Last night I went to the It’s Just Not Cricket public meeting. Henry Olonga was very articulate and passionate, it was just a pity that Rod Donald went on for so long. Politicians, puh! But perhaps I was just grumpy because I ended up spending 14 hours at work yesterday. Not working for all of them, but at my place of work nonetheless.
Some of the stories Henry told were shocking, and there were moments when I wished I hadn’t turned up, I felt so sickened and upset. I can’t even bear to type up any of the stories. The sort of stories that make you feel like giving up on humanity completely. Giving up on life. But Henry also talked about joining the MakePovertyHistory gathering in the UK. He noticed the banner hanging over St Andrew’s, and talked about how that movement had grown from one person’s idea, one spark, and now it was a worldwide movement. Once we get the momentum going, change is possible.
Henry doesn’t think the tour should go ahead, because;
a) It would be very hard for the team to protest effectively if they went. Black arm bands are out now, because since Henry and Andrew wore them, new rules have been created. There’s a $US25,000 fine for wearing a black armband for political reasons, and you can be suspended.
b) They could find themselves accidentally promoting the regime – eg the Victoria Falls incident. A visit to the areas where homes have been bulldozed would be a good idea, but Henry questioned whether the government would allow it.
c) Mugabe will make money out of the tour.
This morning I encourage you to send a postcard to Helen Clark, voicing your opposition to the tour. Talk to people, workmates, friends, family, about the situation in Zimbabwe. And you can make a donation to CWS, who have a partner organisation already in Zimbabwe distributing food, tents and blankets to those made homeless.
The evening closed with the words of former race relations conciliator Gregory Fortuin, saying When Mr Mandela was asked about the 1981 Springbok tour during his visit to New Zealand in 1995, the former President said “When we heard that people in a country thousands of miles away were protesting about the loss of our humanity, the sun shone through the dark corridors of the cells on Robin Island.”
Well, yes, the Greens are milking this for all it's worth. But that doesn't mean that they are wrong either! It's tricky but I think that legislation is probably the best way forward at this time.
Posted by: arcite at July 15, 2005 08:54 PMI'm really disappointed they/we went. So much for Helen's "strong condemnations" of Zimbabwe. We should be willing to put our money where our mouth is. Otherwise we just look like ineffectual payers of lip-service.