The Guardian's Michael White says, “... I know that Westminster-based pundits are supposed to be an unimaginative bunch of sheep who take dictation from the 'establishment' ”. Where did he get that idea from? Perhaps it's the memory of his support for Tony Blair and the Iraq slaughter. “It's disappointing for the pack that always gathers where Blair goes, not least because the Get Blair crowd are looking for something that isn't there – the smoking gun that proves Blair's villainy.” Working from an office 'embedded' inside the Westminster parliament, White finds his targets amongst the “romantic beardies who wear sandals and socks to the office.” Who can he be referring to? Pity he couldn't have been at UNITE'S offices last night where I went to help the Jeremy Corbyn campaign. Three rooms packed with volunteers on the phones. At age 70 and beardless, I was probably the oldest there, surrounded by young people, many of whom have never been involved in political activity and hopefully have never read Michael White. None of them were wearing sandals.(I visited MW's Westminster office when working with David Hencke on my WarChild memories. You can read more about David in 'Left Field')
"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced" - James Baldwin
Friday 31 July 2015
Sunday 26 July 2015
Who are 'Left Field's' publishers?
News:
Unbound
has agreed a joint- venture deal with the Cornerstone division of
Penguin Random House to distribute trade editions of its titles.
LEFT FIELD -
Brian
Eno:
"This is an excellent and inspiring book. David's stubborn and
yet self-effacing commitment to his ideals carried him through many
daunting situations, and his sense of humour kept him able to see the
funny side."—
Dorothy
Byrne,Head
of Channel 4 TV News and Documentaries: "What a life this man
has led!"—
Russell
Mills:
“You’ve done so much, achieved so much, that is for the good, the
right, the just, that to be asked to undertake the cover design for
you, which may be considered a minor thing in the great scheme of
things, is for me a bloody major thing”.—Sir
Tom Stoppard: "David
Wilson has lived a life and a half … the broken world needed people
like David then; it still does and always will."—David
Hencke,
former Guardian Westminster correspondent: "This is the work of
a determined guy who is prepared to expose fraud and injustice
wherever he finds it."—Eugene
Skeef,
percussionist and collaborator with Steve Biko in Black Consciousness
Movement: "A must-read by my comrade and brother David Wilson.
Please spread the word and encourage your friends to buy and read
David's memoir.”—Orhan
Maslo (Oha):
"One of the key people of my life has finished his book and it
will soon be out. There is a chapter that describes the times we
spent together. What good times we had while giving spirit to the
Pavarotti Music Centre. This steered me to who I am and what I do
today. Thank you David"—Gianni
Scotto,
Assoc Professor, University of Florence: “I was so surprised to
hear the most insightful and radical political analysis of the
conflict speaking with you.”—Sebastian
Balfour,
Emeritus Professor, LSE: “A vivid account of a life fought for
justice, full of indignation and tenderness.—Mandla
Langa,
author of The
Lost Colours of the Chameleon,
and winner of 2009 Commonwealth Prize: "David Wilson is a
national treasure."—Ed
Victor literary agency:
“Your relationship with your elderly father is described in such
beautiful style that it would not be out of place from a literary
novel by an established and seasoned author. The same goes for your
childhood years at boarding school ... The 'Balkan years', including
the bits where you fall in love with a Croat and the adventures of
the mobile bakery could be from a historical thriller. The whole 'War
Child' section could be an expose about the problems and hidden lives
of charities, especially when they become powerful.”
Saturday 25 July 2015
Behind God's Back
When
writing my blog on Dragan Andjelic, I came across this photo of Anne Aylor and me standing in front of his installation at the Pavarotti Music
Centre. She is wearing her white coat having
just come out of her busy treatment room where she practised
acupuncture during her nine-month stay in
Mostar.
Anne
had originally come to
Bosnia Hercegovina
at
the tail-end of
the war in the
summer
of
1994
and had written up her experiences in an article submitted
to The New
Republic
with the title, “Behind God's Back”. On her
journey
there she
wrote
about a
surreal traffic jam that had been caused by two toppled vehicles.
“When the road has been cleared and we are given permission to
continue our journey, we see what has caused the delay: two
overturned container lorries full of pigs. The ones that are alive
are being hosed down by
soldiers.
What is eerie is that the animals are completely silent. They are
traumatised, dead or dying in
the 40 degree
heat.
