The Paradise Lost podcast has picked up on one of our earlier posts (the three little pigs) in their recent show. We haven’t been able to listen to it properly on our unreliable dial-up lines - very frustrating! - but those with better connections can listen to it here
A few days before Christmas the front cover of one of our weekly newspapers carried the headline ‘Zim’s Bleakest Christmas Ever’. So true! This is one Christmas I hadn’t looked forward to at all; a festival that is supposed to be associated with joy and hope felt totally devoid of both. So I was very surprised when yesterday turned out to be one of the best Christmases I’ve had in a long time.
The few members of our family left in this country decided to make a special effort to get together this Christmas. But as plans evolved we found that we all knew other people who needed somewhere to go this Christmas - people who were probably dreading the day more than I was! So our small family group soon grew to include strangers whose last remaining relatives had left the country, or those who couldn’t join their other family members around the country because of fuel shortages.
We were a bizarre bunch of people, brought together only by circumstance, by inflation, and because of one man’s despotic rule. We pooled resources and shared food. Presents were irrelevant. I was struck by the oddness of it all several times through the course of the day - every time a complete stranger walked into my kitchen and offered to help with the dishes, or enquired where the fridge or toilet was.
The truth is, we all had a good time.
Inflation dominated the conversation yesterday, not politics. Normally people steer away from talk of politics when they’re in the company of strangers because no one knows whom they can trust in this country anymore. But talking about the economy is a real leveller in our society. Let’s face it, when a person vents about the power cuts, shortages of medicines, or lack of fuel, we all know that their anger traces back to one man and his government. It isn’t necessary to state which party is responsible and nor do we need to name names or point fingers.
But with a chorus of agreements and annoyance from a wide range of people responding to shared stories of corruption and incompetence, it felt as if we were all singing from the same political hymn sheet. Inflation has given us a vehicle to indirectly ‘talk politics’ freely, without fear.
It was very cathartic. Someone would start telling a story about their most recent story of government theft or corruption only to have someone else interject, ‘That’s nothing, let me tell you what happened to me…’ Talk naturally drifted to ways to deal with the corruption, or twist it back onto the corrupt and, as you can imagine, that’s when the evening started to get very funny.
There’s nothing more amusing or more enjoyable these days than hearing how some small-time opportunistic corrupt creep got his or her comeuppance. It seemed to me that every hilarious story we’d individually heard had been carefully stored away and privately enjoyed, waiting for the first chance it could be shared with others. We all laughed and laughed at the fools who think they have our lives in their hands. This wasn’t about fearing those more powerful than us; it was about mocking the corrupt, and ridiculing them for their short-sighted, short-term stupidity.
I have a renewed admiration for the strength of character of all Zimbabweans. I know that we all have our dark moments when we’re left alone with our private thoughts and fears, but no one yesterday seemed to be feeling sorry for themselves and there was no sign of bitterness or depression. We were simply a resolute group of people determined to make the very best of a very bad deal. I, for one, needed to be reminded of that extraordinary ability of Zimbabweans to ride out a storm and to endure hardship with humour – dark, dry humour, but hilarious and witty nevertheless.
It was clear to me that our spirit is far from destroyed by the machine-like unfeeling cruelty that mugabe and his henchmen use to try and control our minds and crush our hearts. Christmas is as good a day as any to go to bed thinking, ‘I think we’re going to be OK; I think we are a nation of people that can survive this evil’.
[This article was emailed to our subscriber list today. Visit this link on the Sokwanele website to subscribe to our email mailing list.]
The year 2005 has certainly been one of the toughest yet in Zimbabwe. As we take stock at year’s end we must be ruthlessly honest about our situation. For some the festive season provides an opportunity to escape from the harsh realities and even to indulge in a little fantasy. We take it rather as a time for reflection and clear-sighted realism about how far the nation has progressed on the path towards freedom and democracy, and how much farther we still have to go. On this basis we have to acknowledge the following:
1. For the vast majority of Zimbabweans the struggle to survive has never been more problematic. Leaving aside the tiny ruling elite who continue to wallow in obscene wealth (stolen from the nation) for most of us each of the last five years of the deepening crisis has presented ever greater difficulties. 2005 was no exception. Spiralling inflation, increasing homelessness and unemployment and the near collapse of the health care and educational sectors have added to the miseries. Millions now live on the verge of starvation. Countless Zimbabweans have already succumbed to the deadly combination of the AIDS pandemic and severe food deprivation. What family, apart from those enjoying the dictator’s patronage, is not now struggling to survive?
