Spin, Spin Sugar

Well, before I catch up I'm going to shamelessly pinch a whole load of pics from Ruairi's blog.

As I don't have a camera I rely on other people's pics and he's taken some lovely ones :)

Here goes :-

Ishuheri, my li'le boy cat, sitting on the steps of my current house. Bit bigger than when he was a kitten! In the second one you can see a sliver of blue soap which comes in long blocks. You cut it off to wash clothes, dishes, floors.. .multi-purpose.

Some general wildlife including geckos, which you regularly get in your home and which help to control the insect population; a black-and-white crow which we have in abundance and make loads of noise croaking away and dancing on your roof; and, at the bottom, a Black Hawk which is also a common sight circling over the skies of Rwanda.

Some plants: a cactus tree (think that one's in Butare), bananas in their natural habitat, and pretty little 'firework' flowers as I call them. Not sure what they really are, but they look like little firework splatters :)

Some of the local scenery. The first one is Rwandan cows which are highly prized here and given at weddings. We often refer to female Intore dancing as 'cow dancing' as they raise their arms to mimic the horns. On the way back from Butare today, I passed about five trucks of them going in the opposite direction. They refer to Fregian cows as 'exotic cows'. :)

Below that is a traditional rural mud hut. You find them in the poorer parts of Kigali, too. Then some general pics of the countryside, motos and taxi buses (most common forms of public transport), one of Butare High Street, and a couple of sunsets in Butare, which are very pretty and look like the pink sunset I saw over Kabarondo playing field

Typical example of mélange (mix/buffet) a standard Rwandan meal in cafés and at events. All the usual are on this one: kidney beans, green beans, carrot (there usually isn't much choice of veg - either carrots or peas), rice, noodles, imboga/soma (looks like spinach - made from pounded cassava leaves) and what appears to be potatoes, but is usually cassava. Only thing missing are chips - it's a carbohydrate fest :)  Often there's also meat (goat/beef) or fish, plus meat sauce. This looks like my usual lunch at work.

Finally, some of Gisozi memorial centre in Kigali, including the mass graves which remind me a bit of Belson.

Ruairi also has some lovely pictures of Nyanza Mwami (King's) Palace and the artwork at Ivuka Arts. His blog is an extremely good read - GSOH.

Right, photos over, catch up commence...

Little miffed at the moment regarding some funding. Managed to secure support from the Charlotte Wilson Memorial Fund to fly in a Sign Language Curriculum Consultant from Kenya to help us develop one of our own. We're appealing to Kenya because they're the nearest country that have been through the process.

We were recommended two people as potential candidates. They'= would get a salary, return flight, food and accommodation allowance. But neither have even replied. It's extremely disheartening. My Programme Manager suggested going through VSO Kenya to see if they can help us make contact, so we're trying that route.

My biggest fear is that we won't find anybody willing to come, and that we'll have to give the money back. That's the worse case scenario, however there's potentially another volunteer coming in the next intake who has SL curriculum experience and might be able to help complete the process. It just seems a shame, in this day and age of non-existent funding, to finally secure some and then not be able to deliver on the project.

Still, won't throw in the towel just yet. Things may still come around.

Friday was a nice night: two volunteers were leaving, one from the Disability sector and the other from Education. Quite a few of us turned up at SoleLuna to bid them farewell and eat pizza. Cathryn also came along. She and me had Lock In Part III, where we were the only two left in the establishment, so all the staff went home and left us to it... again. Wasn't that late this time though, and I got home around 1am.

When I did get home, my driveway was blocked by a police pick-up and a whole load of neighbours. I watched for a while but wasn't sure what was going on. When I eventually went into the yard, Stratoni, my guard, was also peering over the fence. I looked at him and shrugged towards the gate. He just waved a hand and said 'nta kibazo', meaning 'don't worry', but that wasn't good enough for me! I sort of gestured again and he mimed a moto. I tried to gesture 'dead?' thinking it might have been fatal, but didn't get my meaning across.

Stratoni speaks no English at all and my Kinya is shamefully bad considering how long I've been here. As such, he and I communicate through our neighbour who translates if it's something important. I always feel a bit bad about that, so I went inside and found my Kinya dictionary, looked up 'igisida' = 'accident' and he nodded. So then I turned to 'pfuye' = 'dead' and he shook his head and pointed to the other page: 'konona'/'kwangiza' = 'damaged' and said 'oya pfuye, kwangiza' ('not dead, damaged'). I said I was sorry to hear that and took him out a cup of coffee and a sandwich.