I wonder if it is the first time in history that an
army has been deployed to help animals on their way to slaughter. We
pass the
containers
and see dozens of UN vehicles facing the other way. It has been seven
hours since the accident and these drivers will be here for hours
more. Seeing our War Child sticker, one of them waves at me. I ask
him if he speaks English so I can tell him what is causing the delay.
He shakes his head, says that he is German. ‘Schwein,’
I say, the only word I can remember from my high-school German, and
thumb in the direction of
the overturned
lorries.”
A
year later, War Child released the Help album with contributions
from more
than 20 artists including Oasis, Blur, Radiohead, Sinéad O’Connor,
Paul McCartney and Portishead. It
made
the charity millions. The
income from the album was used to provide artificial limbs for
wounded children, food and clothing to orphanages, funding for school
meals, support for a mobile medical clinic, the supply of premature
baby units, even funding for mine clearance programmes. It
was at this time that Linda McCartney
heard
about Anne's article and
asked to read “Behind
God's Back”.
Perhaps
that was why she decided
to donate
22 tonnes of veggie burgers to War Child to
be distributed
in Bosnia. You
can read more about Anne's
work in Bosnia
in Left Field.
Friday 24 July 2015
The art of an "angel"
“A painter with a natural gift and
receptive imagination producing a remarkable variety of intriguing
work.” Sir Tom Stoppard
I first met Croatian artist, Dragan
Andjelic, in Sarajevo in 1995. My wife, Anne Aylor, loved his work and bought four of his tiny mystical wooden paintings on yew, several of which look like miniatures painted by da Vinci. Dragan and I spent time together, both
in Mostar and Sarajevo. I loved his blues guitar playing almost as
much as his visual art. The following year he was commissioned by Ian
Ritchie and Kathryn McDowell to produce an installation for the
Pavarotti Music Centre. In 1998 my friend Jane Glitre, director of
the Spitz music and gallery venue, invited him to exhibit there. He and I transported his works that combined different techniques and media. We had a hilarious time
crossing borders without documentation. The Slovenian customs
officials were wowed by his paintings and wanted to charge us for
moving the works across their country. He and I persuaded them they
were a load of rubbish and proceeded, unhindered by charge or fines. In
1998 Dragan won a commission from the Norfolk and Norwich Festival for twelve huge angels painted on wood which hung in the nave. In 2002
he was recruited as artist in residence for the City of London
Festival. The last time I met Dragan was ten years ago on a
Stop the War demo in London. Last week, out of the blue, a
carefully-rolled portrait of me arrived here by courier from his home
in Osijek, a present for my 70th year. Puno hvala, Dragan. Thanks a lot. And if you are wondering, yes, his family name does translate as
'from the angels'. You can read more about Dragan here. And see his
work here.
Wednesday 22 July 2015
Jeremy4leader
Just after MPs pocketed a 10% pay rise they voted for yet more social security cuts. The only Labour Party leadership candidate to oppose the cuts is Jeremy Corbyn. Unsurprisingly he is now ahead in the polls and likely to increase his lead after these comments. From Tony Blair, “I wouldn't want to win on an old-fashioned leftist platform … If your heart is with Corbyn get a transplant” From Blair's former adviser, John McTernan, “These figures are disastrous for the Labour party, disastrous. Corbyn supporters are “suicidally inclined … They need their heads felt … They are morons.” Today I am going to join the suicidal and the morons. As someone who has always argued that participation in the parliamentary road is tantamount to disturbing the dead, this is a big decision for me. But Jeremy is my local MP and has always stood against neo-liberalism, against war, Trident and for Palestine. Anyone can vote in the Labour Party leadership election, which is now run on the basis of one-person-one vote and is open to a new category of Labour supporter. Registration as a supporter costs just £3. Join me. Then read more about what I think about disturbing the dead in 'Left Field'.
