Source (Macleans)
Goodbye, Zimbabwe
The once-thriving Jewish community has all but disappeared
MICHAEL ROSS June 4, 2008 MICHAEL ROSS-->
"If Cape Town is the top deck of the Titanic for the Jews of southern Africa, then Zimbabwe is the boiler room below the waterline," my guide Malcolm observed during my last foray into Zimbabwe in 2001 as an agent of Mossad, the Israeli spy service. If that was so, then the boiler room is now empty.
Much attention has been paid to the plight of Zimbabwe's white and mostly Anglo farmers whose fields were seized under President Robert Mugabe's ill-conceived and disastrous land appropriation program. But the abject ruination the Mugabe regime has wrought on the small landlocked country has had other victims as well. As Zimbabwe's economy and quality of life have deteriorated, the number of Jews in a place once touted as the bread-basket of Africa and a showcase of interracial harmony and prosperity has been sinking, almost as fast as the fated ocean liner now resting on the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean.
It's been a painful road to ruin, given how the community once flourished. During the time of the ever-expanding British Empire of the 19th century, Jews traversed South Africa into northern tribal lands, eventually settling into prosperous communities in cities such as Harare, Bulawayo and Kadoma, all in what is now Zimbabwe. They were the backbone of the business sector, establishing and owning commercial ventures ranging from retail stores to import-export firms. But then came the violent and turbulent period of Mugabe's fight to convert white-minority-ruled Rhodesia into the modern African state of Zimbabwe, and Zimbabwe's decline into an impoverished country that now has one of the lowest life expectancy rates and one of the worst HIV/AIDS infection rates in the world, with some 3,500 people dying per week due to HIV/AIDS alone.
Zimbabwe's Jews, along with others, fled. From its peak of some 7,500 in the 1970s, the country's Jewish community today consists of some 200 souls, mostly in Harare but with a small core lingering in Bulawayo. The average age is over 70; some 25 of the eldest live in Bulawayo's Savyon Lodge, a Jewish geriatric centre that, remarkably, still serves kosher meals to its guests. Those that can still leave do, with most heading to families who have long departed for the less troubled former colonies of Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, with others seeking sanctuary in South Africa and Israel.
The Jews that are left are not exactly made to feel welcome. The beautiful synagogue of Bulawayo was gutted by a fire in 2003, only to have the local press declare that Jews had been hoarding fuel and all sorts of treasures and foreign currency in the building. Unsurprisingly, the press made no mention of how some congregants risked death to retrieve the Torah scrolls from the burning synagogue. Mugabe, once a comrade of the late Yasser Arafat, has added fuel to the already burning flames of anti-Semitism by allowing Palestinian and Iranian diplomats in Zimbabwe to exert a most undiplomatic influence on members of the government. Tag on the random muggings, violence, and property crime in a country with an unemployment rate hovering at around 80 per cent, and what's left of the community feels very beleaguered.
Zimbabwean native Dave Bloom, 54, describes the current situation in stark terms. "There are a handful of younger members," he says, "but within five to 10 years the majority of the older community will have passed. I cannot envisage a resuscitation even if a change of power were to happen." Bloom now lives in Israel, where he has become a sort of self-appointed archivist — maintaining a detailed database complete with multimedia records, for future generations of Jews to whom Zimbabwe's community will be only a memory. "I'm trying to preserve as much of the story as possible, including pictures of every Jewish tombstone in Zimbabwe — a sort of virtual museum," says Bloom. He'll soon have very little work ahead of him.
Michael Ross's The Volunteer (McClelland & Stewart), about his years in the Mossad, recently appeared in paperback.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Goodbye, Zimbabwe The once-thriving Jewish community has all but disappeared
Goodbye, Zimbabwe
The once-thriving Jewish community has all but disappeared
MICHAEL ROSS | June 4, 2008 |
"If Cape Town is the top deck of the Titanic for the Jews of southern Africa, then Zimbabwe is the boiler room below the waterline," my guide Malcolm observed during my last foray into Zimbabwe in 2001 as an agent of Mossad, the Israeli spy service. If that was so, then the boiler room is now empty.
Much attention has been paid to the plight of Zimbabwe's white and mostly Anglo farmers whose fields were seized under President Robert Mugabe's ill-conceived and disastrous land appropriation program. But the abject ruination the Mugabe regime has wrought on the small landlocked country has had other victims as well. As Zimbabwe's economy and quality of life have deteriorated, the number of Jews in a place once touted as the bread-basket of Africa and a showcase of interracial harmony and prosperity has been sinking, almost as fast as the fated ocean liner now resting on the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean.
It's been a painful road to ruin, given how the community once flourished. During the time of the ever-expanding British Empire of the 19th century, Jews traversed South Africa into northern tribal lands, eventually settling into prosperous communities in cities such as Harare, Bulawayo and Kadoma, all in what is now Zimbabwe. They were the backbone of the business sector, establishing and owning commercial ventures ranging from retail stores to import-export firms. But then came the violent and turbulent period of Mugabe's fight to convert white-minority-ruled Rhodesia into the modern African state of Zimbabwe, and Zimbabwe's decline into an impoverished country that now has one of the lowest life expectancy rates and one of the worst HIV/AIDS infection rates in the world, with some 3,500 people dying per week due to HIV/AIDS alone.