2. The year 2005 also brought a number of setbacks for the progressive, pro-democracy forces in Zimbabwe. Nor are we referring to the outcome of either the parliamentary elections in March or the senate elections in November, for in both cases the further reduction in MDC representation was entirely predicable, given the fatally flawed electoral process and ZANU PF’s expertise in gerrymandering. We refer rather to the outbreak of civil war within the ranks of the MDC, ostensibly over the contested decision whether to participate in the recent senate elections. Tragically the party which at one time mustered the most serious threat in 25 years to ZANU PF tyranny is no more. Two warring factions and a small number of isolated individuals who still stand for principle, remain of a party which once represented the hopes of so many. A party and a cause also for which countless brave men and women have sacrificed so much, including the hundreds who have laid down their lives and many more who suffered torture and abuse. This is a tragedy of immense proportions. Indeed in the light of the huge damage inflicted on the cause of freedom and democracy we find the cavalier attitude of Morgan Tsvangirai truly astounding. In comparison to the fracturing of the anti-ZANU PF opposition the retrogressive amendments to the constitution and further shrinking of the little remaining democratic space pale into insignificance.
3. Directly linked to these negative factors we have seen hope dip to an all-time low. While the haemorrhage of many of the nation’s most able and experienced citizens into the vast Zimbabwean diaspora continues, for those remaining it becomes increasingly difficult not to give way to despair. Feeling defeated and deflated, what cause do we have to celebrate this Christmas? Moreover even were we in the mood for celebrating, which we are not, we would have precious little to celebrate with.
Such is the reality of present-day life in Zimbabwe. It is as if the country was suffering a prolonged eclipse of the sun, leaving it in shadow for so long that many Zimbabweans have come to believe that the present suffering and misery is their inescapable lot - for ever. In fact of course the suffering is neither natural nor inevitable. It is rather the direct result of years of ZANU PF mis-rule. To continue the metaphor of the eclipse, it is as if, in an act of breath-taking arrogance, Robert Mugabe and his conniving, exploitative and manipulative cohorts have deliberately placed themselves between the sun and the earth - between the source of life, health and prosperity and the people for whom that rich abundance was intended.
At such a time as this it is very easy to give way to despair. Many will plan their escape from the hell hole which Mugabe has created, to what they imagine is the safe haven of life in South Africa, Europe or America. Others will try to bury their heads in the sand, and some few, incredibly, still try to strike a deal with the dictator - like the commercial farmers and the few business tycoons who foolishly thought that they could preserve their privileged way of life so long as they paid their “dues” to the ruling party. It’s called riding on the back of the tiger and it never was recommended as a health sport - never mind the moral implications of compromising with a thoroughly corrupt (and corrupting) regime.
Yet every such act of despair, escapism or compromise only strengthens the hand of the dictator and prolongs the agony of those whom he holds hostage.
What this dark hour in the nation’s history calls for rather is an heroic spirit of defiance. Rather than surrendering to Mugabe’s brutal tyranny (or accepting the solar eclipse as a permanent fact) let Zimbabweans make a defiant stand for the truth, for freedom, justice and peace. Let each one of us make our personal act of protest and defiance - and let us take up our position, shoulder to shoulder, in the struggle.
Nelson Mandela reminds us that “there is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.”
That is a salutary warning, but also a challenge to those who have glimpsed the mountaintop and are simply not prepared to curl up and die in the “valley of the shadow of death”.
Given there is no quick fix and therefore it will be a long haul to freedom, and given also that the once-powerful MDC is in disarray, we have to look to civic society to unite as never before and to show us the way forwards. Up to this point, despite the heroic acts of some, civic society has not demonstrated its true potential in mobilizing the nation for change. This is because we have allowed ourselves to be fragmented. The hand of the CIO can be seen everywhere, distracting and diverting so many otherwise promising movements, and the ambitions and private agendas of otherwise talented and able leaders have aided the process. But if any group is to raise the standard of integrity and principle and hold the politicians to account it must surely be civic society - the churches, human rights campaigners, trade unions, women’s groups, students and others, co-ordinated and organised so as to present a united front for freedom and democracy. A united front, we would say, clearly and unambiguously committed to achieving radical change by non-violent means.
This is our vision and within these broad parameters we, Sokwanele, see our own role as follows:
1. In continuing to expose abuses of power and privilege, injustice and oppression, wherever we find them. Along with those brave journalists and human rights activists who report fairly and objectively (and at great risk to themselves), we see it as our primary role to hold up a mirror to the nation of Zimbabwe so that we, and the world, may see what we have allowed ourselves to become under the corrupting and destructive hand of ZANU PF.
