The Zimbabwe Situation

Mary Ndlovu, Pambazuka News
December 17, 2008

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/52784

Soldiers go on the rampage against civilians, nurses steal medicines to sell to patients, teachers abandon their schools, the government spends money to buy judges plasma screen televisions, while the nation starves and dies of cholera. Civil servants obtain their ‘salary’ by charging for ‘services’ provided, police arrest suspects only to get the bribe required before releasing them. Groups of unidentified men, undoubtedly state agents, kidnap and abduct people from their homes and offices. And party politicians – rejected by the electorate – masquerade as ‘ministers’ issuing threats, denials and insults even as the waves of disaster lap around their feet.

Surely this is a moral crisis above all else, a crisis of leadership, a crisis of citizenship, a failure of human beings to demonstrate the human spirit in any form. Zimbabwe has joined the league of societies whose collapse demonstrates how a venal, self-interested leadership can destroy an entire nation; political structures, economic structures, families and many individuals all crooked, twisted, debilitated and dying as expressions of any positive human endeavour. And we the people have allowed our most precious institutions to be destroyed and our nation to disintegrate.

On the one side we have a kleptocratic elite sucking the oozing lifeblood out of the economy they have wounded, clinging to the corpse like leeches, and refusing to be dislodged until no sign of life remains. On the other we have a stunned citizenry, incapable of making any strategic response, and looking for individual salvation when only a collective answer will bring the change they so desire. The contest can’t even be elevated to a struggle between good and evil – evil is everywhere, but where is the good? To be sure, any form of good is difficult to recognise in the timid opposition, which has only managed, correctly or incorrectly, to present an image of self-interested ditherers. Meanwhile, the population flounders, leaderless and adrift in a life-and-death crisis.

A few years ago, when our current crisis was just developing, commentators identified a worst-case scenario: the country’s total breakdown into anarchy or warlordism, probably to be avoided, but ultimately possible. Today, this scenario is about to become a reality and a senior United Nations official has already declared Zimbabwe a failed state. We have no functioning government, little revenue, a shadow of a civil service, play money which surfaces on the black market before it reaches the commercial banks, sewage in the streets, in houses, even in clinics, and increasing numbers of ‘disappeared’.

Responsibility lies with ZANU-PF for governing solely in their own interests, using every crude tactic to remain in power when they have been rejected by the people at the polls. But the victims of tyranny have choices in how they respond. The opposition, while gaining overwhelming support, has failed to translate this backing into effective power of any kind. Civil society is divided, careerist, and as ineffective as the opposition in producing positive results from unified action. Numerous creative and competent individuals prefer to work from outside the country, distancing themselves from the people for the sake of their families and their careers. Individual choices must be respected, but there is no doubt that collectively we have failed. A failed state, a failed opposition, a failed nation, and now possibly a failed region.

Today, Zimbabweans look at each other and shake their heads. How could we have allowed this to happen? But even more critically, what can we do about it?

At first, the opposition MDC’s efforts seemed to be well placed: take the electoral route to challenge the dictator, remain non-violent, stay on the side of morality, and stay the course. When all this proved inadequate to dislodge a tyranny, instead of taking the more difficult route of mass mobilisation, they appealed to other regional governments to resolve the problem. This turned out to be a fatal blunder, at least for the Zimbabwean masses. The response from African governments was not sympathy but prevarication, stony hearts and cowardly policies. And while the MDC leadership has spent their time in negotiations in South Africa or jetting around Africa and the Western world to press their cause, they have neglected their followers at home, leaving them to face the deepening crises of hunger and disease without any hope or any direction.

In spite of their diplomatic offensive, the MDC has failed to convince African governments of what seems patently obvious, that there is not much point of an election if the loser gets to stay in power and share it – unevenly at that – with the winner. This is clearly neither democratic nor fair. But it was the best that African governments could offer. Hence we arrived at the power-sharing talks of the past five months, which have squeezed out a GPA (global political agreement) which purports to create an ‘inclusive’ government under a new interim constitution. But this African government policy has also failed because it is clear that ZANU-PF has no intention of genuine power sharing, and the opposition refuses to be led into what they perceive as a trap.