It was a real bonding moment in our relationship. When we first met I don't think we really hit it off. I think the thing is, he's very literate in Kinyarwanda, he has no problems reading Kinya, and when I first arrived he would talk to me very fast in Kinya and if I didn't understand he'd call the neighbour. I think, just a gut feeling, he was trying to prove something to me: that I was the one who needed to buck up and learn some Kinya. But then things started to relax and we'd gesture to each other and he'd slow down and use gestures when speaking to me, if I didn't understand. That helped masses, especially with the water crisis. He's been brilliant, asking me if I need more water and anticipating when I'm going to run out. I especially felt bad the other week when I came home around 3am. It was utterly freezing on the moto. I found him still awake, sleeping across my doorway (as he's taken to doing). He must have been so cold, even under his coat. So I went and got the blankets and pillow from the spare room and now they're out back and he can use them whenever he likes. He smiles at me now, so I think we've finally broken the ice. He's a really nice guy and I think he has a wife and kid, just trying to scrape by on an extremely small amount of money.

Anyway. Cathryn and I were in town around 2pm yesterday to catch the bus down to Butare for Tiga's leaving do. It was absolutely fantastic. The best ever. Loads of people went: Paula, Eric, Ruairi, South African John, B, Els - loads of us. There was so much food you wouldn't believe, they'd been cooking the whole day: tuna pasta salad, green salad, potato salad, guacamole - and the pieste de résistance: a whole roast sheep! Honey glazed!! For pudding: a divine fruit salad including banana, pineapple and tree tomatoes (also called Chinese Plumbs locally) and the most staggering chocolate and banana cake with coco pops on it :op

The guys at Matar made it (follow that link, it's a good one :) ). There was also wine and beer and fruit punch free-flowing. We all ate and drank ourselves into a stupor. Also, the neighbours were all off at a 24-hour church service (common pastime around here) so we turned the stereo up right loud in the garden and covered the place in candles, then danced like lunatics. Lots of old complete cheese: Spin, Spin Sugar, Renegade Master, Superstar DJ, Panda Style, Thriller, and Billie Jean - of course - Guns 'n' Roses, Green Day, even a little bit of Wham and Chesney Hawkes! As much as I love Bob Marley, it made a really refreshing change to hear something other than reggae or Ugandan pop. I must have danced for about six hours solid. No kidding - I didn't sit down 'til I fell down. Cathryn and I were staying at the Ineza Guesthouse up the road, but it was a looong way up the road and 'road' is somewhat of a misnomer... sort of 'rutted dirt path' is more accurate. Thank gods she brought a torch!

Got up this morning and ordered a bucket of hot water to wash in. That was delightful. Scraped about three months' worth of dirt off my skin. Last time I had a hot water rub-down was also at Ineza, with Martine, last month. Since then breakfast is off the menu as health and safety shut down the kitchen. So, we breakfasted at Hotel Ibis which is generally considered to be the biggest waste of money in the whole of Butare. The food's pretty dismal, but they do have a nice terrace to sit on. Can't have everything, I guess.

Cathryn was headed to Nyanza, so I caught the bus back to Kigali around 11:30. It was a really nice ride on one of the big, spacious Volcano expresses. Got in, did some shopping at Nakumatt, and hopped a moto home.

Freaky thing: on the bus, for some strange reason, I started having cravings for sugarcane. I'd only ever had it in Uganda as, although it exists in Kigali, it's hard to buy. In Kampala people walk around selling it pre-cut in bags, but there isn't a street food culture in Rwanda so you can't generally find it. Anyway, there I am, standing in the refrigerated section of Nakumatt, and what do I see? Sugarcane! Chilled sugarcane! I bought a bag and stuffed my face with it when I got home. It's sooo nice cold on a hot day.

Tiga's party also inspired me to cook. I haven't done that since I lived in the old house and D was around, so I've made mince with extremely expensive Nakumatt vegetables. It was delicious and I've saved some for Stratoni if he's working tonight :)

All is good with the world. Work again tomorrow. So much going on, but I will save that for another post. Don't think about work on a Sunday evening ;)

[NB 2013: Photos from Tiga's leaving do here.]

More BNP Bashing

Following on from the MEP Elections And All That and 101 Reasons Not to Vote BNP, I am proud to announce two new additions to the campaign against hate:

An open letter to Nick Griffin from the Royal British Legion

and

BNP may face membership injunction by the The Equality and Human Rights Commission

Happy days :)

In home news, not much to report. Went for a drink and a natter with Cathryn the other night and ended up leaving at 1am from Stella. Just pootling along with work and job hunting at the moment. Off to Butare at the weekend for Tiga's leaving BBQ - they're roasting a whole goat apparently! Should be fun.

Water's still off = stinky toilets and bucket baths. It's quite disgusting and major increase in flies, giant cockroaches, and ants. Stratoni, my guard, left two jerrycans outside my back door and this morning I woke to find one empty! Someone's been snaffling my water supplies :(

At least in the old place you usually got water around 3am so you could refill your cans, but here there's absolutely nothing.

