CA Mag Edition 1 of 2020

PO Box 23632
Claremont 7735
Cape Town
South Africa
2020 Edition 1
www.christianaction.org.za
info@christianaction.org.za
UNDERSTANDING PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE
Undermining the Will to Resist
Psychological warfare involves
tactics intended to manipulate one’s
opponents, or enemies. This includes
the dissemination of propaganda
and disinformation to undermine
the morale of enemy forces and
erode their ability to resist.
Psywar
In the military terms like ‘psywar’
(psychological warfare), or ‘psyops’
(psychological operations), have
also been known as ‘winning hearts
and minds’, political warfare and
propaganda. Normally, military
intelligence would distinguish
between Psyops Own Forces, to
build up the morale of one’s own
people, Psyops Enemy Forces,
(to break down the morale of
both enemy soldiers and their
civilian population) and Psyops
Local Population (to win over the
hearts and minds of those in the
operational area).
“…contend earnestly for the Faith which was
once for all delivered to the saints.” Jude 3
The extraordinarily devastating Black Lives Matter
(BLM) and ANTIFA riots, violence, looting and
arson sprees in so many cities, not only across the
USA, but in other parts of the world as well, should
be a major wake up call to the many Christians who
do not want to engage the culture and routinely
censor the Scriptures to only preach and teach
nice, non-confrontational, willow-creek, purposedriven,
saddleback, prayer of Jabez, lukewarm, lame,
weak-kneed, comforting messages. Ken Ham has
documented in his book, Already Gone, that the vast
majority of young people, of the majority of Western
churches, abandon the church within a few years of
completing high school.
Aimed at Emotions and Values
Psyops recognise that they need
to target their audience’s belief
system, value system, emotions,
motives, reasoning and behaviour.
Some countries have resorted to
false flag, or blackops, to discredit
the enemy forces by terrorist
operations, which can be attributed
to the enemy.
Media Technology Targets Us
Psychological warfare is no longer
limited to soldiers. Targets of pysops
include civilians, groups, churches,
organisations and governments.
Technology and media are
increasingly being used to effect
political changes desired by the
enemy, or revolutionary forces.
RESPONDING to REVOLUTION with REFORMATION
Continued on page 2
Continued on page 6

Continued from page 1 Understanding Psychological Warfare
Media Manipulation
The Vietnamese commander famously declared that
they did not win the
war on the battlefield,
but on the campuses
and in the living rooms
of the United States
of America, through
television coverage
of American protests
against the war.
Not Beaten - Betrayed
The Prime Minister of
Rhodesia, Ian Smith,
declared: “We were never beaten by our enemies, we
were betrayed by our friends.”
Total War
President P.W. Botha
of South Africa tried
to warn the South
African population of
the Total War which
was targeting every
aspect of life in South
Africa. While the
mass media derided
this, history has
proven President P.W.
Botha correct. South Africa was subjected to a total
war where, although the South African Defence Force
was spectacularly successful on the battlefield, on the
border of South West Africa and in pre-emptive strikes
into communist controlled Angola, the country was
undermined by subversion, sedition and sabotage.
Sedition Subverts Society
On the university campuses, in the classrooms, in the
media, on the streets, insidious sedition subverted the
public. The ANC could justly be described as “the most
spectacularly unsuccessful revolutionary movement” in
the world, with not a single victory to their name in
over 30 years of “armed struggle.” However, their allies
in the South African Council of Churches, in the
universities, editors of many newspapers, Hollywood,
through sports boycotts, disinvestment campaigns,
sanctions and general psychological warfare,
economic warfare and political warfare waged by the
Soviet Block, the European Economic Community,
the Organisation of African Unity, the British Foreign
Office, the US State Department and the United
Nations gradually wore down much of the population
to where they were willing to settle for a negotiated
settlement with the defeated ANC. In exchange for
international sports, cricket, rugby and participation
in the Olympic games.
Threats and Temptations
This was something of the carrot and the stick approach.
The sticks included economic sanctions, disinvestment,
boycotts and bans, riots, sabotage, bombings and
sporadic acts of terrorism at home and increasing
condemnation from abroad. The carrots were the
opportunity to participate in international rugby tours,
cricket tours and the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Battle for the Mind
In psyops, propagandists target adversaries by seeking
to destroy, by psychological means, the morale and
confidence of their targeted opponent to the extent
that they begin to doubt the validity of their beliefs,
values and actions.
