An Obadiah Slope column
On the way to Kigali, I awoke as we passed over Tennant Creek and reached inside my bag to read a little more of Dean Ashenden’s Telling Tenant’s Story – his personal account of the town, Tenant Creek, where he grew up as a boy, and the great silence about the dispossession of the First Nations People. His account of the Warramungu taking part in local land rights cases featured on the pages I read as we passed over their land.
If anyone wants to hear a reason for the voice, this book painstakingly reveals a history of Aboriginal people not being listened to. There is a reason why they want local, regional and a national voices. The reason is simple: our history.
Passing over Tennant Creek and having the right book reminded me of a flight over Kolkata and reading City of Joy by Dominique Lapierre. Is it just Obadiah, but do books gain impact through propinquity (a big word for being close)?
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Collared: The Other Cheek has come to Kigali for the Gafcon (Global African Futures conference), which will shape the Anglican communion in ways that will be fascinating to see. Needless to say, it feels weird to be here in an almost Clergy gathering. As I write on the first day, most of them will wear clerical collars as they have been told to, making Obadiah long for a Journo shirt. What would that look like?
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Afri-twitter: You know you are somewhere different if you do what Obadiah did just now and find that Jesus is trending.
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People who want to follow the Gafcon story will see pieces on The Other Cheek that will run a live stream of the main events at 6 pm Eastern Australia time, followed by interviews by the “Heart of Kigali” team which Obadiah is assisting.
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More Ghosts: looking out my Kigali window, I see the Hôtel des Mille Collines, the large building in the photo. It is better known as the Hotel Rwanda. In the best-selling book and movie, Hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina, a Hutu married to a Tutsi, saves 1,200 lives by protecting them at the Hotel. The Hotel Rwanda story reveals that I am staying at the heart of the genocide. What must it be for survivors with buildings, streets, and rivers reminding them of the slaughter?
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The Other Cheek carried the story of Cornerstone, an outback ministry that has trained hundreds of disciples. The founders took the Jesus Revolution of the seventies seriously to move to the outback, changing many lives. And quite coincidently, we ran that story as the Jesus Revolution movie is shown at 120 Australian cinemas from April 20.
Find out where to see it at www.jesusrevolutionmovie.com.au
And here is the Trailer “You’re going to need a bigger church.”
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Quote of the week: “There is a handful of white men going to space for funwhile malnutrition stalks many others.” Elsie Eyakuze in the East African newsapaper
Ashenden’s book is very very accurate on the big picture, but his picture of Tennant Creek is really lacking because he still has no real connections with Warumungu people. It certainly must be read for Australia, but not for a good picture of Jurnkkurakurr.
Fair comment, peter