2. In positively and pro-actively promoting an open and public discourse about the range of non-violent means to be employed to rid ourselves of the present suffocating dictatorship and to manage the transition to a democratic state under fully accountable leadership.
3. In facilitating the change through the use of bold and imaginative symbolic acts which demonstrate the spirit of defiance to unjust rule and encourage others to put aside their fears and commit to the struggle.
4. In supporting and encouraging those individuals and groups who will make common cause with us in the (non-violent) struggle to win our freedom.
Others who share the vision of a free and democratic Zimbabwe and share also our passion to hasten the dawn of that new day, will no doubt have different roles to play towards that end. We welcome the part each has to play in the struggle. We affirm each individual and group walking alongside us on “the long walk to freedom”. We celebrate the diversity of gifts to be found among our brothers and sisters equally engaged in the struggle.
Sokwanele is not a religious group. Within our ranks there are men and women of different faiths and some who claim no particular faith allegiance. Yet we are mindful that something in excess of 70 per cent of the population of our country claim to be Christian and regular church attendance is very high. Furthermore we are about to mark one of the great Christian festivals. Accordingly we consider it appropriate at this time to quote the words of Mary, the mother of Jesus, as she exalted in the news of God’s saving act about to be enacted on the stage of humanity. Her song, often called the Magnificat, reads in part:
“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour …
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty ..”
There is a sharp warning to tyrants! Let Mugabe and his accomplices take note. And let the humble poor of Zimbabwe, including the hundreds of thousands of victims of Operation Murambatsvina, rejoice.
Let all those who, in Jesus words, “hunger and thirst to see right prevail” take heart! The eclipse will not last for ever. Already the Light is breaking through!
The print edition of the South African Mail and Guardian has called attention to an online petition against Robert Mugabe and has asked all its readers to sign it. It looks like signatures have been slow to start so please help to circulate this information widely, and sign it, of course!
The online petition can be found here at The Petition Site. The full url is: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/290921785.
The purpose of the petition is
To compel the United Nations Security Council to pass resolutions imposing economic sanctions on Zimbabwe and establisbing an International Tribunal for Crimes Against Humanity in Zimbabwe. Perpetrators of these crimes should be apprehended and then prosecuted.
The petition will be handed to Koffi Annan, the United Nations’ Secretary General.
Not long ago we posted up an article about the greedy zanu-pf delegates feasting at their recent confernce which was held in one of the poorest areas in Zimbabwe. It was a shocking display of insensitivity.
Well, nature had the last laugh - this from the The Standard (you may want to sit down, it’s quite funny!)
While for some, it was just a matter of adding spices to make the food more appetising and testier, several got more than they bargained for when they increasingly found concentration on the proceedings at hand difficult as the urge for frequenting the toilets became overwhelming.
[...]
Bicarbonate of soda, well known for its alkaline properties, is popular with shebeen queens as a tenderiser to speed up the cooking of cow hooves (mazondo), which would ordinarily take hours to cook. But applied in excess to any meal, it can cause havoc to tummies, as some of the delegates discovered to their embarrassment.
A total of 221 people, mostly suffering from stomach ailments, visited the refurbished Mzingwane High School Clinic between the 8 and 11 December. Insiders say some may have been sickened by the abundance of meat at the conference - 50 beasts, 48 goats, 17 impala, six pigs, four sheep, five red bucks, five buffaloes, 11 kudu and French salads and other foodstuffs. They took more than they could stomach, evidently resulting in the constant stream of visitors to the makeshift toilets provided at the venue.
Natural justice!
I had to buy a new ink cartridge last week for my printer. Price: Z$3,900,000. I phoned around and that’s the going price so I didn’t feel as if I was being ripped off.
The cartridge holds 19ml of ink.
That’s Z$205,263.16 dollars per millilitre.
The average monthly wage in Zimbabwe is about Z$3 million. Domestic workers get Z$850,000 and farm labourers get even less.
The preliminary results of the 2005 Weblog Awards are out. ‘This is Zimbabwe‘ is currently in third place, with 11.46% of the total vote. We’re 218 votes ahead of our nearest competitor.
The votes will be confirmed after they have been verified by the organiser. Votes that appear to be the result of irregular voting - cheating- will be deducated from the total votes. We’ve already had a bad experience with that, thinking we were doing better than we actually were, so we’re not celebrating coming third place until Monday 19 December when the final results will be announced. We’ll give you a final update then.
Thank you very much to all who have supported us!
I read an article on Zim Online (SA) recently titled ‘Dying in Zimbabwe now a luxury only afforded by the rich’. In the article they state the following:
Harare, with about two million people, has three main cemeteries at Warren Park, Granville and Greendale as well as several smaller ones scattered across the city. Charges at all the burial grounds will, beginning January 2006, soar more than 20-fold from $750 000 to $8.5 million for the grave of an adult. A further hike is planned mid-year to leave the cost of a grave at $17 million.
