24 June 2005

MESSAGE OF SOLIDARITY TO THE PEOPLE OF ZIMBABWE

My dear brothers and sisters,

Greetings in the name of our triumphant Lord! It is with a mixture of
deep sadness and anger that I write this message of solidarity to you at this time of your national pain and suffering. Anger at the inhumanity and brutality of the police and security forces in destroying the homes and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people across Zimbabwe, and sadness at the indifference and lack of concern of a regime that appears increasingly bent on willful violence and destruction. I am also greatly saddened by the lack of a
decisive response from our government in South Africa and other
SADC governments to these gross violations of people's socio-
economic and human rights, and to the low exposure given to these
atrocities in our national media (particularly the SABC).

In the light of these omissions, there is one who hears the cries of His people, sees their oppression and is concerned about their suffering, and who acts against injustice and brutality. However, as in the case of the oppression of the Israelites in Egypt, God uses people as His instrument of deliverance, and called Moses to lead his
people out of Egypt. Confronting power is never easy, and so God reassures a reluctant Moses that He will be with him and that his brother Aaron will be his spokesperson to make up for his own inadequacies in speaking truth to power.

In the same way today in Zimbabwe, - as in the SADC region and in the
world - God is seeking men and women who will be His instruments of
deliverance for the suffering and oppressed people of their
countries by confronting and speaking to those in power in a non-
violent but non-compromising way. As with Moses, God promises to be
with us and to strengthen us and to rescue us from the hand of the
oppressor.

Our prayer for you at this time is that God will strengthen and protect you and grant you great courage and fortitude in your struggle for your freedom and dignity as the people of God created in
His image and likeness. We also pledge our on-going prayer and solidarity with you in this struggle, and our support in helping to mobilize resources for those affected by the 'tsunami' which has hit Zimbabwe. This tsunami is not as a result of a convulsion of
nature, but is a result of the convulsions of an evil and despotic
regime which no longer has the interests of its people at heart,
and therefore must be resisted by every freedom loving person in
Zimbabwe.

I am sorry that I cannot be with you today, but want to assure you that you are in our thoughts and prayers at this time, and that God who entered into our humanity through the person of Jesus Christ, and
who shared in our human suffering, even to the point of death on a cross, is with you in your time of crisis.

In Christian love and partnership,

Bishop Rubin Phillip Anglican Bishop of Natal Chair of the Zimbabwe Solidarity Forum Co-Chair of the Solidarity Peace Trust

Church of the Province of Southern Africa ¢ Diocese of Natal