Saturday 7 April 2012

Translating Easter

As T is unmoved by Christian explanations for things, I think around each festival to find an alternative way of finding meaning. So Easter is becoming a discussion in my mind about the death penalty, the legal system, the awkward position of authoritarian governors who are authorised to give the death penalty, the role of noisy public opinion.

Right now, this very minute, there is a human rights defender in Bahrain starting on day 60 of his hunger strike, Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja. He is also currently sentenced to life imprisonment.

We have have been discussing previous hunger strikers like the Suffragettes and suicide actions by Tibetan monks.

The phrases 'Giving your life for ...' and 'Devoting your life to ...' are used in many different ways. I hadn't been so aware of how much people do for others until the Arab Spring started.

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