African Days

Guardians of the Deep set to rock WSSD
Seven actors, representing seven fishing nations, will highlight the fate of the ocean in a play staged specially for the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg later this month. The play, Guardians of the Deep, was workshopped by the actors who come from fishing communities in countries such as Egypt, India, Brazil and Kenya. It takes the audience to the fishing communities with all its problems including drug use and domestic violence because of decline in the fishing resource. Sajitha Madathil from India lives with her husband in Kerela, in the south of India. She tells the story of the disappearance of the small fisherman because of the big fishing trawlers. She says the main issue in the story is the fishing trawlers. John Martin, a British director, says he hopes to put a human face to the issues that will be debated at the summit. He says:"I'd like the to go away and remember the face of Jody Abrahams."It is through the hands and feet, the music and the voices of this troupe that the message of small communities around the world will be heard in Johannesburg.