Unprecedented Opportunities to Manipulate
Modern mass communication techniques have
allowed unprecedented opportunity for foreign
forces to engage in direct communication with a
targeted/enemy population. In recent times the
internet allows for campaigns of disinformation
and misinformation, including false flags and
agent provocateurs to seek to discredit, or character
assassinate, those whom they target.
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Capture the Culture
The Frankfurt School of Cultural Marxism recognised
that while World War One and the military defeat of
Czarist Russia provided a unique opportunity for
the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, violent revolution
CHRISTIAN ACTION – For Reformation & Revival 2020 Edition 1

was unlikely to succeed anywhere in Western Europe.
Therefore, Marxist leaders, such as Antonio Gramsci,
proposed The Termite Strategy to erode from the inside
the cultural institutions of the West.
The Termite Strategy
Just as a termite could hollow out the inside of a wooden
building so that even fresh coats of paint on the outside
would not save the structure from collapsing in time,
so too Marxists need to work for slow, gradual, longterm,
culminative revolution through infiltrating
the five cultural carrying and culture transforming
institutions of Western society: Education
institutions; News Media; Entertainment industry;
Religious institutions and Political institutions.
Gramsci’s slogan was to “capture the culture!”
Obscenity, Pornography & Blasphemy
Herbert Marcuse, another of the Frankfurt School
Marxists, emphasised the importance of subverting
the culture through obscenity, blasphemy, perversion
and pornography. He advocated using swear words as
“verbal grenades” to attack bourgeoisie Christian society.
Obscenity and blasphemy are weapons in psychological
warfare to break down Christian civilisation.
War on History
As Karl Marx declared: “The first battlefield is the
rewriting of History!”
George Orwell observed: “The most effective way to
destroy a people is to deny and obliterate their own
understanding of their history.”
Culture War
Those who understand Marxism, particularly the Cultural
Marxism of the Frankfurt School, the Gramsci Strategy
and the role of obscenity in Marcuse’s Revolutionary
Strategy will immediately recognise where the violence
and campaign to topple statues and monuments and
spray paint obscenities on the walls, comes from. Straight
out of Mao Tse Tung’s Cultural Revolution and the public
humiliation/shaming/apology scenes were exactly how
Mao Tse Tung publicly shamed/sidelined and humiliated
traditional leaders in China’s Revolution.
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Prophetic Warnings
George Orwell warned
us in his prophetic novel
1984 of Newspeak, Thought
Police, Thought Crimes,
where opponents would be
vaporised, made unpeople and
disappear down the memory
hole. Aldous Huxley warned
us in his prophetic book,
Brave New World, of a future
sophisticated society where
people are distracted by endless
entertainment stimulation and subdued by drugs, to
be easily manipulated by the New World Order state.
Indoctrinated, Distracted & Depressed
John Dewey, one of the authors of the Humanist
Manifesto of 1933, was a pioneer of secular humanist
state education. We should be able to recognise
how much of the entertainment industry defiles
and degrades us, how much of the news media
discourages and distracts us. So much in this society
today, including music and the arts, depresses and
disgraces us. Through the Stockholm Syndrome,
many are cowered into co-dependency on their very
abusers. “That we should no longer be children,
tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind
of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning
craftiness of deceitful plotting.” Ephesians 4:14
Deteriorated, Degraded & Divided
Cultural Marxism has deteriorated society. Critical
Race Theory has divided society. “Confuse, divide and
conquer.” Most of Hollywood entertainment degenerates
and degrades. The Gramsci Termite Strategy has
corrupted and rotted most institutions of the West. The
Marcusian subvert and corrupt the culture campaign has
been all too successful. Not only is perversion tolerated,
it is promoted and celebrated. “But we are not of those
who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to
the saving of the soul.” Hebrews 10:39
Degradation, Disintegration & Defeat
We are seeing communism in the classroom and a war on
our historic monuments in the streets. Discouragement.
Distraction. Depression. Dependency. Deterioration.
Division. Degeneration. Degradation. Disintegration.
All equal defeat. “And have no fellowship with the
unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.”
Ephesians 5:11
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Discernment and Discretion
We need to understand the times and know what God’s
people should do. History matters. Truth matters. We
need to get back to the Bible. We need discernment.
We need to disconnect from the world indoctrination,
distraction and disinformation media. Support
independent and alternative sources of news media
and entertainment. Exercise discretion.
