Barricade or Ballot Box?

Headmaster’s Routh Assembly Address
Monday, 25th November 2019

Reading: Henry Scott (Ly)

Excerpt from “The Penguin Book of History”

"At first, we were pelted with rocks, bottles, cans and several incendiary devices, two of which had to be extinguished. The Squad smashed its way through what had seemed an impenetrable wall of shields and was, for a few moments, forced to baton down on those in front of them to stop the momentum of the mob. A constable from Squad 1, went down and stayed down with a broken ankle. Some of the mob began tipping over a car, an unmarked police vehicle as it turned out.

When the protesters did see Squad 1 there was sheer panic. The protesters just did not know what to do or where to go. They were like a herd of springboks, fleeing from hunting lions. Some jumped over fences, some crashed through hedges, some ran blindly and some just froze. And some still wanted to fight. Those who stood their ground, bringing their arsenal to bear on us, got just their desserts. 


Good Morning.

The year I turned 16, something terrible happened in my country. An event so destructive that its scars are still felt today, 38 years on. Even by me. Especially by me. New Zealand is no stranger to upheaval; it is a land created by volcanoes and earthquakes. But this was no natural disaster. This was entirely man-made and for 56 days it tore the nation apart.

It was 1981 and New Zealand was hosting a series of international rugby tests. That wasn’t unusual of course, many of you will know that I come from a country obsessed with rugby. The visiting team was from South Africa and that wasn’t unusual either. They also love their rugby and the Springboks were one of our greatest foes (let’s not talk about what just happened in this year’s World Cup).

However, in 1981 the world was becoming increasingly opposed to the way that South Africa operated politically. The White minority government that ran the country still operated a system of apartheid, or separation. Meaning that people who were not white were legally discriminated against by the State. Non-whites could only live in certain places, only do certain jobs, were banned from certain forms of transport. It was institutionalised racism, and, during the Eighties, global pressure began to mount on the South African government to abandon apartheid.

Back to New Zealand then, 1981 and the Springbok rugby team arrive to play rugby. Fans are excited, but many other Kiwis are increasingly upset about us playing sport with a racist nation. They are angry and they protest. Quietly and peacefully at first. Gathering in small groups outside the airport when the team lands.
Waving banners calling for a ban on sporting contact until apartheid was abolished. Marching in the streets, holding hands and chanting slogans. Peaceful.

Unsurprisingly, these protesters start to get lots of media attention. New Zealanders protesting against rugby? What’s going on here? The protests grow in size, with many ordinary people who never dreamed of going on a public march turning out to show their support.

But it wasn’t all one-sided by any means. Die-hard rugby fans started to get equally outraged that people would try and interrupt their entertainment. What on Earth did apartheid have to do with rugby, they asked? Besides, there were Black players in the Springbok team, how was that racist? ‘Keep politics out of sport’ became their cry.

Soon the protests escalated, with crowds picketing outside the games. Things really came to a head at the start of the first Test Match in Christchurch. Thousands blocked the streets around the stadium, stopping angry rugby fans from getting to their seats. The Police were called in, they had to form a human wedge to allow the spectators to pass through the chanting mob. Abuse was hurled by both sides. Fights broke out, it seemed incredible nobody was injured.

Things were even worse two weeks later at the second Test. 7000 protesters blocked the motorway exits into the central city, as well as access to the venue. Once again, the Police turned out in force to allow spectators through. There were many scuffles as protesters were dragged away. Some fans lashed out at them with fists and boots and, for the first time in the lives of most people, we saw images of police batons being used against civilians on suburban New Zealand streets.
I was 16 and I was deeply torn. Like most Kiwi males, I loved rugby. It was a religion when I was growing up. A source of our national identity. But I was also starting to become politically aware, just as I hope you are now. Increasingly interested in the wider world, forming my own opinions about its rights and wrongs. I went to a proudly multicultural school, just as Bromsgrove is, and I couldn’t understand racism. When you work and play with people from different cultures, you can’t help but see our common humanity. It’s hard to fathom how one group could repress another simply based on skin colour.

