|
Nottingham CND organised a vigil for Norman Kember and all other hostages in Iraq which took place on 21st January in Market Square Nottingham from 1.30-2pm. The main motivation behind the vigil was to remind people in Nottingham that Norman and the other 3 Christian peacemakers are still being held hostage in Iraq, even though nothing at that time had been heard from their captors since early December.
The vigil was a great success, in terms of numbers participating and media coverage gained. Around 40-50 people took part, with most holding posters or placards (plus one peace banner). Hundreds of people passing through Market Square saw us standing on the steps of the Council House.
The event was well covered in the media. As I know Norman Kember, I did phone interviews with the Evening Post, Radio Nottingham & Trent FM beforehand, and was interviewed by Radio Nottingham and BBC tv at the vigil itself. Coverage appeared in the Evening Post on three consecutive days, on the tv news in East Midlands Today at Saturday tea time, and on Radio Nottingham news bulletins Saturday as well as being featured on their Sunday morning programme.
My experience is that people who saw the media coverage were certainly reminded about the situation. A number of people told me that they saw me on the tv / in the paper - their usual comment was that they had forgotten about the situation or hadn't realised that it was still going on as there hadn't been any news about it for a long time.
Nottingham CND also organised a vigil on 23 December last year. This was an annual 'end of year' vigil to reflect on the events of the past year and think about the challenges of the year ahead, but also focused on the position of Norman Kember and the other hostages who had been captured a month earlier. This vigil was supported by 20-30 people.
Since our January vigil, there has been further video footage released by the hostage takers. It is a relief to see that Norman, Tom, Harmeet and James are still alive, but concerning that the same demands and threats are being made. March 6th will mark 100 days in captivity for the hostages and we are planning to mark this with a further vigil outside the Council House from 5.30-6pm. Please support us.
Mark Ramsey
|
