I've just heard on BBCTV news that Gillian has been found guilty of insulting religion and will spend 15 days in custody before being deported to UK. End of story. The Sudanese will reckon they have not lost face. Two weeks is not the end of the world. All shall be well. But, oh how unnecessary, it all was. And who loses out? The Sudanese children whom Gillian would have taught and all the other children who will now not be taught by Westerners.
xx
Just to add that I've realised that in fact she wasn't teaching poor war ravaged children but was employed by a school for rich Muslim children. So perhaps I was over hasty to ascribe philanthropic motives to her being in Sudan. I guess she was there for the money after all.:confused:
xxx
Hi Sunanda
Have you heard/read the latest on this situation.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7121025.stm
I hope they get her out of there as soon as poss'!!!
Rx
Hi Cirrus
I saw it on the BBC 9 o'clock news. Talk about over the top. On TV they did say the demonstration seemed to be orchestrated as most of the ordinary people had not heard anything about it - it's apparently not been well covered in the Sudanese media. Hence, the demos are all rigged. Unbelievable, isn't it. BTW by commenting on the school, I was no way implying that what's happened to Mrs Gibbons is OK. It's obviously not - it's horrendous. It beggars belief actually.
Love
Sunanda xxx
I hope Mrs Gibbons didn't hear or has been told about these demos. She apparently is in a very confused state anyway, according to the media, and if she has heard about the demos she must be petrified. What a horrible, horrible thing to have to go through.
I have tried to imagine how I would feel if she were a member of my family. I hope the Sudanese officials show some commonsense and compassion and send her home!
Rx
I propose creating a virtual teddy mascot for the HP forums, and calling it Mohammed.
V
I propose creating a virtual teddy mascot for the HP forums, and calling it Mohammed.
V
Oh V you are a naughty boy!:005:
Rxxx
But what would some Christians over here have to say about a school teddy bear being named Jesus?
(I doubt they'd call for floggings or death for the teacher, but there'd be a furore, wouldn't there? Whereas in Spanish speaking countries Jesus is a popular boy's name.)
xx
I don't think there would be a furore if the class voted for it Sunanda; & I gotta admit I'm with 'V' on this - I love the idea... the world has surely gone mad right?
I'm gonna call the left over cuddlies (from my now grown up children) names of the prophets and the sons of god etc... including Mohammed & Jesus - I also intend to have a John the Baptist too in honour of the fact that his whole look and wandering in the wilderness slant was totally ripped of by Juses (as expertly explained in The Mighty Boosh's "the power of crimping" episode).:p
I think Muslims up and down the country should buy a class teddy and name it offically Mohammed in honour of the prophet of Islam and as a marked expression of the resistance to the unenlightened policies being persued byt eh skewed type of thinking demonstrated by the Sudanese powers.
Sharia in Malaysia and elsewhere
It's the fundamentalist sharia culture in Sudan which is the problem for this foolhardy teacher. If she'd done the same thing in Malaysia for example this scenario would not have happened.
Barmy old world. Sharon. __________________
Sharia in Malaysia? Try:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/crossing_continents/6150340.stm
Excerpt:
Not even Maria's family know she has converted. "If my family find out I am no longer a Muslim they will completely cut me off. That means my name in the family will be erased.
many Malaysian Muslims believe that people like Maria pose a threat to Islam.
Another convert - Lina Joy - has been forced to go into hiding since her case went to court.
And at least one of the lawyers involved in that case has had a death threat against him.
For Maria there is a lot at stake. She has a boyfriend who is also a Christian and knows she is too. The couple want to get married. But while Maria is still officially a Muslim, the only way they could wed in Malaysia would be if he converted to Islam.
and
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6703155.stm
Excerpt:
Malaysia's constitution guarantees freedom of worship but says all ethnic Malays are Muslim. Under Sharia law, Muslims are not allowed to convert.
Ms Joy has been disowned by her family and forced to quit her job. She went into hiding last year. A Muslim lawyer who supported her case received death threats.
Sharia in Indonesia? Try:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6632239.stm
Lilis lives with her husband and two children on the outskirts of Tangerang. Just over a year ago, she was arrested by the civilian police while waiting for a taxi on her way home from work.
The police could not reach her husband, so Lilis was fined and jailed as a prostitute. She told me the arrest had left her shocked and traumatised, that she was now afraid to go anywhere on her own, and that even when she was out with her husband, the sight of the civilian police sent her into a panic.
Since her arrest, Lilis has lost her job, and has had to move house.
She rarely goes out in public now, and has begun wearing a headscarf in the hope it will make her less of a target.
"My daughter is afraid to go too far from the house," Lilis told me. "She's afraid people will talk about her the way people talked about me." "The authorities say they only catch prostitutes, but that's not true. Lots of women simply come back late from work or school."
Regards.
Prashna
Full pardon granted
Gillian Gibbons is being freed following talks between Tory peer Baroness Warsi and Labour peer Lord Ahmed and the Sudanese leader.
Full article here:
Holistic
If this wasn't so serious for this poor woman it would be laughable.
Unfortunately these countries lack what we have here in the main, a sense of humour. They cannot laugh at things or themselves so they do opposite, they rant and rave.
Let's hope she gets safely back to the UK without further incident, though we may not get to hear about it until she's home. I doubt that too much media attention will be encouraged. 😉
Holistic