Council Meeting Part Two - Global Links with Hay

We're still on the first page of a four page agenda - though one entire page is taken up with all the correspondence that the Council has received.

There have been fires at the recycling banks in the car parks, resulting in the loss of some of the plastic and tins that were left there - and thus loss of income for the council.
There is also going to be a clampdown on businesses using the public recycling instead of paying for their recycling to be taken away separately.

Round the back of the Council Chambers, Orbiting Books has now left the Annexe, and someone else is interested in moving in, though there is a bit of maintenance needed.

Then we got to another guest speaker, for the Two Towns One World Project.
The situation in Timbuktu continues to be serious for the people living there, but the artisans who were able to come over for Art in Action in Oxford recently were able to raise £12,000. The emergency appeal around Hay also raised £8,000 to help, which is an amazing response. It was especially important, because nearly all communication has been cut off, except for phones, and it's very easy for them to think they have been forgotten by the outside world. It's also quite impressive that people from Hay were able to give briefing updates on the situation in Timbuktu to the government!
Obviously, the projects that people from Hay were involved in have been seriously disrupted, especially those concerning education for girls and women's rights. At the moment they are continuing, but pretty much in secret. Rob Golesworthy asked if this would put the girls and women in danger, but he was told that they know the risks and are being very careful not to put anyone in danger.
The insurgents are raising money for themselves by shipping drugs from South America, through Northern Mali and then to Europe, and they are also kidnapping people for ransom.
Members of Jump4Timbuktu have also been involved in a meeting of the Elders in London. I had no idea what this group was until I had time to read the notes that were given out at the Council meeting - but this is a group of global leaders who work together for peace and human rights. It's chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Nelson Mandela is a founding member and still an honorary Elder. One of the senior advisers of the group has been appointed to try to find a peaceful solution to the situation in Mali.
There will be a Timbuktu Forum for everyone interested at the Swan on Wednesday 12th September.
Ann, the co-ordinator of the Two Towns One World Project, who was giving the presentation, asked that her hours could be increased from 16 to 21 a week so she can deal with everything that needs to be done, and this was agreed by the Council. There is funding for this already in place.
As well as the present political situation and its problems, the project is developing resources for schools locally, for global citizenship classes for eleven and twelve year olds, focussing on the culture of Mali.
In July, Hay was awarded a UN Gold Star for Youth Work at a ceremony in Cardiff! Hay has been given a road sign to put up, and there was some discussion of where it could go, and a possibility of other road signs being made for other entrances to Hay.
There may also be a possibility of French funding for the links between Wales and Africa.

Finally, this is what the Mayor of Timbuktu said last week:
"Thank you for everything you have done, and continue to do. You are true friends. When I came back to Timbuktu after the interviews, the rebels said that I should not have said the things I did. I said; 'Should I tell lies or the truth? Tell me one thing I said in those interviews which is not true.' And they went away. Please keep phoning. There is no TV, no radio. The only news I get is through the phone. The only contact I have with the world outside is through the phone. Please thank all the people of Hay for their support."

and here's what an IT Centre technician said:
"There are not enough words to describe these people or what they are doing. I hope that you never have to live through what we are living through here. But when I speak with you I feel happy, I feel reassured that we are not alone, and that you are there, doing what you can to help. Without that, I feel completely despairing."