Out with the Angels: Girls Night Out

The excellent cartoons are by fellow Street Angel, Cate Field, an illustrator and art teacher. They capture the spirit of street angels, who are 'here to help people by listening, caring & offering practical help'

Friday night we had three teams out in Woking, 7 of us in all. Here are a few highlights to give you a flavour of what goes on in the Town centre, as part of what is called the Night Time Economy.   I've changed names to protect individuals...

 

10:15 Team 3  

Met Angel, an Irish Gypsy Traveller (ex con) who was feeling rather nostalgic  ‘everything not what is used to be’  I told him nostalgia is a thing of the past, but he didn't get it...

King the bouncer at Yates told us he had stopped a man with a rucksack full of drugs who was then arrested by the police. 

10:30 Team 1  

Young couple walking along, having drunk – he was verbally abusive to everyone he saw ‘attacked’ the ….. around the building  …  he started to get aggressive to girlfriend so we called on walkie-talkie. Police arrived immediately. Eventually they went towards the station, but vying for  a fight with anyone along the way. Went to subway & then heard girl scream – police ran to investigate….

11:30-1 Team 3 

Nice chat with Pakistani Taxi driver who said we shouldn’t give out flip-flops cos girls should bring their own. Also mentioned one girl he’d given lift to where WSA had paid fare was doing it for a laugh. She had the money…(its what you call being taken for a ride!)

Kevin was under canopy with a girl and a bloke who called him grandpa. He seemed to like the attention.  Checked he had something to eat. Said he had Chinese burger! (also saw him outside MacDonald’s later checking paper bags and he found 2 more burgers!

Drunk, scantily dressed, mouthy girl, falling about the Canopy flower beds was very abusive to female angels (her friend apologised) We walked away.

01:30 Team 2 

Attended slightly cross couple of ladies who had suffered slight cut to ankle as a result of a glass being thrown near them. Police also in attendance who said they would speak to the lady who had allegedly thrown the glass.  Wet wipes and tissues handed to lady who cut her ankle. They appreciated our help and left. We swept up the broken glass 

02:15 Team 3

Fight outside KFC a young Zulu Man and 2 older white men and younger woman.  Very racist comments being made. I asked Pakistani Taxi driver who was there who started it – he said ‘50:50 same same’  The two East European Bouncers did really well keeping them apart.  Radioed in and CCTV kept eye on it and Police came.  They talked to all concerned, took details and decided to check CCTV to decide whether to proceed. The Zulu man was picked up by his girlfriend. 

02:30 Team 3 

Opposite Yates – a girl sitting in gutter with her girlfriend. Falling about, very drunk. a young medical student & boyfriend helping. Ambulance called.  Given blanket to keep her warm and water  Ambulance crew decided she was being dramatic, acting, but taken off to St Peters anyway (at great cost!)    

03:00 Team 1 

At 01:45 Nigel was kicked out of Bed Bar and walked with us for a while. We left him outside and told bouncers he was waiting for his brother inside. At the end of the evening it turned out he’d been ‘bottled’ and taken to St Peters. His brother went to be with him at St Peters after negotiation with Taxi Driver (fare paid from Kitty).  Loads of time spent swapping SIM cards to make contact with police, brother etc  because of his phone had run out of battery

03:30 all teams
We decided to call it a day after we’d got Nigel's brother in taxi. The Woking Town Marshalls (Whiskey Tango Mike) had after all also left at that point ….. 

Paul McCartney was in concert on TV back at Council offices singing Eleanor Rigby:  ‘All the lonely people,  where do they all come from?’ Seemed rather poignant..... 

The Best quote of the evening  – one angel was told: “Oi Mate, you’re a legend……. you fought in the war didn’t you!"  (I wasn't even born then)

We decided it was a very strange atmosphere tonight (not jolly under the Station Canopy as people were leaving, as is often the case). Maybe it was because so many girls seemed particularly bitchy during their night out ….  which might be why we gave out so many lollipops to blokes (as a sort of compensation?)