The 'long dry season', also known as the 'bloody dusty season' and the 'look, I've got a suntan that comes off when I wash!' season.

Boo hiss.

Nakumatt After Hours

Yes, another picture I nicked from a friend's FaceBook page. Sorry Sarah! Just needed to remind myself how beautiful Rwanda is sometimes :)

Been a fairly quiet few days. Friday was the monthly Disability Working Group at VSO. It was good but I miss the days when we all used to adjourn to Stella for a beer after. Everyone's rather sensible - or busy - lately. Came home and just snuggled up. Began the Lark Rise to Candleford fest, which has gone on all weekend (thanks Dad!). Was brilliant, and nice to see Paul Reynolds and Julia Sawalha in the same programme again. I was saying, all you need is Dexter Fletcher and you've got Press Gang.

Saturday was lovely, it was Steve's birthday. He shares a house with Nidhi in town. It was very mellow and there were loads of people there: Martine, Cathryn, Mustang, Keyaga, Fabrice, Razi, David, Adam, Paula, Sonya, Bruce - and B brought me real Indian sweets! He's such a nice guy.

It was fun and afterwards we rounded off the night by walking up the hill to Nakumatt, which I think I mentioned before turns into a sort of brightly lit club-come-shopping-centre at night. You go get your booze in the 24/7 supermarket, then sit outside in the food court where all the kids who are too young or too broke to get into KBC are putting on their moves. It's quite entertaining in many ways.

Got home about 3am with a bag full of junk food: chocolate biscuits, crisps and the sweets. Spent Sunday slobbing-out with the remainder of Lark Rise and all the yum yums.

Stratoni did come back with water and the sweetheart left another full can outside my back door on Saturday. I was so grateful as I thought I would completely run out over the weekend. I found him sleeping across my porch when I got back from Nakumatt and it was such a cold night, so I went and got him a couple of blankets and a pillow from the spare room. Poor guy.

Things are all feeling a bit up in the air at the moment. Still no job leads. I got one offer for Cameroon but essentially it's a small NGO just starting out and they explained the financial situation of the job as: "remuneration for this position on a contingent basis" - which I believe means performance-based pay provided for in any successful funding applications you make. Oh, well. I politely turned them down.

D called me today using someone else's phone and proceeded to shout at me about why I'm not answering his calls or texts. Really, I don't have the heart for it. It's his birthday tomorrow and I declined the invitation, which sent him into a total spin. He's never raised his voice to me before. He tried to tell me how to behave toward him and I hung up. The point of letting contact slide was, well, to let contact slide. I don't take kindly to being told what to do, especially by someone who spends my money and walks off with my stuff.

So, there we are. It would be nice to have a game plan for when I'm through here, but I won't panic just yet. Off for a beer with Cathryn later to chew the fat (and a brochette or two).

Goods and Bads

Sula guarding my large pile of unwashed dishes.

Okay, so which gods have I angered?

Been a strange couple of days. Anger has been in the air (probably PMT) and amenities have been causing problems: still no water and, last Tuesday night, no electricity.

Stratoni, my guard, took FRW 1,000 to run to the bottom of the hill and collect water: three huge jerrycans, only he only seems to have brought back two. Clothes and dishes got done though, which is a huge relief, and I was finally able to have a wash.

Threw the used water down the loo to flush it, but the basin is a really bad design and it seems to require more water than most toilets. It's really starting to smell in the dry season heat and it's an en suite, which is unpleasant. I'm going to keep using bath water to flush that one and start using the other toilet at the end of the corridor. At least the smell won't reach me. I'm all for J's design of a bowl over a pit latrine - much more sanitary.

Starting to ration tea and drinking water. There hasn't been rain in days and it's having a serious impact on the water situation. Don't want to pay Stratoni to collect it as well as paying the monthly water bill.

Went to the Post Office the other day and received loads of goodies from home: chocolate caramel coffee, marmite, cuppa soup, and DVDs (however Dad's choice in films, although very good, tend to be on the slightly depressing side - more comedy please!).

I almost had a massive row with one of the sleazy change guys outside. I hate going to the Post Office in Kigali because, although the people who work there are absolutely lovely (I arrived late, they'd closed, but the guy opened up just for me) there's always a crowd of pain-in-the-arse men trying to get you to exchange money with them. I don't mind that they are there, but it's the hassle they dish out to anyone - especially white women - going to the Post Office. Last time one almost caused a moto accident by charging up to me before my moto had stopped. This time some two-penny gangster attitude guy came up with the sleazy line 'hey beautiful' and when I didn't respond well to it he went on a rant about 'white people'. It's just really annoying when all you go there for is to get your post. I think half of them aren't supposed to be there anyway. It would be really nice if the Post Office had a guard or something just to stop them harassing people, they really lay it on thick.