Hence we carry on at frenetic speed towards the precipice, as the negotiators dilly dally on the sidelines, becoming increasingly irrelevant to the problems of daily life. While politicians may believe they are standing on principle, people have lost faith in almost all of them. What people want is a government that functions to bring piped clean water, food, medical care, schools with teachers, banks with money that can actually buy things, and the overall decent standard of living that these represent. They want a government that serves the people instead of exploiting, oppressing and terrorising them.

There are now only two possibilities: either we fall over the precipice and crash, or someone snatches our sinking craft just before it smashes onto the rocks below. That crash would be the last final spasm bringing death to Zimbabwe as we have known it. It would herald the disintegration of all semblance of order, the descent into a free-for-all grab for food, water, medicines, and homes – any and all resources – by those who take the law into their own hands. That would be the classic finale which has come to be synonymous with Somalia – warlords and armed might in place of government and law. And no one should carry any illusion that it could be reversed without years of Herculean effort.

The other possibility is a rescue. Who would rescue us and how could it be done? Could the power-sharing agreement still be the answer? The MDC now has little choice but to participate on whatever terms they can squeeze out and attempt to make something of it. Certainly this carries a risk of becoming irrelevant, trapped in a situation they do not control. But they appear to have no other strategy to save Zimbabwe from total destruction, so they must cooperate with the regional presidents.

However, it looks highly unlikely at this point that power-sharing can work between ZANU-PF, a pernicious monster excoriated by all Zimbabweans who are not part of it, and MDC, once hugely popular but now considerably discredited after failing to match ZANU-PF’s clever manipulations. If they do reach an agreement, however unsatisfactory for the MDC and for Zimbabweans, and form something which can be called a government, will they be able to achieve anything? Will they be able to work together in any way to stem the rising tide of cholera, restart the economy, and reform the civil service?

Hardly. ZANU-PF has made it crystal clear that they will frustrate MDC at every turn. The recent spate of abductions of opposition and civil society activists leaves no doubt about their intentions. Weeks and months will go by as the players test each other out, jockey, manoeuvre, undermine and frustrate each other, while little will be done to deal with all the problems driving Zimbabweans to the borders in search of food, medicine, jobs and survival. Little will be done to rein in those who take the law into their own hands, and anarchy is likely to prevail even in the presence of a power-sharing government.

If our politicians cannot rescue us, who can? The international community? So far, they have been unwilling. But cholera is a powerful little virus. Not only can it kill, it can wake up sleeping politicians. Cholera is threatening the region. South Africa in particular has billions of rand of investment at stake – investment in the 2010 soccer World Cup, for a start. Can they allow political niceties such as ‘sovereignty’ to hold them back when cholera, which has the audacity not to respect sovereignty of nations, storms their borders? Possibly, cholera, while taking its victims, may yet be our rescuer. The South Africans have already sent personnel and materials to assist in the fight to curb the disease, a fight spearheaded by UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO). But as long as they try to work with ZANU-PF we know that there will be interference, corruption and ultimately failure.

The signs are, however, that African governments, while gaining a greater sense of urgency, still appear to believe power-sharing can work and are calling for renewed negotiations while sending band aid assistance to deal with the cholera. If they believe in power-sharing, then they must make sure that they place enough pressure on ZANU-PF to ensure that ‘sharing’ does not become a dead word like ‘comrade’. They must impose deadlines for effective forward movement and insist that they will not tolerate continued prevarication by ZANU-PF. They must stop placing pressure on the perceived soft target, MDC, and learn to face the real obstacle, Robert Mugabe, and stare him down with strong words and credible threats. Even then, however, ZANU-PF is highly unlikely to change, and MDC would simply waste more time and eventually be forced to return to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) with a story of failure.

Is there an alternative to power sharing? There is, but it would require even more backbone from the regional governments. Many members of Zimbabwe’s civil society were calling a year ago for the formation of a transitional authority. They believed then that ZANU-PF should be out of the equation if the country was to stop its slide into chaos and begin to build again. Many of these members now feel that we have wasted more than a year holding elections which ZANU-PF never intended to allow themselves to lose, and trying to share power with an entity which can imagine nothing beyond their own greed. If the international community could now realise that we need an internationally sponsored, technocratically based transitional authority, and move quickly to install such an authority, we might yet be rescued. It will require cooperation on the part of the Zimbabwean opposition to stop playing power games and allow those who can do the job to move into place – doctors, nurses, engineers, administrators who can restore clean water supplies, tackle sewage and transport, while distributing massive amounts of food aid, treating the sick, and assisting farmers to prepare for next winter’s agricultural season. This technical approach must be spread to the entire governmental sphere and it must be coordinated by a temporary administration.

