... This note is just to let you know what we did in Wellington on the
anniversary of Mordechai's kidnapping.
On 25 September we joined the world-wide vigil, time-wise being the first
in the world, a point we made where appropriate with a gathering at
Parliament Grounds, actually on the steps of Parliament.
...There was not a big crowd, perhaps around 40 with people coming and
going as they passed on their way to lunch, etc. Parliament was in recess
for two weeks so very few Parliamentarians were around, so we missed out on
one as a speaker.... We had four good speakers: Ced Simpson, head of
Amnesty in N.Z., Ross Wilson, President of Council of Trade Unions, Don
Carson, journalist and speciallist on Palestine, and Maureen Hoy, who
hosted Sam Day on his last visit to Wellington and recited one of
Mordechai's poems. I moderated the programme and gave information about
Mordechai. 400 leaflets were distributed during the gathering. On the
whole it went well but we could always do with more people.
On Friday, 28 September we held a vigil outside the Israeli Embassy between
11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. About 15 people were on duty with placards, we had a
message for people to sign for sending to Mordechai and again gave out 400
leaflets. At all times people were friendly and supportive...
Yours sincerely,
Arthur Quinn
