imagine there’s a warehouse that’s collapsed,” said Ronald Fearing, the director of UC Berkeley’s Biomimetic Millisystems Lab, which developed the VelociRoach robot. “You can send in hundreds of these robots, and if there’s an opening, they can get through or get close to certain areas to notify rescuers they’ve found a survivor.”

Robo-bug research is also under way at Harvard University’s Wyss Institute and Festo’s research and development facilities in Europe.

With advances in mobile technology, slightly bigger insect robots are being equipped with smartphone-like features: cameras, gyroscopes and various sensors enabling them to search and map an area. As the technology improves, the insect robots will get smaller and smarter, communicating with one another through algorithms that might, for instance, allow them to fly together in a swarm.

The engineers working on them find inspiration in common pests.

“Think of the common house fly,” said Tom Vaneck, who specialises in disruptive technologies at Physical Sciences Inc., a technology research and development firm in California’s Bay Area. “When you see a house fly hit a window... it bounces off and flies away.”

Vaneck’s lab has developed robots that can fly through cluttered environments like forests, collapsed buildings and mines.

Over at the Wyss Institute, Robert Wood is working on bee-size robots that can be deployed for search and rescue operations, hazardous environment exploration and even pollination.

Robotic insects could transform the hunt for survivors, said biologist Robert Full, who researches biomechanics and physiology at UC Berkeley.

“So if you look at something like the earthquake in Nepal, I’m positive that relatively inexpensive robots would be able to penetrate the rubble quickly and give us some sense of where individuals are trapped, and also give us a hint of where it’s structurally safe to move material to get to the survivors,” he said.

The idea of looking to insects for robotic inspiration isn’t new. Some of the earliest insect-related robots, including the Sutherland Six-Legged Hydraulic Walker from 1983, resembled a cartoonish bug crossed with a lawn mower, and were big enough for a grown human to ride. Many robots were built to better understand insects themselves. In recent years though, engineers have made significant breakthroughs in adapting some of nature’s best designs for robotics.

In the case of the VelociRoach, engineers have added little spines to its legs — much like the spines on a cockroach’s legs — to give it better traction on different surfaces. And having studied the movement of cockroaches, engineers have figured out that when the critter is navigating rough terrain like tall grass, its body shape allows it to automatically roll on its side and run sideways. Typical boxy robots would often get caught in grass. When fitted in an oval cockroach-like shell, the robots were able to successfully traverse the terrain.

“What’s so great about nature is, what we’re trying to do with robotics is solve a lot of really hard problems like how to get around, how to walk on difficult terrain, and nature has already solved it,” said Nick Kohut, the chief executive of Dash Robotics, which makes small insect-like robots people can put together and programme themselves. “It’s sort of a cheat sheet where nature did it this way, so maybe we could do it that way.”

The cheat sheet doesn’t come without challenges, though. Insects have, after all, enjoyed the benefit of evolution, and Vaneck describes nature as having an “infinite budget” when it comes to redesigning organisms until they work. Engineers don’t have that benefit. Although they can see what insect behaviours they want to incorporate into their robots, actually getting the robots to pull off those behaviours is tough.

“A lot of what’s going on now is the desire to have swarming behaviour,” Vaneck said. “So getting a large number of robots to go into an area, map it, search for things, identify gas leaks and find survivors. It’s very much like what we see in swarm behaviour in a hive of insects like bees and wasps.”

At UC Berkeley, Fearing believes the lab might be a few years away from robots that can work together with little human intervention, and engineers around the world continue to struggle with material constraints like robot battery life, weight and robustness.

It’ll be only a matter of time before engineers, scientists and biologists are able to overcome those challenges, Vaneck said. In the meantime, they’re happy to keep looking to nature for answers.

“It’s like standing on the shoulders of giants,” he said.

With six legs.

We’re one step closer to using computers where nothing at all is installed or stored. Not our data and files, not our programmes or applications and not even the main operating system (Windows, etc.) that we thought was an absolute must — an element that the computer cannot even start without.

The question of “Windows as a service” (understand running from the web, not installed on your computer) has been on the table for a while now, but Microsoft has been hinting more seriously at the possibility since early this year.

The unabated trend is towards machines that just connect you to the web where everything is there and where you pay subscriptions to have the right to use whatever software you need, and where you stored whatever digital data you own. It’s the cloud concept but pushed to the limit.

It may not happen before a few years — say three to six — and some users with extra sensitive data will keep adopting a more conservative, a more cautious approach, but for the masses this is probably the way it will be.

When it happens the change will have at least two main impacts on the world of IT and on the market; at least two that are predictable: the hard disk market and the Internet bandwidth and usage.

If computers are bound to become a mere window, a simple connection to the web, then why should we still be buying large capacity hard disks? If Windows, large programmes and data files will be on the web, then surely the smallest possible hard disk will do.

For the past 35 years disk capacity has grown continuously. From 360KB circa 1980 to 1TB today, the typical disk storage in your computer has increased about 1 billion times. Now we may start wondering if we really need all this storage space if everything is going to be kept in the cloud. A computer without data, programmes or operating system will just need a very small storage area. Processing power and memory, on the other hand, will always be required.

