My first Publication Mojatu Nottingham Magazine M030 | Page 13

Nottingham connected
atrocities who had fled to their shores on minor
immigration charges from countries like Liberia and
former Yugoslavia might often be doing so to wash
their hands of these people. Most of them were simply
deported and went home to impunity.
Rapp agreed that pursuing perpetrators of atrocities on
lesser charges and in national courts carried its own risks.
He cited Iraq where the national courts are prosecuting
Islamic State suspects for terrorism rather than genocide
for the terrible atrocities committed against the Yazidi
people. Rapp said they were being given very short trials
with little evidence adduced and most hanged very soon
after being convicted and sentenced.
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Clearly an ICC prosecution was preferable but it
was not going to happen, Rapp suggested. And he
insisted that it was possible to bring some satisfaction
to victims, even in cases like that of Jabbateh. The
Liberian community in the US had been mobilised
around such cases, he said. Perhaps this was so
because evidence of their atrocities had been
brought in aggravation of sentence and also because
sentences were harsh.
The ICC or other international criminal tribunals were
always a better idea in theory. ‘But if you can’t get the
best, go for the good,’ he said. ‘Don’t make the best the
enemy of the good.’
Primary – Have you heard! - By Penny Cooper
Mojatu team visited Primary, 33 Seely Road, Nottingham
NG7 3FZ, for an event with Emma Smith and her 5Hz
exhibition. A conversational evening to learn about
her creation of a new language and how that work has
provided insights into how language, in all its differing
guises, may have evolved and a musicality about our
speech which we may not have appreciated.
“Primary was initiated by artists wishing to create
an organisation that placed artistic research and
production as a public process at the core of its work.
Primary was set up by Nottingham Studios Ltd, an
artist-focused not-for-profit organisation established
as a registered charity in 2006.”
A pleasant and welcoming space, which draws you in, with
friendly engagement and fresh food and tea. We tried the
bread there, made from fermented flour. What fun!
The evening was great fun and very informative. Very
much a lay person myself, it was interesting to hear
about how language may have evolved, it’s design, the
written word and how we peak and dip as we speak.
We invented some lines and sang them, and enjoyed
the benefit of a professional, Emma Smith, guiding us
through various exercises to try out the new language.
I would recommend a visit to Primary, take a look on their
website - http://www.weareprimary.org/ for the up to date
programme of events and see what else they are doing there!