A VOICE THAT WOULD NOT BE SILENCED
In this first week of May we have seen Vladamir Putin returning as
Russia’s president, but not without some brave voices of opposition being
heard. Marina Sayle, the research scientist who died recently, aged 77, was a
brave Russian democrat and implacable opponent of Putin who called for him to
be put on trial. Hers was a voice that would not be silenced, but after
accusing Putin of corruption in 2000 she went into hiding in the Pskov region.
During the years of perestroika, Marina was a charismatic leader in St
Petersburg and first accused Putin of corruption 20 years ago. Weeks before her
death she was again inspiring a new generation of pro-democracy activists
enraged by Putin’s decision to return to the Kremlin. Gorbachev has called her, “brave, principled
and unyielding”.
In the early 1990’s she found that Putin had entered into legally
dubious contracts with obscure firms to export raw materials abroad in return
for food. The contracts were awarded without tender. These raw materials – oil,
timber, rare metals – were duly exported. But the food never turned up. (Last
year various Rich Lists conservatively
estimated Putin’s personal wealth at 40 billion US dollars.)
For me, Marina’s life of commitment to democracy and human rights
reminds us of the many brave women and men in Russia who are not prepared to be
silenced. Even at huge personal cost. At her last public appearance in
February, short of breath, but still vigorous, lucid and as uncompromising as
ever, Marina shouted into the microphone: “Together we will win.” We all know
that it is a long and tough road ahead for the pro-democracy movement in
Russia. Many will suffer on that journey. Some will be killed, others
imprisoned and tortured. And other good women and men carrying awareness and
integrity in their souls will simply disappear. For ever. But as we remember the courage of those like Marina
Sayle, we know that a light – however faint – always remains within the
darkness.
CLASS PRIVILEGE IN THE UK
I was very interested in a recent article by the UK journalist Gary
Younge in which he was writing about the web of privilege which is deeply
embedded in British social structures. At a time when millions of people are
facing economic difficulties and uncertainties Gary writes:
“Class privilege, and the
power it confers, is often conveniently misunderstood by its beneficiaries as
the product of their own genius rather than generations of advantage, stoutly
defended and faithfully bequeathed. Evidence of such advantages is not freely
available. It is not in the powerful’s interest for the rest of us to know how
their influence is attained or exercised. But every now and then a damn bursts
and the facts come flooding forth.
The Leveson inquiry has
provided one such moment. It was set up last year to look into specific claims
about phone hacking at the News of the World, alleged police corruption and the
general culture and ethics of the British media. But every time it probes
harder into the Murdoch empire it draws blood from the heart of our body
politic, telling us a great deal about how Britain’s political class in
particular, and ruling class in general collude, connive and corrupt both
systemically and systematically.”
THE LINDA NORGROVE FOUNDATION
More than a year ago I wrote
about the charitable foundation which Linda and John Norgrove who live on the
Isle of Lewis off the west coast of Scotland, had set up in memory of their
daughter Linda who was taken hostage in 2010 in the remote Dewagal valley in Afghanistan when working for an international
aid agency. Linda was tragically killed by a grenade thrown by an American
soldier during a failed attempt to free her.
Earlier this year Linda and John went to Afghanistan to see projects
which are being helped by the Linda Norgrove Foundation. On their return John
told reporters:
“It was a bitter-sweet visit, both healing but sad. It was good to see
the work we have been able to help. We are seeing something good come out of
something so tragic. What happened to Linda was so negative, but it was great
to be able to create something positive out of that. You must be positive as
that helps the healing process.
We could not believe the change in the country since our last visit in
the 1970’s. Until you see it, it’s difficult to appreciate the scale of the
military operation in the country. In 2011 the cost of the war was 103 billion
US dollars and the aid budget was 15.7 billion US dollars. The military
expenditure equates to around twenty thousand US dollars per Afghan family per
year. By contrast, a teacher heading up this notional Afghan family might
receive twenty US dollars a week, if he gets his pay at all. This imbalance
inevitably exacerbates corruption.”
One of the projects supported by the Foundation is the Afghan
Educational Children’s Circus – a groundbreaking work that uses entertainment
to educate children on such issues as land-mine awareness and drug misuse. The
Foundation also supports work with women and helps in the feeding of
malnourished children. Its primary task is to help women and children affected
by the long-running war. Around 40% of the Afghan population is under the age
of 14 and one in five adult women have been widowed.
Linda and John have never apportioned blame for the incident which
killed their daughter, preferring instead to focus on the valuable work which
Linda carried out during her time in Afghanistan, a country she grew to love.
She believed in Afghanistan and walked humbly alongside it people, aware of
their struggles and speaking their language. It is good that her work of love, far from home, has not been forgotten.
God of aliens and strangers:
make the doors of our homes
wide enough
so all find a home.
God of the near and far off:
make our hearts
wide enough
so all might find a friend.
Part of a prayer by Thom Shuman
in the newly published 50 NEW PRAYERS
FROM THE IONA COMMUNITY edited by Neil Paynter and available from Wild Goose Publications www.ionabooks.com e-mail:
wgrg@iona.org.uk. The ISBN number is
978-1-84952-216-8.
