General Chat

The situation in Zimbabwe makes me furious.

We and the Yanks thought it was ok to march into Iraq for "humanitarian" reasons and self defence. What a laugh that was.

Yet we sit by and watch what is happening in Zimbawe? Sickening.

Gwynne

nudging so that maybe people can see what is REALLY important in the world ...

nudging cos imho this is more important than petty squabbles and misunderstandings on this board

don't forget to watch the next segment on ITV news tonight

Maz. XX

Good thread Rose - very thought provoking and a fitting ending with your poem.

Thanks for that.


Jacqui

Thank you to all for replying sorry if I missed acknowledging you individually!

Sorry Ellan missed your reply, will look for the book you mention is it new?

Feel free to copy the poem if you want it or I can PM it if you 'd rather? (I have to get my son to do the 'copy and paste' bit lol useless I am!)

Rosexx

Zimbabwe's ongoing crisis dates back to 1965 when Ian Smith, the leader of Southern Rhodesia, issued a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) from Britain, imposing white-minority rule. This action prompted international sanctions and resulted in a guerrilla war which, by 1979, had claimed some 36,000 lives and displaced some 1.5 million people. Britain brokered a peace deal in 1979 involving Smith’s government, Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and Joshua Nkomo’s Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU), which culminated in the Lancaster House Agreement.

Mugabe became Zimbabwe's prime minister and Africa's most feted leader following the 1980 elections. The 1988 merger of ZANU and ZAPU, creating ZANU-PF, paved the way for constitutional change giving Mugabe executive presidential powers and turning country into a de facto one-party state. Forcible seizures of mostly white-owned land by veterans of the liberation struggle crippled the economy and led to a chronic shortage of basic commodities and services from 2000. Following a seriously flawed 2002 presidential election, Mugabe resorted to using state machinery, war veterans and youth militias to intimidate the population, suppress dissent, gag the media and violate human rights.

Zimbabweans continue to face economic turmoil and corruption, food shortages and collapse of vital services. The prevalence of HIV/AIDS among adults was estimated in 2005 to be 20.1 per cent. In February 2007, the annual inflation rate rose to almost 1600 per cent – the world’s highest – making day-to-day life for Zimbabweans increasingly difficult.


Four out of five of the country’s twelve million people live below the poverty line and a quarter have fled, mainly to neighbouring countries. A military-led campaign to slash prices has produced acute food and fuel shortages, and conducting business is becoming almost impossible.

Philip, Thank you for breaking your silence with such a thoughtfully written reply.

Rosex

After a silence of two years, I've noticed this thread and thought I should contribute.

A few thoughts: The present situation has been predictable in some ways, the Smith regime talked about progressive development of voting and other rights for Africans, but was too slow to achieve anything or meet rising expectations, so the popular uprising that occurred in the 70s was inevitable.

Mugabe came to power through the first, and arguably only, free and fair election, on a Marxist ticket representing the majority tribe (Matabele or Shona, I can never get them the right way round?). It's interesting to see the plotting by the British Government at that time to try and prevent him winning the election, with potential action by the (white) Rhodesian army supported by GB to overthrow him if he won.

The old adage "power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely" is a truism. Compare the experience of so many other countries. The regime that comes to mind when I think of the present Mugabe clique is Ceausescu in Rumania, and look what eventually happened to him!

Mugabe is able to keep hold on power by a combination of playing the anti-imperialist card (nobody wants a return to a colonial regime), plus tribal hostility (compare the Balkans!), plus exploiting the inequities in land and property/ asset ownership between local blacks and local/ overseas white and corporations. Easy peasy when you've got such a devilish brew, and are prepared to use whatever violence and thuggery to crush any opposition.

Apart from the predictable timidity of western governments to intervene for a variety of reasons, some defendable, some not, the other worrying factor is the unwillingness of other African countries to help bring about change. It's not just a question of snouts in the trough, I'm afraid, however much we might like to think so. South Africa in particular should be called to account for its pussy-footing response to this tragedy on its northern border. It's significant here that the present migration south of Zimbabweans includes a high proportion of professional and other experienced and qualified people, who are desperately needed in South Africa as much as Zimbabwe.

