But in spite of its enormous prosperity and power the country's wealth was in the hands of a few citizens who lived in extreme splendour and opulence.

The majority of citizens were very poor, living often in appalling conditions with poor wages, that is if they were lucky enough to work.

Children as young as 7 and 8 years worked up to 60 hours a week in factories for a few pennies, girls as young as 10 years were sold into prostitution.

These were dark times when the life of a poor person was less valuable than that of a pig or cow, the jails were overflowing with prisoners often sentenced to long terms for petty offences like stealing a handkerchief or a loaf of bread.

At this time in history a certain Hannah Klerk appeared in court and was given a 7 year sentence which was transportation to Botany Bay in Australia.

To prove that the severity of the law may be tempered with some compassion the Judge gave permission for Hannah*s 3 children to accompany her.

Hannah Klerk had been found guilty of stealing a sheep from a certain Lord Cockshott, a wealthy landowner who owned over 20,000 acres on his 3 estates.

Hannah Klerk's only defence was she stole the sheep because her family was starving.

It was 1827 and the country was England.

The second country is a newly independent country in southern Africa where the people had finally gained their independence after a long and brutal struggle against a cruel apartheid colonial power.

The country, although wealthy by African standards, has a high rate of unemployment and one of the greatest disparities in the world between the rich and the poor.

The parliamentarians of this country who themselves had fought hard for social justice and equality for all their people have recently passed a draconian law that could see a person found guilty of stealing a goat sentenced to 20 years in jail.

It is 2004 and the country is Namibia.

Graeme Bruce
Windhoek

Letters Of The Last 48 Hours