Zimbabwe's Jews, along with others, fled. From its peak of some 7,500 in the 1970s, the country's Jewish community today consists of some 200 souls, mostly in Harare but with a small core lingering in Bulawayo. The average age is over 70; some 25 of the eldest live in Bulawayo's Savyon Lodge, a Jewish geriatric centre that, remarkably, still serves kosher meals to its guests. Those that can still leave do, with most heading to families who have long departed for the less troubled former colonies of Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, with others seeking sanctuary in South Africa and Israel.
The Jews that are left are not exactly made to feel welcome. The beautiful synagogue of Bulawayo was gutted by a fire in 2003, only to have the local press declare that Jews had been hoarding fuel and all sorts of treasures and foreign currency in the building. Unsurprisingly, the press made no mention of how some congregants risked death to retrieve the Torah scrolls from the burning synagogue. Mugabe, once a comrade of the late Yasser Arafat, has added fuel to the already burning flames of anti-Semitism by allowing Palestinian and Iranian diplomats in Zimbabwe to exert a most undiplomatic influence on members of the government. Tag on the random muggings, violence, and property crime in a country with an unemployment rate hovering at around 80 per cent, and what's left of the community feels very beleaguered.
Zimbabwean native Dave Bloom, 54, describes the current situation in stark terms. "There are a handful of younger members," he says, "but within five to 10 years the majority of the older community will have passed. I cannot envisage a resuscitation even if a change of power were to happen." Bloom now lives in Israel, where he has become a sort of self-appointed archivist — maintaining a detailed database complete with multimedia records, for future generations of Jews to whom Zimbabwe's community will be only a memory. "I'm trying to preserve as much of the story as possible, including pictures of every Jewish tombstone in Zimbabwe — a sort of virtual museum," says Bloom. He'll soon have very little work ahead of him.
Michael Ross's The Volunteer (McClelland & Stewart), about his years in the Mossad, recently appeared in paperback.
Collection of recent articles on the Zim Jewish Community and general situation
African rabbi in Britain tells of crisis faced by Zimbabwe Jews
Jewish Chronicle -Jun 19, 2008
But following last week’s exclusive JC report on an emergency evacuation plan made by the Jewish Agency, the Zimbabwe Jews we contacted said that, despite the deteriorating situation, they feel secure and have no plan to leave.
Jewish Chronicle -
But following last week’s exclusive JC report on an emergency evacuation plan made by the Jewish Agency, the Zimbabwe Jews we contacted said that, despite the deteriorating situation, they feel secure and have no plan to leave.
Zimbabwe: 'Jews to Be Airlifted Out'
AllAfrica.com -Jun 13, 2008
He is reported as saying, "In terms of personal security, they feel protected. So I can understand why they are not in a rush to leave.
AllAfrica.com -
He is reported as saying, "In terms of personal security, they feel protected. So I can understand why they are not in a rush to leave.
Zimbabwe: Run-Off Pullout - Morgan Dancing to Master's Tune
AllAfrica.com -1 hour ago
It is meant to work for Zimbabwe today. The propaganda frightened the Germans and many thought they were defending themselves against the Jews and the Bolsheviks. The US held about 120 000 American citizens of Japanese descent on the basis of this same ...
AllAfrica.com -
It is meant to work for Zimbabwe today. The propaganda frightened the Germans and many thought they were defending themselves against the Jews and the Bolsheviks. The US held about 120 000 American citizens of Japanese descent on the basis of this same ...
'Zimbabwe Jews are safe'
Totally Jewish -Jun 19, 2008
Sources close to the Jewish Agency said: “The Jewish Agency is not planning to send aeroplanes to Zimbabwe to take out the Jews. Who says they want to leave anyway? Zimbabwe is a country where you can enter and leave at your own will.
Totally Jewish -
Sources close to the Jewish Agency said: “The Jewish Agency is not planning to send aeroplanes to Zimbabwe to take out the Jews. Who says they want to leave anyway? Zimbabwe is a country where you can enter and leave at your own will.
 Afrik.com |
Afrik.com -
On Thursday it was reported that an Israel group called Jewish Agency is one such formation that wants to rescue the remaining Jews from the violence. It is estimated that there are close to 400 Jewish community still resident in the southern African ...
A shtetl in Africa
Jerusalem Post -Jun 13, 2008
Once the bread basket of Africa, Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) today is a basket case, unable to feed even its own people. From a peak of some 7500 Jews in the 1970s - comprising some 80 percent Ashkenazim - the country's community today numbers only ...
Jerusalem Post -
Once the bread basket of Africa, Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) today is a basket case, unable to feed even its own people. From a peak of some 7500 Jews in the 1970s - comprising some 80 percent Ashkenazim - the country's community today numbers only ...
Thursday, June 19, 2008
ZIMBABWE ON THE PRECIPICE
CiPS (Centre for International Political Studies)
Centre for International Political
Studies
ZIMBABWE ON THE PRECIPICE
Presented by
HE Mr James McGee
Ambassador of the United States of America to Zimbabwe
at the
AFRICA DIALOGUE LECTURE SERIES
Centre for International Political Studies, University of Pretoria
19 June 2008
Thank you very much for inviting me to join you today. Thank you Dr. Solomon. It’s a pleasure to be here to talk with you about the dire situation in Zimbabwe.