Solutions? Don't honestly know, but this regime can't survive for ever. Probably our best concentration can be on what will replace it, whether an army coup (mooted in some parts of the press) or some other undemocratic gang. Viz Iraq, we'd do well to stop spouting on about democracy until we properly understand that Hollywood pop is no substitute for the hard slog to create robust democratic institutions, and that takes time and money.

Finally (and being really personal for a moment), I totally agree with you all about the dumbing down of our own media. I'm fed up with both the BBC and ITV news reporting much of the time, and find a better standard of world news reporting from CNN, Euronews and Aljazeera. (Yes really, Aljazeera is a BBC-created set up that does concentrate on objective and fair news reporting from all over the globe, try it and see what I mean.)

God bless Zimbabwe and all its long suffering people!

Philip

This Government in the UK is hypocritical. Its predecessors fell over themselves in the 60s and 70s in the rush to place sanctions on the white governments of Zimbabwe, (then known as Rhodesia), and South Africa because of the discrimination against coloured citizens. Now our lily livered cowardly Government are too scared of the PC brigade to do the same to a black government, whose whose racist, YES RACIST, policies caused this crisis.
At a time when the Zimbabwe people are starving, the Zimbabwe cricket team are actually playing in the UK - a far cry from the years in the wilderness suffered by the Rhodesia and South Africa sports teams. But then this Government does not believe that black on white is racist, does it?

I like the poem Rose, really good, sorry to say tho no I am not a christian - well not a practicing one anyway........lol

I wrote this last night after the replies on this thread, I looked on the site Maz gives please look at it also!

"When you see hunger,turn your head'
lest guilt you feel at being well fed.
The poor should not disturb your sleep,
Whilst in the bank your cash you keep.

The child who sleeps on pavements rough
just isn't 'trying hard enough'.
Though guns ring out and people die
thats not to do with you or I.

For we have food and wealth and peace,
Why should we care if pain won't cease
for others in those 'foreign' lands?
When we have plenty in our hands.

Dont think about what might await
the selfish when at Heaven's gate
We're asked "have you done what you can
To see the Christ in every man?"
Tis in the gift of you and I
to succour him or crucify."

If you aren't a Christian just ignore the last bit lol.....it isn't the most important bit as such, but it just came when I was writing!

Rosex

nudge cos it's important

Twig, please don't apologise for your anger at the press, you are quite right, it's maddening to see the trivial stuff plastered across the pages when this sort of situation should be on every front page.

please look at ... http://www.zimvigil.co.uk/index.asp ... next time I get a child-free Saturday I would very much like to go and show my support at the vigil. If anyone else is interested, please pm me.

Maz. XX

Rose please dont that is not the objective....... lets just try and help those people that want the choice ...... after all arent we one of the super powers............. tongue in cheek......

Twiglet, I am sitting here feeling ashamed
that today I have been irritated by GR showing error messages, that i am still waiting for a plumber, lots of immenseley trivial things..........yet my son has a full stomach, a warm bed, books to read...I have the same ,yet in so many parts of the world what I have (and I am by the standards of the uk 'poor') is just an impossible dream.

Rosex

are our papers reporting that, or are that looking at posh is going to wear next ....... coz we are so all waiting to see with baited breath............... again I apologise

Kim I add my apologies here, I hopefully can see other points of view ........ but this country and government hack me off big time...... so Harry got pissed, and Wills was with him......... so effing what ..... there are children crying for food out there that we disgard to the bin......... I'm on my soap box arent I .......... sorry

Thank you Maz, nearly missed you! lol just sloping off to bed........I saw the Arch Bishop of York speaking, I do hope that something can be done to help alleviate the suffering, will see what Gordon does
and what if anything, the neighbouring countries do to put some pressure on Mugabe. I thought South africa was supposed to be doing that?

Rosex

have a look at this site please.

http://www.zimvigil.co.uk/index.asp

I haven't read it all yet, but there are online petitions and a section on what can be done to help.

Maz. XX

Kim, you are most certainly entitled to add what you think, my threads at least are, i hope, somewhere where freedom of speech is upheld!

i would just like to hope that all those who are suffering in Zimbabwe tonight; the hungry, the poor. the orphaned ,the old and dispossessed have a better future than now seems likely.

Goodnight all,

Rose x