Keep Zimbabwe on your radar screen

As you are probably aware, Zimbabwe is experiencing hard times. In fact, the "hard times" of 13 years ago when I lived there are a veritable paradise compared to the shithole the country is in right now. In 1995 when I was there, the beginnings of today's full-blown troubles began to be serious. There was a drought and sadza prices went up and the masses relied on the government to provide sadza for them to eat. At that time, Robert Mugabe had been in power for 15 years and dissent surrounding his long tenure as president was on the rise. He had been in power too long, and many of his post-colonial promises had failed to be realized. At the same time, Mugabe was promising to make good on his land reclamation campaign, which we know subsequently transpired.

Mugabe kicked off all the white farmers from the land as a symbol of the rejection of colonialism and a representation of Zimbabwean liberty and independence. Unfortunately, this move crippled the last remaining functioning infrastructure of the country and the people became even hungrier and more impoverished from the time I left Zimbabwe through the rest of the 1990s and into the 21st century. At the same time, horrible, exponential inflation (for example, the exchange rate was $8 Zim = $1 US when I lived there; 13 years later, we find the rate at $3,272,803,030 Zim = $1 US, according to the Zimbabwe Currency Converter) has compounded Zimbabwe's internal and external economic problems. Now, Mugabe's grip on power still as tight as always, he is crushing dissent even as cries for his retirement and removal increase. Morgan Tsvangirai, the leading opponent to Mugabe's presidency, has been fighting for regime change for the last 8 years at least. Recently, he defeated Mugabe in a presidential election, but Mugabe's administration refuses to certify the results of the election or turn over power. Instead, Tsvangirai and his supporters regularly meet Mugabe's police force who reign beatings, arrests, murders and disappearances upon them.

As a result of the political repression and dire economic straits in their country, many Zimbabweans have been fleeing into surrounding countries. In the last month, South Africa has been in the news for its people's attacks on Zimbabwean refugees. At the same time, South Africa's president, Thabo Mbeki, seems tacitly to support Mugabe's regime by his lack of response to the violence against Zimbabwean refugees as well as his refusal to publicly condemn Mugabe's administration and policies.

In the wake of all this, the UN has been trying to mitigate some of the hardship. Here is a news release that I received by email today regarding the UN response to the events in South Africa regarding the Zimbabweans. We can at least take solace in this. Contribute to the effort and help Zimbabwe! Go to the USA's UNHCR website and click on "Donate now."

UNHCR aids those displaced by attacks in South Africa

The UN Refugee Agency is providing assistance in South Africa to address the massive displacement caused by violent attacks against migrants and refugees.

UNHCR has, so far, supplied 2,000 tents, 7,000 blankets and 2,000 sleeping mats to victims of the violence.

"Those affected include refugees and asylum seekers who fled to South Africa seeking protection from persecution in their own countries," said Sanda Kimbimbi, UNHCR's representative in South Africa.

Fifty-six people were killed and an estimated 100,000 people have been displaced by the attacks from marauding gangs in mostly urban centers. Many of the intended victims were refugees and asylum-seekers from Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Somalia, Ethiopia and other African countries.