Sokwanele

Get it all on record now - get the films - get the witnesses - because somewhere down the road some b*stard will get up and say that this never happened’(like they do already)
This rogue regime must/will pay for there sins! If they don’t here on earth, they certainly will on Judgement day.

I bow to your wisdom…If I alienate people I will try in future not to…as the point is to create a solution not more problems.

However. The issue here is choice…some read what I type and seek the offence in it…others see a non-existent challenge and try to play match wits…others see a concerned citizen.

r.evolution@hotmail.co.uk

Nana

@ Nana

Your summary is correct… To make the issue MDC versus ZANU PF is incorrect…and dangerous, if you are seeking peaceful change why set the story as a polemic one half of Zimbabwe against another… when the fact is many long time ZPF people risked so much on 29 March voting for change via MDC? As previously stated people have to be honest…Theres no such thing as a non-violent power struggle…theres only a power struggle using different tactics.

Was the image of the torture of this woman used to galvanise a anti Zanu PF responses. If so thats a cynical ploy.

The relatives of Gibson Nyandoro are also hostages even though they must be ZANU PF members. The troublemakers kill Zanu people wishing for change …Much of the present trouble is in former zpf strongholds so why make the issue seem as if only MDC members are the sole victims when ordinary ZPF people are equally trapped.

From an activist’s position, being able to publish the stories and names would undoubtably do more to galvanise opinion and establish a sense of a bond between the people who are being tortured and those who are hearing the news. We know for example that the counts of those affected by the violence is now in excess of 1,500. The figure is appalling, but the reality behind it doesn’t move people in the way the handful of images do.

Our policy on this site is to err on the side of caution and to prioritise the safety of the injured person. Some of the victims come forward for help and images come to us for information. We only publish what we are confident the victim knows will be used in the media.

This is why, for example, someone like Memory would probably be distressed to know she had taken this risk to tell a terrible story, but her images were considered too ‘grotesque’ for publication by the mainstream media.

The fragmented images are very impersonal, I agree with you, but they reflect the level of fear in the country. Reprisal attacks are very real and there is a lack of confidence in our police force’s ability to protect the people even if they wanted to protect the people.

So victims will consent to being photographed, provided their attackers cannot identify them. Hence the type of images you see.

Memory really is an extraordinarily courageous person for allowing her face to be shown.

I can assure you that civic society is recording the full details and testimony for all cases brought to their attention. In many instances the victims are able to identify their attackers by name and that is recorded too. Everyone involved in this struggle is determined to do as much as they can to ensure that victims will have the right, in a time when justice is returned to Zimbabwe, to hold their perpetrators to account.

Nana

To argue a case is to read whats said not merely twisting a point raised so it suits the point you want to make…I stated NOT ALL Zanu PF members agree with the violence or are guilty…To claim a minority represents ALL of a group is simplistic. The clique including the JOC etc ruining Zimbabwe can spread fear among ordinary ZPF members just as much as anyone else.

In ZWNEWS there is a story it states ….’Gibson Nyandoro raised his arm and slowly unclenched his fist to make the open-palmed salute …it was a moment so loaded with symbolism that it stilled the crowd. Only days before the presidential election, the gesture by this 53-year-old war veteran and former government supporter reflected a growing hope that a change of regime was really coming. This weekend Nyandoro’s body lies rotting somewhere near the army barracks where he was taken and tortured to death.’

I guess as a former ZPF his death was as you say ‘accurate and reasonable’ A less worthy life than Memory…pity had he not bothered to put Zimbabwe first in those last few days before the election that former long time ZPF man would still be alive. But according to your logic civic society shouldnt count ZPF members as victims just troublemakers.

I also asked God to bless the plans of the MDC as they work towards their fulfilled goal. I am sure that He already sees the fruition of these plans. The second round will give a decisive victory to the Movement. It is the cleanest way to obtain this result and to prevent a weak compromise government. When you have a true support in the country of say 75%, it is impossible to muster any meaningful degree of intimidation and violence that would reverse that lead which would be plausible or credible.

When an authoritarian ruler like Mugabe goes down he doesn’t get up again. He may try, but he can’t restore the vital climate of fear that has been broken. His allies in government are so fractured, and in such disarray, that they no longer regard Mugabe as a strongman, but rather as a millstone round their neck. What has happened is an extraordinary flip from a position where Mugabe could rely on complete compliance for his worst excesses, to one where he has lost the confidence of most of his key leaders who are increasingly embarrassed, exasperated and impatient. There will be many desertions from Zanu-PF in time. When the dispute is clearly no longer seen between Mugabe and the colonial power, but between Mugabe and the world, his powers of invention will have ceased. Mugabe lives in fear. A fear of the people.

Thank you for asking people to talk about this and also for pointing out that silence usually accompanies the publication of such horrible images. Why do we keep silent? Because it is too unbearable to think about. All the same, this kind of image and its reality are a part of the Zimbabwean psyche - talk about them or not, they are there in the back of our minds.

Yes, I stay away from the page for days when I see things like this. At the same time I think it is necessary to keep this archive going. But there are things I would like to say about it.