So, I was feeling a bit aggy the past couple of days. I hate water shortages, although I'd much rather have a water shortage than an electrical one. I can cope with being stinky, I don't cope with being bored so well. It's nice to be able to log on and rant about it. Although, if you were going to completely run out of something, I'd reverse that decision.

I'm just annoyed at myself really for not having the foresight to fill my own jerrycans when I did have water. I was lulled into a false sense of security, thinking the tank out back was some magical contraption that never ran out.

On the up-side, Jo's house is just over the road and Pierre's brother is looking after it. They have a hot water maker on the shower head, and I've been told I can go over any time I like. I may do that on Saturday before Steve's birthday party and get myself all luxuriated.

Last night was a lot of fun, however. It was the Queen's birthday bash at the British Embassy and the free wine did flow. Loads of VSOs were there and we had a right good boogie after the band got over their appalling Blue Grass phase and on to the Bob Marley.

Then we adjourned to Havana/Kabana (never remember which they re-named it) over the road, which is a nice atmosphere but utterly disgusting prices that just keep going up without warning. Had a really nice time nattering to Amanda, Steve, and a few others. Ended up being the last one there with Steve, Nidhi and Bruce, but it was an early night as it was a work night. I was home in bed by 11pm.

Also had a chance encounter with S from the Aegis Trust, who run Gisozi and Murambi memorial centres. He's looking to put a team together to fundraise and set up microfinance projects. He's going to send me the information apparently, so fingers crossed - may be a job coming up.

I'm veging out today and working from home, still trying to track down a Kenyan Sign Language Curriculum Consultant, but no one seems forthcoming.

Not worrying just yet, though. I have marmite sandwiches and caramel-flavoured coffee :)

Writing’s coming along, too. 65,000 words, 162 pages. Just need another 35,000 and it’s technically a novel.

Blah

Girls Together, L-R:
Anja, Cathryn, Me, Giudi

Weird couple of days. Burn-out mode perhaps, always seem to have a dip after a run of good times.

Firstly, I'd like to retract what I said about the film festival. I am actually impressed - this year there's been a significant improvement in the dissemination of information both on Kigali Life forum and with a website that, unlike last year, is actually online. So, there has been some improvement in marketing.

Sunday wasn't so good. I had a horrible experience with a moto, words for whom are unpublishable on a PG-rated blog. The guy picked me up in Rujugiro and said he'd take me to Batsinda umudugadu for FRW 1,000. I'd never been before so I assumed he knew where it was, Cathryn had texted me rough directions.

Only, it soon became very apparent that he didn't know where it was as he stopped to ask other motos. Then he pulled down a dirt track, went back up it and back down it twice! I was getting seriously annoyed until he asked another moto and seemed to get directions. J (Cathryn's partner - whose house we were trying to get to) even talked to him in Kinyarwanda on the phone and he seemed to understand.

The guy took me everywhere. I saw parts of Kigali I know I could never find again: long dirt tracks, middle of nowhere, little wooden bridges, villagers who had maybe never seen a white person before by the way they were staring. I was on the back of that moto for over 45 minutes. I was fuming.

Finally, we pull up on a main road near B Club in Nyarutarama. Even I can navigate from Amahoro to Nyarutarama without such a dire fiasco, if only I knew that's where we needed to be.

Then he carried on a little way, pulled up by the side of the road, and I got off. Cathryn told me Coco was on his way in the car to get me. Sure enough, he was waiting. I was so angry, though. I was absolutely cursing the fact I only had a 2,000 note because if I'd had a 1,000 (as agreed) I could have given him that and left. I was absolutely spitting that I had to pay what he asked because I didn't have any change. It really pisses me off that some twonk on a bike can say 'yeah, sure, I know where it is' - not know where it is - and then charge you for the privilege. I was going to argue, but a massive crowd had started to gather and Coco sensibly guided me to the car.

I was so angry and shocked by the guy's attitude that I started crying, which is never a good idea in front of someone who hasn't cried since the war. He was really good about it. Anja has days like that too she said, but mzungu getting pissy over wrong directions v. person who's seen utter destruction and carnage - you do feel a bit silly. But then, I won't apologise. My stress tolerance and coping mechanisms are different. For me it's healthy to let it out. He tried to convince me to put a brave face on and smile, but I'm no good at that. Best thing for me is to get it out. Once it's out, it's gone. So, Cathryn and Giudi gave me much sympathy and whisky - all was soon better again.