Dude with wings

I came across this picture which had been commissioned by Christian Night Initiatives  CNI  @cninet

little brother:  Q   'What's an Angel'   bigger Brother: A  'It's like a dude with wings..'

We were attending a conference called SHINE  #ShineConference  for Street Angels (SA) and Street Pastors (SP) at St Saviour's Church Guildford (Sat 28/6/13). Their Mission Pastor, Andy Wheeler was compere for the day (he is also ex CMS) There were about 100 present from all over Surrey, some in uniform.

Les isaacs, one of the founders of Street Pastors talks of the Urban Trinity of Police, Council and SA/SP and the conference had a key note speaker in the Chief Constable of Surrey.

 

Lynne Owens (twitter:  @CCLynneOwens) mentioned how, when the police had been established in 1829, by Sir Robert Peel,  one of the Principles was. 'Police are the public and the public are the police' This applies to day with  the policing with consent model. And the Street Angles and Pastors have an important role to play. The Chief Constable was certain of it.
  
some highlights from the talk 
There are one million residents in Surrey and 4000 staff in the Police Force.     Overall 43 forces in England & Wales   And Surrey has a budget of £200m.    A number of services are shared with Sussex, notibly rape response, firearms, forensics and dogs. The back office deals with procurement, Insurance, HR, finance and ICT   This all operates behind the more visible Community Police - Beat officers and Rapid Response Units.  They operate a policing with consent model -   

Street angels bring a lot of the mix.  Offering to be prayed for can be scarey. But faith in action is very meaningful. She described Street Angels  as  'Modern Good Samaritans'  who speak with people in their times of crisis. 
 
Morality and policing 

• Custody not right for mental health issues. need sensitive handling.

• Grooming  and Sex trafficking.   More attentive since it has such a  big potential in town centres in a largely white middle class, affluent county.  There are  a  growing number of young women meeting older men Protection issues.  do not to hesitate to contact the police if there are any concerns

• Multiple ethnicity aspects   Other faiths Gaps in towns  Woking Guildford is quieter, less tensions. the question is   ' Are we pushing problem elsewhere or confronting problems' 

Last year was the 4th year of continued crime reduction of street violent offences. Domestic violence is under reported. Those Dudes with Wings are making a massive difference 

Outside Lights:  glow in the dark  

what do you think about?

 

A Palestinian friends showed me a cartoon. 4 men are in a class L to R from Arabia, America, Europe and Africa   Interestingly there is no-one from Asia, or maybe the teacher is Asian!   

In Arabic you read from right to left so the cartoon reads: 'What is your opinion about shortage of food around the world?'

the African asks: 'What is food?

The European:  'what is shortage?

the American enquires: 'what is the rest of the world?'

the Arab says: 'what is an opinion?' 

Yes, they are stereotypes. But they make a point and suggest global perspectives in the same problem  It all depends on where you are coming from.....

There are lots of TED talk about food shortage. Here's one:

http://www.ted.com/talks/tristram_stuart_the_global_food_waste_scandal.html

FREEDOM OF RELIGION ? Afghan Constitution

I was asked to write some advice about the Afghan Constitution - I love the Cox & Forkum Cartoon  It seems to sum up so much

The initial three articles of the Constitution of Afghanistan mandate:• Afghanistan shall be an Islamic Republic, independent, unitary, and indivisible state.

• The sacred religion of Islam shall be the religion of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Followers of other faiths shall be free within the bounds of law in the exercise and performance of their religious rights.
• No law shall contravene the tenets and provisions of the holy religion of Islam in Afghanistan.