At independence, Tanzanian leader, Julius Nyerere, told Zimbabwe’s new leader, Robert Mugabe, that he had inherited the jewel of Africa and urged him to protect it. Zimbabwe was to be the model for a new Africa. It was the region’s breadbasket. The economy’s potential was limitless. An effort was being made towards racial reconciliation.
Twenty-eight years later, as I flew down from Harare this morning, I left a country on the precipice. Zimbabwe today, is teetering on the edge of lawlessness and anarchy. It is a country on the brink of starvation. It has already fallen off the precipice of economic collapse and is sinking into a seemingly bottomless abyss. These problems are the direct result of a regime that cares more about clinging to power and the personal riches it brings than it does the welfare of its citizens. Sadly, as I stand here today, the prospects for a free and fair election that might bring change to Zimbabwe are limited. The government-directed campaign of violence and intimidation, coupled with planned electoral fraud make a free and fair election impossible. The only possible antidote is an immediate and large-scale commitment to independent electoral observation by SADC, the African Union and others.
Some observers are already present and I know that more are on the way. I welcome this development because I will be the first to admit that the influence of the United States can only go so far in Zimbabwe. The impact of Zimbabwe’s crisis will be felt the most by its neighbors, and they can do the most to solve it.
The most immediate threat facing many Zimbabweans is violence and lawlessness. The campaign of violence being conducted by the Mugabe regime is out of control and shows a callous disregard for local and international laws and the most basic standards of human rights. This once proud liberation movement is willing to beat and kill its own citizens. It is willing to violate the norms of civilized societies. It is willing to violate SADC’s protocols on elections. And, as I have experienced first hand, it is even willing to ignore the most basic protections for diplomats provided in the Vienna Convention. Corruption, greed and the need to maintain themselves in power have converted freedom fighters and liberators into lawless tyrants.
I have witnessed with my own eyes the victims of this violence, and any attempt to deny it or claim it is the result of opposition activity is simply a lie. To date over 3000 people have been hospitalized and over 60 killed. Over 30,000 have been displaced from their homes and villages. And those are only the confirmed cases we know about. I have received reports of a primary school principal dragged out of his office in broad daylight, never to be seen again, for no other reason than that he worked at a polling station that voted MDC in the March 29 elections. The elderly grandmother of the MDC’s spokesman was assaulted because of her grandson’s activities. Children are being dragged out every night and forced to chant ZANU-PF slogans and more. I don’t think it is inappropriate to call a regime willing to assault educators, the elderly and youth as lawless.
At an even more basic level, there is no Government of Zimbabwe. According to Zimbabwean law, the Parliament was dissolved before the March 29 elections. The newly elected Parliament has never been convened. We now have the situation of a regime claiming to be represented by “Ministers” who have not been appointed by any Parliament.
Some of them, such as so called Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa weren’t even re-elected and aren’t even members of Parliament.
An equally serious threat for many Zimbabweans is hunger and starvation. Once unknown in Zimbabwe they threaten many, including the elderly and children. Zimbabwe is not currently experiencing malnutrition on a large scale, but it soon may. Zimbabwe’s harvest, devastated by the government’s disastrous land policies, will once again reach record lows this year. Current estimates maintain that the harvest will only meet one-quarter of Zimbabwe’s food needs. In a normal year we do not see food insecurity start until sometime in August, but my experts tell me that we are likely to see serious food insecurity starting as soon as later this month. Compounding the lack of an adequate harvest is the Government of Zimbabwe’s disastrous, practically criminal, decision to suspend all operations by NGOs, including those providing humanitarian assistance.
In the best of circumstances, the U.S. and other major food donors would have a hard time helping to feed Zimbabweans. U.S food aid alone was $171 million dollars over the past year, with more needed this year. The Government of Zimbabwe’s decision to suspend NGO operations will prevent this critical assistance from reaching Zimbabwe’s most needy and potentially leaves up to four million people in danger of starving. Not to mention the orphans, HIV patients, elderly and other needy individuals having to make do without any help. Let me be clear, the Government of Zimbabwe’s actions are a direct assault on the people of Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe’s disastrous harvest is but one symptom of an economy that has already gone over the precipice. The numbers are truly staggering. Inflation is over two million percent according to reliable private estimates. In the past week alone the Zimbabwe dollar lost 56% of its value against the U.S. dollar. To give you some perspective on what that kind of inflation means, I have heard stories of people stranded downtown because the price of a commuter bus rose from 600 million Zimbabwean dollars to 800 million dollars between the
morning and afternoon commutes. Routine transactions now require so many zeroes that some accounting systems cannot handle them.
Unemployment is over 80%. Manufacturing levels have plummeted. Businesses close their doors literally every day. Even mining, one of Zimbabwe’s few remaining foreign currency earners is suffering as power cuts and lack of needed supplies cut into production. Zimbabwe’s once vibrant economy is practically non-existent at this point. Those hit hardest, of course, are the poor who make up the vast majority of Zimbabwe’s population.
