Wow! Listening to Lovemore Moyo - Newly elected Speaker of Zimbabwe Parliament
Some days the job I do is amazing, on a purely personal level. On occasion, as a performer or as a person who creates space for performers to do their thing in, one is allowed to be in places that ordinarily one would not be.
Tonight I was fortunate enough to have been asked to attend the Vauxhall Labour Consituancy Party meeting where the newly democratically electected speaker of Zimbabwe's Parliament, Lovemore Moyo was attending his only non-conference specific event in his four day visit to the UK (to attend the Labour Party Conference in Manchester this weekend). Wow! It has a lot to do with Kate Hoey and her unceasing support of and activism on behalf of Zimbabwe (She is the longtime Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Zimbabwe after all).
I was attending the meeting on behalf of the Oval House Theatre and was also there to promote the play I am working as Producer on, Yours Abundantly, From Zimbabwe by Gillian Plowman. (The details for those I have't managed to corner or bore to death about already can be found on the Oval House Website).
I learned many things this evening. 1) The MDC is considered by many to be the equivalent of the British Labour party. 2) The power behind the throne of Mugabe contains a frightening array of people including the Chief of the Military to the Chief of Police to the Chief of the CIA equivalent to the Chief of the Prisons. All these functions have a desire to see Zanu PF in power and mostly because they can and should be prosecuted for Human Rights violations. 3) Lovemore Moyo is a very brave man. Anyone who has to accept the protection of their CIA equivalent because he is now a public figure worthy of such protection, from the very people who had him on their list of subjects to be eliminated has to be credited with a such an accolade. As he says, what can he do? It is a part of accepting the position. All he can do is be sceptical, behave honorably and trust that they will do their job properly in order to assure them that it is safe for them to work with the MDC. Amongst all the other things he has had to cope with, and since he has been an activist since his early teens he has had to cope with alot, that's pretty full on.
I learnt a lot more, but even if that was all I learned, that was enough.
As I said, some days, I get to see/meet some pretty cool people that I otherwise would never have the opportunity to meet. This is why I do my job!
Take care everyone!
Tonight I was fortunate enough to have been asked to attend the Vauxhall Labour Consituancy Party meeting where the newly democratically electected speaker of Zimbabwe's Parliament, Lovemore Moyo was attending his only non-conference specific event in his four day visit to the UK (to attend the Labour Party Conference in Manchester this weekend). Wow! It has a lot to do with Kate Hoey and her unceasing support of and activism on behalf of Zimbabwe (She is the longtime Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Zimbabwe after all).
I was attending the meeting on behalf of the Oval House Theatre and was also there to promote the play I am working as Producer on, Yours Abundantly, From Zimbabwe by Gillian Plowman. (The details for those I have't managed to corner or bore to death about already can be found on the Oval House Website).
I learned many things this evening. 1) The MDC is considered by many to be the equivalent of the British Labour party. 2) The power behind the throne of Mugabe contains a frightening array of people including the Chief of the Military to the Chief of Police to the Chief of the CIA equivalent to the Chief of the Prisons. All these functions have a desire to see Zanu PF in power and mostly because they can and should be prosecuted for Human Rights violations. 3) Lovemore Moyo is a very brave man. Anyone who has to accept the protection of their CIA equivalent because he is now a public figure worthy of such protection, from the very people who had him on their list of subjects to be eliminated has to be credited with a such an accolade. As he says, what can he do? It is a part of accepting the position. All he can do is be sceptical, behave honorably and trust that they will do their job properly in order to assure them that it is safe for them to work with the MDC. Amongst all the other things he has had to cope with, and since he has been an activist since his early teens he has had to cope with alot, that's pretty full on.
I learnt a lot more, but even if that was all I learned, that was enough.
As I said, some days, I get to see/meet some pretty cool people that I otherwise would never have the opportunity to meet. This is why I do my job!
Take care everyone!