Sunday 19 July 2015
Protecting the Public
A
government report recently released by the Ministry of Defence
reveals
that from 1940 to
1979 large parts of the UK
were used as a laboratory to conduct germ warfare tests. A
spokeswoman for the MoD has said:
'Independent reports by eminent scientists have shown there was no
danger to public health from these releases which were carried out to
protect the public … The results from these trials will save lives,
should the country or our forces face an attack by chemical and
biological weapons.' Well
that's alright then. In one chapter, 'Large
Area Coverage Trials', the MoD describes how between 1961 and 1968
more than a million people along the south coast of England were
exposed to bacteria including e.coli and bacillus globigii , which
mimics anthrax. These releases came from
the
'Icewhale',
a
Royal Navy ship anchored
off the Dorset coast. Another
chapter,
'The Fluorescent Particle Trials', reveals how planes flew from
north-east England to the tip of Cornwall, dropping huge amounts of
zinc cadmium sulphide. David Orman, an army officer from Bournemouth,
is demanding a public inquiry. His wife was born in East Lulworth in
Dorset, close to where the
'Icewhale' trials
took place. She had a miscarriage, then gave birth to a son with
cerebral palsy. Janette's three sisters, also born in the village
while the tests were being carried out, have also given birth to
children with unexplained problems, as have a number of their
neighbours. Orman said: 'I am convinced something terrible has
happened … to have so many birth defects over such a short space of
time has to be more than coincidence.' I
went to school in Dorset and we used to go on cadet force exercises
on the cliffs above Lulworth. Often
we would look out to sea
at navy ships and told
that
they were protecting us from our enemies. I
was already a member of CND and didn't believe a word of this, but
even I had no idea that we were under attack from our own government.
You can read more about my days
as a pimple-faced commando in 'Left Field'.
Sunday 12 July 2015
Srebrenica
Twenty
years ago the Srebrenica massacre
was the deadliest of the Bosnian War and
followed a short-lived NATO bombing of Serb positions. That would culminate four years later with intensive bombing against
Serbia itself.
I
was in Mostar at the time and could
hear the planes as they headed for Belgrade. Only more recently, when
researching weapons used in the Iraq war, did I find out that their
bombs were tipped with depleted uranium. (articles for
Future Trust & Counterpunch). Srebrenica
has since
been
invoked to justify military interventions elsewhere.
In 2005, Christopher Hitchens defended the US decision to invade Iraq
with an article entitled , “From
Srebrenica to Baghdad”. Guardian
columnist,
Peter Preston, advocated military intervention in Libya, with
these
words,
“Remember Srebrenica”. Most recently an
article on ISIS in
the
New International Business Times
warned
of a “New
Srebrenica”. Srebrenica
was the
largest mass killing in Europe since the 1940s. Eight
thousand Muslim
/ Bosniak men and boys were
killed and,
according
to an investigation
by the
Dutch government, “Muslims were slaughtered like beasts.” But,
according
to Swedish diplomat Carl Bildt, European Union mediator during the
Bosnian War, Bosnian government forces assigned to protect Srebrenica
were “not putting up any resistance. Later it was revealed that
they had been ordered by the Sarajevo commanders not to defend
Srebrenica.” Bildt’s account is supported by military
correspondent Tim
Ripley, who
has
provided
evidence that the Bosnian government ceded the town to Serb forces.
There
is evidence that a similar policy was applied in Mostar, where I was
living. Bosnian forces were withdrawn from a strategic hilltop in the
town on orders from the Sarajevo government. International
talks to resolve the Bosnian conflict began in early 1992, shortly
before the war began. The effort was directed by Portuguese diplomat
José Cutileiro. He
brought the leaders of all three Bosnian ethnic groups to Lisbon and
out
of the talks came a plan for
an
ethnic confederation. In March 1992, all three agreed to a
preliminary version of this
peace plan, but
it
broke down under
US pressure.
Were
they
afraid that the European Community might emerge as a distinct power
bloc in the post-Soviet world, acting
independently of
the United States and NATO? The
US ambassador to Yugoslavia, Warren Zimmermann, encouraged President
Izetbegović to
reject the
peace plan. According to former State Department official George
Kenney, “Zimmermann told Izetbegović … [the US
will] recognize you and help you out. So don’t
go ahead with the Lisbon agreement.”
Zimmermann himself has denied blocking the agreement, but a
wide range of sources, including James Bissett, the Canadian
ambassador to Yugoslavia; Peter Carrington, a former UK foreign
minister; and the official Dutch investigation of the Bosnian War,
confirm that the US government played a disruptive role. In light of
US pressure, the Croats and Muslims both withdrew from the agreement
and
the
stage was set for war.
The
idea that international diplomacy emboldened Serb
aggression
is a myth that
has
helped justify later efforts to scuttle diplomatic settlements
elsewhere.
The
ensuing
levels
of slaughter has resulted
in the death of hundreds of thousands.