Zimbabwe’s leadership is wont to blame the country’s economic problems on Western sanctions. First, the only real sanctions on Zimbabwe at present are targeted sanctions against regime leaders which prevent them from traveling to the U.S. and from doing business with U.S. firms. While the Government of Zimbabwe refers to the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZDERA) as a type of sanction, this is not the case. ZDERA prevents the U.S. from supporting international financial institution assistance, such as from the IMF or World Bank, to Zimbabwe. Even without ZDERA, international financial institutions would not lend to Zimbabwe because of its terribly mismanaged economy and its failure to pay back prior loans. Zimbabwe alone owes the World Bank over 600 million US dollars.
Secondly, it is interesting to note that after Rhodesia’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965, general sanctions were imposed against Rhodesia. Nevertheless, at independence in 1980, the Zimbabwean dollar was stronger than the U.S. dollar. The fact is that the collapse of Zimbabwe’s economy and the hyperinflation that has rendered Zimbabwe’s currency worthless are due to economic mismanagement, including payouts to war veterans in 1997, Zimbabwe’s misadventure in the Congo in 1998, and land invasions that began in 2000 and turned the bread basket of southern Africa into a basket case. The government continues its economic mismanagement through excessive spending, the 24 hour-a-day printing of money, and maintenance of an artificial exchange rate that benefits
regime insiders. Zimbabwe will be able to emerge from the current economic abyss only when there is political reform and political will, which in turn make economic reform possible.
I wish I could stand here and say that the June 27 run-off offers the chance for political change and a brighter future. Unfortunately, the current climate makes free and fair elections impossible. MDC candidate Morgan Tsvangirai is hounded at every turn, making it impossible to campaign. Since his return to Zimbabwe, he has been detained by the police four times. His campaign vehicles have been confiscated. The Mugabe regime is providing no political space for him to campaign.
Tendai Biti, the secretary-general of the MDC was arrested upon his return to Zimbabwe from South Africa. His crimes? Announcing March 29 election results, based on official tally sheets posted outside polling stations, before the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission announced results. He also allegedly disseminated a document setting out MDC plans for governing Zimbabwe after the election—a document that Biti never disseminated and which was fabricated by ZANU-PF to create fear of the MDC on the part of its supporters. Biti now stands charged with treason.
The state controlled media also contributes to the poisonous atmosphere. They routinely broadcast and publish propaganda for the regime, refuse to accept paid advertising from the opposition and slander anyone associated with the MDC. Particularly disturbing, in the past few weeks the state media has begun to broadcast inflammatory material designed to promote violence against the opposition. Senior editors who opposed these policies have been fired and control of the media given to security officials.
Then there is the massive and widespread intimidation of the electorate. At first the campaign focused on areas that had traditionally voted for ZANU-PF, but voted for the MDC on March 29. The goal of the campaign was to intimidate people into voting for ZANU-PF, or simply into not voting at all. Those who voted for the MDC, or merely live in areas that voted for the MDC
are being targeted. Mugabe has made multiple public statements that a vote for the MDC is a vote for war, represents a betrayal of the country, and won’t be respected.
The campaign has now spread to include attacks on MDC officials and their families. Multiple MDC members-of-Parliament elect have been arrested or attacked since March 29. The Mugabe regime hopes to eliminate the ability of the MDC to campaign or govern, now and in the future.
All of this makes independent regional and international observers crucial. I am pleased to see that SADC and the Pan-African Parliament have already started to deploy observers to Zimbabwe. This effort needs to continue and expand to include African Union observers as well.
These regional efforts, and regional initiatives to push the parties towards a peaceful solution are critical. Zimbabwe’s neighbors have the most to lose if the crisis continues and have, far and away, the most influence. As vocal as I have been, and will continue to be, my influence and that of the United States can only go so far. The Mugabe regime has shown itself quite willing to ignore international condemnation of its heinous acts. It will find it much more difficult to ignore regional leaders and pressure.
We have already seen what regional action can do, with regards to the arms shipment turned away at ports throughout southern Africa. Most notable, this effort did not start out as a governmental action, but as a protest by dock workers in Durban. When the people and governments of this region stand together, opposing further violence in Zimbabwe, they can, and do, make a difference.
The centrality of regional actors is appropriate, given that the southern African region has the most at stake. Make no mistake, Zimbabwe’s ongoing crisis is a regional crisis. Its effects are being felt outside of Zimbabwe’s borders and will continue to grow more severe. Here in South Africa you are only too aware of the huge numbers of Zimbabweans fleeing their
country. No one really knows how many Zimbabweans have left, but estimates range up to several million or one-quarter of Zimbabwe’s population.
We have all seen the tragic consequences of the large numbers of Zimbabweans in South Africa. Former Mozambican First Lady Graca Machel recently warned of the impact of population migration in Mozambique. One only has to look at the Great Lakes region to see the devastating consequences of the mass migration of people fleeing political violence. More than a decade later the region is still unstable. None of Zimbabwe’s neighbors will be immune. However many Zimbabweans have already fled, even more could depart if the starvation, economic collapse and anarchy continue.
The impact of Zimbabwe’s troubles on the region goes beyond the millions who have fled. Zimbabwe was long known as the breadbasket of southern Africa. Given the global food crisis, the continuing disappearance of the Zimbabwean harvest is only magnified. People throughout southern Africa would benefit from increased Zimbabwean agriculture. In its absence food prices are higher and people suffer. The broader economic collapse of Zimbabwe is also felt throughout the region. Economic growth in the region is retarded by Zimbabwe’s implosion.