Such a transition would need at least two years to get underway, re-establish basic services, get food production going, and then deal with governance issues through providing a framework for constitutional reform, and elections at the end of the period.

We hear that today the UN is moving out of Kosovo after ten full years of developing an administration – can Zimbabwe not expect to benefit from at least a mere two years? Should we not demand that we should be treated with equal consideration?

But this solution requires a new understanding and a new approach by regional governments. It cannot be promoted by timid African government leaders who are afraid to stare down Robert Mugabe in a meeting, but simply bow to his bullying. It would need a no-nonsense, heavy hand to convince ZANU-PF that they have no option but to step aside, and if they refuse, the region would have to be prepared to force them. The chorus of voices calling for just that is growing and is now heard in throughout Africa.

So neither of these options looks promising, whether it be power-sharing by Zimbabwean political parties or the installation of an internationally supervised, technocratic administration, any solution requires much stronger commitment from regional governments to deal emphatically with Mr Mugabe, something we have yet to see.

Zimbabweans simply cannot understand the apparent perversity of the South African government. Why can they not see the obvious, even when they are themselves in danger? Are they blinded by the 1990s success of their own political history? Are they mistaking Robert Mugabe for another De Klerk? Or are they too absorbed in their own political survival to deflect their attentions to the north?

If effective power-sharing or coordinated international administration does not replace ZANU-PF within the coming weeks, the alternative could be calamitous for the region. We could see the increasing flight of Zimbabweans to neighbouring countries, bringing with them disease of various kinds, desperation, and crime, along with the country’s coming to resemble the eastern DRC or Somalia, with lawless bands of armed men preying on the population, disappearances rising from dozens to thousands, and a haven for all kinds of international criminal activity, including drug running, illegal diamond trading, human trafficking, illegal small arms trading, and even terrorist training. The choice seems now almost beyond the reach of Zimbabweans. Having preferred individual over collective responses to our tragedy, we have passed on the collective response to the region. If the region fails to take up the challenge to insist on effective administration, preferably by an internationally supervised transitional authority, they will also suffer the consequences. Within a few months Zimbabwe will have tipped over the edge, and the failure to intervene to prevent further tragedy will bring disaster on all of us.

* Mary Ndlovu is a Zimbabwean human rights activist.

West must desist from empty sabre-rattling

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=8904

December 18, 2008

By Tendai Dumbutshena

IMAGES of Zimbabweans dying of cholera in their hundreds have led to a
clamour for the removal of Robert Mugabe from power.

This unprecedented call has been made by the leaders of France, United
Kingdom, United States, Kenya and Botswana. The Archbishop of York John
Sentamu a native of Uganda, and South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu also
called for the forcible removal of Mugabe from power.

Are calls for military intervention in Zimbabwe realistic and necessary? The
answer is an emphatic 'NO'. Tough diplomacy can deliver a solution. The
reality is that the UN will not pass a resolution sanctioning military
intervention in Zimbabwe. Even if the nine votes in the Security Council
were mustered China and Russia would veto it. The AU and SADC would not
support such a move as it would set an unacceptable precedent. At any rate a
responsible exercise of power demands that military action be a last resort
after other methods have been exhausted.

This is not the case in Zimbabwe.

There is a solution that should be pursued to end the crisis in Zimbabwe.
Certain realities must be acknowledged. First, that there is no legitimate
government in Harare. Mugabe's presidency is illegitimate because he was not
freely elected by the people of Zimbabwe. Secondly, African leaders, with a
few notable exceptions, neither have the inclination nor courage to stand up
to Mugabe. The solution proposed below cannot be initiated and driven by
them.

Thirdly, there has to be acceptance of the futility of attempts to
consummate the September 15 power-sharing agreement. Nobody except Thabo
Mbeki and MDC leader Arthur Mutambara is keen on the deal. It is also a bad
agreement because it gives legitimacy to a man who used violence and terror
to coerce people to vote for him. It rewards violence and
unconstitutionality.

