Baroness Cox: “I must not do nothing”
“I cannot do everything but I must not do nothing,” said Baroness Caroline Cox of Queensbury, concluding two seminars during her recent visit to Melbourne. She was here as part of a national tour connected with the work of the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART), of which she is international CEO.
At a reception held for her at Parliament House on 7 October, Baroness Cox emphasised the need to “speak for those who can’t speak for themselves.” She explained that her HART teams “especially aim to reach those under oppression and persecution who are not accessible to large aid organisations that depend on government approvals to do their work.” She cited the case of the devastating Burma cyclone disaster of 2008, when the Burmese military junta prevented aid organisations from reaching many of the victims.
In her presentations, the Baroness spoke at length about the situation in Burma, where 30,000 Karen and 10,000 Shan refugees were driven from their homes into the jungle by the junta in June-July 2009. “They had to leave everything to go on the long road to nowhere,” she said, as she projected a series of graphic photographs of life as an internal refugee in Burma.
Many photos of the Karen refugees portrayed children carrying family possessions across rivers and through dense vegetation. Also prominent were photos of suffering, including one refugee who had trodden on a mine place by the Burmese army.
“We cross borders illegally to reach such people,” said Baroness Cox. “We send in backpack medical teams to meet up with the refugees in the jungle to address their diverse needs. Apart from treating their injuries, these teams also take things for the young people, such as musical instruments and sports equipment,” she said. “What’s more, we also run a feeding program, teaching parents and children how to use available food sources,” she added.
The Baroness also provided graphic insights into other areas of suffering and deprivation. She described the problem of widespread malnutrition in East Timor, where HART has purchased land for and assisted the establishment of a nutritional centre, in partnership with locals. “We place a strong emphasis on partnership with local communities, rather than coming as an outsider and taking a top-down approach,” she said.
Turning her attention to Africa, the Baroness described suffering in the north of Nigeria, especially in states such as Kano where Islamic Law has been instituted. “Some 450 Christians were massacred only a few short months ago in Northern Nigeria,” she said. As she projected photos of burnt-out churches, she described the work of the Christian Institute of Jos, adding “Our partnership with suffering Christians is being complemented by a plan to work towards Christian-Muslim reconciliation, modelling our work on a very successful reconciliation project in which I was involved in Indonesia.”
Baroness Cox also made mention of similar stories of suffering and oppression in Southern Sudan, which she has visited over 30 times via forbidden airstrips and where she has been given a prison sentence in absentia by the Khartoum Government for illegal entry. “The continuing slave trade is a scandal”, she declared, adding “we are working to locate and redeem slaves, and have had some success. But there is a great need for pressure to be applied to the Khartoum regime to return the slaves still being held.”
The Baroness’ presentations were accompanied by two excellent musical performances. At Parliament, pianist and singer Helen Mottee sang two of her own songs, with the lyrics for one based on a comment by a Sydneysider that he didn’t want to know the ugly details of poverty overseas because it would spoil his appreciation of the Sydney harbour views from his luxury home. The audience at Tintern Schools was treated to Sibelius’ “Finlandia” by the superb Colebrook Quartet, made up of Year 11 schoolgirls.
An edited version of this article first appeared in "The Melbourne Anglican", November 2010, p11
At a reception held for her at Parliament House on 7 October, Baroness Cox emphasised the need to “speak for those who can’t speak for themselves.” She explained that her HART teams “especially aim to reach those under oppression and persecution who are not accessible to large aid organisations that depend on government approvals to do their work.” She cited the case of the devastating Burma cyclone disaster of 2008, when the Burmese military junta prevented aid organisations from reaching many of the victims.
In her presentations, the Baroness spoke at length about the situation in Burma, where 30,000 Karen and 10,000 Shan refugees were driven from their homes into the jungle by the junta in June-July 2009. “They had to leave everything to go on the long road to nowhere,” she said, as she projected a series of graphic photographs of life as an internal refugee in Burma.
Many photos of the Karen refugees portrayed children carrying family possessions across rivers and through dense vegetation. Also prominent were photos of suffering, including one refugee who had trodden on a mine place by the Burmese army.
“We cross borders illegally to reach such people,” said Baroness Cox. “We send in backpack medical teams to meet up with the refugees in the jungle to address their diverse needs. Apart from treating their injuries, these teams also take things for the young people, such as musical instruments and sports equipment,” she said. “What’s more, we also run a feeding program, teaching parents and children how to use available food sources,” she added.
The Baroness also provided graphic insights into other areas of suffering and deprivation. She described the problem of widespread malnutrition in East Timor, where HART has purchased land for and assisted the establishment of a nutritional centre, in partnership with locals. “We place a strong emphasis on partnership with local communities, rather than coming as an outsider and taking a top-down approach,” she said.
Turning her attention to Africa, the Baroness described suffering in the north of Nigeria, especially in states such as Kano where Islamic Law has been instituted. “Some 450 Christians were massacred only a few short months ago in Northern Nigeria,” she said. As she projected photos of burnt-out churches, she described the work of the Christian Institute of Jos, adding “Our partnership with suffering Christians is being complemented by a plan to work towards Christian-Muslim reconciliation, modelling our work on a very successful reconciliation project in which I was involved in Indonesia.”
Baroness Cox also made mention of similar stories of suffering and oppression in Southern Sudan, which she has visited over 30 times via forbidden airstrips and where she has been given a prison sentence in absentia by the Khartoum Government for illegal entry. “The continuing slave trade is a scandal”, she declared, adding “we are working to locate and redeem slaves, and have had some success. But there is a great need for pressure to be applied to the Khartoum regime to return the slaves still being held.”
The Baroness’ presentations were accompanied by two excellent musical performances. At Parliament, pianist and singer Helen Mottee sang two of her own songs, with the lyrics for one based on a comment by a Sydneysider that he didn’t want to know the ugly details of poverty overseas because it would spoil his appreciation of the Sydney harbour views from his luxury home. The audience at Tintern Schools was treated to Sibelius’ “Finlandia” by the superb Colebrook Quartet, made up of Year 11 schoolgirls.
An edited version of this article first appeared in "The Melbourne Anglican", November 2010, p11