The other impact is one we are already experiencing today: Internet usage. In a way, and at least for the foreseeable future, it is going to follow the same trend that hard disks have followed till now; we are going to need more and more of it.

If operating systems like Windows are going to become cloud-based services then the average 4Mb typical home ADSL subscription will hardly be enough. Home and small office users are going to need Internet connection that is fast (40Mb at least), significant download/upload quota (200 to 400 MB per month), symmetrical operation (upload as fast as download), faster response time, also called “ping” time (faster than 10ms) and last but not least, steady, reliable connection. Internet uptime of 99 per cent will not be enough either, instead a figure in the range of 99.999 per cent will be more like it!

Computers without large capacity hard disk will bring at least one advantage. The change will reduce the power consumption of the system by a non-negligible amount and batteries, therefore, will last longer. Machines will also be lighter; again a big, a welcome plus.

Notwithstanding these changes, we will perhaps start to worry about one single aspect of them, which is the fact that we will be constantly paying subscriptions for these web-based services, be it monthly or yearly. “Service” will then become the key word and “computer” just an accessory.

MIAMI — Coral reefs are fragile and in danger worldwide, but a growing movement to restore them is based on the science of breaking off pieces in order to grow more, known as coral gardening.

It works like this: marine biologists cut off the tips of live branching corals, hang the pieces on man-made underwater trees where they grow, and later “outplant” them on real reefs on the ocean floor.

After years of trial and error, scientists in Florida are now bringing their methods to the public — via diving trips, ecotourism outings and summer camps for teens — to counter the harmful effects of climate change, pollution and industrial development.

“It is just like if you had a rosebush in your garden. As you prune that rosebush back, it grows back healthier, bushier, a little more lively,” explains Stephanie Schopmeyer, the senior research associate at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine Science, which runs a programme called Rescue a Reef that allows citizen scientists to join the project.

“Corals that are fragmented actually grow back faster and with more branches,” she said.

On a recent outing, Schopmeyer and about a dozen other divers and snorkellers spent a sunny spring morning on the water, travelling first by boat to an underwater nursery in Biscayne Bay where they scrubbed algae off the man-made trees on which Staghorn corals hang, and later to another area where they planted nursery-grown bits of coral on an existing reef.

Certified scuba divers did the underwater work, while a handful of tourists and students helped make cookies — small discs on which they use epoxy to affix finger-sized pieces of coral. Then, the volunteers snorkelled, watching the divers nail their handiwork on the ocean floor.

Nicole Besemer, a graduate student at the University of Miami, says she was surprised to learn that corals can survive and thrive after being cut and nailed in a new place.

“As a diver in south Florida, I want to make sure that my reefs are as healthy as they can be,” Besemer says.

“I know they are not what they used to be.”

Reefs in danger

Corals may look like rocks or plants but they are actually animals in the same family as jellyfish and anemones. Each individual coral is called a polyp, and the reef grows as polyps grow copies of themselves. Most corals reproduce by releasing eggs and sperm into the water.

Coral reefs are important because they provide habitat and food for fish, turtles, seahorses, sea urchins and other creatures.

But the reefs are struggling, with their numbers down 50-95 per cent in some parts of the world.

Pollution cuts off their light and food supply, overfishing removes the creatures that keep them clean and healthy, development and dredging cause sediment to smother them, and ocean acidification makes it harder for them to grow.

Storms can also kill them. Diego Lirman, an associate professor of marine biology and ecology at the University of Miami, did his dissertation some 30 years ago on the impact of hurricanes on a place nearby called Elkhorn Reef.

Now, he says, there are no Elkhorn corals left there.

“It got to the point where I was getting tired of just watching things die and learning about them in the process. I wanted to be able to do something to recover them,” says Lirman.

He credits scientists in nations like Fiji, Israel, Indonesia and the Philippines for coming up with the coral gardening techniques that Florida researchers are now using, and says sharing knowledge across borders helped everyone perfect their techniques.

“We are now reaching ecologically meaningful scales,” Lirman says.

“We realised it is all about the numbers — the numbers you can grow, the numbers you can put back.”

Explosive growth

A major part of the movement in Florida and the Caribbean is led by the Coral Restoration Foundation (CRF), which employs about 10 staff and leads an army of volunteers on regular expeditions.

CRF and the University of Miami’s reef programmes were initially funded in large part by the Recovery Act of 2009, a White House initiative to kick start the US economy following the global financial crisis. Donations have poured in as well.

“We are kind of at the explosive growth stage,” says CRF President Ken Nedimyer.

A few years ago, the foundation planted a few thousand corals per year. Now they have 500 underwater trees in Florida that are growing 40,000-50,000 corals at any one time, he says.

For those who want special training, the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) offers courses and certifications in coral reef restoration.

Scuba divers must be age 14 or older, and must be able to control their buoyancy underwater so as not to harm the reefs, says Patti Gross, a master diving instructor with PADI who says she has certified around 250 people in coral restoration in the past four years.

“This is way harder than it appears on land,” she says.

“But it is very rewarding in the end.”