What is the solution?

The UN must pass a resolution calling for the creation of a transitional
authority headed by a representative of the body's secretary-general -
preferably an African. The transitional authority's main task would be to
create conditions for an internationally run election after a period not
longer than 15 months. The UN will organize and run the election like it
successfully did in Mozambique and Liberia when those two countries emerged
from civil wars. The AU and SADC should also be involved under the UN
umbrella.

In preparing for the election the authority must compile a new voters' roll
and register eligible Zimbabweans wherever they may be. The UN's
international infrastructure and Zimbabwe's diplomatic missions abroad can
be used to enfranchise millions of Zimbabweans in the Diaspora. The
objective would be to hold a free, fair and inclusive election whose
legitimacy is universally accepted. A government yielded by this process
would then receive all the support it needs to re-build the country and the
shattered lives of its peoples.

The transitional authority should also be given the wherewithal to stabilize
the economy and attend to the needs of those whose lives have been destroyed
by the recklessness and cruelty of Mugabe's regime. All state institutions
like the police and defence forces which are now appendages of Zanu-PF must
be placed under the firm control of the transitional power. Laws that
abridge the rights and liberties of Zimbabweans must be repealed to allow
for free political activity. Resources should be made available to the
authority to assist Zimbabweans, especially in neighbouring states, to
return to their country if they so wish.

Again this was successfully done in Mozambique and Angola following the
advent of peace in those two countries.

Mugabe will of course not accept this. This is why tough diplomacy and not
empty saber-rattling is required to force compliance. This would be an
opportunity for Western countries to translate words into constructive
deeds.

They have the leverage to get SADC leaders to lean on Mugabe to accept a
neutral transitional power that addresses the Zimbabwe crisis in a
fundamental manner. It should be made clear to Mugabe that he is not the
legitimate leader of Zimbabwe and that his regime will be isolated.
Botswana's
suggestion of an economic blockade is one such measure. The other would be a
travel ban in the region for Mugabe and his acolytes.

When Mbeki drummed up support for the New Economic Partnership for Africa's
Development (NEPAD), he accepted that in return for economic assistance and
cooperation from the industrialised world, Africa would commit to upholding
human rights and good governance. It would be entirely appropriate for
developed nations to remind SADC leaders in particular about these
commitments. It is also fair for countries which financially assist SADC to
insist that the body adheres to its own protocols. It is not acceptable for
them to shield a man whose behaviour flies in the face of what SADC was set
up to achieve.

This is not a demand for regime change. It is an insistence on the creation
of a free and democratic society in Zimbabwe. It is a demand for an end to
fascist repression in which innocent people are abducted, murdered,
tortured, and displaced. It is a rejection of the notion that Mugabe and
Zanu-PF have a right to rule Zimbabwe forever in whatever manner they see
fit because of their claim to be sole liberators of the country.

It is counter-productive for the Europeans to make empty threats against
Mugabe. He will only turn it to his advantage. Mugabe has never been weaker.
His government is bankrupt. The majority of Zimbabweans do not support him.
He has lost control of the economy. His party is divided and demoralized.
Diplomatically he now has few friends whose numbers are dwindling. All he
has to offer is empty bravado. He is in no position to resist tough
concerted diplomacy that demands that he yields to a UN transitional
authority to save the country and its people.

Thousands of Zimbabwean youth flee to South Africa

http://edition.cnn.com

From Robyn Curnow CNN

(CNN) -- Roughly etched onto Brian's arm is a swastika tattoo.

The 11-year-old says his 10-year-old friend Temashi spent two days
"scratching" the image onto his skin with a match stick.

It only hurt a little bit, said Brian, one of thousands of Zimbabwean
children who have fled their ravaged homeland for what they hope will be a
better life in South Africa.

For Brian and his friend, the symbol of the swastika does not represent the
horrors of Hitler and the Holocaust.

Instead, they say the ominous jagged lines on their arms mean "Germans never
surrender."

It is a twisted interpretation that, however misguided, gives strength to
Brian, marking him as a "man" and "someone who does not surrender," he said
quietly in a soft voice.

Brian and his young compatriots from Zimbabwe are on their own in a new
country. Charities such as Save the Children and UNICEF classify them as
"unaccompanied minors," but those words do not begin to describe their
situation.