The average take home pay of a worker in Zimbabwe is about $3 million per month meaning many will find it extremely hard to pay for a relative’s or their own grave. It is many times cheaper for one to cremate a deceased loved one.
But cremation is an alternative acceptable only to Zimbabwe’s minority Asian and white communities and not among the black segment of the population.
“We, black Zimbabweans do not believe in cremating our departed ones. Burning the bodies of dead relatives is simply not an option,” said Sekai Mapusa of Highfiled suburb, a mother of four who vowed she would never forgive her children if they were to cremate her dead body.
Two people very close to me have died in the past few months and I was personally involved in the trauma of helping to make funeral arrangements on both occasions, I think it important to clarify the statement made on cremation as it gives the impression that cremation is a viable alternative. The facts are, that it is not. The fact is too that we had few choices on how to deal with our loved one’s body.
One of my relatives was tragically killed in a work-related accident. He was far from home and his body was taken to the nearest big town which had a mortuary. We could not afford to transport the body home so decided that a burial in or around that town would be best. When trying to arrange this, we were told that all burial grounds were full. Even though it was not what we wanted, the next decision was cremation.
We were told that the facilities for the closest crematorium were not operational. A few days later and now in a desperate panic (not to mention mortuary fees which were now adding up as they charge by the day) we decided to take our relative’s body to Harare where we were told that a cremation would be possible there. In fact, it was not! There again, the crematorium was not operational - at that time we were told that they needed gas to cremate the bodies and gas was in short supply (and still is) in the country.
After days of begging and pleading with various people we were finally given permission to purchase burial ground in Granville Cemetery on the outskirts of Harare. The experience was too terrible for words. The graves were so close together that people attending my relative’s funeral were stumbling over the soil mounded on the grave next door. And there were so many funerals going on that we could barely hear the minister over the sound of other people crying. Seconds after the coffin was placed in the ground, the minister approached one of the family members and asked for a massive cash payment and a lift back to town as he had another service to attend to.
Are we so used to death in our country now that we have become insensitive to grief and how to bury our loved ones with dignity?
Having been through this a few months before, when another person close to us passed away we were a bit more educated on how to deal with things. His family knew what we had gone through and wanted to avoid the terribleness of a similar graveside experience. We advised his family to very quickly contact the crematorium in Bulawayo, as this was their closest option. Again, non-operational, due to no gas.
So the family got together and made arrangements to transport the body back to the rural areas. Raising the money for fuel was very difficult, and finding enough fuel was even harder! Two days later a relative left in the very early hours of the morning, to avoid the heat, with the coffin in the back of a buckie. The grave had been prepared by friends beforehand. By mid-morning the burial was complete.
Neither of us will never be able to tend to either of these graves. Shortly after our Granville ordeal, we were told about how the graves in that cemetary are routinely vandalised. Poverty has driven people in our country to desperate lengths. Apparently, coffins are dug up and the brass handles and fittings are removed and sold. In extreme cases, we were told that the whole coffin gets stolen and that the body is tossed back into the ground and covered over.
We have not been back for fear of what we may or may not find. We try to hold the memory of our loved one in our hearts, but the memory of that day and what might have happened afterwards haunts us all. And as for the rural area burial, there is no petrol in the country so no one can travel that distance. We rely on the kindness of others to make sure the grave is ok.
Just last week a friend told me that the Bulawayo crematorium was not working again. They were advised to use the crematorium at Gweru, some 200km away.
Depending on where you are in the world, tomorrow (15th December) is the last possible day for voting in the in the 2005 Weblog Awards. We’re a finalist, and we’d love it if you would go there now, and again tomorrow, to vote for for ‘This is Zimbabwe’.
Please click on the flashing icon in the column on the right, or visit this link to vote now. Remember, you can vote once a day until the voting closes!
We had a great response to our call for votes yesterday. When we sent out our email yesterday, our votes stood at 514. The current totals show that we have increased our votes by a whopping 275 votes!
Yesterday we asked if you could help us to become the top African blog in a category that we share with the Middle East (Best Middle East or Africa blog). Our closest African competitor comes from Egypt - Rantings of a Sandmonkey.
Well, we’ve now moved past the Sandmonkey - and the sandmonkey is really ranting! Here’s what he posted on his blog a shortwhile ago!
Please vote for the angels’ sake!
