A Peaceful Perspective... July 12, 2010

In this edition...

• Column: New Creation, Memory and Restorative Justice
• 'Water as human right' campaign gets global Protestant backing
• Blog: Feel it. It is here.
• Cup volunteers donate vouchers to kids
• African faith leaders must not 'fuel conflicts', says Eritrean author
• Archbishop Makgoba comments about fires in Durban’s Kennedy Road Settlement
• Migration: churches as bridges over fear and prejudices
• Dispatch readers donate to less fortunate

Column: New Creation, Memory and Restorative Justice

The last day of June, and almost undetected in the distraction of the World Cup, the Mail and Guardian reported a “Wild West” style mining deal by Imperial Crown Trading, a company linked to Jacob Zuma, which secured a Sishen coal mine acquisition worth R20 billion in assets and a niche in the iron ore supply chain of South Africa’s globally competitive steel industry. There is nothing new about South Africa’s practiced ability to exploit natural resources without scruple, in our long history of extracting mineral wealth with mercenary disregard for human rights or environmental impacts, and behind a facade of decency and political correctness. I grew up in Johannesburg which is the only city in the world whose CBD has been torn down and rebuilt five times over in its first century, before much of it was abandoned altogether for the entirely new CBD of Sandton, just 30km away. Johannesburg, with good reason, is more special to me than any other city, but such was its dispensable cultural and environmental heritage, because of its astronomic mineral wealth and its support for one of the lowest legislated minimum wages for workers since the abolition of slavery. more >>
Source: ANiSA News

'Water as human right' campaign gets global Protestant backing

Church-backed campaigners on water issues say they have received a boost from a global body representing 80 million Protestants that has called on its members to support access to water as a basic human right. 
 "Preserving the world's water resources, and securing access to water for all, is one of the greatest challenges we face," Maike Gorsboth, the Geneva-based coordinator of the secretariat of the Ecumenical Water Network told ENInews. 
 Gorsboth was speaking after the World Communion of Reformed Churches at its 18-28 June founding meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan, urged its churches to support and adopt a declaration on "Water as a Human Right and a Public Good". more >>
Source: ANiSA News

Cup volunteers donate vouchers to kids

In an attempt to give back to the community, 22 Port Elizabeth World Cup volunteers decided to give up their last meal vouchers and donate food parcels to the Sinethemba Children’s Care Centre in Korsten instead. The volunteers – from Ghana, Argentina, Italy, Kenya, Nigeria, Germany, Cameroon and South Africa – visited the orphanage yesterday to hand over food parcels, baby toiletries and medicines. more >>
Source: ANiSA News

Archbishop Makgoba comments about fires in Durban’s Kennedy Road Settlement

‘My heart is very sore at the terrible scenes of devastation in Kennedy Road’ said Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, following the weekend’s massive fires which saw 2 dead and over 2000 left homeless. Addressing the wider needs of those in informal settlements, he added ‘yet the overwhelming success of the World Cup shows that with focus, commitment, hard work and perseverance, we can achieve our goals – we must confidently apply the same effort to service delivery promises.’… …[T]he Archbishop of Cape Town called for greater political commitment and practical action to address the legitimate needs of the inhabitants of Kennedy Road. ‘They have fought long and hard to achieve their rights, as citizens and residents of this country which now claims to be have one of the most advanced democratic systems in the world, and yet they are still left yearning for justice to be done in their life time. more >>
Source: ANiSA News

Dispatch readers donate to less fortunate

Daily Dispatch readers have again reached out to the less privileged. Touched by last week’s article on the opening of a creche in an informal settlement in Stoney Drift, young Gia Ferrucci, 5, and her sister Mila, 2, decided to donate their old toys to the less privileged children. Gia, who turned five yesterday, celebrated her birthday by boxing up her old toys and handing them over to Irene Erasmus, who has been working with the less privileged community in Amalinda. more >>
Source: ANiSA News

Blog: Feel it. It is here.

As we move towards the semi-finals of the World Cup, I thought it about time I blog about my own experiences. It has been incredible being in South Africa as we host the soccer. Feel it, it is here! is the official slogan that we hear repeated on our TVs during every game. And it has been a great feeling! Some of my highlights so far include watching the opening ceremony at a friends’ house, watching Bafana beat France at Arbreu’s coffee shop at the Wonderboom Junction (which has the best coffee I have ever tasted) and attending the USA-Algeria game at the Loftus stadium in Pretoria. Apart from this, I love hearing foreign accents in shopping centres, listening to everyone’s stories of their fan park or stadium experiences and picking up the general vibe of joy and excitement. A couple of Sundays ago I visited the church 3rd Place, where Pierre du Plessis used the theme 'feel it, it is here' in talking about the kingdom of heaven. more >>
Source: ANiSA News

Want to subscribe to the weekly news bulletin "A Peaceful Perspective..."?
Subscribe today!

African faith leaders must not 'fuel conflicts', says Eritrean author

Faith leaders in Africa have a responsibility to act as peacemakers rather than fuel strife, says a Lutheran theologian from Eritrea. 
 "There are some situations in sub-Saharan Africa where religion-based politics has unleashed violence on a grand scale," author Yacob Tesfai said on 2 July, presenting his new book, "Holy Warriors, Infidels, and Peacemakers in Africa", at the Geneva headquarters of the World Council of Churches. 
 Still, said Tesfai, "Generally speaking, Africans have not been fighting on the basis of religion. The question is now: 'How long will that last?'" 
 In the book, Tesfai examines the role of religion in conflict in various parts of the continent, including South Africa, Sudan, East Africa, and the Horn of Africa. more >>
Source: ANiSA News

Migration: churches as bridges over fear and prejudices

In times of exploding budget deficits and unemployment figures, migrants are often used as scapegoats for all the ailings and failings of society. In such a context it is the task of the church to uphold the human rights and dignity of all, the members of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Global Ecumenical Network on Migration have insisted during their annual meeting. "We believe that churches have the mandate and the biblical mission to foster the creation of a society where all peoples of the planet enjoy the gifts of God, created for all, in the spirit of love, justice and equality," Seta Hadeshian reminded fellow members of the global network, which met in Geneva, Switzerland from 24-30 June. Hadeshian is the director of Diakonia and Social Justice at the Middle East Council of Churches. more >>
Source: ANiSA News