They endure unimaginable hardships traveling to South Africa by themselves
or with small groups of friends. They hitch rides on trucks, trains and
taxis.

Brian and his friends told CNN that when they got to the South African
border at Beitbridge authorities let them walk through without passports or
other documents.
They then made their way to the border town of Musina, where boys beg on the
streets or work on farms, and girls seem to disappear into South African
society.

UNICEF representative Shantha Bloemen said many Zimbabwean girls either turn
to prostitution or work as domestic servants.

Nearly all of the children -- some younger than 10 -- leave Zimbabwe because
they hope their life will be better in South Africa. They said hunger,
non-functioning schools and poverty were the reasons they left.

Many are orphans, while some have parents, but they all dislike Zimbabwean
President Robert Mugabe's regime -- a government that has left them with no
choice but to abandon their homes and join the exodus south.

A quarter of Zimbabwe's population has fled the country, mostly to
neighboring South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique, humanitarian groups said.

The United Nations and Save the Children, which has an office based in
Musina, report there has been a troubling increase in the number of children
under 18 years old who are making the risky journey south from their homes
in Zimbabwe to South Africa in search of work and food.

Social workers from Save the Children and UNICEF told CNN that in June, 175
Zimbabwean children came over the border illegally and alone. In November,
1,016 kids made the same perilous journey.

The boys older than 16 hang around Musina, sleeping on the sidewalk by a
sports stadium along with older homeless men. Their days are spent waiting
in line, jostling alongside hundreds of Zimbabwean adults, trying to apply
for political asylum at a makeshift center opened by South African
authorities.

A South African official who processes asylum applications says it is common
for youngsters to lie about their age so they can get the papers to stay in
the country legally.

Many, though, cannot get the necessary papers because they do not carry
documentation or have adults who can vouch for who they are and where they
come from.

So, they wander the streets, begging for money.

The younger ones like Brian are picked up by police and housed in a safe
place until authorities and aid agencies can figure out what to do with
them.
While they wait for a future that never seems to arrive, boys like Brian and
Temashi -- a legacy of Mugabe's regime -- struggle to survive in the world
they now find themselves in.

President urges Zanu-PF to remain united

http://www.chronicle.co.zw

Published by the Government of Zimbabwe

From Hebert Zharare in Bindura

Zanu-PF First Secretary and President, Cde Mugabe, yesterday underscored the
need for the ruling party to remain united at a time when some of its senior
leaders were under attack from forces that were bent on destabilising it and
effect illegal regime change.
Speaking while opening the 75th session of the Central Committee in Bindura
yesterday, Cde Mugabe said there have been some disturbing developments in
the country where some attacks of military nature were perpetrated on senior
Zanu-PF leadership and some national institutions.
"We noticed that some attacks of a military nature are being perpetrated
against our people. At first there were some explosives at some structures
(police stations and bridges). Now there is a change . . . the change is
that the enemy forces are concentrating on personalities within Zanu-PF .
the leadership of Zanu-PF," he said.
The President was apparently referring to an attack on Commander of the Air
Force, Air Marshal Perence Shiri, who was attacked by gunmen last Saturday
and sustained injuries on his palm.
There have been a number of attacks on police stations in Harare by some
people using bombs and the current trend showed that the attackers were now
targeting senior Zanu-PF officials.
Cde Mugabe called upon party officials to "take care" and be on alert,
adding that the enemy was so cunning that it could even use some of the
people in the structures of the party to perpetrate attacks on fellow
members.
Without demanding answers, Cde Mugabe demanded to know whether all members
in the room (Central Committee Members) were "clean". "Are you sure amongst
us there are no people who are being used by the enemy? Are we all clean
here? When the organisation starts to turn against itself, it does not end
there. You might want (Cde John) Nkomo eaten, tomorrow (Dr Sydney)
Sekeramayi and so on. Iwe urikudaro uchadyiwawo," he said.
Cde Mugabe said true revolutionaries never join the enemy.
The President called upon members of the party to remain united, adding that
the divisions that rocked Harare Province were a threat to unity in the
party.
He said the people who were in positions of leadership should not bar others
from contesting positions. There was a serious fight for the position of
provincial chairman in Harare Province that finally saw Cde Hubert Nyanhongo
beating former chairman, Cde Amos Midzi.
Cde Mugabe said the fights in the province were creating a bad precedence
for the youths.
"Our youths will get this orientation of violence. Setting one group against
the other.You must not have misguided ambitions . Zvava zveboxing here? The
enemy is planning day and night ways and means of winning our people and
therefore reduce our membership . Let us have a counter to that," he said.
Cde Mugabe called upon members of the party to mobilise the people to rally
behind Zanu-PF, the only revolutionary party that he said should continue
governing the country and shame the British who wanted to effect a regime
change.
He said Zimbabwe scored a number of success stories after independence that
included the construction of industries, roads and, above all, giving land
to the people.
"We developed our own customs and culture, chiefs were elevated, we united
the people. Others might say tinoda zvechidunhu (regionalism). Tinoti nyika
yakarwirwa by all tribes. We want to keep our culture, we want to develop
it, but not to allow that to divide us. As one people, we can move forward
together faster. As one people, we stand and fight the enemy together. As
one united people, we will be strong and we will leave a legacy to our
people that this country Zimbabwe belongs to all," he said.
Cde Mugabe said some political parties might emerge in Zimbabwe's body
politic, but were bound to fail as long as they were not based on the unity
of the people of Zimbabwe and had no history of the liberation of Zimbabwe.
"That is the source of the wealth of our people. Those parties will never
last, they cannot survive," he said.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has been courting
France, Britain, America and some other countries to effect regime change in
Zimbabwe, but failed, he said.

