Imperial echoes
Thank you for a stunning issue (NI 555). I was particularly interested in Vanessa Baird’s feature on critical minerals which is certain to become the most contentious topical issue in the next few years. I believe China has a head start on many other countries, and the Trumpery Tariff on/off game is also really unhelpful. The Democratic Republic of Congo is bound to be a flashpoint with political instability clashing with corruption and private enterprise. A photo from a book about Fabergé jewelry shows the contrast between the imperial consumers and the dangerous and precarious work of mining the raw precious stones by impoverished people living in inhospitable areas. No big change there, just the consumers are now us. Mining today remains precarious, inhospitable and poorly paid.
Another feature in your last edition (NI 555) that deserves more attention is the appalling British cruelty in Kenya, which took place whilst I was still at school (just). I remember the news portraying the Mau Mau as villains, whereas they were actually just defending themselves against invaders exploiting and stealing what was rightfully theirs.
How fortunate that I have a stake in New Internationalist, and Vanessa Baird herself persuaded me to invest when we met at a protest in Parliament Square against Guantanamo!
Sidestepped
While I celebrate New Internationalist’s NI 555 issue as an eye opener with regard to consumerism in the Western world and human rights abuses elsewhere, I revive my concern regarding the absence of references in NI to the economic vulnerability of disabled people.
Since I last raised this concern, the UK Labour government has doubled down on cuts to state benefits, especially disability benefits. In light of these attacks I wish to quote Jen Clark, economic and social rights lead at Amnesty International UK: ‘I’ve worked to highlight human rights violations for more than two decades and witnessed many awful situations. But never have I encountered such raw and widespread distress from people sharing their experiences in the UK.’
Will we remember?
In preventing war or genocide and maintaining peace, one of the most important aspects is the persistence of memory.
I was reminded of this recently when I attended a Liberation Day event at the Casone dei Partigiani del Monte Faudo, the ‘Partisan House’, in Liguria, Italy, which was used during World War Two as a base for the anti-fascist resistance. It is now a museum containing numerous photographs, artefacts and documents.
Sadly, all the partisans in this region are no longer with us, but their memories live on with relatives and friends. Here were stories of the resistance and of rastrellamenti (round ups) carried out by Nazi/fascist forces in local villages.
Without this remembrance, night falls on both the living and the dead; and I wondered if we will still be remembering the crimes carried out in Gaza, or in the DRC or Rwanda, in 80 years’ time.
Inspiring stories
I just listened to your ‘World Unspun’ podcast with Najla Mohamed-Lamin, and I thought it was absolutely great. I’ve not been following what’s happening in Western Sahara recently, and I found that the interview gave me an idea of the current situation. Perhaps more importantly, it brought me some sense of what life must be like for the Saharawi people: the human element was extremely strong. Najla Mohamed-Lamin is very inspiring.
Why I...
...create community green spaces.
During my working life I’d never felt a close connection to my local community, but when my career ended, suddenly the area I lived in in South London became more important to me. I’ve been with the Open Orchard Project for 10 years. It was set up to plant fruit trees in parks and estates. We soon expanded to planting fruit bushes, ornamental plants, herbs and gravel gardens in unloved spaces. Our core group is small, but we are like-minded individuals with a strong social conscience who want to help create a greener, more biodiverse environment for everyone.
