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Operation Murambatsvina - Countrywide evictions of urban poor - Index of articles
Message of solidarity to the people of Zimbabwe
Bishop
Rubin Phillip
June 24, 2005
My dear brothers and
sisters,
Greetings in the name
of our triumphant Lord! It is with a mixture of deep sadness and anger
that I write this message of solidarity to you at this time of your national
pain and suffering. Anger at the inhumanity and brutality of the police
and security forces in destroying the homes and livelihoods of hundreds
of thousands of people across Zimbabwe, and sadness at the indifference
and lack of concern of a regime that appears increasingly bent on willful
violence and destruction. I am also greatly saddened by the lack of a
decisive response from our government in South Africa and other SADC governments
to these gross violations of people's socio- economic and human rights,
and to the low exposure given to these atrocities in our national media
(particularly the SABC).
In the light of these
omissions, there is one who hears the cries of His people, sees their
oppression and is concerned about their suffering, and who acts against
injustice and brutality. However, as in the case of the oppression of
the Israelites in Egypt, God uses people as His instrument of deliverance,
and called Moses to lead his people out of Egypt. Confronting power is
never easy, and so God reassures a reluctant Moses that He will be with
him and that his brother Aaron will be his spokesperson to make up for
his own inadequacies in speaking truth to power.
In the same way today
in Zimbabwe, - as in the SADC region and in the world - God is seeking
men and women who will be His instruments of deliverance for the suffering
and oppressed people of their countries by confronting and speaking to
those in power in a non- violent but non-compromising way. As with Moses,
God promises to be with us and to strengthen us and to rescue us from
the hand of the oppressor.
Our prayer for you
at this time is that God will strengthen and protect you and grant you
great courage and fortitude in your struggle for your freedom and dignity
as the people of God created in His image and likeness. We also pledge
our on-going prayer and solidarity with you in this struggle, and our
support in helping to mobilize resources for those affected by the 'tsunami'
which has hit Zimbabwe. This tsunami is not as a result of a convulsion
of nature, but is a result of the convulsions of an evil and despotic
regime which no longer has the interests of its people at heart, and therefore
must be resisted by every freedom loving person in Zimbabwe.
I am sorry that I
cannot be with you today, but want to assure you that you are in our thoughts
and prayers at this time, and that God who entered into our humanity through
the person of Jesus Christ, and who shared in our human suffering, even
to the point of death on a cross, is with you in your time of crisis.
In Christian love
and partnership,
Bishop Rubin Phillip
Anglican Bishop of Natal
Chair of the Zimbabwe Solidarity Forum
Co-Chair of the Solidarity Peace Trust
Church of the
Province of Southern Africa & Diocese of Natal
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