Welcome Comments at The People’s Voice (Our Song) Maitisong  and Commemoration of Human Rights Week and 60th Anniversary of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Maitisong 10 December 2008. Alice Mogwe BOCISCOZ.

On behalf of both The Botswana Civil Society Solidarity Coalition for Zimbabwe (BOCISCOZ) and Amnesty International, we wish to welcome you most warmly to this, the third and final performance of The People’s Voice (Our Song). Our Human Rights week and Commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) began on Monday 8 December 2008 when it was launched by Dr Barbara Reynolds, The UNICEF Representative.

BOCISCOZ was formed in 2006. It is a coalition of civil society groupings comprising The Botswana Council of Churches (BCC), The Botswana Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (BOCONGO), The Botswana Secondary Teachers Trade Union (BOSETU), DITSHWANELO – The Botswana Centre for Human Rights, The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Botswana Chapter, The Concerned Africans Association (CAA), The People to People Coalition of Zimbabwe (PPCZ), Amnesty International Botswana, The International Socialists Botswana, The Disability HIV/AIDS Trust (DHAT), The Botswana Congress Party (BCP), The Botswana National Front Youth League (BNFYL), The Bible Society of Botswana, Kgolagano Theological College, The Lutheran Church, Tirisanyo Catholic Commission, The Dutch Reformed Church, The Evangelical Fellowship of Botswana, The Kweneng Rural Development Association (KRDA), Lifeline Botswana, The Botswana Community Based Organisations Network (BOCOBONET), The Botswana Network on Law, HIV and AIDS (BONELA), The Botswana Unified Local Government Service Association (BULGASA), The Botswana Teachers Union (BTU), Habitat for Humanity Botswana, CORDE, and The Botswana Scouts Association.

Amnesty International is a global movement of 2.2. million people in more than 150 countries. Its members campaign to end grave abuses of human rights. It is independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion. It is funded mainly by its members and through public donations.

The Zimbabwe Human Rights Defenders’ Exhibition is an initiative of Amnesty International and its partners around the world. It comprises photography, film and theatre. The photographic exhibition has been running at The Trinity Church Hall since Monday evening. It has been open daily between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. The last day of the photographic exhibition will be tomorrow Thursday 11 December 2008. It will end at 3 p.m.

The People’s Voice (Our Song) is a play about the crisis in Zimbabwe and how it affects both Zimbabweans and Batswana. For those of you who supported us in June 2007, when we hosted our first play about the crisis in Zimbabwe, tonight you will join us in welcoming back our cast of Zimbabwean and Batswana nationals.  It is that same group of people coming back to Botswana, through the same border post, though under seriously deteriorating conditions in Zimbabwe. Is there a crisis in Zimbabwe? What is it? How is Botswana responding? These are some of the questions which we hope will be answered this evening. The Directors of the play are Kabelo Nyenye (Botswana) and Mandla Moyo (Zimbabwe), duly assisted by Kabelo Ramaselwana (Botswana) and Zenzo Nyathi (Zimbabwe). The first two performances were staged at The Gaborone Bus Station on Monday evening and at The Main Mall on Tuesday afternoon. According to one member of the audience at yesterday’s performance, someone nudged him and whispered, ‘It would be wonderful if this play could be performed for the SADC leaders’. We had hoped to do just that last year, but funding realities soon put that dream to rest!

 The aim of our Human Rights Week is to share with the public, images of the experiences of those who believe in the tenets of the UDHR. Those who risk their lives in the defence of the rights of others, also known as Human Rights Defenders, in Zimbabwe comprise lawyers, teachers, journalists, workers, students as well as ordinary citizens. The photographic exhibition at the Trinity Church Hall has haunting images of what life can be like in Zimbabwe. There is also an enclosed space which is ‘not for sensitive viewers’ where a few graphic images communicate the pain experienced by many in Zimbabwe.  Our Basket of Opinions is to be given to our Government next year …it will hold woven opinions written by attendees about the position of The Government of Botswana on  Zimbabwe and the crisis of governance in that country. Our Donations Box awaits your contributions as you support our ‘Fight Cholera’ campaign. Due to the cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe (from which almost 800 people have already died), we are to purchase water purification tablets to give to Zimbabwean citizens returning home for the Christmas holidays. Your action can help to save lives. The Botswana Council of Churches, a member of BOCISCOZ, is coordinating our campaign. The bank details  for donations is on the small slip of paper which was given to you with your ticket this evening. You may also view our most recent press statement which also contains the bank details. It is on our website …. Just ‘google’ ‘Botswana human rights’ and you will find your way to us, alternatively www.ditshwanelo.org.bw.

We meet today amidst the practice of the latest method of intimidation in Zimbabwe – that of abductions or disappearances. Since the signing of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) on 15 September 2008, approximately thirty-two (32) people have ‘been disappeared’, without trace. In the early hours of 3 December, Ms Jestina Mukoko, the Director of Zimbabwe Peace Project (with whom BOCISCOZ has worked), was taken at gun-point from her home by a group of plain-clothes men. On Monday 8 December, two of her colleagues were also abducted. This latest form of intimidation mirrors the forms of abductions, torture and harassment which were documented in the period leading up to the Presidential run-off elections of 27 June 2008.

We would like to thank our donors, UNICEF, EED, The European Union, The National Museum and Art Gallery, The Trinity Church and Maitisong. We thank our poet Boipelo Seleke for agreeing to support us again this year. Last but not least we would like to thank you all for supporting us in our work. One can become rather lonely ‘doing human rights work’ … but this evening, we do not feel alone. For this we thank you.

Dare I say, ‘Enjoy the play?’