Reclaim the Culture for Christ
Get back to the classic Christian books that built up
civilisation and boycott the modern trash that is
breaking it down. Home education using solid Biblebased,
Christ-centered, God-honouring textbooks will
be the single most strategic and important foundation
that can be laid for reclaiming our culture for Christ.
Examples of Excellence
Some of the antidote to the psyops, gaslighting, guilt
manipulation, Stockholm Syndrome, cultural Marxism
indoctrination are the examples of excellence we
can learn in Christian history. Frontline Fellowship’s
contribution to this colossal conflict for Christian
civilisation includes: Victorious Christians – Who
Changed the World; The Greatest Century of
Reformation; The Greatest Century of Missions;
Sketches from South African History (also available
in Afrikaans); Slavery, Terrorism and Islam – The
Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat and to
get back to the Bible, Old Testament Survey and New
Testament Survey.
Learn to Discern
Visit Henry Morton Stanley School of
Christian Journalism Facebook page and www.
hmsschoolofchristianjournalism.org. website for
alternative Christian news media perspectives.
Clean the Screen
Visit www.MovieGuide.org to evaluate films. It is
important to know before you go, to learn to discern
and to clean the screen. Boycott the bad and support
the good, uplifting and excellent.
Understanding the Times
Dr. David Noebel’s Understanding the Times is the
single best textbook explaining the different competing
worldviews and the Biblical response. This has also
been summarised in a more compact book, The Battle
for Truth, by Dr. David Noebel.
For our Families, Faith and Future
Answers in Genesis, the Creation Museum and the Ark
Encounter are a vital strategic antidote to the secular
humanist evolutionary foundations of the cultural
revolution facing us today.
Effective Evangelism
Effective Evangelistic tools to seek to win our world to
Christ can be found from Living Waters, Way of the
Master Ten Commandments based resources: www.
LivingWatersAfrica.co.za. “The Law of the Lord is
perfect, converting the soul…” Psalm 19:7
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CHRISTIAN ACTION – For Reformation & Revival 2020 Edition 1
Apply Lordship of Christ to All Areas of Life
Frontline Fellowship’s Great Commission Course
and Biblical Worldview Summit are intensive
training programmes for those who want to apply
the Lordship of Christ to all areas of life and make
disciples of the nations. For practical principles for
every area of life, see the Ten Commandments – God’s
Perfect Law of Liberty (also available in Afrikaans)
and Biblical Principles for Africa (also available in
Afrikaans and French).
Resources to Equip and Empower
You can access many of the lectures and presentations
of previous Biblical Worldview Summits and
Great Commission Courses on the www.
FrontlineMissionSA.org website in our audio and
video galleries.
Always Be Ready to Give an Answer
To counter many of the attacks made on the Faith, you
will find Answering Skeptics, a useful resource with
battle-tested, factual and Scriptural responses to 14
common attacks on the Faith.
Stand Up & Step Out
Greater is He who is in us than him who is in the world.
Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from
us. We are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus
who loved us. “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by
which Christ has made us free and do not be entangled
again with a yoke of bondage.” Galatians 5:1
Dr. Peter Hammond
www.HMSSchoolofChristianJournalism.org

1984 SEEMS OMINOUSLY RELEVANT TODAY
Following the Revolutionary Herd
George Orwell’s dystopian novel, 1984, now seems
ominously prophetic. First published in 1949, Orwell’s
1984 envisaged a future with omnipresent government
surveillance and public manipulation through media
propaganda, school indoctrination, the cult of
worshipping political and media personalities, historic
revisionism, intimidation and social engineering. All
this no longer looks like a joke.
Subverting Freedom of Thought
Orwell predicted the manipulation of language into
Newspeak, with Thought Crimes punished by Thought
Police. The Ministry of Truth uses lies and propaganda
to distort all information in news, entertainment,
education and the arts. The Ministry of Plenty controls
rationing and ensures starvation. The Ministry of Peace
ensures perpetual war. The Ministry of Love tortures,
terrifies and crushes all dissent and resistance.
Mobilising Hate
The Ministry of Love
also orchestrates
two minutes
hate and hate
week campaigns
to distract and
channel the anger
and frustration of
the masses towards
a real, or imagined,
enemy.
Memory Holes
The Ministry of Truth would also vaporise, or expunge,
from the public record, opponents of the state which
could not be debated with, or argued, against. These
would become un-persons who would disappear down
the Memory Hole.
Rewriting History
Every monument needs to be replaced; every street
name changed. History itself needs to be re-written
in order to accord with the current policy of the
ruling political party (As Karl Marx declared: “The first
battlefield is the rewriting of History”).