The Dangers Of Reporting From Zimbabwe

Sky NewsDecember 19, 2008 8:10 AM

blog post photo

By Nick Ludlam, Sky News producer, inside Zimbabwe

As foreign journalists working illegally in Zimbabwe it is easy to forget how dangerous it is for everyone around you.

While we spend most of our time planning and plotting, paranoid for the safety of our fingernails, it is the people we interview and those helping us whose lives are quite literally at risk.

A remarkable number of people here are willing to take that risk so the outside world knows what's going on.

And from the moment we are in the country we are reliant on them for almost everything. Starting with a safe place to stay.

While there are still plenty of whites in Zimbabwe the devil is in the detail.

Seeing an odd looking 'Murungu', the local word for a white, walking around is enough to raise suspicions.

After all, just because you're journalists doesn't mean the security forces aren't out to get you.

The real problem for all concerned is trying to get into the more sensitive places.

A shanty town is relatively safe as long as you don't hang around. Years of brutality have made people reticent about getting into trouble.

For some just seeing our camera makes them run for cover.

Even if one of the local spies sees you it will take them a while to inform the CIO - Zimbabwe's secret police.

Hospitals are rather trickier. Getting pictures inside one took us three attempts.

The first time a local helper managed to get fifty five minutes of amazing pictures of Budiriro hospital's ceilings.

The second time we got thirty minutes of darkness.

Eventually Jim, our cameraman, had to go in himself. A tense time for those waiting back at base and rather more so for Jim and those with him.

With a regime like Mugabe's it is difficult just getting to the story.

Road blocks are a part of daily life here. For us they are a nerve-wracking experience.

Typically though, the moment you want to film one you can't find them anywhere.

We had to drive around all day and when we finally found one we had to almost beg them to stop us. Fortunately perhaps, they waived us on with a smile.

The people we meet here take these endless difficulties with good humour.

But the threat of abduction, torture and even death hangs over anyone working to make things better.

That threat waxes and wanes. Right now it's so bad people are disappearing on an almost daily basis. Many are leaving the country.

For those that won't or can't they can only hope things change before they get that knock on the door.