The evening itself was brilliant: Coco, Anja, Giudi, Maxime, B, J and Cathryn. Had a lovely time. J has some beautiful baby chicks, but someone broke in the other night and stole his rooster and two hens. He was devastated - they're his babies :(

The house is nice, it's even got a very sanitary toilet. It's a proper toilet bowl over the top of a pit latrine. Good stuff. The best part of all was his garden! J is extremely green-fingered and grows all sorts of vegetables, some of which went into the food: rice, ratatouille, chips and salad. Nom nom nom. He moved there as part of the Kiyovu resettlement. They knocked down a huge area of poor housing in town to build a new business park. Part of the package was that they moved them to these nice houses out in the suburbs. Bit of a catch though, the disparity between what the developers paid for the land and what they made from the land is vast, and they only got the houses if they agreed to buy them! (FRW 3mil/GBP 3,000 each). Bit of a fiddle. Most of them reckon they're going to be re-homed again in five years with the rate new building projects are springing up.

Still, for the time being it's a nice place with a lovely garden. Good for relaxing with friends.

My house is feeling a bit basic today. I've had no water since yesterday. Quite shocked by this as the tank out back is HUGE, so where all the water went I have no idea. Hope this isn't a sign of things to come this dry season. I had hoped to leave the water problems behind. All of my clothes and dishes are outside waiting to be washed, and my guard can't wash them with no water. I don't want to start paying for water to be delivered. In the old house I always had jerrycans at the ready because water shortages were frequent, but this time I hadn't filled them because it's the first time it's happened. Luckily the water filter is full, so I have plenty to drink, just very little to wash with and none to flush the loo with which - disadvantage of an en suite - now smells bad.

On top of all this, I'm feeling a bit under the weather. I finished the antibiotics but my throat hasn't completely cleared. It looks to be getting better by itself now. White spots gone, but throat still looking a bit red. I'm just absolutely shattered, though. Sooo tired. Going to take care of myself today and see how it goes.

Tomorrow night is the Queen's birthday, which is a big celebration amongst the ex-pats. Got my official invite from the Embassy yesterday. You only get one if you're registered with the British Embassy or if you're a VSO. They take pity on VSOs. This means Martine will also be going, which is nice.

Something to look forward to. I'm writing the past couple of days off as a freak dip in otherwise generally happy and fulfilled-ness. Would very much like some water, though.

Maxime & B

Lovely Night

AEE Guesthouse, Remera

Finally, a post that isn't bashing the BNP ;)

Taking the day off.

Had a lovely evening yesterday.

Was a long day - 8:30 to 5pm at AEE Guesthouse in Kabeza, Remera for the VSO Leavers' Forum. It was a long day but it was okay. Probably didn't require an entire seven-and-a-half hours, got a bit repetitive in parts, but useful. Loads of people leaving: Eric, Tiga, Andy, Norbert (who only just arrived a couple of months ago), Tina, Bruce, Steve etc. and loads who weren't at the workshop: Joe, Martine, Jane...

Strange. Thought it was a bit early to have it but, after listening to some of the visa info and stuff, it's good to have it early as there's lots to do.

So, finally finished that and walked back towards Kisi with Bruce and Eric, then took a bus to the American Embassy and met B there for film night. Rose was supposed to come too but she had to work late.

They were showing Slumdog Millionaire, which I've wanted to see for ages. B had already seen it but didn't mind watching it again. FRW 3,000 but all the popcorn you could eat. I really enjoyed it. It was a good film, but I think the hype surrounding it built it up too much. It was a good film but not an outstanding one.

Then we left and started walking to get a moto, but instead we just kept walking - all the way from the Embassy to Torero in town! That's quite a walk, but it was excellent, just chatting away. Reminded me of the time D and I walked from the American Embassy to Sola Luna. It's really lovely walking around Kigali at night with someone. Think I got my share of exercise for the month.

Torero was brilliant: Black, Blue, 'Zungu were playing all the classics: Van Morrison, B.B. King - most excellent. Irene and Nidhi were also there, then Ruairi turned up towards the end. Was a nice night and it's B's birthday today so we counted down to midnight.

Was a bit strange being at Torero and not drinking. I'm still on antibiotics - today's the last day (they were supposed to give me 7 days' supply but only gave me six). I think I'll be back at the doc's on Monday though, as it hasn't cleared up. Looks better than it was, but I've still got white spots. I still feel absolutely fine except for the tiredness - really tired, but no pain, no fever - nothing. Very weird.

Just lazing around today. Going to another birthday bash later at SoleLuna. Looking forward to a decent feed.

In Rwandan news: 99% of Gishwati Forest destroyed, NASA pictures reveal.