Suppressing Freedom of Expression
Today, the sinister suppression of free speech,
manipulation of language and intimidation of
the general population is
becoming an all too real
factor in everyday life. In
the past, to suppress dissent
the accusation of “heresy!”
or “treason!” was sufficient.
Today: “Hate Speech!” is
the modern equivalent
to silencing free speech.
Merely accusing someone
of: “racism!”, “homophobia!”,
“Islamophobia!”, or “bigotry!” is
sufficient to silence opposition
and prevent free and open
discussion.
A Most Relevant Warning
At the end of the 19 th century,
General William Booth of the
Salvation Army predicted:
“The chief danger that confronts
the coming century will be
religion without the Holy Ghost,
Christianity without Christ,
forgiveness without Repentance,
Salvation without Regeneration, politics without God
and Heaven without hell.”
Wide Gates to Hell
German Reformer Dr.
Martin Luther warned,
almost five centuries
ago: “I am much afraid
that schools will prove
to be wide gates to hell,
unless they diligently
labour in explaining the
Holy Scriptures, engraving
them in the hearts of youth.
I advise no one to place his
child where the Scriptures
do not reign paramount.
Every institution in which
men are not constantly
occupied with the Word of
God must become corrupt.”
School Campus Battlegrounds
Education today most certainly is a battleground.
Freedom of speech and freedom of conscience is
under fire on school and university campuses which
are meant to be free market places of ideas where
“iron sharpens iron”.
Fight for Faith and Freedom
Dr. Martin Luther declared: “If I profess with the
loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of
the truth of God, except precisely that point which the
world and the devil are at that moment attacking, then
I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be
professing Him. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty
of the soldier is proved; and to be steady
on all the battlefront besides, is mere
flight and disgrace, if he flinches at that
point.”
“…Should you help the wicked
and love those who hate the Lord?
Therefore the wrath of the Lord is
upon you.” 2 Chronicles 19:2
Dr. Peter Hammond
www.FrontlineMissionSA.org
5

Continued from page 1 Responding to Revolution with Reformation
Catastrophic Consequences of Compromise
Compromise and cowardice have catastrophic
consequences. By failing to effectively Evangelise and
disciple the nations, many of the rock and Molotov
cocktail throwers in the streets are from Christian
homes. Many of the arsonists and anarchists laying
waste to businesses and tearing down monuments
today went through church youth groups. Apparently
without receiving the kind of teaching that could
have transformed their lives for the good. If ever one
needed proof of the desperate need for Reformation
and Revival in the Church, the Revolutions in all too
many streets provide that in vivid colour.
Living in a Time of Revolutionary War
Having being brought up in a country at war,
Rhodesia and having lived through three Revolutions,
ministered in 38 countries and been involved in
eight wars, I understand what is happening and the
role of cultural Marxism. For over 30 years, I have
been promoting Biblical Worldview Summits and
Home Education. Yet, most Christians have chosen
to ignore the clear and present danger of Marxist
Revolution, state school indoctrination, Hollywood
subversion and seduction, main stream/lame stream
disinformation and deception and the Gramsci
termite strategy to subvert and capture the culture.
Comfort the Afflicted – Afflict the Comfortable
As we have observed and warned for many years,
most Christians live in comfortable homes, travel in
comfortable cars, to comfortable shopping centres and
comfortable churches where they hear comfortable
messages. However, it is the missionaries’ task to
comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable. The
Great Commission must be our supreme ambition.
We need to make disciples of all nations and teach
obedience to all things that the Lord has commanded.
History Matters
For over 14 years, I have been dealing with these vital
issues at the Reformation Society, producing, week by
week, lectures, audios, PowerPoint presentations and
videos. Karl Marx declared that the first battlefield is
“the rewriting of History!” Yet many Christians declare
that they are not interested in history! Now, after
decades of history being rewritten and Hollywood
distorting history through their vile films, Christian
young people have joined the rioting mobs and
libraries and museums have gone up in flames.
Monuments have been toppled in the public square.
History matters. Truth matters.
Wide Gates to Hell
500 Years ago, Reformer Professor Martin Luther,
warned: “I am much afraid that schools will prove to
be wide gates to hell, unless they diligently labour in
explaining the Holy Scriptures, engraving them in the
hearts of youth. I advise no one to place his child where
the Scriptures do not reign paramount. Every institution
in which men are not constantly occupied with the Word
of God must become corrupt.”
