Zimbabwe Vigil Diary – 13th January 2007

gacy: all Zimbabweans seem to know how to control a rampant sheet of plastic.
It was great to have new people with us as many of our regular supporters were attending other events, such as a young people’s project “Let them Fly” organised by the Zimbabwe Women’s Network-UK and a meeting of MDC UK Executive.
Doubt from Hertfordshire led the singing, supported, among others, by 10 people from Liverpool. How encouraging that they made this long journey – about the equivalent of Bulawayo to Harare – to be with us to draw attention to the suffering in Zimbabwe. A new song was popular today “Bye-bye Mugabe”. The mere idea cheered everyone up.
We interfaced with thousands of people coming past the Embassy who had attended a “Russian Winter Festival” which took over Trafalgar Square. They understood our demand for freedom. Many stopped to look at our laminated full page article “Zimbabwe, the land of the dying children.” from last week’s UK Sunday Times (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2534805,00.html).
They were shocked to learn that Zimbabwe has been reduced to such an abysmal state. Other recent stories tell of women dying in childbirth because of hospital staff strikes and three illegal miners dying of exhaustion and starvation after being forced by police to work filling up trenches for six days without food.
Great to have Ancilla bringing another pot and cooking stick to beat for Zimbabwe. You can get quite a tune out of these pots as people at home know: they all seem to say Bye-bye Mugabe.
For this week’s Vigil pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/
FOR THE RECORD: 50 signed the register.
FOR YOUR DIARY: Monday, 22nd January, 7.30 pm, Central London Zimbabwe Forum. Upstairs at the Theodore Bullfrog pub, 28 John Adam Street, London WC2