This year's first true Christmas message, in the Sunday Times

It drives me mad that I cannot put a link up on this article unless anyone else has a subscription to the Times Online. *but I would encourage everyone to buy a copy of the Sunday Times tomorrow (today, as its past midnight actually) to cut out and keep the article entitled*

 Updated 29th November 2010: In my enthusiasm for this article I failed to realise, somewhat dimly, that the article is actually from last week's Sunday Times. For subscribers, the link is here:  Love drives repentant Taliban chief to defect. 

For those who do not have a subscription, I'd like to quote a couple paragraphs (seeing as the paper wasn't yesterday but a week ago) in what I'm afraid may be a heinous transgression of copyright law, but all credit goes to Miles Amoore for his article, and I really do want to share his words with my readers:

"Ultimately, [Abdul Hakim] says, it was his desire to marry his fiancée that compelled him to lay down his weapons. The prospective father-in-law told Haqim that he would never give his daughter’s hand to a fighter because he did not want to see her widowed. “It was an easy choice for me,” he said. Haqim is not the only fighter from Wardak to come in from the cold. Habib Rahman, a 32-year-old sub-district commander from Jilga district, has also made peace overtures to the government.

Rahman joined the Taliban five years after the US-led invasion in 2001. His father was killed in the American bombing campaign that helped to bring the former Taliban regime to its knees. “I was sickened by the killing of innocent civilians,” he said.  “I couldn’t return to see my family because I would put them in danger. Living in the mountains is no fun." ~ Miles Amoore, The Sunday Times, 21st November 2010

This is a wonderfully written and spirited reporting of recent stories of Taliban commanders who have chosen to lay down their arms and join a movement called the Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration Programme, in order to reconstruct their own family lives and promote peace for the Afghan civilians. The programme is still in its infancy but is well on its way to growth. 

 These kinds of heart-warming stories are what we need to remind ourselves of when we become cynical of the endless rage in the Middle East, when success seems far from possibility. 

 I applaud Miles Amoore for his poignant and inspiring reporting, and I do hope everyone reads the article to push for peace in the Middle East. A wonderful article that reminds us that humanity is still alive in the stricken war zones and, clearly, even in the armies of those our soldiers fight against. 

 And that's something we often forget; that its not just a faceless mob of evil beings we face, but vulnerable individuals who have been driven to violence or revenge by those who saw an opportunity to corrupt. A certain Quaker friend of mine (you find all sorts at boarding school) once quoted Natalie Imbruglia: "brother shoots brother; meanwhile you're fixing up your face". Its hard to remind ourselves of what terrors are happening elsewhere in the world when we are living in such comfortable environments.

Update on Monday, November 29, 2010 at 3:07 PM by Julia

Corrections posted!

HSBC Asian 5 Nations: Indo vs Pakistan

On a wet, rainy June Wednesday in the Jakartan suburb of Karawaci, Indonesian supporters gathered in their numbers to support their national team in the HSBC Asian 5 Nations Division 3. Rugby has been played in Indonesia for the past thirty years, and on this occasion I was lucky enough to watch my friend George Speirs play in his first professional match at national level. The team was captained by Kirk Aditya Arundale and coached by Duncan Hall. Although Indonesia suffered defeat from the Pakistan players, its newly capped players stayed positive until the very end of the match.

                              Pakistan: Green, Indonesia: Red and White

Wednesday 9th June 2010

Perhaps you've already seen some of my new photos from my summer internship in Indonesia but unfortunately my first post while I'm here is on a very tragic subject. Yesterday afternoon a young girl from my old school here in Jakara went missing on a school field trip. I'm writing this to ask you all to pray for her safety and for her friends and family. The search continues and I just hope it will have a successful outcome.

A crushing blow to terrorism...from our very own Scotland

About a week ago the Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MckAskill MSP made the decision to release Al Megrahi of the Lockerbie Bombings on compassionate grounds home to Libya. The response of critics such as politicians, radio hosts, journalists and comments written on various newspaper websites disappointed me so much that I felt compelled to write to the Editor of the Times expressing my feelings on the matter. People are so ready to hate nowadays, and the attacks on McAskill were both, in my opinion, heartless and ignorant.

 To my genuine shock my letter was printed in the Saturday Times! You can read mine and the other featured letters here:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/letters/article6805611.ece

They cut out a few paragraphs, but the whole letter that I sent goes as follows:

Dear Sir,

Kenny McAskill has been a far more courageous man today than George Bush was when he declared a “war on terror”. How much courage does it take for a Member of Parliament, relatively unknown on the global stage, to defy the intense pressure from many directions including the US Government? To meet with the parents and families of those killed in the Lockerbie bombing, contemplate their pain and yet tell the world that he has decided the man responsible should be released?

The decision sent out today by Kenny McAskill was unequivocally one of compassion. The underlying message was that of the courage of our convictions as a nation. McAskill’s answer to the threat of terrorism, and his weapon against the scourge of violent, barbaric and inhumane attacks was not one of retaliation. Instead it defied all acts of terrorism, rising above enormous pressure and upholding our fundamental principles.

The intention of terrorism is intimidation, coercion and fear for political purposes. Kenny McAskill has shown that we will not be intimidated, coerced, or frightened into submission. He does perhaps the most shocking thing of all by releasing the terrorist dying of cancer to live out his last months with his family. Terrorism has no answer to mercy. It has no means with which to fight back against a people who answer hate with compassion and murder with justice. Justice will finally be served, as McAskill said today, by a “higher authority.” What he is saying is that as a people, we are undefeatable by terrorism if we have the strength to show compassion in the face of such atrocities.

In an age where religion sleeps and cruelty is rife we must hold true to our innate beliefs. When the terrorists, murderers and anarchists across the world hear of the news that Megrahi has been released from Greenock Prison on ‘compassionate grounds’ surely they will be dumfounded. Here, the people of the victims of the atrocities at Lockerbie have turned around and have sent the perpetrator home to his family, to die in peace. Revenge is not the answer to terrorism and when compassion like this is shown and internationally broadcasted, they will clearly realise this; and when they do, they will realise that they no longer hold power of threat or fear over the British people.

Julia Macfarlane©

(PHOTO COPYRIGHT DAVID BEBER©, THE TIMES)

What really impressed me was the leading article on the front page by Martin Fletcher, "At Home With The Lockerbie Bomber." (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article6806087.ece) Carefully partial but suspiciously supportive, it was a huge contrast to the headlines on The Times the previous day which were aggressively written and clearly critical against the decision of release.

 While opinion seems to have mellowed on this very controversial topic, it was also a relief to know that when I really wanted to voice my opinion in a way that would allow many people unknown to me to see my point of view, I was able to do that. I honestly didn't believe it would be printed (I already had several drafts waiting to be sent to other newspapers, MPs, the BBC News site etc). And so from this I urge anyone who really wants to have their say to go out and do something about it, whether it is writing to a paper, or a parliamentary figure, or anything else of the sort. Sometimes you get lucky and some think you have something important to be shared.