Where the Battle Rages Loyalty is Proved
Dr. Martin Luther also declared: “If I profess with the
loudest voice and clearest exposition, every portion of
the truth of God’s Word, except precisely that point
which the world and the devil are at that moment
attacking, then I am not confessing Christ, however
boldly I may be professing Him. Where the battle
rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved and to
be steady on all the battlefront besides is mere flight
and disgrace – if he flinches at that point.”
Recognising Revolutionary Subversion
For years we have been warning that those who
persecute the Church in communist and Muslim
lands are also involved in Psychological Warfare, guilt
manipulation, Gaslighting and Stockholm Syndrome,
Cultural Marxism, Critical Race Theory and the
Gramsci Termite Strategy of the Frankfurt School to
subvert the culture with pornography, blasphemy,
obscenity and perversion. To capture the culture
through the entertainment industry, the educational
institutions, the news media, religious institutions and
political institutions.
Eroding Foundations of Christian Civilisation
Dr. James Kennedy frequently warned of this war on
the family. Dr. James Dobson wrote a book on the War
Against Children. Ken Ham has documented how the
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CHRISTIAN ACTION – For Reformation & Revival 2020 Edition 1

erosion of Biblical Inerrancy and the foundational
importance of the Bible Book of Genesis has eroded the
foundations of Christian civilisation. I have written on
How Marxists Subvert Churches and Society; Do Not
Be Deceived; How Propaganda Changes Perceptions
and People; The Battle for the Mind in the News Media.
Yet the response of all too many has been: “Don’t be so
negative,” “Don’t be so critical. Everything will turn out
alright,” “Don’t worry,” “Just preach the Gospel,” “All we
can do is pray,” “These are the last days,” “Jesus is coming
soon,” “We will be raptured before the Tribulation!”
Lockdown Lunacy and Riots in the Streets
Yet, this year we have seen 3.5 Billion people on the
planet placed under some form of government enforced
Lockdown, with hundreds of thousands of churches
closed by government order, even during Easter!
Who would have imagined this as even possible just
a year ago? Who would have imagined the streets of
major cities in the United States turned into war zones
with Billions of Dollars damage wrought by looters
and arsonists? While government and church leaders
literally bowed to the mob and ordered police to stand
by, while hundreds of shops are looted and burned!
Expose the Agenda of Revolutionaries
Curtis Bowers warned about it in his Agenda and
Agenda 2 documentaries. Dr. David Noebel, in his
Understanding the Times, warned for decades how
Marxists work. Yet most Christians have chosen
rather the Arminian, antinomian, prayer of Jabez,
materialistic, superficial, sensational, weak, willowcreek
and saddle-back, purpose driven, sinner
friendly, religious entertainment social clubs over
real Bible-based, Christ-centered, Great Commission
orientated churches.
Criminal Cowardice in Catastrophic Conflict
We are involved in a colossal spiritual world war.
The eternal destinies of millions of souls are at stake.
Christian civilisation itself, built up by the sacrifices
of many generations is being eroded, undermined,
subverted and sabotaged before our very eyes. Never
has it been more obvious that we are living in a world
in rebellion to Almighty God. Our leaders have
generally failed us. Not only the political leaders, but
in most cases, the religious leaders too.
Sounding the Trumpet
As a missionary to persecuted Christians for the last 40
years, I have been dedicated to comforting the afflicted
persecuted Christians in
communist and Muslim
lands and afflicting the
comfortable in superficial,
materialistic Western
countries. You can listen to,
or view some of my recent
presentations analysing,
exposing and countering
these cataclysmic events,
e.g. Pandemic, Panic,
Propaganda and Priorities,
(audio or video); Racism,
Riots, the Role of the
Media and Revolution,
(audio or video); Black
Lives Matter – A New
Religious Cult, (audio or
video or PowerPoint).
Expose and Oppose Revolution
To help to counter the disinformation, or censorship
by omission, in the main stream/lame stream media,
we launched Henry Morton Stanley School of
Christian Journalism website and Facebook page
two and a half years ago. You can access many of
our History articles, lectures, presentations on www.
ReformationSA.org and Bible Studies and sermons on
www.LivingstoneFellowship.co.za. This also includes
my Bible Survey series summarising every Book in the
Bible, both audio and in print.
Essential Training to Equip and Empower
One of our most strategic priorities is to ensure
that young people understand the times and know
what God’s people should do in the face of Marxist
Revolution, psychological warfare and intimidation.