5th Rwandan Film Festival begins. I'm afraid I'm a bit of a critic of this though as, once again, the advertising has predictably been non-existent. People really have no idea how to make the most of free advertising in Rwanda, so you never hear about anything until it's over. Who is going to make that much effort to find out times/dates/venues? Shan't be troubling myself this year as last year was very shoddily run: late starts, broken screens, hard-to-find venues. I don't think the international movie industry is quite shaking in its boots just yet, especially not with Uganda's Amakula festival just up the road with an extremely good selection and excellent organisational planning. Advertising, organisational planning, and time keeping always let things down in Kigali when it comes to events.

But, anyway.

All is mostly fine in the world.

101 Reasons Not to Vote BNP

Ever just thought the BNP were right-wingers who just went 'a little too far'?

Think again.

Taken from the FaceBook group: 1,000,000 United Against the BNP

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Nazi Party

We demand the union of all Germans in a Great Germany on the basis of the principle of self-determination of all peoples.

BNP

It believes that the indigenous peoples of the entire British Isles, and their descendants overseas, form a single brotherhood of peoples, and is pledged therefore to adapt or create political, cultural, economic and military institutions with the aim of fostering the closest possible partnership between these peoples.

Nazi Party

Only those who are our fellow countrymen can become citizens. Only those who have German blood, regardless of creed, can be our countrymen. Hence no Jew can be a countryman.

BNP

The British National Party stands for the preservation of the national and ethnic character of the British people and is wholly opposed to any form of racial integration between British and non-European peoples. BNP activists and writers should never refer to 'black Britons' or 'Asian Britons' etc, for the simple reason that such persons do not exist.

Nazi Party

Any further immigration of non-Germans must be prevented. We demand that all non-Germans who have entered Germany since August 2, 1914, shall be compelled to leave the Reich immediately.

BNP

It is therefore committed to stemming and reversing the tide of non-white immigration and to restoring, by legal changes, negotiation and consent, the overwhelmingly white makeup of the British population that existed in Britain prior to 1948.

Nazi Party

We demand that there be a legal campaign against those who propagate deliberate political lies and disseminate them through the press.

BNP

The BNP stands for the revolutionary principle that the printing presses and broadcast channels of the media must tell the truth in their reports.... we will create a new criminal offence of “The deliberate dissemination of falsehoods about an individual or organisation for financial or political gain” by any media outlet.

Nazi Party

All editors and their assistants on newspapers published in the German language shall be German citizens.

BNP

A separate danger to genuine democracy comes from the concentration of ownership and control of the mass media in too few hands, particularly when the hands concerned are those of foreigners whose primary loyalty is not to Britain.

Fascism

An inherent aspect of fascist economies was an economy where the government exerts strong directive influence. Fascist economies were based on private property and private initiative, but these were contingent upon service to the state. Fascism opposes many capitalist tenets, such as support of free trade and free international movement of capital.

BNP

The British National Party is pledged to the maintenance of a private-enterprise economy operating within a broad framework of national economic policy. It is opposed to international monopoly capitalism and to laissez-faire free trade and free movement of plant and capital.

Fascism

Fascist movements oppose any ideology or political system that is deemed detrimental to national identity and unity, such as communism and laissez-faire capitalism.

BNP

The British National Party is implacably opposed to Marxism and liberal-capitalist globalism, which undermine our standard of living, human and ecological welfare, freedom and national identity.

Fascism

Fascism tends to promote principles of masculine heroism, militarism, and discipline; and rejects cultural pluralism and multiculturalism.

BNP

The compulsory National Service system....would begin at the age of 18 with a period of basic training in the army. This would include full training with the citizens’ assault rifle. Conscientious objectors who refuse to undertake military service would be allocated other constructive work for the community, but would NOT receive THE CITIZEN'S RIGHT TO BE ARMED, or THE RIGHT TO VOTE.

Even if.... it proved to be possible to assimilate and integrate huge numbers of immigrants from other ethnic and cultural groups into Western societies without mayhem and bloodshed, we would still oppose it.

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MEMBERSHIP (Lifted from their earlier website, they have never retracted this however)

Membership of the party shall be open only to those who are 16 years of age or over and whose ethnic origin is listed within Sub-section 2 (ii) The Celtic Scottish Folk Community; iii) The Scots-Northern Irish Folk Community; iv) The Celtic Welsh Folk Community; v) The Celtic Irish Folk Community; vi) The Celtic Cornish Folk Community; vii) The Anglo-Saxon-Celtic Folk Community; viii) The Celtic-Norse Folk Community; ix) The Anglo-Saxon-Norse Folk Community; x) The Anglo-Saxon-Indigenous European Folk Community; xi) Members of these ethnic groups who reside either within or outside Europe but ethnically derive from them.) <--- That's 'white' to you and me.

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"[t]he British National Party’s determination not simply to stop any further mass immigration into the British Isles, but also to reverse the tide which has transformed vast areas of our country out of all recognition over the last fifty years. We, as the sole political representatives of the Silent Majority of the English, Scots, Irish and Welsh who formed and were formed by our island home, have one overriding demand: We want our country back!"

