Run the Sahara 26th February 2015

Fitness, a challenge and a real purpose - these are 3 things that make me tick.  Those of you who know me, know that the fitness part is slowly slipping thru my middle-aged fingers!!  You also know that my life has been at odds with who I am and who I wish to be in this world.

 

Mandela said 'It's in your hands' and so it is.

So I have signed up to run…my fitness nemesis!  But it is to raise money for Sandblast www.sandblast-arts.com a charity that does great work in the Saharawi refugee camps in Algeria.  The STUDIO LIVE project is something that has inspired me and something that I can immediately contribute to: - establishing a working recording studio in each of the camps to help keep the music, language and culture of the Saharawis alive after 40 years of exile.

 

The money I raise will help buy the right equipment and cover essential costs of technicians and teachers who can get the studios up and functioning as soon as possible and transfer the necessary skills to the local Saharawi community so that they can operate and maintain them in the longer term.  Music has long been a powerful weapon of peace and reconciliation and for the Saharawis, it has been central to expressing their struggle.

 

By joining in with Sandblast’s efforts, I want to do my bit in enabling the voices of the Saharawis  to reach the global stage through music and, in helping to break the silence that has engulfed their cause.

I knew little of the Saharawi cause (Morocco has occupied 2/3rd of their territory since 1975, against the Ruling by the Intl Court of Justice and Resolutions from the UN) but - more shockingly - I was not aware of the 2700km wall that Morocco built to annex the land of Western Sahara from its people.  Add to that the fact that the Wall - the BERM - is the largest continuous minefield in the world  - makes the injustice of the Moroccan occupation and the daily human rights violations by Morocco against the Saharwis under its rule – with impunity - all the more intolerable.

If by running part of the marathon in Western Sahara on 24^th Feb 2015, I can help break the Wall of Silence that engulfs the Saharawis and their right to Self-Determination, then I will be happy.  If it can aid in bringing down the physical wall - The BERM - that shuts them out of their country, then I will RUN for sure…not just once but every year that it takes to bring the entire wall down!!!!

Sponsor me, run with me, train with me in Hyde Park, pass the word around....whatever you do will be great.  Just do something.

 

It’s in OUR hands!!!

 

@Thisislopa #runthesahara