IT'S 2005

2004 has passed in it's entirety and we now write 2005 on the top of the new page. It feels a bit strange, but so it is.

2004 ended in sadness, with the Tsunami disaster and 2005 will begin in hardship for many people on the globe. But hopefully, in twelve months time we will still be able to look back at 2005 as a good year. A year, when the Iraqis voted in a democratic election, a year where a Palestinian leader was elected that could help bring that peace process forward, a year which will show us how much can be done when the West get together and work towards something in unity (like starting to rebuild what was destroyed this Christmas holiday). And, while on a much smaller scale, still perhaps equally important, a year in which we'll all have good personal experiences in whatever we find important and joy-bringing.

It won't come down to luck. To make 2005 a good year, both for ourselves and for the world at large, we must work for it. It is in the end what we do with the situations that arise that determines their outcome. We cannot control everything, nor anticipate everything - anyone who thought so must have been painfully awakened - but we can strive to do the best with what we have. If we do that, hopefully in twelve months we'll all live in a place that's slightly better than it is now.

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