Dear Colleagues & Friends,
Prejudice and 'anti-ism' is
something, wherever, whatever, is common to us all to varying degrees.
Varying stimuli brings out the best and the worst instincts at times.
For me, the sociological come BBC come societal idea of 'racism',
equality and 'rights' rang rather hollow and somehow 'detached' from
reality, I even once took the view it was counter to achieving its
stated end and wondered if I would ever be included in that loud
bandwagon.
But a friend from a former university, my pilgrimage of Christian
faith, and much else, has informed a fresh approach, dynamic and
understanding, which just happened, as per John Bunyan's Pilgrims
Progress, as Christian walked through the valley of the shadow of
death, seeing the beginning of the dawning; he became aware of others,
not necessarily 'close' but walking the same way, the similar path with
intricacies, twists and dangers all sides, yet seeing above and beyond
the immediate.
I realised inequality is a common variable, and realised too that
if someone indiscriminately bombed Bedford, or hurt people I cared
about, even remotely, to plunder a local reserve of some kind, the
outrage and sense of disquiet it would inform, and yet, the massive
spend on security, more arms exports and sales and much else, for what
I do not know relative to gain; yes the price is too high and to be
honest we can hardly blame people from Africa or the Middle East; when
that is exactly what we have been party to with them and their
families, friends and kinsmen.
As a Christian believer, it is with deep regret we as a nation have
gone down this road, as it need not have been, the chances to nurture
alternatives to oil/road/car/guzzling and polluting modes, reducing
pain, political back lashes, risk, cost and saving many lives home and
abroad, even domestically; have one by one been rejected by New Labour
and one feels that the indigenous parishoners, the general public and
so on; are not party to much of the 'deep-hiddens' yet are told to fork
out and accept equal responsibility, blame and so on.
In 1 Chronicles, Chapter 29, verses 1-10-25, especially verses 3-8 and then verse 9 we see a sequence:
David the King, led from the front
The
Leaders, of free will, gave materially following David's lead, in
agreement with his sharing of what he had in mind and them being
similarly of one accord, not forced or manipulated or even sold
something; but voluntarily consenting
Then the people, many perhaps not so very well off, unable to give
materially much, but made up for it in praise and worship and support
to the great adventure embarking.
Yet
this proportionality and free consent and model of leaders going first
with their views, convictions and prescriptions, we do not see, even in
the House of God often, sadly. I firmly believe that if every public
transport provider and professional/elected representative, as a
precondition of taking office had to hand in their car keys and use
what is available, we'd soon find improvements long ago, and this model
one may believe is informative elsewhere also in proportion?!
So here is the background and I trust, we can see the solidarity in
suffering and casualties of war and offer displaced teenagers at
Sanguatte, fatherless, abandoned and without hope, arms of welcome,
love, a home and a shared future, remembering 'there but for fortune,
go you and I...' as Joan Baez once sang. Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
Richard Pill.
'
“HUMAN WRITES AND KURDS” – ART EXHIBITION AND BOOK FAIR
Details: An exhibition of paintings by Haydar Akboga and Cemo, book covers and texts on linguistic genocide - 4 th September - 30 th September 2009
Admission: Free; Hours: Mon – Fri: 10 am – 5 pm; Sat: 10 am – 3.30 pm
Kurdish Book Fair (25 th - 26 th September 2009: 10am-5pm)
Both events are taking place at Stoke Newington Library Gallery, Stoke Newington Church Street, London N16 OJS.
The
book covers being exhibited are of children's books in Kurdish that
were seized by the Turkish authorities in Istanbul in 2006. As the
Swedish news agency TT reported at the time:
On the 25 th
August 2006, the Turkish authorities in Istanbul have seized 1,208
Kurdish versions of the books about Pippi Langstrump (Pippi
Longstocking), the world's famous fictional children's character. They
were sent on 7 th August from Sweden by an organisation that
runs an education project for Kurds.The books had been sent for
delivery to libraries in five Kurdish villages. As it is well known,
Astrid Lindgren's books about Pippi Longstocking have been translated
into 85 languages and published in more than 100 countries.
'Human Writes and Kurds' forms part of the Write to Ignite Hackney Word Festival 2009 that
is taking place throughout September in Hackney, London. This year's
Festival, themed loosely around 'Human Writes', was launched on 4 th
September in this gallery space during an evening of spoken word with
story-tellers, poets and performers Malika Booker, Baden Prince Jnr,
Michael Rosen and Neal Zetter.
The Kurdish Book Fair will also be taking place on 25 th -26 th September at this venue and within the surroundings of the 'Human Writes and Kurds' exhibition (Friday 25 th - 10am-5pm; Saturday 26 th - 10am-5pm). National
and international publishers (from Sweden and Turkey) and independent
bookshops will be participating in an event that will be of interest to
many.
Artists profiles: Haydar Akboga: “I
have studied at Istanbul Fine Arts University. I started painting when
I was 7 years old and I was doing small sculptures ... Since then, I
have never stopped painting. I live in London at the moment. Everything
around me is a source of inspiration for me.
"Since
the geography l was born and raised in had no shortage of materials, l
had to find a way of defining myself in order to make a stand: to be
able to live, endure pain and still be on your own feet requires being
very strong as well as adopting an artistic approach to events. At
least, this is the case where l come from. l use almost all kinds of
different materials: oil, charcoal, acrylic and so on. Most
importantly, l use myself in the process of making art. OR when the art
makes me what l am”.
Cemo: Cemo started drawing while jailed. He was arrested on 12 th
September 1980 during the military coup that took place in Turkey and
he was found 'guilty' because of his political views and Kurdish ethnic
background. He was sentenced to two death penalties (in 1985 and 1987).
Born in Qulp/Idir in 1962, he commenced drawing with charcoal
portraits. At the beginning, his style was in reaction to the
government’s prohibited, restricted and neglectful stance. During his
custody (he was released in 1991), he worked with pastels and his work
became increasingly political. Between the years 1992-1997, his works,
which were an artistic projection of experiences under very difficult
circumstances (including prison) continued to be exhibited.
From
1997, he started to do oil paintings on canvases. Between the years
1981-1995, he spent 12 years in prison (10 years with no closure) and
30 years of his life have been spent in exile. His contemporary works
are mostly about 'near-past events'. Since 1996, Cemo has been based in
England. He currently resides in London. His paintings have been
exhibited at various festivals and venues including the Human Rights
Association (HRA - Balıkesir, İstanbul and Osmanbey branches in
Turkey), the Ören Art and Culture Festival and the Mesopotamia Culture Centre in Istanbul.
----------------
academically examine the manner in which the Kurdish culture, language
and literature has been subject to censorship, denial and educational
restrictions in Turkey for decades. '
More: http://www.hsengine.com/s_Kurd+Genocide.html
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