There is only 2 days left and Zimbabwe is gaining on me. I don’t know how they manage to pull 150 votes a day, but I am guessing they must be using some zimbabwean internet Voodo rituals or something. In case you didn’t know, using internet vodoo rituals gives angels cancer. Show them that you oppose Vodoo and giving angelscancer and vote for me. I figure a good 300 vote margin should send them Vodoo-using-angel-cancer-giving-zimbabweans a message that says loud and clear that “Giving Angels Cancer is not cool!” by you. Otherwise, what would the children say? That you allowed angels to get cancer when you could’ve stopped it because you were too lazy to vote for the sandmonkey? What a great role model you are being. SHAME!
Stop Vodoo Voting now and vote for me. Do it for the angels. Ohh and the Children. Don’t forget the children!
“Vodoo-using-angel-cancer-giving-zimbabweans” … That’s a neat twist on the usual names pro-democracy Zimbabweans are called. Makes a change from ‘enemy of the state’, or ‘British stooge’, or ‘Blair’s puppet’.
Come on everyone, you know what to do if you want to react!
Sokwanele - Zvakwana - Enough is Enough
National Constitutional Assembly Press Statement on the Victimisation of N.C.A activist Tsitsi Mikitai - a.k.a. Mai Mudhara 13.12.2005
The National Constitutional Assembly roundly condemns the arrest on 13 December 2005 at 3:00pm by Law and Order Police of Tsitsi Mikitai popularly known as Amai Mudhara and other National Constitutional Assembly activists over spurious allegations of public violence.
Amai Mudhara is the National Constitutional Assembly Harare province gender chairperson and was picked up from her home in Mufakose and accused of being connected to the alleged petrol bombing of a police post in 1st Street, Harare on 5 November 2005 which coincided with an National Constitutional Assembly demonstration against the imposed and undemocratic Senate. The National Constitutional Assembly abhors violence and demonstrates its demand for a new constitution through peaceful protests.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police officers bundled Amai Mudhara into a police truck and drove her to the Glen View home of the National Constitutional Assembly Harare province to arrest the Youth representative Clever Bingo who they did not find. On their way to Glen View Police Station they arrested the National Constitutional Assembly Harare Province field officer Nickson Nyikadzino popularly known as ‘Mao’and his assistant Clements Chavarika. They drove the trio to Harare Central Police and released Nickson Nyikadzino and Clements Chavarika after making it clear that they were rounding up National Constitutional Assembly Harare Province activists. They announced their interest in arresting Darlington Madzonga the National Constitutional Assembly Harare Province deputy chairman, as well as the St. Mary’s National Constitutional Assembly gender representative Stella Mapuranga and her Chitungwiza counterpart known as Amai Mpofu. The National Constitutional Assembly lawyer Alec Muchadehama was prevented from seeing Amai Mudhara as she was inexplicably moved from Harare Central Police reportedly to Glen View police last night.
The National Constitutional Assembly views these arrests alongside the draconian withdrawal of passports of government critics as a ploy to instil terror into the hearts of National Constitutional Assembly activists and other Zimbabweans who still have the courage to stand up to the oppression and dictatorship of the ZANU PF government. The government is obviously smarting from the defiance of its dictatorship by the National Constitutional Assembly. The National Constitutional Assembly deplores the obvious link between the fascist calls by the recently ended ZANU PF congress for the government to clamp down on N.G.O.s which criticize it.
A democratic and new constitution will not have room for such a partisan police force and repressive legislation such as the Public Order and Security Act. The National Constitutional Assembly demands that the police rise above narrow party interests and subject Amai due to process of law.
The National Constitutional Assembly is not cowed into submission by this wanton victimisation but is hardened in its resolve and calls upon more Zimbabweans to join it in the push for a
A new Constitution, for all, by all, now!
Fungayi Jessie Majome
N.C.A. National Spokesperson
011 214 375/091 286 801
Image: Police arrests made on 5 November 2005
Related posts: Brave defiance in Zimbabwe
Less than two weeks ago the news was that Zimbabwe had reached a deal with the UN for food aid to feed 3 million Zimbabweans until the end of June next year.
The Standard carried a story on the feasting at zanu-pfs recent conference and it is completely disgusting. ‘Still Here’ posted earlier this week about the conference and commented on the feasting, in one of Zimbabwe’s poorest areas: “The smell of that meat must have driven anyone in smelling distance completely insane with hunger”. If you think that that is overstating things, just read the list of food that 3000 delegates, over 4 days, cooked and consumed:
Fifty beasts were slaughtered for the 3 000 delegates, who were also expected by the end of today to have sampled other dishes following the sourcing of 48 goats, 11 kudu, five reed bucks, 17 impala, five buffaloes, 1.19 tonnes of rice, 60 chickens, 50 kg of wheat and 11 tonnes of maize meal.