That is why I think it is important for me to be here today. All of you in this room have a stake in what happens in Zimbabwe. What is happening right now is catastrophic. A disastrous harvest, coupled with an outrageous suspension of NGOs by the Government of Zimbabwe, threatens millions. The economy has completely imploded and anarchy lurks in the Mugabe regime’s criminal campaign of violence against its own citizens. The upcoming run-off cannot provide a solution unless rapid and significant changes in the prevailing conditions occur. Zimbabwe is a country on the precipice.
However, it is not too late. I still think it is possible to bring Zimbabwe back from the precipice. A concerted international effort, led by key regional players, can change the future. If regional leaders decide to take forceful action that puts the interests of the people of Zimbabwe ahead
of any entrenched political hierarchies we can avoid the catastrophe I fear. A massive independent observation effort can slow the regime’s campaign of violence, while creating more free and fair conditions for the elections. A major donor effort can stave off the impending hunger. And a new government which sets responsible fiscal policies and is willing to work with the International Financial Institutions can start to bring Zimbabwe out of the economic abyss. It won’t be quick, and it won’t be easy, but we must start now, or it will be too late.
Thank you very much.
CiPS (Centre for International Political Studies)
University of Pretoria Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 2696 cips@postino.up.ac.za
Pretoria, 0002 Fax: +27 (0) 12 420 3527 www.cips.up.ac.za
South Africa
Centre for International Political
Studies
ZIMBABWE ON THE PRECIPICE
Presented by
HE Mr James McGee
Ambassador of the United States of America to Zimbabwe
at the
AFRICA DIALOGUE LECTURE SERIES
Centre for International Political Studies, University of Pretoria
19 June 2008
Thank you very much for inviting me to join you today. Thank you Dr. Solomon. It’s a pleasure to be here to talk with you about the dire situation in Zimbabwe.
At independence, Tanzanian leader, Julius Nyerere, told Zimbabwe’s new leader, Robert Mugabe, that he had inherited the jewel of Africa and urged him to protect it. Zimbabwe was to be the model for a new Africa. It was the region’s breadbasket. The economy’s potential was limitless. An effort was being made towards racial reconciliation.
Twenty-eight years later, as I flew down from Harare this morning, I left a country on the precipice. Zimbabwe today, is teetering on the edge of lawlessness and anarchy. It is a country on the brink of starvation. It has already fallen off the precipice of economic collapse and is sinking into a seemingly bottomless abyss. These problems are the direct result of a regime that cares more about clinging to power and the personal riches it brings than it does the welfare of its citizens. Sadly, as I stand here today, the prospects for a free and fair election that might bring change to Zimbabwe are limited. The government-directed campaign of violence and intimidation, coupled with planned electoral fraud make a free and fair election impossible. The only possible antidote is an immediate and large-scale commitment to independent electoral observation by SADC, the African Union and others.
Some observers are already present and I know that more are on the way. I welcome this development because I will be the first to admit that the influence of the United States can only go so far in Zimbabwe. The impact of Zimbabwe’s crisis will be felt the most by its neighbors, and they can do the most to solve it.
The most immediate threat facing many Zimbabweans is violence and lawlessness. The campaign of violence being conducted by the Mugabe regime is out of control and shows a callous disregard for local and international laws and the most basic standards of human rights. This once proud liberation movement is willing to beat and kill its own citizens. It is willing to violate the norms of civilized societies. It is willing to violate SADC’s protocols on elections. And, as I have experienced first hand, it is even willing to ignore the most basic protections for diplomats provided in the Vienna Convention. Corruption, greed and the need to maintain themselves in power have converted freedom fighters and liberators into lawless tyrants.
I have witnessed with my own eyes the victims of this violence, and any attempt to deny it or claim it is the result of opposition activity is simply a lie. To date over 3000 people have been hospitalized and over 60 killed. Over 30,000 have been displaced from their homes and villages. And those are only the confirmed cases we know about. I have received reports of a primary school principal dragged out of his office in broad daylight, never to be seen again, for no other reason than that he worked at a polling station that voted MDC in the March 29 elections. The elderly grandmother of the MDC’s spokesman was assaulted because of her grandson’s activities. Children are being dragged out every night and forced to chant ZANU-PF slogans and more. I don’t think it is inappropriate to call a regime willing to assault educators, the elderly and youth as lawless.
At an even more basic level, there is no Government of Zimbabwe. According to Zimbabwean law, the Parliament was dissolved before the March 29 elections. The newly elected Parliament has never been convened. We now have the situation of a regime claiming to be represented by “Ministers” who have not been appointed by any Parliament.
Some of them, such as so called Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa weren’t even re-elected and aren’t even members of Parliament.
An equally serious threat for many Zimbabweans is hunger and starvation. Once unknown in Zimbabwe they threaten many, including the elderly and children. Zimbabwe is not currently experiencing malnutrition on a large scale, but it soon may. Zimbabwe’s harvest, devastated by the government’s disastrous land policies, will once again reach record lows this year. Current estimates maintain that the harvest will only meet one-quarter of Zimbabwe’s food needs. In a normal year we do not see food insecurity start until sometime in August, but my experts tell me that we are likely to see serious food insecurity starting as soon as later this month. Compounding the lack of an adequate harvest is the Government of Zimbabwe’s disastrous, practically criminal, decision to suspend all operations by NGOs, including those providing humanitarian assistance.
