10 years ago last weekend, 16 May 1998, was an important date. G8 leaders were at a conference venue in central Birmingham, Britain’s second city. An estimated 70,000 people were there to meet them, to bring the issue of debt relief to the forefront of the discussions. A massive movement had been mobilised, turning a minority campaign issue to the forefront of the agenda of the world’s most powerful countries.
For me, it was one of the defining moments of my life. Personally, it was one of the first events in the relationship with my wife, which eventually led to marriage in 2000. Emotionally, it was a great climax to an outpouring of emotion. We felt on top of the world. We felt that the leaders had met their match - and that was not the usual suspects, but Everyman and His Granny.
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Today the U.S. State Department released their Annual Human Rights Report for 2006. It includes detailed, lengthy reports on human rights violations in 193 countries, and is actually fairly fascinating reading if you have the time to wade through it (IMO).
Conspicuously missing from the list of countries reported on–The United States!?!
Mentioned, in the report, as the first (and perhaps most) hopeful example of progress on Human Rights was Liberia
I remember being in Liberia in 1999 during Charles Taylor’s 6 year reign as president (between the first 10 years of civil war and the second 4 years of civil war). The people I met were completely terrified to talk about politics at all. I guess they feared Taylor, but they feared resumption of the civil war even more.
The people of Liberia were beautiful and very engaging. I remember sitting around the campfire one night with four ladies who were washing the cooking utensils. They sang a lovely melodic song, in English–I couldn’t understand a word. So they translated for me into an English I could understand. The lyrics were “Jesus you are so bright like a beautiful flower and you shine like the morning star”. Read the rest of this news item »