St Luke's Church Eccleshill - Articles from "The Link"

Don't play cricket in Zimbabwe

A friend in South Africa keeps in touch by e-mail, and recently wrote to me: “I noticed on TV news today that the English cricket team has definitely decided to play in Harare, and there were loud protests against that in London. What do you make of it? Perhaps refusing to play in Zimbabwe would have had a bit of symbolic value, but certainly no instrumental effectiveness. When and if Mugabe is hit for a six (steps down or gets assassinated or exiled) it will be by internal pressures, not because a foreign cricket team chose not to play there.”

I couldn’t let that pass! I do think that refusing to play would have had some effectiveness. Didn’t our British anti-apartheid campaigns help the change in South Africa? And besides, it is still right to make a protest, even if no-one except the LORD takes any notice. So I wrote back to my friend saying so.

“I agree we should follow our moral principles even if doing so fails to produce any results,” replied my friend. “In fact, I’ve said that in our discussions here. But what about honouring commitments made last year to play in Zimbabwe?

“However, it will take a lot more than cricket to stop Mugabe and his regime. The ZANU-PF leadership just digs in its heels all the more whenever international pressure is applied. Twentieth-century history shows us that economic boycotts don’t work in changing regimes.

“During the past 20 years I have looked at the anti-apartheid campaigns from various angles, and interviewed big cigars in the South African government before 1994. They all said trade boycotts and exclusion from the Olympic Games didn’t make much difference, although pressure by major banks did have some effect. Apartheid was mostly ended by internal pressure, and had the white community been more concerned with justice, it would have ended much more quickly.”

Maybe my friend is right that cricket won’t change Zimbabwe? But it may be a slight help - so let’s still try.

And Christians can change things: Desmond Tutu, a prominent Christian, helped the change in South Africa not to lead to a bloodbath. My friend says more concerned people would have brought progress quicker. So let’s also pray for more concerned Zimbabwe people to say something.

John Hartley

	*St Luke's Church, Eccleshill - The Link* magazine** The Link is published monthly at 40p (Senior Citizens 35p), and we deliver free within the parish and post copies (at the reader's expense) to those who request it. Please contact us if you would like a free copy for a trial period. February 2000, Page 1.
Home Page. Index of articles. Vicar's Letters: index, Faithful remnant, New Archbishop, Christmas, Read Mark, Zimbabwe, Basics in Lent. Race & Faiths: index, Aire, Iraq, Bussing, Islam, Zimbabwe, Islam? In this issue: (February 2003) Play in Zimbabwe? Hymn, Us & Methodists, Roof & Bibles, Sharon Peters.	Don't play cricket in Zimbabwe A friend in South Africa keeps in touch by e-mail, and recently wrote to me: “I noticed on TV news today that the English cricket team has definitely decided to play in Harare, and there were loud protests against that in London. What do you make of it? Perhaps refusing to play in Zimbabwe would have had a bit of symbolic value, but certainly no instrumental effectiveness. When and if Mugabe is hit for a six (steps down or gets assassinated or exiled) it will be by internal pressures, not because a foreign cricket team chose not to play there.” I couldn’t let that pass! I do think that refusing to play would have had some effectiveness. Didn’t our British anti-apartheid campaigns help the change in South Africa? And besides, it is still right to make a protest, even if no-one except the LORD takes any notice. So I wrote back to my friend saying so. “I agree we should follow our moral principles even if doing so fails to produce any results,” replied my friend. “In fact, I’ve said that in our discussions here. But what about honouring commitments made last year to play in Zimbabwe? “However, it will take a lot more than cricket to stop Mugabe and his regime. The ZANU-PF leadership just digs in its heels all the more whenever international pressure is applied. Twentieth-century history shows us that economic boycotts don’t work in changing regimes. “During the past 20 years I have looked at the anti-apartheid campaigns from various angles, and interviewed big cigars in the South African government before 1994. They all said trade boycotts and exclusion from the Olympic Games didn’t make much difference, although pressure by major banks did have some effect. Apartheid was mostly ended by internal pressure, and had the white community been more concerned with justice, it would have ended much more quickly.” Maybe my friend is right that cricket won’t change Zimbabwe? But it may be a slight help - so let’s still try. And Christians can change things: Desmond Tutu, a prominent Christian, helped the change in South Africa not to lead to a bloodbath. My friend says more concerned people would have brought progress quicker. So let’s also pray for more concerned Zimbabwe people to say something. John Hartley
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