The Biblical Worldview Summit each year is an
exciting crash course on world views and a Biblical
response to the issues of the day. To ensure that our
young people do not go into a hostile world without
the weapons, insights and resources needed to enable
them to fight the good fight of Faith and to give an
answer to everyone who asks them for their hope that
is within them (1 Peter 3:15).
30 Years of Biblical Worldview Summits
Since 1990, Frontline Fellowship has been organising
Biblical Worldview Summits (BWS) in Cape
Town and conducting Biblical Worldview Seminars
throughout Africa. We have also conducted Biblical
Worldview Seminars in Kenya, Sudan,
the Congo, Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe,
Namibia and throughout South Africa. The
next BWS is scheduled for 4-11 January
2021. Plan now to send your young people
to this life-transforming event. We are
called to be more than conquerors through
Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:37).
Dr. Peter Hammond
7

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Women’s Day OutreachEs in Cape Town
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MV Treasure Disaster
2020 marks the 20 th anniversary of the launch of the
largest penguin rescue operation in history. It was on 23
June 2000, that the Chinese bulk ore carrier MV Treasure
sank off the coast of South Africa, in Table Bay, between
Dassen and Robben Islands, which supports the largest
colonies of African penguins in the world. MV Treasure
spilled over 1,300 tonnes of bunker oil which oiled
thousands of penguins on and around these islands.
MV Apollo Sea Sinking
6 Years before with the oil spill from MV Treasure, we
had faced what was, up till then, the worst oil spill off
the shores of the Cape, endangering penguins, with the
sinking of the MV Apollo Sea in a storm in June 1994.
Almost 10,000 African penguins, most on Dassen Island,
were oiled from the sinking of MV Apollo Sea.
Emergency Mobilisation
Like many other Capetonians, I recruited all the friends
I could and mobilised staff from our mission office in
Rondebosch to head over to SANCCOB (Southern African
Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds), to
volunteer and help with the cleaning and feeding of oiled
penguins as best we could. Many were clearly emaciated
and dangerously underweight. The oil was life-threatening
on many levels. It polluted their food and water necessary
for nutrition and hydration. If they imbibed any oil, it
was poison to their system. The oil also undermined their
natural waterproofing and brought on the risk of being
waterlogged, resulting in hyperthermia. They had to be
cleaned. Many needed medicines and they all needed food.
Introduction to Feisty Penguins
The SANCCOB facilities in Table View were overflowing
and struggling to cope with the influx of so many
thousands of these precious sea birds, many of them who
looked in a pitiful state, covered in life-threatening oil. At
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20 Years Ago – AFRICAN PENGUIN RESCUE OPERATION
that stage, in 1994, I had never before handled penguins.
Like many others, I was quite surprised at what feisty
little creatures they are, nor had I been aware how strong
their flippers were. We soon learned to respect these little
birds, who, swimming as they do amongst seals, sharks
and whales, did not evidence any fear of people. They
had their self-respect. They complained audibly at being
manhandled and took bites at us with their sharp beaks.
Undermanned, Underfunded & Underequipped
We had little training and orientation and no protective
gear to speak of. Our first task was to clean the oiled
penguins. To achieve this, we had buckets, sunlight liquid
detergent and brushes to help us scrub off the oil. After
a while, we worked out a pattern: One of us would clean
a penguin and another would rinse them in a separate
bucket. There were nowhere near enough buckets, nor
volunteers and far less access to hosepipes, or taps.
How to Feed a Penguin
Once cleaned, our next priority was to feed these poor
little birds. It took quite some time and practise to learn
how to open their beaks with one hand, nice and wide, by
using finger and thumb just behind the jaw line and the
other hand to correctly position the fish for them to be able
to swallow. If we did it wrong, the fish could be spoiled,
as penguins are not scavengers and will not pick up torn
pieces of fish from the ground. They had to be hand-fed.
How to Give Medicine to a Penguin
After several attempts to introduce medicines down the
throats of penguins unsuccessfully, one of our people
pointed out that the best way was to simply place the
tablets in the mouth of one of the fish and then to feed
them the fish! I wished I had thought of that myself! It
certainly worked like a charm.
Beware of Slippery Sardines
At one point, having dropped a fish on the ground and
leaning forward to pick it up, I received a sharp peck on the
cheek from a feisty little penguin,
who took the advantage of me
lowering my head to within range
of his beak. Just to remind me that
he still had his self-respect and was
not taking all this manhandling
passively! Considering how close
that peck was to my eyes, I realised
that some eye protection goggles
would be a nice addition to any
future penguin rescue operation.