It
continues. I
doubt the victims of the Srebrenica massacre would
welcome
this as
their
epitaph. ( my memoirs, "Left Field" will be published by Unbound in March 2016)
For fuller accounts read here, here and here
For fuller accounts read here, here and here
Friday 10 July 2015
Sous les pavés, la plage
The
news from Greece seems the moment to quote Frantz Fanon: “What
matters today, the issue which blocks the horizon, is the need for a
redistribution of wealth. Humanity will have to address this
question, no matter how devastating the consequences may be.” The
half century since these words were written have shown us what
happens with our failure to do so. Those years have been ones of
bloody imperialism raging through Fanon's Africa and eastwards
through Mesopotamia to Indochina. The graves I saw in the Balkans was
early evidence that our
continent was not immune. My
generation of the 1960s was one of angry,
frustrated, young people who fought for a better and fairer world. I
am hoping that Left Field may play a small part to inspire a new generation - that
change is possible, that,
in
the words of the Paris '68 graffiti, beneath the cobblestones, there is a beach.
Wednesday 8 July 2015
70 miles speeding as a banner
At the end of my blog about my 70th birthday celebration in Spain I concluded the piece by mentioning a haiku dedicated to me by Maureen Larkin - "70 miles speeding ..." Alice Kilroy went home and made me this. She designs banners for a multitude of radical causes - from Lesbians & Gays Support the Miners to Stop the War to, most recently, a banner for Jeremy Corbyn's campaign to become Labour Party leader. This haiku 'banner' will have to be included in the photos for 'Left Field'. She's bringing it to me tomorrow. Can't wait. Thanks so much Alice. Dx
Tuesday 7 July 2015
Write & Draw
Marjane
Satrapi, graphic novelist, illustrator and
film director has
said that: “
Images are a way of writing. When you have the talent to be able to
write and draw, it seems a shame to choose one. I think it's better
to do both.” I agree and that is why Left Field will include
photos. It is also why I am delighted that Russell Mills will be designing the book's cover. His images are his way of writing and
what a great writer he is. I
am proud to join him as co-author.
Well known for his record / CD / album covers, he is also a major book
cover designer. You can see his work here. His
authors include Ian McEwan & Milan Kundera, Don Delillo & Jayne Anne Phillips. Thank you, Russell. And
for these words about 'Left Field'. “You’ve
done so much, achieved so much, that is for the good, the right, the
just, that to be asked to undertake the cover design for you, which
may be considered a minor thing in the great scheme of things, is for
me a bloody major thing”.
'Left Field', to be published by Unbound, is now fully funded, so be sure to order your copy and have your name printed in the book.
'Left Field', to be published by Unbound, is now fully funded, so be sure to order your copy and have your name printed in the book.
Thursday 2 July 2015
Smarting under a tortured system
In
his journal, Modern Nature,
the film maker, Derek Jarman,wrote about his time at public school.
‘Smarting under this tortured system, the boys tortured each other,
imposed valueless rules and codes of conduct, obeyed imaginary
hierarchies where accidents of origin and defects of nature were
magnified.’ … The very name ‘public’ school carries with it
the stench of hypocrisy. Another robbery, this one
linguistic. These schools are
as far away from the public
and their norms and needs as you can get. Yet secession from the life
of the rest of the nation is no barrier to the desire to dominate
it. This is something I understood and despised from an early age.
And wanted no part in it … ‘Wilson,
you’re not kneeling in chapel.’ ‘I don’t believe in God,
sir.’
'That has
nothing to do with it.' ‘Do
you believe in God, sir?’ 'We
are not talking about God here, Wilson. We are talking about
loyalty.’ The last straw (no pun intended) was when I confronted the school
chaplain, when he read Matthew 19:24: ‘And I tell you, it is easier
for a camel to walk through the eye of a needle than for a rich man
to enter the gates of heaven.’ ‘Isn’t that socialism, sir?’
‘This parable is not to be taken literally, Wilson. Sit at the back
of the class and get on with your Latin.’ There I remained, banned
from Religious Studies, but I got a good grade in Latin. I
also got a good grade in History. I couldn’t stand the present so I
concentrated on the past. Here's a clip from Lindsay Anderson's 'If'. I love this because it is dubbed
into Italian! I am with Malcolm McDowell .. in spirit only, of course, and
without the weapons. If you want to know the name of the school,
the clue is in the first paragraph. But why not buy 'Left Field' and read
more.
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