- Dear Family and Friends,
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- More than 3 million Zimbabweans have fled the country
since February 2000 and are scattered all over the world, living in exile
like a lost tribe. They have left their friends and families, their hearts
and memories, the sights, sounds and smells that make Zimbabwe home. Some
have gone for economic and other reasons but many thousands have literally
run for their lives, after violence, threats, rape, intimidation and extreme
persecution for their political beliefs. They have gone to countries where
they have no jobs, nowhere to live, no money and no friends. One of these
people who was forced to flee his country under extreme circumstances is
Gabriel.
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- In January 2003 Gabriel was an ordinary upstanding member
of Zimbabwean society. He was a human rights lawyer who had often spoken
out about the wrongs in our society. He was called to defend an opposition
Member of Parliament who was in trouble. Whilst consulting with his client,
Gabriel was seized by armed police. At first he was held in a prison cell
but then he was removed, shoved into a yellow vehicle, had his head covered
with a black hood and was taken away to an unknown place. Gabriel was taken
down three flights of stairs, stripped completely naked, had his hands
and feet shackled and was abused, assaulted and interrogated for many hours.
Gabriel was forced to drink his own urine and lick his own vomit off the
floor. At times he was hung upside down and beaten on the soles of his
feet, at other times he had wires attached to his toes and genitals and
was repeatedly tortured with electric shocks. Gabriel was forced to write
and sign documents implicating himself and other senior members of the
opposition. Three days later a High Court ordered that Gabriel be released.
Charges of trying to destabilize the government were thrown out of court
but then came the death threats which finally made Gabriel flee for his
life to South Africa.
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- Gabriel Shumba may be plagued by nightmares of his own
ordeal but he is determined not to be another statistic, not to be a silent
victim. He has repeatedly spoken of his ordeal and recently addressed the
US Congress for Human Rights. Gabriel is the legal regional director of
the Accountability Commission and with others is involved in the Zimbabwe
Exiles Forum. Their aim is to help Zimbabwean exiles by providing social,
legal and educational assistance to people who have lost everything. The
ZEF wants to rid exiles of the loneliness, destitution and pain that comes
from being strangers in a strange country. They want to bring Zimbabweans
together, help them to survive, heal and learn to love and trust again
so that they will be proud, patriotic and ready to come back and help rebuild
their lives and their country. At the moment it is a tall order as the
ZEF have no resources, no office that people can come to and not even the
transport needed to find the thousands of Zimbabweans who are forced to
beg on highways, prostitute themselves and sleep under bridges. Gabriel
knows of at least 13 000 Zimbabwean asylum seekers and torture victims
in Johannesburg alone that need urgent humanitarian assistance. They do
not arrive to loving arms, warm beds and kindly counsellors. Gabriel says
asylum seekers arrive hugely traumatized, have no relations, money, accomodation
or jobs. The South African government admit they have only given asylum
to 11 people and that thousands have been turned down on the grounds that
"there is no civil war in Zimbabwe." Gabriel says it is agonising
to see the immense suffering of fellow Zimbabweans in exile and not even
be able to offer a "warm hand of significant support." If you
would like to know more about the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum or hold out a helping
hand of healing to exiles in distress, contact Gabriel Shumba at : gabmrech@yahoo.com
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- Thank you for reading the story of a brave and truly
inspirational Zimbabwean man. Happy Easter.
-
- Until next week,
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- with love, cathy.
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- Copyright cathy buckle 10th April 2004. http://africantears.netfirms.com
-
- My books on the Zimbabwean crisis, "African Tears"
and "Beyond Tears" are available outside Africa from: orders@africabookcentre.com
; www.africabookcentre.com ; www.amazon.co.uk ; in Australia and New Zealand:
johnmreed@johnreedbooks.com.au ; Africa: www.kalahari.net www.exclusivebooks.com
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