In the best of circumstances, the U.S. and other major food donors would have a hard time helping to feed Zimbabweans. U.S food aid alone was $171 million dollars over the past year, with more needed this year. The Government of Zimbabwe’s decision to suspend NGO operations will prevent this critical assistance from reaching Zimbabwe’s most needy and potentially leaves up to four million people in danger of starving. Not to mention the orphans, HIV patients, elderly and other needy individuals having to make do without any help. Let me be clear, the Government of Zimbabwe’s actions are a direct assault on the people of Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe’s disastrous harvest is but one symptom of an economy that has already gone over the precipice. The numbers are truly staggering. Inflation is over two million percent according to reliable private estimates. In the past week alone the Zimbabwe dollar lost 56% of its value against the U.S. dollar. To give you some perspective on what that kind of inflation means, I have heard stories of people stranded downtown because the price of a commuter bus rose from 600 million Zimbabwean dollars to 800 million dollars between the
morning and afternoon commutes. Routine transactions now require so many zeroes that some accounting systems cannot handle them.
Unemployment is over 80%. Manufacturing levels have plummeted. Businesses close their doors literally every day. Even mining, one of Zimbabwe’s few remaining foreign currency earners is suffering as power cuts and lack of needed supplies cut into production. Zimbabwe’s once vibrant economy is practically non-existent at this point. Those hit hardest, of course, are the poor who make up the vast majority of Zimbabwe’s population.
Zimbabwe’s leadership is wont to blame the country’s economic problems on Western sanctions. First, the only real sanctions on Zimbabwe at present are targeted sanctions against regime leaders which prevent them from traveling to the U.S. and from doing business with U.S. firms. While the Government of Zimbabwe refers to the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZDERA) as a type of sanction, this is not the case. ZDERA prevents the U.S. from supporting international financial institution assistance, such as from the IMF or World Bank, to Zimbabwe. Even without ZDERA, international financial institutions would not lend to Zimbabwe because of its terribly mismanaged economy and its failure to pay back prior loans. Zimbabwe alone owes the World Bank over 600 million US dollars.
Secondly, it is interesting to note that after Rhodesia’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965, general sanctions were imposed against Rhodesia. Nevertheless, at independence in 1980, the Zimbabwean dollar was stronger than the U.S. dollar. The fact is that the collapse of Zimbabwe’s economy and the hyperinflation that has rendered Zimbabwe’s currency worthless are due to economic mismanagement, including payouts to war veterans in 1997, Zimbabwe’s misadventure in the Congo in 1998, and land invasions that began in 2000 and turned the bread basket of southern Africa into a basket case. The government continues its economic mismanagement through excessive spending, the 24 hour-a-day printing of money, and maintenance of an artificial exchange rate that benefits
regime insiders. Zimbabwe will be able to emerge from the current economic abyss only when there is political reform and political will, which in turn make economic reform possible.
I wish I could stand here and say that the June 27 run-off offers the chance for political change and a brighter future. Unfortunately, the current climate makes free and fair elections impossible. MDC candidate Morgan Tsvangirai is hounded at every turn, making it impossible to campaign. Since his return to Zimbabwe, he has been detained by the police four times. His campaign vehicles have been confiscated. The Mugabe regime is providing no political space for him to campaign.
Tendai Biti, the secretary-general of the MDC was arrested upon his return to Zimbabwe from South Africa. His crimes? Announcing March 29 election results, based on official tally sheets posted outside polling stations, before the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission announced results. He also allegedly disseminated a document setting out MDC plans for governing Zimbabwe after the election—a document that Biti never disseminated and which was fabricated by ZANU-PF to create fear of the MDC on the part of its supporters. Biti now stands charged with treason.
The state controlled media also contributes to the poisonous atmosphere. They routinely broadcast and publish propaganda for the regime, refuse to accept paid advertising from the opposition and slander anyone associated with the MDC. Particularly disturbing, in the past few weeks the state media has begun to broadcast inflammatory material designed to promote violence against the opposition. Senior editors who opposed these policies have been fired and control of the media given to security officials.
Then there is the massive and widespread intimidation of the electorate. At first the campaign focused on areas that had traditionally voted for ZANU-PF, but voted for the MDC on March 29. The goal of the campaign was to intimidate people into voting for ZANU-PF, or simply into not voting at all. Those who voted for the MDC, or merely live in areas that voted for the MDC
are being targeted. Mugabe has made multiple public statements that a vote for the MDC is a vote for war, represents a betrayal of the country, and won’t be respected.
The campaign has now spread to include attacks on MDC officials and their families. Multiple MDC members-of-Parliament elect have been arrested or attacked since March 29. The Mugabe regime hopes to eliminate the ability of the MDC to campaign or govern, now and in the future.
All of this makes independent regional and international observers crucial. I am pleased to see that SADC and the Pan-African Parliament have already started to deploy observers to Zimbabwe. This effort needs to continue and expand to include African Union observers as well.
These regional efforts, and regional initiatives to push the parties towards a peaceful solution are critical. Zimbabwe’s neighbors have the most to lose if the crisis continues and have, far and away, the most influence. As vocal as I have been, and will continue to be, my influence and that of the United States can only go so far. The Mugabe regime has shown itself quite willing to ignore international condemnation of its heinous acts. It will find it much more difficult to ignore regional leaders and pressure.