If I felt torn inside about the protests that were raging across NZ, the country was positively ripped in half. Few openly supported racism of course. The argument was more about whether politics should interfere with sport. Whether those who wanted to stop injustice should do so by interrupting the social lives of people who had nothing to do with creating that injustice.

As is often the case with social injustice, young people were central t the protest. It’s hard in your teens; you are learning to see the world as an adult, yet you don’t yet have an adult’s power to influence it, like the right to vote. Sometimes, protesting seems like the only option to have your voice heard. That’s how it was for me. I felt a responsibility to take a stand against the evils of apartheid and if the only way I could do that was to join a march that got global media attention because it disrupted a rugby match, it was worth doing.

So, at age 16, without my parents knowing, I got in a mate’s car and we went off to the protest at the third and final Test match in my own city, Auckland. My first act of adult rebellion. We didn’t get far. The streets around Eden Park were blocked off for miles, so we parked and walked. The atmosphere quickly became tense.

The protesters had become much more organised by then; people arrived wearing motorcycle helmets to protect them from Police batons, scarves around their faces so they wouldn’t be recognised. Carrying homemade shields for defence, but also sticks and bottles for attack. Sadly, many people had also joined the protestors not because they supported the cause, but just because they wanted to fight the Police. We could see intimidating gang members already on the frontline.

The Police, too, had become more organised. They now arrived in helmets and body armour, carrying long batons and riot shields. Like most people, I had grown up being taught to respect the Police for doing their job to protect us. I hasten to add that I still feel that way about them today. However, what I saw that afternoon scared me. For nearly two months, the Police had faced increasing violence on both sides of the protest. They were now becoming very violent themselves.

The reading you heard earlier was a recollection from one of those police officers, admitting that they were there to dish out “just desserts” to those who fought.

I will long remember the scenes from that day. People running in fear, bleeding, dragging others into the safety of suburban gardens. Picket fences ripped up as weapons, cars overturned, bottles being thrown. Squads of Police charged down streets, beating anyone in front of them. Rugby fans hurling abuse and missiles. Meanwhile, overhead, someone in a light plane was circling the park, flying low and dropping flour bombs on the players. It was carnage. I wept for my country that day and continued to do so for months to come, as the divisions of the tour ripped people apart. Workmates, families, old friends; opinions on the rights and wrongs of letting politics influence sport fractured the strongest relationships. If you think that Brexit has been divisive, this was worse.

Yet it is not Brexit that prompts me to speak of this today. Those protests have been rowdy and divisive, but rarely violent. Nor is it the Extinction Rebellion actions, which brought much of London to a standstill recently. Those protests were more disruptive, and the Police were often called on to break them up. They caused enormous irritation for many ordinary people, but those arrested generally went quietly.

No, the dark days of the 1981 Tour have all come back to me as I have watched the escalating violence of protests on the streets of another city I love. I feel a deep sadness for the violence and division that racks Hong Kong right now. It is not for me to speak about my views on the rights and wrongs of either side here. All I do know is that I identify with the protesters, particularly the young ones, who started out taking a stand for a cause that was dear to them and now suddenly find themselves caught up in an increasing cycle of violence.

Pitted against the Police, who they were taught to respect, yet who are now brutal towards them. In turn, I feel sorry for the Police, who find themselves using force against their own people. Especially those who may support the protestors’ cause, yet must still carry out their public duty. They do not deserve to be firebombed, stoned and shot with arrows. Yet neither do they have the right to be gratuitously violent or fire into crowds.

Peaceful public protest is a powerful lever for change. But I know from bitter personal experience the speed with which peaceful protest can become violent. When it does, the cause is almost always lost. The Police may be the visible face of a government’s power, but when they become the target of a protest, public sympathy for the original cause quickly dies. My hope for Hong Kong is not that the protestors abandon their cause, but that they understand that ultimately, the most effective path to change is the ballot box, not the barricade.  