The legal system is based on Shariah Law and religious minorities are granted right to perform their religious duties within the bounds of that Shariah Law. The constitution declares Afghanistan an "Islamic Republic". It also contains a section enforcing one particular school of Islamic law on disputes that cannot be resolved under existing laws. The constitution names "the sacred religion of Islam" as the official religion of the republic. Whilst "followers of other religions are free to exercise their faith and perform their religious rites within the limits of the provisions of law," it goes on to say that "no law can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions of the sacred religion of Islam”

This has been interpreted to mean peoples of other faiths (who were born into that faith: Sikhs, Hindus, even Jews) and quite possibly be ‘restricted’ to expatriates. It may not be interpreted as applying to ‘converts.’

A ‘convert’, from Islam to the Christian faith, in ordinary Afghan Muslim eyes, is an ‘apostate’ who deserves ‘death’. He is unlikely to find much protection under a changing and still embryonic law, (any convert has already been ‘sentenced to death’ by virtue of his baptism) and this new constitution has not yet been tested. And it is likely that a relative could easily take the law into his own hands. This would be his duty under tribal law (Puktoonwali), which is, in their eyes, a deeper law than any constitution. As an Afghan Pushtu proverb says: ‘Revenge is a dish best served cold.’

SOME CASE EXAMPLES

(1) Abdul Rehman: a convert to Christianity 

In March 2006 Abdul Rehman faced the death sentence for converting to Christianity and in the face of international pressure he was declared insane and is now in asylumPerhaps most troubling is Article 130, which states that if neither the constitution nor existing laws can be used in a particular case, courts should apply Hanafi jurisprudence, one of the four schools within Sunni Islam. The constitution is quiet on issues such as blasphemy or religious conversion, and as Zalmai discovered, Afghan courts often interpret Islamic law in the strictest sense when left to navigate the void.
In 2006, Abdul Rahman was also left to the mercy of harsh Islamic law.

Born a Muslim, Rahman converted to Christianity in 1990. When authorities found him with a Bible, they arrested and charged him with apostasy. According to the prosecutor in the case, Rahman was "a microbe [who] should be cut off and removed from the rest of Muslim society and should be killed." As he faced the death penalty, an international outcry brought about his release. Even so, his life remained in danger, and Rahman won asylum in Italy.

(2) Two Muslim clerics facing execution for translating the Koran into Dari
On February 15, Zalmai and his cleric friend were due to hear their fate in an appeals court. Though they barely escaped the death penalty, the three-judge panel upheld a lower court sentence of 20 years in prison for each man. When reading out the sentence, the chief judge reiterated that under Islamic Shariah law, "He who commits such an act is an infidel and should be killed."    23-2-09 Afghanistan's Constitution Creates Death Penalties for Religious Freedom Priya Abraham February 23rd 2009.

(3) Expatiate Church in Kabul

‘Although there are no overt churches, expatriate Christians are reportedly able to meet for private worship services in Kabul and one or two other major urban centers. However, some religious advocacy organizations are reporting instances of societal intolerance of and violence against persons who have converted to Christianity.
There is a catholic mass held in the Italian Embassy in Kabul as these Christmas eve pictures show

CONCLUSION

In conclusion I offer a few comments. Afghanistan is generally deteriorating security-wise, with increased Talibanisation, escalating conflict and uncertainty. Until the election, due to take place on 20th August, things will remain very unpredictable. The U.S. Religious Freedom Commission has also placed Afghanistan on a 'Watch List’

Jonny Baker Worship Tricks Cartoon

A friend, Martin pointed out to me the Ongoing adventures of ASBO Jesus blog  where there is a good depiction of a colleague, Jonny Baker, our blogger extraordinaire, who has a side-line in alt. worship. The cartoon of 14/Jan/09 says it all .... 

If the pic below is too small, then click on the original 628 . Which I suppose is always a good principle in life - to 'always click on the original'.  

 

Zen Dog - the Interesting thoughts of Edward Monkton

I was sent a card with this picture and message for my birthday from my little siser's family

Strangely appropriate  don't you think.

For more such cartoons see the Interesting thoughts of Edward Monkton and there is a website of fine art products as well