We have already seen what regional action can do, with regards to the arms shipment turned away at ports throughout southern Africa. Most notable, this effort did not start out as a governmental action, but as a protest by dock workers in Durban. When the people and governments of this region stand together, opposing further violence in Zimbabwe, they can, and do, make a difference.
The centrality of regional actors is appropriate, given that the southern African region has the most at stake. Make no mistake, Zimbabwe’s ongoing crisis is a regional crisis. Its effects are being felt outside of Zimbabwe’s borders and will continue to grow more severe. Here in South Africa you are only too aware of the huge numbers of Zimbabweans fleeing their
country. No one really knows how many Zimbabweans have left, but estimates range up to several million or one-quarter of Zimbabwe’s population.
We have all seen the tragic consequences of the large numbers of Zimbabweans in South Africa. Former Mozambican First Lady Graca Machel recently warned of the impact of population migration in Mozambique. One only has to look at the Great Lakes region to see the devastating consequences of the mass migration of people fleeing political violence. More than a decade later the region is still unstable. None of Zimbabwe’s neighbors will be immune. However many Zimbabweans have already fled, even more could depart if the starvation, economic collapse and anarchy continue.
The impact of Zimbabwe’s troubles on the region goes beyond the millions who have fled. Zimbabwe was long known as the breadbasket of southern Africa. Given the global food crisis, the continuing disappearance of the Zimbabwean harvest is only magnified. People throughout southern Africa would benefit from increased Zimbabwean agriculture. In its absence food prices are higher and people suffer. The broader economic collapse of Zimbabwe is also felt throughout the region. Economic growth in the region is retarded by Zimbabwe’s implosion.
That is why I think it is important for me to be here today. All of you in this room have a stake in what happens in Zimbabwe. What is happening right now is catastrophic. A disastrous harvest, coupled with an outrageous suspension of NGOs by the Government of Zimbabwe, threatens millions. The economy has completely imploded and anarchy lurks in the Mugabe regime’s criminal campaign of violence against its own citizens. The upcoming run-off cannot provide a solution unless rapid and significant changes in the prevailing conditions occur. Zimbabwe is a country on the precipice.
However, it is not too late. I still think it is possible to bring Zimbabwe back from the precipice. A concerted international effort, led by key regional players, can change the future. If regional leaders decide to take forceful action that puts the interests of the people of Zimbabwe ahead
of any entrenched political hierarchies we can avoid the catastrophe I fear. A massive independent observation effort can slow the regime’s campaign of violence, while creating more free and fair conditions for the elections. A major donor effort can stave off the impending hunger. And a new government which sets responsible fiscal policies and is willing to work with the International Financial Institutions can start to bring Zimbabwe out of the economic abyss. It won’t be quick, and it won’t be easy, but we must start now, or it will be too late.
Thank you very much.
CiPS (Centre for International Political Studies)
University of Pretoria Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 2696 cips@postino.up.ac.za
Pretoria, 0002 Fax: +27 (0) 12 420 3527 www.cips.up.ac.za
South Africa
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
The morning after
The Morning After
It is quite interesting being in South Africa for a few days recuperating and waiting for clearance from my doctors. I have watched Mbeki speaking to the national assembly on Zimbabwe and listened to the debate in the country at large. I am struck by the fact that there is little or no debate or discussion about what will happen after the election on the 27th June.
Newspaper reports talk of discussions to try and get a government of national unity, they argue that a free and fair election is impossible and that therefore the only answer is a GNU with Mugabe as President and Tsvangirai as Prime Minister. They talk about emulating the Kenyan solution. I have said to anyone who asked, that the MDC would not accept such a solution at any price. We want the run off to take place and whoever wins then picks up from there, forms a government and we go on.
But of course it is not as simple as that. Just yesterday the Vice President in Zimbabwe said that a vote for Morgan Tsvangirai is a vote for war. He said they would not accept a MDC government and those same sentiments have been repeated in recent weeks by all sorts of people in the Mugabe administration. So what is this election process all about then? Even last night I heard Mbeki saying that they were not seeking regime change via their facilitation process! But he also said that it was important that the run off take place and that the people of Zimbabwe enjoy the right to choose their leaders.
So we have an election on the 27th June. An election run by the security establishment which has now taken over the running of the Zimbabwe Election Commission, after a campaign characterized by political violence instituted and managed by the military and the State, a campaign during which the MDC has not been able to campaign freely, has received no exposure in the State run media and has had its leaders harassed, beaten, detained and denied all the rights taken for granted in true democracies. Yet on these matters Mbeki and others remain mute.
But what happens if, against this background the MDC wins by a wide margin and its victory cannot be disputed? What then? It is clear at this point that the administration and security chiefs in Zimbabwe will simply not accept such an outcome. They only have one choice and that is to act illegally against the will of the people, override the outcome and force the continued administration of the country by an illegal regime. Can you really imagine that, after all they have stated and their own behavior in recent weeks, that they will accept an MDC victory?