Memorium for dying Zimbabwe

http://laestrella.com.pa

12-19-2008 | DAVID YOUNG OUR MAN IN PANAMA
ourman@laestrella.com.pa
The beginnings of mankind, home of King Solomon's mines, once one of Africa's
brightest stars is disappearing into a maniac induced hell
Reading the ever worsening news about Zimbabwe, fills me with an ever
deepening sadness. Not just over the unprecedented death toll from cholera,
but to see a country that was once a shining example to other African
countries emerging from under the umbrellas of colonialism.
It's capital, then called Salisbury was a beautifully laid out city, with
wide tree lined streets, and multiple highly efficient government run
hospitals. I know, I was treated in one of them. when Southern Rhodesia was
part of the Central African Federation which included Northern Rhodesia
(Zambia) and Nyasaland (Malawi).
Alas, the CAA dissolved, a buccaneering WWII fighter pilot Ian Smith made a
UDI (Unilateral Declaration of Independence) from Britain, which led to the
long drawn out guerrilla warfare, with the resistance movement led by Robert
Mugabe, educated by the Jesuits, who moved from being an admired freedom
fighter, propounding racial equality and throwing off the last desperate
rearguard action of home bred colonialists, to one of the worst dictators on
the continent. From being a praised leader to a despised and reviled
egocentric destroyer of his own people.
In Malawi another dictator took over Doctot Hastings Banda, who had lived in
exile in Britain before the break up of the CAA, To the shame of his people
and his profession, he built palaces for himself, and let the country's
hospitals fall to bits.
When I was working with CPAR (Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief),
doctors returning from Malawi described hospitals without X-Ray equipment
and other basic necessities. If a machine broke down, it was never fixed or
replaced.
Only Zambia seemed to survive with a vestige of democracy, and working
institutions. It was there that I witnessed the world's last smallpox
outbreak, and saw how rapidly it was contained. I watched as thousands of
Africans from remote villages and towns arrived at bus stations in Ndola to
find vaccination teams waiting for them. And I shared the grief of a
co-worker who lost two children to one of the great killers of the past. But
the hospitals worked.
Now I watch the BBC to see families in Harare using wheelbarrows as
"ambulances" to carry the sick and dying, to hospitals where there is no
room or treatment.
This in a country high on the Central African Plateau with a wondrous
climate. A place where before the Salk vaccine, sufferers from tuberculosis
went to breath the fresh air.
It is a country believed by many anthropologists to be the birthplace of
mankind. It is named after the Zimbabwe (Great stone) ruins spread over 200
square miles and built between the 11th and 15th centuries.
It is a country with a noble past and, one prays a future where its people
can benefit from its environment.
In the meantime, the world wrings it hands, mutters platitudes, and watches
as it self destructs.
An African song called Zimbabwe, reads "Oh, happy happy, Africa, take me
back to Africa" Not to today's Zimbabwe.

ZCTF Report Xmas 2008

Comments from Correspondents

Dear Editor,

Why is the world tolerating this regime? There couldn't be more proof of
incompetency if they tried. This is like something straight out of the
X-Files or Twilight Zone. There is zero logic.

ZPF would far rather instigate instability in the region (accusing Botswana
of "preparing for war") than let go of the reins of power. They are using
this tactic to take focus off themselves. Yes - we know it's not working but
it does prove that there is no negotiating with these lunatics. They are
murderous liars - destroyers and thieves. How does one even think of forming
a GNU with them?

There have many articles re a GNU being a 'good' thing for the sake of
peace. Rubbish. It's just extending the problem - pandering to ZPF's mania,
greed and fear of The Hague. We all learned not to placate the bully in the
playground. It just increased his sense of power. These are basic rules -
learned in school. Why are mature adults falling into this dysfunctional
behaviour?

Mugabe will keep pulling his numerous rabbits out of the hat until the world
learns not to play anymore - particularly SADC. Mugabe is way too smug about
nobody doing anything - bending over backwards to placate him and
accommodate him and his ridiculously inept henchmen. Just stop playing his
game.

Thank you for your wonderful website which keeps us all going.

Frustrated.
-----------
I noted with concern again that South Africa instead of putting pressure on
Mugabe have vetoed action against him in the UN and Zuma has stated public
that he is against military intervention against Mugabe. They have simply
renewed his licenses to plunder and murder. Because Mugabe has the Army and
Police behind him, (as they know now that if they are ever removed from
power they will face war crimes), he is able to continue to oppress and
murder his people and continue to mock democracy and the majority of
Zimbabweans. Naive people say "why don't the people rise up." When they do
they are shot openly in the street or disappear in the night. Let me ask
those same people who say they should rise up, "would you have the courage
or should I say stupidity to do so"

I have a message for the people of South Africa. You have seen the heart of
your leaders. It is only a matter of time till they do the same to your
country. If you do not DEMAND better governance from your Government and
that they intervene in Zimbabwe, don't cry to the rest of the world when it
happens to you. For it surely will.

R H

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