Presentations

Mathematics
It was great to see 16 girls from the 5th and 6th form enter the Mathematical Olympiad for Girls run by the UK Mathematics Trust. All did well, tackling five challenging problems, and we would like to present Certificates of Distinction to Jenna Kam, Irene Lo and Yilia Chen.

Swimming
The Junior Girls’ House swimming results are as follows:
3rd: Mary Windsor 2nd: Hazeldene 1st: Thomas Cookes
I invite the Captain of TC to receive the trophy.

Fencing
Congratulations to Tatiana Morikova who won the U19 Warwick School Epee competition. I invite her forward to be presented with her trophy.

Review
A-Level History pupils attended a series of lectures by prominent historians last week, discussing the Early Tudors, with a focus on revolution and reformation. An engaging and informative outing for all.

Basketball
Good wins for our Basketball teams this week with the U14s beating Charlton School, the U15s winning over Waseley High and the U16 team playing well to beat Shrewsbury School.

Golf
On Tuesday, at a very cold Copt Heath golf course, Bromsgrove defeated Solihull 2-1 in the Midlands Semi-Final, setting up a final against Cheltenham or Clifton in the new year. Lili-Rose Hunt winning 6 and 4 and James Humphries 7 and 6.

Hockey
Well done to our Senior and U16 Boys Indoor Hockey teams who beat King Edward’s Birmingham.
Our U14 Girls played well in their group matches at the Midlands Finals but unfortunately did not progress to the final stages. Unfortunately, Marlborough College got the better of the results in Saturday’s fixtures.

Netball
A very good week for our netball teams, with the 1st’s winning an epic encounter against Wrekin College 26-25. Congratulations also to the U14 squad, who have qualified for the West Midlands finals.

Table Tennis
Good news from the County finals; our U16 Boys and Girls teams both finished Runners-Up and both Senior teams were crowned County champions.

Rugby
Not such good news in the Rugby I’m afraid, with the 1st XV’s run in the National Cup coming to an end against traditional rivals Warwick School, losing by just one point. A better result for the U15’s though, who played well to beat Solihull School 23-7.

In the block fixture against Stowe there were good wins for most teams, including the 1st XV, who won 47-7. The U14Cs also produced a rare result in rugby; a 0-0 Draw.

Squash
The 1st team took part in the National KS5 1st round. There were some excellent matches played throughout the day with stand-out performances from William Hobbs, winning two of his three matches, and George Lamb winning one. The team will now go on and represent the School in the plate competition.

Music
Finally, to Music and a thank you to the 100 Senior musicians who took to the stage in a special concert commemorating St Cecilia’s Day last Friday. A wonderful evening from the orchestra, two big bands, string orchestra, concert band, and choirs.

Having made it through the regional auditions, Vincent Lee will audition this week for the category auditions for the prestigious BBC Young Musician of the Year competition. We Vincent all the very best.

Last week, Josh Osborn Patel enjoyed a day working with the National Youth Orchestra in London working with world famous Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel.

And yesterday the Big Band competed in the national concert band festival, coming away with a Gold Award for their efforts and deeply impressing the judges.

Preview
Good luck to those candidates taking ABRSM Music exams over the next few days. Please be aware of the need for silence around Routh hall during this time.

The motion for this week’s Friday lunchtime debate is ‘This house believes that charities and humanitarian aid organisations should not use images of suffering in their advertising campaigns’. Please email Scarlett Bond if you would like to speak at 1:20 in Dr Whitbread's classroom.

A reminder to you all to reserve seats for this year’s Senior Play, an adaptation of Charles’ Dicken’s dark and epic novel ‘Great Expectations’. Performances are Wednesday to Saturday next week at 7pm. With spectacular stage effects and over 200 characters played by a cast of 50, it promises to be a truly thrilling evening. Tickets are completely free to members of the School but book early to avoid disappointment. Grace.