Friday, January 23, 2009

Fast for Zimbabwe

There is now a growing movement in Southern Africa and around the world saying "enough is enough" in Zimbabwe – and one expression is the weekly fast started by Desmond Tutu, that AIMS to get over 100,000 people to fast for Zimbabwe until the following six demands are met::

  • South African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU) and major political parties in the region to end their policy of "quiet diplomacy" on the issue of Zimbabwe.
  • An urgent response by the United Nations and the international community to Zimbabwe's humanitarian crisis.
  • An immediate end to the "abductions, torture and other sinister forms of intimidation against civil society and political activists."
  • For the SADC to grant refugee status to Zimbabweans fleeing their own country,
  • For Zimbabwe to lift restrictions on freedoms of expression, association and assembly.
  • For the transitional authority to be installed if a power-sharing deal can't be reached in Zimbabwe by the end of February.

Whether one has a religious faith or just a belief in humanity, I would urge anyone reading this to join with a growing number to fast every Friday, and make this known as widely as possible. There is no website, although if you are on Twitter do follow http://twitter.com/ZimbabweFast & there are several Facebook Groups – but above all else, the people of Zimbabwe need real change.

As a Christian, I see this fast as an outworking of Isaiah 58 – true fasting and worship bring justice.

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