"We would repeal the Race Relations Acts and all other restrictions on free speech in Britain.... We would abolish all departments, agencies, or other units of government whose sole and specific purpose is to deal with ethnic issues, grievances, or crimes.... We would abolish all laws against racial discrimination in employment and the government bodies associated with enforcing them."

"A Clause 28-style proscription against the promotion of racial integration in schools and the media would be introduced."

"This wicked, vicious faith has expanded from a handful of cranky lunatics about 1,300 years ago, to it's now sweeping country after country before it, all over the world. And if you read that book (the Koran), you'll find that that's what they want." - Nick Griffin

"It is more important to control the streets of a city than its council chamber." - Nick Griffin

“The electors of Millwall did not back a post-modernist Rightist Party, but what they perceived to be a strong, disciplined organisation with the ability to back up its slogan “Defend Rights for Whites’ with well-directed boots and fists. When the crunch comes, POWER IS THE PRODUCT OF FORCE AND WILL, NOT OF RATIONAL DEBATE.” - Nick Griffin

"I am only going to represent the white people. I WILL NOT REPRESENT ASIANS. I will not do anything for them. They have no right to be in my great country." - Derek Beackon

"When we get to power OUR OPPONENTS WILL BE SWEPT AWAY like flies." - John Tyndall

"Very few people in Britain are aware of the huge influence over the mass media exercised by a certain ethnic minority, namely the Jews." - Nick Griffin

“The controllers of Hollywood, almost entirely Jewish. Some 'ANTI-SEMITISM' MAY BE PROVOKED BY THE ACTIONS OF CERTAIN JEWS THEMSELVES and thereby have a RATIONAL BASIS”. - Nick Griffin

"There is no doubt that hundreds, probably thousands of Jews were shot to death in Eastern Europe, because they were rightly or wrongly seen as communists or potential partisan supporters. That was awful. But THIS NONSENSE ABOUT GAS CHAMBERS is exposed as a total lie." - Nick Griffin

"[t]his BLOODY JEW [Alex Carlile MP] whose only claim is that his grandparents died in the Holocaust." - Nick Griffin

"There's not a European country the Jews haven't been thrown out of. When it happens that many times, it's not just persecution. THERE'S NO SMOKE WITHOUT FIRE." - Mark Collett

"Without the White race nothing matters [other right-wing parties] believe that the answer to the race question is integration and a futile attempt to create "Black Britons", while we affirm that NON-WHITES HAVE NO PLACE HERE AT ALL AND WILL NOT REST UNTIL EVERY LAST ONE HAS LEFT OUR LAND." - Nick Griffin

"Yes, Adolf went a bit too far. His legacy is the biggest problem that the British nationalist movement has to deal with. It just creates a bad image." - Nick Griffin

"There is a STRONG, DIRECT LINK from Oswald Mosley to me." - Nick Griffin

“The TV footage of dozens of ‘gay’ demonstrators flaunting their perversions in front of the world’s journalists showed just why so many ordinary people find these CREATURES so repulsive.” - Nick Griffin

"Churchill was a fucking cunt who led us into a pointless war with other whites [the Nazis] standing up for their race." - Mark Collett

"He's a fucking traitor." - Mark Collett on the Prince of Wales

"The Royals have betrayed their people. When we're in power they'll be WIPED OUT and we'll get some Germans to rule properly." - Mark Collett

"A FRIENDLY DISEASE because blacks, drug users and gays have it." - Mark Collett on AIDS

"Hitler will live forever; and maybe I will." - Mark Collett

"The sick minds who would have us believe that Jews were gassed at Auschwitz are completely twisted." - Tony Lecomber

"Asians are rubbish, and that is what WE ARE GOING TO CLEAR FROM THE STREETS." - Derek Beackon

"Those responsible for creating this multi-racial hell hole must face trial and pay the ultimate penalty." - Nick Griffin

"AIDS Monkeys.... bum bandits.... faggots." - Mark Collett on homosexuals

"Racial laws will be enacted FORBIDDING MARRIAGE between Britons and non-Aryans: medical measures will be taken to prevent procreation on the part of all those who have hereditary defects either racial, mental or physical." - John Tyndall

"Mein Kampf is my Bible." - John Tyndall

"[t]here will be an unanswerable case when the day for the great clean up comes, to IMPLEMENT THE FINAL SOLUTION against these sub-human elements by means of the GAS CHAMBERS" - John Tyndall

"There's a difference between selling out your ideas and selling your ideas. And the British National Party isn't about selling out it's ideas, which are your ideas, but we are determined now to sell them. And that means basically to use these salable words.

