‘Would that it were so!’ says Father David Harold Barry, operations Director at Silveira House, Zimbabwe. ‘The recent decision of the MDC to go into the government was greeted with enthusiasm by some and with considerable reserve by others. Yet in such a drawn out crisis where people are at the end of their wits as to how to survive, the decision of the leader of the MDC has generally brought widespread hope. People are saying; ‘it is worth a try.’ And one word keeps popping up; it is not a solution but a ‘process.’ As the MDC people begin to work with the ZANU PF people they will both begin to discover the common ground – something they could never do when one was outside and the other in.

So the hope is that as the two rub shoulders they will discover their need for each other in the short term and in the long term a solution will only come if there is this opportunity for give and take in the transition period. The old man is said to be tired and wanting a way out of the dilemma. So it is a time for magnanimity, large heartedness and reconciliation. Zimbabwe may yet be an example of peacemaking among rivals that inspires Africa.

But what we can all agree on is that the next weeks and months are going to be difficult. People who loathe each other are going to have to learn to work together. In their hearts they want revenge but in their minds they know this is only stirring up more hatred and bloodshed. It is going to be very hard to swallow the things that have happened these past nine years and move on but this is what will be needed. To swallow does not mean to forget. We will need some exercise like the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission at some point. The TRC, as you remember, worked - not through forgetting all the cruel events of the apartheid years – but by bringing them to light and then moving towards reconciliation.’ To swallow means to put to one side bitter feelings for the moment and become engaged in the urgent tasks of rebuilding. Then at a later stage when there is some calm and security to bring into the open the pain of the past so that it may be healed and the nation may fully recover. This exercise will, as so many people say, have to cover not only the recent events of the new century but it will have to reach back to the 1980s if it is to be effective.

Finally it is worth recalling that it is not only a country that grows through a process. Our understanding of reconciliation itself grows. There are passages in the bible full of the desire for violent revenge – Psalm 109 , for example. But we are not stuck in these thoughts. By the time we reach the New Testament the message is reconciliation, forgiveness 70 x 7 and loving your enemies.

The last 4 weeks have been rather depressing with the death of another two artists: Nicodemus Mamvura and Mike Nyakuromba. I emailed photos of funeral scenes to those in the congregation with PC’s. Graveyards look like war zones as deaths from the cholera epidemic top 4000. The artists’ morale is low as virtually every week, they lose yet another close mutual friend or relation. I am not spared any detail as quite graphic photos are frequently emailed by the artists to keep me aware of the situation at first hand. However, a good friend has recently delivered the final tranche of money comprising donations and sculpture sales revenue from successful end year URC church sales plus cameras, torches, clothing and medicine which has cheered them up. I met him on his return at Heathrow a few days ago bringing 2 heavy rucksacks of items to sell plus photos of the artists who are all now very thin, so much so, that I struggled to recognise a few. He said they are all immensely grateful for the support from the URC which keeps them alive. I also received some greetings via mini video clips in their new office. Coster and Lizeni could be seen engrossed reading ‘Reform’ magazines which I send to DHB as they often feature articles on Artpeace. They were unaware their plight is read by so many people in the UK and abroad.

A Jesuit from Wimbledon also back from a recent trip said the situation struck home as he saw many old people being taken to the few hospitals still open in wheelbarrows having been pushed many miles. A week ago DHB emailed asking whether we could offer help to a young man called Fortune who had the courage to speak out against injustice. Result? His home was destroyed and both his legs were smashed leaving him on crutches permanently disabled. He is the breadwinner for his 2 children and an extended family as unemployment has reached 94%. I managed to get some of our donations over quickly to Fortune plus the mobile recently provided by Hilary Netherwood. He was beside himself with joy and could not find the words to thank us. Funds were also sent to Sekai, the widow of Nicodemus who has not only lost her husband but also her sole source of income. The courier returned with 2 dozen samples of Fortune’s exquisite copper/silver handmade jewellery which will be on sale at the Henry Olanga concert advertised elsewhere in this newsletter – so far 16 from St Andrew’s will attend. It promises to be a good evening! DHB sent lots of exquisite batiks made by the L’Arche community plus unusual necklaces from Viola and Edina from SH craft dept. Senzeni, a young lady confined to a wheel chair following a terrible road accident also sent attractive necklaces to her own design which delighted a few ladies in the congregation this morning; our network of help is reaching far and wide. Needless to say ‘The Shed is full again!

I was cheered but more often saddened by lots of drawings and stories on scraps of paper sent by children from many of the families we support describing the situation from their perspective, probably more revealing than any leading newspaper article.

Johnston Simpson