CHRISTIAN ACTION – For Reformation
& Revival 2020 Edition 1

A Sense of Failure
While we were very grateful to have collectively saved over
4,700 penguins who were rehabilitated, restored to good
health and released back into the wild, we lost almost as
many penguins, probably due to our very inexperience
and lack of training, inadequate facilities and very
limited resources. There was a great sense of having been
overwhelmed and I could not help the feeling that we
should have done much better.
Environmental Disaster
In June 2000, with the sinking of the MV Treasure, in Table
Bay, we had the chance to put into practise all that had been
learned back in 1994 with the MV Apollo Sea oil spill. Like
many thousands of other Capetonians, I, my daughters and
numbers of our staff, headed off to SANCCOB to volunteer
our time to rescue and rehabilitate a much larger number of
penguins, oiled and endangered in this latest sea disaster.
International Operation to Save Sea Birds
With the many lessons learned since the 1994 MV Apollo
Sea penguin rescue, the Southern African Foundation for
the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) worked
together with an international team, including the
International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), World
Wildlife Fund (WWF) and others, to rescue and rehabilitate
the endangered birds.
Worst Environmental Disaster in S A History
MV Treasure, although Panamanian registered, was owned
by a Chinese shipping company, Universal Pearls, that
apparently also owned MV Apollo Sea, which had caused
so much environmental damage in 1994. Reportedly, MV
Treasure had an 18-meter wide hole in its hull, due to “metal
fatigue”! The authorities had wanted to tow the ship into the
Cape Town harbour for repair, but many were warning well
beforehand that the ship was too large for the manoeuvre,
which proved to be so. The oil that was spilled from MV
Treasure was of the heaviest and most vicious commercial
fuels that can be obtained from petroleum. Bunker oil, also
known as fuel oil, is what remains after lighter fractions
(gasoline, kerosene and diesel) are removed by distillation.
The hideous materials in crude petroleum are not distilled,
as the boiling point is too high to be conveniently recovered.
As a result, bunker oil is very dark in colour, far denser and
a significantly more serious contaminant than other less
dense oils. MV Treasure’s bunker oil spill was described at
the time as “the worst environmental disaster in South Africa’s
history,” particularly as it seriously threatened the African
penguin breeding grounds, Robben Island and Dassen
Island. At that time, the Robben Island Nature Reserve was
home to about 14,000 African penguins and 6,000 African
penguin chicks.
Desperate Measures by Divers
Divers confirmed that the ship had suffered structural
damage and that oil was rising from cracks in the hull. The
engine room vents leaked a steady stream of oil. These were
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closed off by divers, drastically reducing the amount of oil
polluting the surface. The dive team continued to seal off
oil leakages from the wreck. Within 3 days of the sinking,
the dive team had sealed off all leaks from the ship.
Cleaning up the Beaches
The clean-up included workers loading kelp covered in oil,
into trucks and vacuuming up pools of oil with specially
designed vacuums. In addition, booms were used to keep
the oil from entering Cape Town harbour. Bio-Matrix
soaked up oil and encapsulated the oil without absorbing
water. It also was effective in breaking down and digesting
oil.
Massive Rescue Operation
Over 40,000 African penguins were endangered. Within
10 days of the MV Treasure spill, over 20,000 oiled African
penguins (mostly from Robben Island) had been admitted
into the rehabilitation centre, a massive warehouse in
Observatory, filled with portable pools. Here the volunteers
were mobilised to clean and feed the oiled birds. The huge
railway warehouse, secured to use as the Rehabilitation
Centre, covered over 5 acres of covered space and an
additional six acres outside was used for pens and pools
to house the birds once they had been cleaned, to enable
them to build up their natural waterproofing before being
released back into the wild. More than 3,000 orphaned
chicks were collected for artificial rearing. There were also a
number of cormorants, seagulls and other shore birds, who
were rescued, although far less of them were impacted. 400
tonnes of fish were fed to the birds. Some days as much as
10 tonnes. 7,000 tonnes of beach sand was brought in for
the bird pens and 7,600 litres of detergent were used.
Conscripted to Care
During the oil spill crisis, my sister-in-law, Deborah,
arrived from Salzburg, Austria. This was her first visit
to South Africa. As I collected her from the airport, I
explained: “Debbie, we have a crisis. We need to go and
rescue penguins.” There was no hesitation on her side and
soon Professor Deborah Pelzmann was dressed in yellow
oilskins, scrubbing penguins and an effective part of the
international team of volunteers in the railway warehouse
in Observatory.
