I’ve just come back from a Friday lunchtime prayer meeting organised by the Christian Alliance. When Amanda and I got to the Baptist Hall on Fife Avenue there were hardly any people in the room. We swayed to and fro listening to the singing. Soon the room filled to capacity with Zimbabweans in every chair, leaning up against the walls and sitting on the floor.

The mood was defiant and outraged. Declarations of protecting the vote thundered from the people gathered. We left just before the meeting ended and sat outside eating frozen red freezits to cool down. As the congregation emerged from the hall a procession formed making its way into town down Second Street. But around the corner came a swarm of blue uniformed, helmeted, baton and teargas wielding riot police. Menacing doesn’t come close.

My response, almost everyone’s response, was Fear. The most immediate reaction was to Run. People scattered, and then re-formed and then scattered again. In town the riot police positioned themselves in large groups at intersections, waiting and watching.

Now I’m sitting at my desk, back in the office, drinking coffee under slow turning ceiling fans and listening to that jet fighter buzz our sky again. Anger, fear, outrage, fatigue, dismay – a gamut of emotions flood me. But I’m also in awe of the people who gathered today, who were passionate enough to show up and in solidarity say, we object.

This entry was posted on April 11th, 2008 at 3:24 pm by Bev Clark and is filed under Activism, Elections 2008, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.