Another 6am alarm call this morning; breakfast and on the bus by 6.45am and down to Umthombo where we have our daily briefing meeting. It's a quick meeting now we've all settled into our very varied volunteer roles; buddying the teams on their trips to local schools, timetabling the transport, confirming the match schedules and completing the epic task of washing and drying 100 football strips for the 2pm kick-off – there's plenty of work going on behind the scenes to make this unique and joyous event run smoothly.
But today was different for me, if not for the street children I later met. As we were about to leave for a meeting to discuss Sunday's closing ceremony a call came through from Tom; there was a tip off that street children were being rounded up by the local police. We joined Tom in pursuit of the police van he now had in sight in order to document and better still, attempt to prevent this action. We found the van pulled over outside a supermarket and as we approached the blue metal grill doors it was apparent that the eyes peering out at us were those of children. I took photographs as Tom spoke to the faces looking back at us 'How old are you?', you can hear the replies for yourself here.
As you can see the driver of the police van decided his best course of action was to speed off. We followed and he drove into an area we were prohibited from entering by other police officers. Eventually this ridiculous pursuit ended when the van entered a police compound. We parked up and entered the compound; about eight of us, mostly sporting Street Child World Cup t-shirts.
The defence of the police officer we spoke to was that these children were sleeping in old municipal buildings, they had therefore been trespassing. The police captains he told us, have orders from their superiors to 'keep the streets clean of vagrants'. The children had therefore been awoken with tear-gas and bundled into the back of the vans.
It took the arrival at the police station of a South African radio journalist we had called to give weight to our request to release the children. Plainly concerned that this had the potential to become a big media story during the week of the Street Child World Cup the captain quickly went out to release the children. Six children emerged from the police van, one of them wearing a Street Child World Cup t-shirt – the daily uniform of all us supporting this unique competition. Yesterday the boy wearing the t-shirt had been cheering on the South Africa team and here he was less than 24 hours later, rounded up but now fortunately released.
Umthombo are working hard to improve the lives of street children and today I saw Tom, Mandi and Biza fight face to face for the basic rights of children. The Umthombo drop in centre, Safe Space for street children provides just that, respite for the children; Umthombo's most pressing fight now is to ensure that the forthcoming FIFA World Cup does not escalate the round-ups of children and they are seeking resources from the city to enable them to extend their work.
Whilst the street children teams battle it out on the football pitch here this week, there are adults battling it out on their behalf and taking their fight to city representatives. It's hard work and mostly met with shocking resistance, but thankfully there are people working to give children a voice and a happy life.
You can see the footage of this incident and its aftermath in the latest video from Durban, posted below.
Just a quick blog post to remind all creative types in Leeds and the surrounding area to come along to the Site Vibing Making Days previously announced on this blog.
The Site Vibing team require any creative people in the area to help prepare crafty and arty things to make the Cheltenham site look even better in August. Participants can choose to cut and sew fabric, draw and colour, or construct crafty things with card, plastic and other materials. Obviously, any previous experience in these areas is an advantage, but enthusiastic learners welcome!
Greenbelt HQ is currently all a-buzz with news from our friends at the Amos Trust as their brilliant event, the Street Child World Cup, kicks off in Durban, South Africa. Some Greenbelt staff, volunteers and friends are out in South Africa as eight teams from disadvantaged areas around the world compete in football, and collaborate in arts projects. There's also a conference at which the street children will be given a voice in discussions with fellow participants from around the world, and the broader international press.
They're posting regular videos from the tournament, so do read their blog, or subscribe to them on YouTube and Twitter and keep up to date with all the action… This excellent video describes the first day of action, and features the fixture draw, and a whole lot of Gary Mabbutt…
Greenbelt is supporting the speaking tour by the Israeli campaigner Jeff Halper of ICAHD throughout March. Jeff is in conversation with Dr Ghada Karmi, a leading Palestinian writer and academic, to discuss how boycotts and other sanctions can allow the public to have a direct involvement in a complex situation, and achieve concrete solutions – similar to those achieved by global action against South African apartheid.
They're speaking in Exeter, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Bradford and London, and there are engagements in each that the public can attend. All dates are free entry. See below for dates and locations…
It promises to be a fascinating and motivating set of discussions that allow a real insight into this challenging situation. We hope to have some audio and video content from Jeff and Ghada up on the Greenbelt site soon.
Key films include the Benefit Gala film The Balibo Conspiracy, a story from Indonesia's 1975 invasion of East Timor;
the opening night film Moloch Tropical, a drama about political disintegration in Haiti; and Festival-closer The Sun Behind The Clouds: Tibet's Struggle For Freedom, which explores the tension between the non-violent ways of the Dalai Lama and the impatience of the younger generation.