"As I say, 'freedom', 'security', 'identity', 'democracy', nobody can criticise them, nobody can come at you and attack you on those ideas: they are salable. Perhaps one day, once by being rather more subtle, we got ourselves into a position where we control the British broadcasting media, then perhaps one day the British people might change their minds and say, 'Yes, every last one must go'. Perhaps they will one day, but if you offer that as your soul mate to start with, you're going to get absolutely nowhere. So, INSTEAD OF TALKING ABOUT RACIAL PURITY WE TALK ABOUT IDENTITY." - Nick Griffin addressing the Ku Klux Klan

"Voluntary repatriation. Isn't that EASIER TO SELL than compulsory repatriation for all?" - Nick Griffin

"I honestly don't hate asylum seekers - THESE PEOPLE ARE COCKROACHES *and they're doing what cockroaches do because cockroaches can't help what they do, they just do it, like cats miaow and dogs bark." - Mark Collett *This is what the Hutus in Rwanda called the Tutsis of which 800,000-1 million were killed

"Well apparently didn't they get a lot of dentistry and plastic surgery."

- Rotherham BNP's Marlene Guest, referring to horrific Nazi experiments on Jews and others during World War II.

"The idea that the Black African Bishop Sentamu, the Asian Muslim MP Shahid Malik, the part-Turkish Boris Johnson and the Jewish Lord Goldsmith have anything to teach the indigenous English about St. Georges Day is absurd." - John Lee Barnes

"When these Asians go out looking for a victim, they don't go looking for Asian victims. They don't go mugging Asian grandmas, they don't go stabbing each other, they don't go trying to solicit sex off little Pritesh or little Sanjita, they go straight to the whites because they are trying to destroy us and they are the racists." - Mark Collett

“All black people will be repatriated, even if they were born here. ” - Nick Griffin

"Black culture is totally inimical to the mental and spiritual development of young white people, encouraging laziness, lack of ambition in worthy pursuits, preoccupation with the trivial and the banal, appalling manners and absence of respect for others". - John Tyndall

"WHITE WORKING CLASS SCUM will be swept away by a future BNP government." - BNP councillor Simon Smith

"THE RICH ARE GENETICALLY SUPERIOR TO THE POOR." - Tony Lecomber

"I'm no apologist for WHITE WORKING CLASS SCUM." - BNP councillor Simon Smith

"Rest assured, all those HOMEGROWN TRATORS who have taken part in the war against our indigenous rights will one day be held to account for their crimes." - Nick Griffin

“I want to see Britain become the 99 per cent genetically white country she was just eleven years before I was born, and I want to die knowing that I have helped to set her on a course whereby her future genetic makeup will one day not even resemble that of January 1948, but that of July 1914. Nothing will ever turn me from working towards that final vision.” - Nick Griffin

"Rape is simply sex. Women enjoy sex, so rape cannot be such a terrible physical ordeal... [it] is like suggesting force-feeding a woman chocolate cake is a heinous offence." - Nick Eriksen

"Honestly now, would you prefer your kid growing up in Oldham and Burnley or 1930's Germany? It would be better for your child to grow up there." - Mark Collett

"Meanwhile, the indigenous side in the low-to-medium level civil war brewing in this country is getting its training. . .Its all going to get very messy." - Nick Griffin's blog on the BNP website

"It's clearly worth talking in terms of SIX-FIGURE SUMS to persuade families to go"- Nick Griffin, the Times, April 19, 2007

“We live in a country today which is unhealthily dominated by an EXCESS OF SENTIMENTALITY TOWARDS THE WEAK AND UNPRODUCTIVE. No good will come of it.” -Jeffrey Marshall (senior organiser for the BNP’s London European election campaign), 2009 after the death of Ivan Cameron.

“There is not a great deal of point in keeping these people alive after all.” Jeffrey Marshall again referring to Ivan Cameron.

"The capitalist free traders, the Marxists and organised Jewry have declared war on the white man, not just in Britain but in every nation on the planet". - Nick Griffin

"We don't think the most overcrowded country in Europe, can realistically say, 'Look, you can all come and all your relatives'. When the Gurkhas signed up - frankly as mercenaries - they expected a pension which would allow them to live well in their own country." - Nick Griffin, 12 May 2009

Nick Griffin addressing a KKK meeting

Nick Griffin denying the Holocaust on the Cook Report

Nick Griffin denying he denied the Holocaust on the Cook Report

The BNP canvassing for the EU and council elections 2009 [NB 2013: link down]

The BNP's organiser admits that membership is limited to white Europeans.

Marlene Guest repeating the claims of 'Did Six Million Really Die?', a Holocaust denial book by Richard Verrall of the National Front. It's been thoroughly refuted by historians and claims things such as the Holocaust is used as a tool to exterminate the 'white race'.