Ecumenical News International (ENI) reports on the Olympic Games black bracelet protest begun by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover, Germany.
A German church has far exceeded its initial expectations in distributing more than 200,000 black bracelets intended as a symbolic protest against human rights abuses in China during the Olympic Games in Beijing.
“It shows that people want to stand up for others and show what they believe in,” said Bishop Margot Kässmann of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover who launched the initiative in March. The Olympic Games open on 8 August in Beijing.Kässmann told the German Protestant news agency epd on 16 July that the reaction to the initiative had been overwhelming. Originally 2000 bracelets were produced for athletes and others attending the games, to be worn as a protest against the violation of human rights in China and Tibet. The idea then found a huge response in schools, sports clubs and church congregations.
The black silicon bracelets are inscribed with a verse from the Bible, “righteousness and peace will kiss each other” (Psalm 85:10).
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