Those with a gluttonous appetite for three-course meals and continental breakfast were not left out as there were 250 bags of oranges, a tonne of tomatoes, 400 cabbages, 60 litres of ice cream and other assorted foodstuffs.
And what did Mugabe have to say about this, so soon after settling a deal with the UN for food aid for his starving people?
“When I arrived, I was complaining to (Governor Thokozile) Mathuthu saying that I wanted meat. Now, I don’t want steak but liver. Where is the liver?” he asked, sending delegates into a fit of laughter.
Such a nice guy, and so entertaining and witty! That’s why we all love him so much.
Bitter anger aside, my sums below show estimates of weights for the food listed in The Standard - the weights for all the animals come from a range of farming and wildlife sources and I’ve tried to be conservative with my guesses. Some of the food they had wasn’t listed in the article so please realise that these figures are actually smaller than they should be.
But it seems to me that these individuals each had about 20.79 kg of food to eat for the duration of the conference. Which means that they EACH had 5.20 kg of food to eat PER DAY! And that doesn’t include the ‘other assorted foodstuffs’.
I know someone that I am giving a chicken for Christmas because their family hasn’t been able to afford meat for well over a year. I know another person, a pensioner, who I occassionally help because they struggle to pay for a couple of carrots in a week.
In the context of Zimbabwe - hyper-inflation and starvation - this display of gluttony in one of the poorest areas in our country is not insensitive: I think it’s evil!
Eddie Cross’s latest diary entry (8 Dec) looks back on 2005 and focusses on the outlook for Zimbabwe in 2006. 2005, he writes,
… will also go down as a year of failure - failure of the regional community to face up to what is going on here and to tackle the crisis, the failure of Mbeki’s “quiet diplomacy” and the failure of the international community to make progress in resolving the plight of the many who live in the “outposts of tyranny”.
For the Zimbabwe government it has also been a year of failure - failure of the much talked about “economic recovery”, failure of their agricultural policies, failure to get any sort of growth and recovery in the mining and tourism industries. To this we might add the failure to halt the slide in the public service and in all social sectors.
And so we come to Christmas 2005, hungry, angry and disappointed. Disappointed with our leaders and disappointed with ourselves for having achieved so little when the needs around us are so great. I think this is going to be the worst Christmas ever for most Zimbabweans.
Cathy Buckle has also recently published another of her now famous letters from Zimbabwe (10 December), and she too comments on failure:
Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu PF party have been holding their annual congress this week and watching some of the coverage on television made for staggering viewing. By any standards Zimbabwe is a country in dire trouble. Inflation, which began the year at 134% is again completely out of control and presently at over 400%. Life expectancy continues to plummet and is now just over 30 years. Unemployment is well over 70%, almost a quarter of our population are eating food provided by international donors and the number of people in need grows by the week. With these dreadful facts and figures you would think that our ruling party would have more than enough to worry and talk about at their annual congress. The posters adorning the walls of the now well known enormous white tent were damning. The slogans were not about the economy, early death, hunger or inflation. They were the same old deflectory attacks, just as they have been since Zanu PF first realised they had lost popular support when they were defeated in the constitutional referendum in 2000.
Read both their letters in full at this site, and this one. Be warned, Eddie Cross’s outlook for 2006 comes with a caveat:
I am the proverbial optimist so all my friends will take what I have to say with the proverbial pinch of salt, but since they will not put their necks on the block - why should I not have a go?
WOZA (Women of Zimbabwe Arise) have released the following press release following protests to mark International Human Rights Day (10 December 2005).
WOZA Press Statement 10 December 2005
WOZA Women Mark International Human Rights Day with Six Street Actions - five women arrested and assaulted in custody
HUNDREDS of members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) took to the streets of Harare and Bulawayo today in six separate protest marches to commemorate International Human Rights Day.
The women wore t-shirts calling on Zimbabweans to ‘Stop Violence against Women’ and also bearing the international symbol for this campaign - an open hand. Whilst marching, the women distributed WOZA’s newsletter which included an open letter to the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) to stop arbitrary arrests of WOZA women.
By noon five women from the Harare protest were in custody at Harare Central Police station. They were assaulted with open palms and baton sticks whilst in detention by officers, including one called Mhondoro. Due to a combination of this assault and refusal of access to lawyers, the women decided to negotiate the payment of ZD $25,000 admission of guilt fines. They were released on this basis at 16:45 pm. In Bulawayo no arrests were recorded although five simultaneous protests had been conducted.
