The ZIMBABWE Situation | Our
thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe - may peace, truth and justice prevail. |
Greetings!
The Zimbabwean is a compact, weekly newspaper published every Friday in London and Johannesburg, launched on February 11th, 2005. 15 000 copies a week are flown into Zimbabwe and sold at well below cost. They sell out within hours and there is a thriving second-hand market - not surprising given the desperation for accurate information in the face of a virtual government black-out on real news.
Despite much sabre-rattling from the authorities in Harare, no one has been persecuted for buying or reading the newspaper, neither has it been banned, confiscated or burned. We are committed to continuing to make as many copies of the paper available in Zimbabwe as we possibly can, despite the losses we incur on this part of the operation.
We are more and more convinced of the importance of what we are doing in giving voice to alternative news, views and opinions from Zimbabweans, and promoting debate and discussion on the way forward for our country. In the struggle to escape from an intolerant autocracy into a tolerant, diverse and democratic future, The Zimbabwean is a small part of the solution.
We are up and running, and here to stay. Now we must take the paper forward to the next stage, by expanding our distribution to reach more people in the diaspora.
Can you help us? Our sales in the diaspora are vital. For every subscription taken out abroad, we can get 100 more newspapers into Zimbabwe. Please subscribe (online at www.thezimbabwean.co.uk) and encourage others to do so. Persuade your company, local library, college or other institution to subscribe. Take part in our Send-a-sub-Scheme whereby you take out an extra subscription to enable a library or college in Zimbabwe to receive the paper. Full details of how you can do this are on our website, or forms are available on request.
In South Africa, the paper is now available via Exclusive Books, CNA and RNA in the main centers. We also offer subscriptions from Joburg via Crisis Coalition. Please also encourage those you know in SA to agitate for copies and to buy the paper wherever they see it. Please buy the paper yourself and badger your local news agent to stock it and display it prominently.
Information is power, which is why the present regime is so hell-bent on preventing accurate information getting to the people. Please help us to make a difference.
Sincerely,
Wilf & Trish Mbanga
The Zimbabwean Limited
Tel/Fax: 02380 879675
mobile Wilf: 07963963547
General: 07714736382
P O Box 248, Hythe, SO45 4WX
www.thezimbabwean.co.uk