Wonderful News

This week tens of thousands of human lives may have been saved by the courageous action of a few dockworkers in South Africa.

A ship from China was loaded with “millions of rounds of AK-47 ammunition, rocket-propelled grenades and mortar rounds, all intended for the Zimbabwe Defence Force” (source). If you haven’t been following the news, Zimbabwe recently held an election in which the opposition party appears to have won (exact results are being held by the ruling party under current president Robert Mugabe). It is feared that he is one of those politicians who accepts democracy only so long as he wins, and his party is blamed for squandering the nation’s wealth while the people fall into widespread poverty and unrest. Now he’s buying a boat-load of weapons from China.

Those of you who saw “Hotel Rwanda” and remember the scene early on when a crate filled with machetes breaks open can easily imagine what millions of rounds of AK-47 ammunition would mean for the opposition party and its millions of supporters.

While we can all join in a collective sigh of relief and take joy in the courage of others, we can also join the Avaaz.org petition to call on China to bring the arms back home. In fact, please do sign it – because as we know, where there is a will there is a way, and the ship’s cargo could still find their way to Zimbabwe. Africa and its workers seem united toward turning it away:

Unions, churches, and legal groups throughout Southern Africa quickly mobilized; the ship was forced to leave the harbour, and other ports in the region are vowing to block the weapons as well. (from an Avaaz.org email / source)

but unless the cargo is militarily impounded (something South Africa is considering, but may be difficult) or China recalls it, there is still a chance.

The petition.