The placard-waving women held aloft placards and banners bearing their messages, including “the strongest man is a woman” and an Eleanor Roosevelt quote, “Women are like teabags. We don’t know how strong we are until we are in hot water.”
In the spirit of “Tough Love”, WOZA’s brand of civil disobedience, the ‘mothers of the nation’ defied the Public Order Security Act (POSA) and conducted their protests without giving notification to the police.
In Harare, after a WOZA delegation participated in a ZimRights-organised march, they went on to gather on Fourth Street before proceeding along Nelson Mandela Avenue. The women were intercepted at Second Street by a police vehicle however and five women were promptly arrested. The five are Loise Grezia, Rosemary Mironga, Julia Chipehama, Noria Kadhari and Monica Chimbiro. Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights have reacted and are attempting to gain access.
In Bulawayo, five community-based protests were conducted simultaneously. They were joined by male defenders and children who found the singing and evident enjoyment of the protestors irresistible.
Women started their protest at Mabutweni Shopping Centre and ended at Mabutweni Police Station where the women dispersed, leaving their placards and the open letter addressed to the ZRP. In Mpopoma, the protest started at Msitheli High School and ended at Matshobana Beer Garden, passing Traffic Police on the way. As the women dispersed, a police vehicle pursued some protestors but soon gave up chase. In Tshabalala, WOZA women gathered at the shopping centre and marched towards Sizinda Beer Garden, leaving their messages with the patrons present. In Magwegwe, Pumula, Emakhandeni and Luveve, protests also started and ended without incident as did the Nkulumane contingent. As the marches proceeded, children joined in helping to distribute the Woza Moya newsletter.
On International Human Rights Day and the final day of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence, WOZA made the following demands to the ZRP in their open letter:
The specific points that should be implemented to restore their dignity as professional police officers are, in particular, Articles 1- 5.
Article 1 - ‘In the performance of their duties, police officials shall respect and protect human dignity and maintain and uphold the human rights of all persons.’
Ends
10 December 2005
NOTE TO EDITORS:
For more information about WOZA and the protests conducted today, please contact Jenni Williams or Magodonga Mahlangu on + 263 91 300 456 or + 263 91 898 110/1/2/ or Ellah Hwenzira on + 263 91 377 800.
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE ZIMBABWE REPUBLIC POLICE
Joins us in saying ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, SOKWANELE, ZVAKWANA.WOZA, the acronym of Women of Zimbabwe Arise, is an Ndebele word meaning ‘Come forward’. WOZA is a registered trust formed in 2003. Our objectives are to:
- Provide women from all walks of life with a united voice to speak out on issues affecting their day-to-day lives.
- Empower female leadership that will lead community involvement in finding solutions to the current crisis.
- Lobbying and advocacy on those issues affecting women.
We encourage women to speak out and hold their government accountable. Our mandate is to conduct peaceful protests in defiance of unjust laws that sanction our fundamental and god-given freedoms of assembly, expression and association. Through our actions, we create space to allow the general public to articulate issues they are too fearful to raise alone. WOZA has conducted over 30 protests in its three year existence. We recognize the sacrifice of over 800 women who have spent up to 48 hours in custody, some more than once. On 31 March this year, over 265 women and 20 babies spent a night in custody after conducting a prayer vigil on election night. These women, front-line human rights defenders, are willing to suffer beatings and unbearable conditions in prison cells to exercise their constitutional rights.
We have set out to prove that the power of love can conquer the love of power. ‘Tough Love’ is our weapon of mass mobilisation. ‘Tough Love’ is the disciplining love of a parent; we must practice it and bring dignity back to our families. Tough Love from the grassroots is the solution to the crisis of governance in Zimbabwe. Our rulers need some discipline; who better to dish it out than a mother! But what kind of mother would we be if we remained silent while our children cry from hunger? Do your children go to bed at night with full stomachs? Can you afford to send all your children to school and provide them with a promising future?
When WOZA was formed we adopted the highest risk option of demonstration when the most repressive laws were in effect. We had to find ways to speak out about our wellbeing rather that suffer in silence. We knew that police officers would support our struggle if they saw our love and determination. So when we march with love in our hearts, it helps us to bear the consequences. The consequences we suffer are arrest, assault and harassment by YOU - police officers. We know that you are our children, parents who are also trying to earn a living and feed your families.
Through our work we must break the chain of oppression. Rhodesia had an elite group of capitalists ruling over and oppressing people with unjust laws based on inequality. Little seems to have changed - we now have Zimbabwe and an elite group of black capitalists ruling over and oppressing people with unjust laws based on inequality. How many houses were some of you forced to destroy because of colonial housing laws? How may people did you make homeless and jobless through Operation Murambatsvina?