What I HATE about looking at these images is that more often than not they are just of parts of the body. No face is shown and normally no name is given. To compare, watch the Solidarity Trust video and listen to the one man naming his friends who were attacked. The man may cry but his dignity is intact and the act of telling,naming his friends, makes him no longer appear as a mute and helpless object of violence but a living subject. When I saw this video I cried but I felt different, less helpless & impotent, than when I see a lot of the images posted. Likewise it’s so important here that Memory’s name & face are shown. I wish her story was told in 1st person. I understand this entails risk and God, I would never ask anyone to show more than they can or want - but this showing of mute, faceless, fragmented bodies, with no context around them, no space, just huge wounds on a part of the body, the whole is not seen… no voice, no story on Flickr.
I repeat that I understand the need for this archive and deeply respect Sokwanele’s intentions and the bravery of those who allow themselves to be photographed. But I also feel we are all in the middle of a situation where it’s hard to step back and think, is there no way to do this any differently? Please try to publish people’s names where possible and their stories. Perhaps, where no name can be published, even an acknowledgement of that fact? (Could Sokwanele answer me maybe? Thank you)

mugabe as head of the party regularly threatens the oppositon with violence at public rallies. this means he can be reasonably accused of inciting it. the fact that senior zpf mps do the same, is further incitement. the fact that the armed services and army commanders back up zpf in public statements means we can conclude that there is military support for zpf tactics. the fact that cases of violence rarely make it to court and when they do seldom result in prosecution means we can reasonably claim the state has undermined the judiciary and endorses these actions. this all points to state involvement and coordination at the highest levels.

therefore, the statement that zpf is responsible for the violence is highly accurate and very reasonable.

it is true that at some point all enemies have to talk. but most talks take place after there is a ‘ceasefire’. a person cannot reasonably be expected to ‘dialogue’ when their family is living in a state of terror.

to head towards dialogue and peaceful change and to save lives as well, it is morally right for civic groups to work to expose the violence and condemn it in the strongest terms and put pressure on zpf to comply. that includes identifying acountability where it is due.

—Nana

I think you misunderstand @economic exile . ‘got his number’ is an expression that means ‘I see exactly what’s going on’.

—Sokwanele

may I also advise people who want this kind of debate that they can test the waters in the NewZimbabwe forums which might be more appropriate. Sokwanele, I don’t think you will object to publishing this link (http://newzim.proboards86.com/) ?

You are too kind… as far as the issue…yes let us go back to the topic…

As for the email. …its

r.evolution@hotmail.co.uk

@ Hope

To be honest its like any conflict, eventually all parties negotiate for peace. Being that you are partisan.

Zanu PF has approx 500,000 - 3 million people
affiliated to that party in and outside Zimbabwe, the violence being done against ‘innocent civillians’ is also against former Zanu supporters in areas presumed loyal to Zanu that switched on March 29… Thus far around 50-100,000 are the hardliners responsible for most of the problems…To claim that Zanu PF in full is responsibe is to call ALL of those people guilty even the people like Margaret Dongo, the members of the genuine War Veterans Association and many others who were fighting the tyranny before the present day 10 year old ‘pro-democracy movement’ in Zimbabwe even existed.

I am deeply concerned about the violence and its impact on ordinary civilians in the context where the economy has collapsed. I am grateful to the men and women of Sokwanele and their contributors like Memory who are willing to keep us informed even at great personal risk.

Constructive dialogue - is what I was hoping to have a discussion about. I made an assumption from Anons previous comments read together. I am not ignorant about the reasons he/she may have made such comments. But from those comments, I extracted something I thought we could work with, to ensure that what happened to memory and others like her does not happen again to anyone else for that matter.

It was relevant to me that Anon seemed to express concern. As you will see from my comment this is something that I questioned and hoped to receive confirmation from Anon. If this was the case, then mutual concern is a potential starting point for constructive dialogue. To me concern differs from blatant denial - where you can not even agree on what is going on. In this case from Anons statements there is no denial of the violence.

So I thought what can you do with this acceptance of violence. This brought to my mind the many examples of transitions of power - and these happened at the negotiating table. It happened because inspite of differences people were prepared to sit down and negotiate. This took place in RSA- for instance.

As I have always understood Sokwanele is a non violent movement. Providing space to contributors to explore and test non violent means to resolving this conflict. Most non violent strategies begin with constructive dialogue of one form or another. This is where I hoped the flow of discussion would move to.

Nana

ps for the record I do not know Anons telephone number, but I certainly assumed from Anons earlier comments that he or she supports Zanu.

In over 400 reported cases only one was a violent attack on a civilian by an identified MDC supporter. We are working towards presenting this information and we will identify all cases - be they MDC or Zanu PF - of violence against innocent civilians.

400 cases is the very tip of the iceberg. I assure you, there WILL be justice in Zimbabwe one day.

Sokwanele did not use the words “mindless, evil, blood thirsty ‘barbarians’”, but if that’s what the image conveys to you and others then so be it.

Our job is not to manage Zanu PF’s Public Relations image, it is to try and show the world the reality of what is happening in Zimbabwe.

People like Memory put themselves at great risk in support of that objective.

Hope