13

An Austrian’s Introduction to Africa
My Sister in Law recalls: “I specifically remember how well
organised the feeding was. Each volunteer group (mostly three
people) was in a pen with two smaller pens to the left and right.
One of the smaller pens housed approximately twenty hungry
penguins. We had to pick a penguin up in the correct manner
(keeping your chin up and eyes out of the way of his beak) and
position the animal between your legs (keeping your ankles
crossed), efficiently keeping the wings pinned between your
knees so that they could not be damaged. We had to feed each
penguin six fish at each feeding. Three fish with medicine and
three without. That done, the penguin was then carefully put
in the other smaller pen so one could keep track of which had
been fed and which had not. Each volunteer had to keep calm,
collected and mostly quiet, giving the animals a sense of security
and not adding to their stress.“I also remember almost every
grocery store in Cape Town had a storage bin into which people
could donate towels to help clean the animals.“What a fabulous
experience it was, not to be missed!!!! Thank you Peter!!!!!“The
down side? I remember Peter’s car reeking of fish!!!”
Relocation Operation
An additional 19,500 penguins on Dassen Island, who
were in danger of being oiled, were captured before the oil
had reached them. These were transported up the coast
to Port Elizabeth, 800km to the East of Cape Town and
there released into the ocean to swim back to their homes.
They were therefore able to feed themselves in the wild
while swimming back to the Cape and this greatly relieved
the logistical challenges on the cleaning up teams. Three
penguins, named Peter, Percy and Pamela were fitted with
transmitters to monitor their progress.
An Army of Volunteers
The Rehabilitation operation lasted for over 3 months. It was
the largest penguin rescue in history. Over 130 international
team members supervised over 45,000 volunteers.
Outstanding Success
The success of the great penguin rescue of June-September
2000, was due to many factors. The lessons learned
since 1994, the large number of volunteers, including
international experts in sea bird rescue, improved transport
for penguins, the rapid arrival at rescue centres of those
trained and capable of administering emergency care. Of all
the penguins caught, rehabilitated and reintroduced into
the wild, the mortality rate was less than it would have been
if they had been in the wild, during normal circumstances.
Cape Town’s Finest Hour
I was never prouder of being a Capetonian than witnessing
the massive outpouring of concern and practical help of
so many in the community, to save our African penguins.
Without any government help, people from all walks of life
donated their time and resources in order to ensure that
the penguins were rescued, cleaned, fed and that, by the
time they were released back into the wild, the beaches
were cleaned and the penguins were safe. The day that the
first batch of penguins was released back into Table Bay was
one of the most joyful moments in my life! We had done it!
SANCCOB’s Premier Role
SANCCOB had proved to be the premier international
rehabilitation centre for penguins and had co-ordinated
the most successful operation of rescuing penguins from
an oil spill disaster in history. The well thought through
strategy of capturing, washing and rehabilitation of
already oiled birds and capturing non-oiled birds as a preemptive
measure and relocating them far up the coast so
that we had time to rehabilitate their breeding grounds
before they returned, was inspired, practical and it worked.
Magnificent Achievement
The achievements of SANCCOB, IFAW and WWF and
the many thousands of volunteers, not only from Cape
Town but from literally across the world, was absolutely
magnificent. The worst ecological disaster in South
Africa’s history was decisively dealt with. The African
penguins were effectively rescued and the damaged
environments were speedily cleaned up before the first
penguins who had been
transported up to Port
Elizabeth could arrive
back at their homes in
Table Bay.
Hope for the Future
We look forward to the day
when fossil fuels such as petroleum are replaced by cleaner,
safer and more environmentally friendly forms of energy and
we look forward to far stricter regulation of the seaways to
deal with those who irresponsibly and carelessly pollute it.
Congratulations!
As we mark the 20 th anniversary of this historic penguin
rescue, Congratulations! to SANCCOB and Well Done! to all
those who were involved in this massive effort and to those
who continue to rescue and care for sea birds in Southern
Africa. “A righteous man regards the life of his animal, but
the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.” Proverbs 12:10
Dr. Peter Hammond
www.TheBibleandAnimals.org
To contact SANCCOB write to: info@sanccob.co.za, or
visit www.sanccob.co.za, or Tel: 021-557-6155.
Emergency After Hours Tel: 021-786-383-731
14

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CHRISTIAN ACTION – For Reformation & Revival 2020 Edition 1