As the women of WOZA mark the 16 Days of Action Campaign with activities, we will be calling on Police officers to join us in saying ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, SOKWANELE, ZVAKWANA. During this time, and forevermore, WOZA demands that:
- ALL Zimbabweans respect the rights of women and girls and violence against women is stopped. NO MORE VIOLENCE!
- The police respect the rights of women human rights defenders and the women they represent.
- We call on the officers from all ranks to refuse to arrest WOZA women as they go about their peaceful business.
- ALL police officers read and uphold the 2001 Harare Resolution on the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation (SARPCCO) Code of Conduct for Police Officials. The specific points that should be implemented to restore their dignity as professional police officers are, in particular, Articles 1- 5.
- Article 1 - ‘In the performance of their duties, police officials shall respect and protect human dignity and maintain and uphold the human rights of all persons.’
Signed by
Your mothers, sisters and grandmothers
Women Human Rights Defenders
We have been advised that about 300 votes have been removed from our polling total in the 2005 Weblog Awards as a result of cheating.
We either have an overzealous misguided supporter, or this is an effort to try and discredit us by those opposed to our work and democracy in Zimbabwe. We have no way of getting to the thoughts behind the action.
So let us be very clear: Sokwanele does not support cheating or the ‘rigging of elections’. In fact, our blog was started during the March parliamentary elections and we spent a great deal of time exposing fraudulent activities. We circulated the rules of this competition to our mailing list, and we have published them here on our blog, and on the front page of our website. The rules are clear - please abide by them.
Sadly, we have also been advised that in order to ban the cheating addresses from accessing the site again, the organiser has been forced to block a range of ip addresses:
Since three of the addresses were from a dialup poll I’ve had to ban that subnet - a sanction that may be reconsidered
This unfortunately means that genuine voters who were not cheating will be affected as well. This means that Zimbabwean voters dialing up via that subnet will not be able to vote - but hey, cheer up, you guys should be used to that feeling by now!
On a less ironic note, we have received emails from confused Zimbabwean supporters saying that they can no longer access the polling website and we will respond to all those queries on an individual basis.
Despite the disappointment of realising things weren’t going as well as we thought, we want to re-state the sentiments expressed in this earlier post. Many thanks to all who have supported us. Keep voting - but not more than once a day!
People in Bulawayo just aren’t used to motorcades.
On the way home tonight, friends were forced to veer off the main road into the lane for oncoming traffic. rgm had a fabulous day of ranting at the zanu thug congress in Esigodini and the mob were on their way home.
They didn’t know which illustrious VIP zanu criminal was in the leading group of vehicles, because bob usually moves around by helicopter, but because of the downpour he may have opted for a road trip home. Whoever it was, bob or perhaps joyce, was preceded by five cops on motorbikes, sirens were howling, the bulletproof bobmobile was surrounded on all sides by police cars and the rain was absolutely bucketing down.
A megaphone was blaring warnings to motorists to get out of the road, and everyone knows shots will be fired if response is not immediate. It was pandemonium because Bulawayo residents, unlike their counterparts in Harare, are not used to the presence of the presidential motorcade.
To add to the danger of the scene, the roads have developed severe pot holes, pockmarking the way since the torrential rains started almost two weeks ago.
Fortunately, there was no oncoming traffic for that would have been certain death for my friends.
This man knows no bounds to his evil.
The country’s fuel supplies have all but dried up and this party of conmen, thieves and liars hog the roads in fuel guzzling American and European luxury vehicles.
The country is in the grip of a severe food crisis and zanu feast on hundred of kilos of meat and sadza, in the very heart of one of the nation’s poorest districts. The smell of that meat must have driven anyone in smelling distance completely insane with hunger.
The country’s food production has dropped dramatically and he predictably continues to blame the few struggling white farmers and western governments for the glaring mismanagement of the land grab and subsequent economic disaster.
The country is in a state of utter collapse, no food, no jobs, no social services, no press freedom, NO HUMAN RIGHTS, homes destroyed by the tens of thousands and he calls the United Nations representative a liar and a hypocrite.
Not so long ago bob told the world Zimbabwe would have bumper harvests, that he felt “choked” with all the aid and that Zimbabweans must eat potatoes. But now he so graciously accepts the desperately needed food the UN has been offering for months.
Then he ends the congress by applauding the confiscation of the passports of those he deems “enemies of the state” and just to top it off, he demands harassment and threatens closure of the very NGO’s that are struggling to keep Zimbabweans alive.
And so ended the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front congress today.
So much for International Human Rights Day.
