REFLECTION FOR MAY 2012

 

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.

 (You can find further details about the Linda Norgrove Foundation here:  http://www.lindanorgrovefoundation.org/)

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.