Satellite images reveal the horrible truth of Mugabe’s murambatsvina
Thank you Pablo for drawing our attention to large versions of these pics. Kottke.org has a post on how the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is using satellite imagery to detect and prove human rights absuses.
These two images show Porta Farm before and after murambatsvina, and clearly reveal that a massive number of people in a single area lost their community, their homes and their livelihoods with devastating effect. Nature is fast reclaiming the desolate area in the ten months since murambatsvina.
Where are these people? What’s happened to them since?
Porta Farm, June 2002 - population 6-10,000
Porta Farm, April 2006 - population 0
Amnesty International, who released the images today, had this to say:
“These satellite images are irrefutable evidence — if further evidence is even needed — that the Zimbabwean government has obliterated entire communities — completely erased them from the map, as if they never existed,” said Kolawole Olaniyan, Director of Amnesty International’s Africa programme.
[...]
“The images and footage are a graphic indictment of the Zimbabwean government’s policies. They show the horrifying transition of an area from a vibrant community to rubble and shrubs — in the space of just ten months,” said Kolawole Olaniyan.
Larger versions of the pictures are available here: before and after
September 19th, 2006 00:30
its unfortunate those ple were removed but they know where to build an not to next time what sort of planning is that they should go home an work the land no to kill it like what they were doing . Tsvina bodo
August 31st, 2006 09:31
[...] This is Zimbabwe - it is a blog about a civic movement to reach democracy in Zimbabve. “Sokwanele - Zvakwana is a peoples’ movement, embracing supporters of all pro-democratic political parties, civic organizations and institutions in Zimbabwe. Sokwanele and Zvakwana both mean ‘enough is enough’ in the vernacular.” In one post they describe how sattelite pictures renders Mugabes way to remove peoples homes. [...]