Last month marked a completion of twenty years since I lost my father. If you ask me what is the exact date that he passed away, I will not be able to tell you. I am fully aware that it was during the end of May in 1995, but other than that trivial detail, my brain freezes and draws a blank. I have somehow erased this most painful event of my life from my subconscious. It is like I know it and, at the same time, I do not know it. 

What is the duration of the acceptable period when one should stop grieving for one’s parent? Six months? One year? Five years? People say that time heals all wounds but two decades later I find myself still mourning my Dad’s loss. 

The area of the sadness has widened to include other factors too. As I grow older I feel I’m being surrounded by rational and irrational doubts. When faced with a tricky situation I am scared I might not do what my father would have wanted me to do. When I take a responsible decision I am afraid to fall short of his expectations. Without his guidance I do not know if the choices I am making are indeed the right ones. 

And then there are my tiny worries like: have I forgotten the exact sound of his voice, the feel of his loving hand on top of my head or the smell of his Old Spice After Shave Lotion? I realise it is no longer possible, but is there any way to crosscheck this? 

I try to discover bits of him in me. His friends say I laugh just like my father used to, so when I see something funny I attempt to listen to my own laughter. It is most heartening to realise that I have inherited this trait from him. 

He never held back while poking fun at himself and nor do I. He had great comic timing while relating stories and trained me in the delightful art of self-deprecation. 

Humility and modesty were his hallmarks and he had great compassion for all creatures, great and small. Appreciation of the arts was very important to him. Music, vocal or instrumental, poetry or verse, was not only listened to but was also appreciated in a most enthusiastic manner, so as to inspire the performer

My dad was generous with his time, praise and affection. Even in my lowest moments, when I was missing him like crazy, I could not stop thanking God for that. Although his lifespan in this world was truncated, he never rushed me with anything. I knew I was loved unconditionally and I had his absolute support in whatever I did. 

His name was Satya, which means ‘truth’. He taught me to be truthful, regardless of the consequences. And I learnt the lesson well. 

“Where are the goods that you bought”, the VAT refund officer asked me at Heathrow airport, recently. 

“In my checked-in luggage”, I told him, showing the receipts. 

“You have to display the purchase for inspection” he clarified.

“I know”, I admitted. 

“You knew the law and still broke it?’ he was curious. 

“My cabin baggage was becoming too heavy,” I answered. 

“So you forgot the rule?” he asked. 

“I didn’t. My father taught me to be truthful,” I said.

He eyed me solemnly through the small window. 

“Like father, like daughter,” he sighed, handing me the cash.

BARRA DE SANTIAGO, El Salvador — The hungry baby crocodiles wriggle in Jose Antonio Villeda’s hand. One by one, he squeezes open their jaws and uses a plastic tube to prod pieces of fish down their gullets.

Villeda is a park ranger working to save the local population of Crocodylus acutus, also known as the American crocodile, here in the mangroves of the Barra de Santiago nature reserve on El Salvador’s Pacific coast.

Once a common site on muddy riverbanks and in the water, numbers crashed as a result of hunting.

“They were massively sought by hunters who wanted their skin,” said Villeda, 53.

At one point in the 1980s, only five of the scaly creatures remained.

From 1990, rangers at this popular park started to monitor nesting sites of the few remaining crocs. Conservation efforts were complicated, at least initially.

About 26,000 people live on the reserve and many of the ranches and homes in the area exhibit stuffed crocodiles as trophies. Impoverished locals collect molluscs and crabs and, during nesting season, will also take crocodile eggs to eat.

Crocodile ‘nanny’

Villeda now knows a lot about crocodile reproduction, and six years ago, thanks to educational outreach efforts, locals started to bring him any eggs they found.

That’s when he took on the unusual position of being a crocodile nanny.

“Taking care of a nest with eggs is a big responsibility,” he said, explaining how the temperature affects how long it can take for the eggs to hatch — usually about 85 days.

When he hears the first squeaks of the newborn crocs, he will help them out of their eggs.

Villeda, who also owns a restaurant, buys the fish himself and typically feeds the animals from the fourth day after they hatch, and they stay in his care for about two months.

“What is gratifying is that we now have a real crocodile population. We have gone from five to more than 200,” Villeda said.

When the animals are released into the local Zapatero canal, in which seawaters mix with river water, they find themselves amid populations of other rare animals, such as the yellow-naped parrot and a type of pink spoonbill whose feathers were once massively sought for hat decorations.

On a recent boat trip, the green eyes of a few crocodiles could be seen poking above the channel’s dark waters.

The youngsters will have to fend for themselves to avoid being eaten by the adult male crocs who have already claimed the area.

Maria Henriquez, a 34-year-old ranger, holds in her hand a baby crocodile and prepares to release it.

“It’s quite moving, because we are helping nature keep this species alive,” said Henriquez, the only woman among the team of six rangers.

Villeda’s efforts were recognised by the non-governmental group Ecological Union of El Salvador, which cites his work as a good example for people to follow in a country where wildlife often suffers because of natural disasters, hunting, deforestation and pressures from a large impoverished population.

“We believe that such initiatives contribute to the conservation of our coastal marine ecosystem in danger,” said Gregorio Ramirez, a representative of the environmental group.