There's also a stream – Youth Producing Change – dedicated to the work of young filmmakers from across the globe, giving uniquely personal insights into areas of human rights crises.
Those of you looking forward to Shrove Tuesday and Lenten abstinence – there must be some of you out there – will be interested to hear that Greenbelt is hosting the launch of Andrew Rumsey's book of Lent readings "Strangely Warmed: Reflections on God, Life and Bric-a-Brac".
Andrew is Vicar of Christ Church Gipsy Hill. He's a Third Way contributor and a Ship Of Fools columnist. His book is a collection of daily pieces for the forty days of Lent, and is a wry and witty look at everyday aspects of the world that provoke questions of faith – the advertising slogan, the bus journey, the church jumble sale… "Strangely Warmed" aims to present serious doctrinal points in a lighthearted way, and to allow people to enjoy reflecting on faith.
And he's already amassed some fans… Ian Hislop has described the book as "witty, erudite, eloquent and thoughtful", and Tom Wright, Bishop of Durham has said it is "like Spike Milligan doing Thought For The Day".
The event is on Thursday 18th February at 6.30pm, and will take place at All Hallows On The Wall, London Wall, London, EC2M 5ND (click here for a map). Andrew will read from the book, there will be some live music, and there will also be a glass of wine or two to tempt you from your post-Ash Wednesday sobriety.
If you can't make the event, though, don't worry! We'll hopefully have some video content with Andrew at the event up on the website soon.
The Site Vibers are running four Making Days in Leeds and London, at which the creative among you can contribute a little time and talent to making Cheltenham Racecourse a bit less like a racecourse and a bit more like Greenbelt.
If you have skills in cutting and sewing fabric, drawing and colouring, or crafty construction with card, plastic and other materials, then the Site Vibing Team would love to see you in Leeds in March, and in London in May…
LEEDS – Saturday 27th & Sunday 28th March Left Bank Leeds
Cardigan Rd, Leeds, LS6 1LJ
(Click here for a map)
Time 10am to 5pm
LONDON – Saturday 22nd & Sunday 23rd May (please note changed dates)
Greenbelt HQ
All Hallows On The Wall, 83 London Wall, London, EC2M 5ND
(Click here for a map)
Time 10am to 5pm
For more information, check the Site Vibing Throughout The Year page, which also contains patterns for making bunting, or email volunteers@greenbelt.org.uk to RSVP and be added to the list.
Share your creativity with the GB community, and make something beautiful!
Leftbank Leeds, the former St Margaret's Church in Burley, is a beautiful building. And it's currently showing Advent // An Exhibition for the festive Season.
Open between 11 & 4 on the weekends leading upto Christmas its well worth a visit if you're anywhere near Leeds. You can see some pictures from the private view on Friday night on the exhibition blog, and there is a review with a short movie here
Curated by Si Smith,who is also one of the team programming the Visual Arts at Greenbelt, the exhibition has works by several greenbelt artists past, present & future and has been supported by trust greenbelt.
For those of you still yearning for a "Long Now" experience you should point your feet, trains and cars in the direction of Birmingham and check out an exhibition.
The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery is hosting an exhibition of Craft and the Slow Revolution from the 17th October 2009- 4th January 2010.
The exhibition looks at how contemporary craftspeople respond to ideas about slowing down how we work and what we produce, and the importance of contributing to a more sustainable society.
Included in this exhibition is a giant wool hanging that will be partly created by visitors, and a family activity guide to find out more about the exhibits. The exhibition also includes film and photography.
It's held in the Waterhall and admission is free (my favourite word).
It's a quiet going-out week in the Greenbelt office. Matt and I are both at gigs tonight, but it's a week full of nights in for the rest of the team. Matt's going to see The Tintins at The Water Rats in Kings Cross – Beatles, Blur and Simon & Garfunkel-inspired folk-pop, according to their MySpace.
I'm heading to the Hope and Anchor in Islington to see This Beautiful Thief. Their MySpace suggests Bloc Party meeting Maximo Park and playing guitars loudly, and they're a band with a decidedly philanthropic ethos: if you're quick, you can download their debut album for free at their website. Unfortunately a ticket for the gig is setting me back £4, but still…
Other than that, Rachel is recovering after DJing in Brixton on Saturday and Karen is resting up ahead of a trip to Nicaragua on Sunday.
Is there anything that we're missing out on that you're going to see? Let us know. More next Monday…
