Posts by Bob Williams
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I recall facilitating a "consensus" process once and being reminded by the participants that "consensus" isn't the same as "agreement" or "unanimous"
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Corporal Hughes' story is uncomfortably similar the plot of the 1968 Rod Steiger movie "The Sergeant" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sergeant_(film). It was the days of A and B movies and I'd gone along to see something else. As a teenager still several years away from coming out to himself let alone anyone else, the film scared the living shit out of me. Even in these supposedly more enlightened times, perhaps especially in these more enlightened times, the overall message to young gay men is not a good one. If Hall's report in the Star-Times is correct then Corporal Hughes was clearly in a very messed up state, but infatuations in closely confined environments are always messy and can be dangerous whatever the sexuality of those involved. What's really disturbing is the response of others - as has been pointed out well in Russel's article and by Corporal Hughes' whānau. I feel reluctant to drag out the old cliché about whether this chain of events, from the confrontation to the coroner, would have unfolded the way that it has if Corporal Hughes had been straight. But I have.
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I was in Sri Lanka at the same time as Keith, spending a lot of time with agencies who are trying to bring some form of relief to those dispossesed by the current phase in the civil war (for that is what it is).
What Keith reports reflects much of what I was told, and also much of what has been reported in the local English language newspapers that are not entirely alligned with the Government. [These are influential because English is such a common language of the Sri Lankan middle and upper class that for some of them, I was told, Singalese or Tamil were their second not first languages]
One thing Keith didn't mention was the threat by the UNHCR to pull out its support and resources unless the Government stopped forceably repatriating refugees back into their original areas. In fact, my recollection is that the UNHCR acted on that threat in an attempt to force the Government to stop doing it. It did pull its people out (although I haven't been able to confirm this). If they did, or if they do, then would be enormously significant - since it strongly affects the inclination and ability of other aid agencies to carry on their work. Their work is tough enough as it is - I spoke with aid workers who had been evacuated by their agencies several times as the bombs fell around them.
That this is a nasty, ugly and largely ignored war goes without saying. What is less known is the extent to which New Zealand has a direct interest. Fonterra has a very major stake in the country. There are 18 million or so people in Sri Lanka, and through its own exports and ownership of local producers and processors Fonterra controls about 60% of the country's dairy sales by volume.
We are, as a country, involved and yes it is disgraceful that Keith can't get the local news media interested. I could care a toss whether or not Kim Hill and Ruth Pretty have a rather closer relationship than I'd previously assumed, but what I do care about is that a so-called high quality magazine such as the Listener chooses to put that on its cover than something as substantial and important as the work that Keith has done.