16.12.2008
LWF General Secretary Speaks of Anguish and Outrage over Zimbabweans' Suffering
Letter to SADC Lutheran Church Leaders Seeks Unwavering Political Intervention to End People's SufferingGENEVA, 16 December 2008 (LWI) - Expressing a sense of anguish and outrage over the increasingly worsening humanitarian, economic and political crisis in Zimbabwe, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) General Secretary Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko is appealing to heads of LWF member churches in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to work with their ecumenical partners to push the region's governments "to take the further steps necessary to bring an end to the suffering of the people of Zimbabwe, which is also the suffering of the whole region."
Building on actions requested by the LWF Council at its June 2008 meeting in Arusha, Tanzania, Noko, in a letter addressed to the SADC churches, urges advocacy to the region's governments and leaders "to act in the most responsible-but determined and unwavering-manner to relieve Zimbabweans of the burden they have already carried for far too long."
On President Robert Mugabe's current leadership of the country, Noko notes that while many Zimbabweans paid the ultimate price during the struggle for freedom from colonial rule, the "independent government that they fought for has turned liberation into repression, and finally into calamity.
"It is not acceptable that President Mugabe continues to blame others for Zimbabwe's plight, while he demonstrates no regard for the agonies of ordinary Zimbabweans. Indeed, he acts against his own people as if they were enemies. He has destroyed Zimbabwe's reputation and relationships internationally and regionally," insists Noko. He urges the SADC LWF member churches to send pastoral letters to their parishes and congregations, indicating the region's Lutheran churches and throughout the world do not accept the intolerable situation in the Zimbabwe.
"Without even clean water to drink, now hundreds are dying of cholera in an epidemic that is becoming a source of infection for neighboring countries," says Noko, of the deteriorating situation for fellow Zimbabweans. He underscores the role of the church in such a situation-to be a witness of the Lord who pleads the cause of the poor (Proverbs 22:22-23-pointing out it is unconscionable to permit the current suffering to continue.
Noko, an ordained pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe (ELCZ), reiterates the LWF's deep gratitude for the region's hospitality and generosity toward so many desperate people fleeing the political and economic chaos. (See June 2008 LWF Council actions on Zimbabwe at: www.lutheranworld.org/News/LWI/EN/2251.EN.html). The LWF is also grateful for the efforts of SADC and some individual political leaders in the region to promote a peaceful resolution of the political crisis, which tragically, "have so far foundered on the obstacle of Mr Mugabe's determination to retain power at all costs," he adds.
The LWF has 16 member churches in the SADC region, including the 150,000-member ELCZ. It also works in the country through the Department for World Service associate program, Lutheran Development Service - Zimbabwe. (495 words)
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