I think this is the most likely outcome and predict that Morgan Tsvangirai will receive a huge majority on the 27th June. A political commentator with whom I am staying asked what if Mugabe and the security establishment simply bulldoze a victory for Mugabe, succeed with their campaign of violence and intimidation and then rig the outcome. Mugabe would be declared the winner and the region would accept this, including South Africa and Mugabe would then govern with a minority in Parliament.
In either event we need to think through the consequences for the region and for South Africa in particular. A Mugabe led regime in Harare will not be accepted by any of the major western nations. The country will have to get urgent help to meet its needs for food imports, urgent help to stabilize its economy and bring inflation under control and immediate assistance with fuel and other essential imports. Only South Africa could do so and if it was to avoid a complete collapse in Zimbabwe it would have to act to meet these essential needs very quickly.
But even if it did so, the added burden to the South African fiscus might be all that is needed to put the South African economy into a tailspin. The Rand is trading at 8 to 1 against the dollar, inflation is up and rising and growth is sluggish at 3 to 4 per cent. Whatever they do, we must accept that this year the winter crop in Zimbabwe is already a casualty of the delays in a transition, preparation for the crop in the summer of 2008/09 has not even started and therefore there is unlikely to be any recovery in food supplies this year. Inflation is out of control at over 2 million per cent per annum and a wide-ranging economic collapse is well under way.
Under these circumstances any outcome on the 27th that leaves Mugabe in charge will trigger a mass exodus of economic and political refugees into South Africa. Estimates put the net arrivals in South Africa from Zimbabwe at 750 000 in the past year. In my own view a victory for Mugabe in any form in June, will lead to an exodus of not less than an additional 2 million people in fairly short order. Do I really have to spell out the consequences of such an event on South Africa? Yet there is no debate here about such a possibility after June 27th. It is a nightmare scenario.
The tragedy of this situation is that it need not be like that. If the SADC and South Africa stated right now that they would respect the outcome of the election and would expect everyone else to do so as well including the present leadership in Zimbabwe, this would help. It would reinforce the role of democratic elections as the only means for effecting regime change and respect for the views of the people when it comes to the selection of leadership.
Despite their reluctance to intervene in any active sense, South Africa has little or no choice when it comes to reigning in those in Zimbabwe who blithely talk of war if Tsvangirai wins. Such rhetoric is simply unacceptable and the Mugabe team in Harare needs to be told that.
If Tsvangirai wins and is then allowed to take power as is his right, then the situation can be turned around in short order. The international community has made no effort to disguise the fact that they would back a new democratically elected government in Harare. They would step in and feed the country, they would back a stabilization program to curb inflation and get the economy onto a recovery path. Most importantly the flight of people to South Africa would stop and be reversed as people decide to come home and participate in reconstruction and development. This would reduce pressures on the South African social system and economy and give much needed breathing space.
It is not too late to get this right, but South Africans need to recognize that they have as much at stake in Zimbabwe on the 27th June and its immediate aftermath as every Zimbabwean.
Eddie Cross
Johannesburg, 13th June 2008
Dear Family and Friends,
Every time the man insulted and complained in his ugly, raised voice, I could feel droplets of his spit on my neck. He was standing so close behind me that I felt distinctly uncomfortable. There must have been about twenty of us waiting in the queue at the supermarket but no one commented or said a word about the abusive tirade. The owners of this sort of behaviour are well known to us all and to stay safe we stay quiet. "Hey Manager," he shouted, "someone send for the manager. Why must I wait like this? I don't expect to have to wait." The more the man ranted the quieter it got in the shop. Two security guards standing at the exit doors did not come forward, instead they retreated out of sight and the shower of spit on my neck increased. "Hey, bring more tellers! Come on, I'm tired of waiting. Hey, you, how much is that chocolate? No, not the local one, the imported one. What about the newspaper, the imported one? How much? Hey, hurry up."
The owner of the abusive behaviour was a man of perhaps thirty. His head was shaven and he wore a thick gold chain around his neck. In his hand, on obvious display, he flicked a thick bundle of money. Under his loose, open-necked shirt we could all see the T shirt he wore with the face of Mr Mugabe on it.
This is the face of Zimbabwe a fortnight before elections: one man silences twenty. We see but we stay quiet.
Two men arrived on foot at a farm this week and they were carrying Zanu PF posters. As they began putting up the posters on the walls of outbuildings a worker tried to object - this is private property after all. "You are not allowed to complain," came the response. "Or maybe you are MDC?" The worker did not respond and the posters of Mr Mugabe were plastered on the walls of private property.
This is the face of Zimbabwe where election observers have begun arriving but are only allowed to watch from 8 am to 5pm.
A friend was at the hospital when the latest victim of political violence arrived. The victim was in his early sixties and accused of being an MDC supporter. Both his arms and one leg were broken , his skull was fractured and the injuries too severe to be treated at the local hospital.
This is the face of Zimbabwe where only 400 election observers will watch 12 million Zimbabweans on the 27th of June. 400 election observers to watch 9231 polling stations. One observer for every 23 polling stations - it is a mockery, an insult to a tired, broken, hungry and frightened population. Is this really the best Africa can do? Until next time, love cathy, Copyright cathy buckle 14th June 2008.
www.cathybuckle.com My books: "African Tears" and "Beyond Tears" are available in South Africa from: books@clarkesbooks.co.za and in the UK from: orders@africabookcentre.com
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