- Dear Family and Friends,
-
- I am sitting in the shade of a big old Msasa tree writing
this letter by hand because yet again the electricity is off. It is a magnificent
day so typical of early winter in Zimbabwe: a wide blue sky, comforting
warm sun and a refreshing gentle breeze. It's hard to concentrate on telling
this tragic story of events here when so many jewels are on display just
a few feet away: a blue headed lizard nodding on a lichen covered branch;
lines of red soil left by white ants climbing ever higher into the tree;
bright orange crane flowers and an exquisite red firefinch collecting feathers
and fluff for his nest. Its a deceptive paradise where violence rages just
out of sight and final election results have still not been released four
weeks after people voted. Its a paradise which can only momentarily take
our minds off the nightmare that has become Zimbabwe.
-
- What a disgraceful insult these 2008 elections have become
to the people of Zimbabwe who have suffered so much, lost so much and yet
have remained peaceful and turned the other cheek despite the most extreme
provocation and deprivation. As we stand now without a parliament, with
no sworn in MP's and still not knowing who the newly elected President
of Zimbabwe is, we find ourselves stuck in a frightening and barbaric No
Man's Land.
-
- Every day the reports of horror continue to emerge. Youngsters
in uniform going door to door in villages at night; men with guns; beatings,
house burnings and torture. People having burning, molten plastic dripped
onto their backs and doctors treating patients who have been whipped with
bicycle chains.
-
-
- The MDC reports that 15 of their supporters have
been murdered, 3000 displaced from their homes and 500 hospitalized since
the elections. Listed amongst the people murdered is a five year old boy,
Brighton Mbwera from Manyika Village. This little boy, too young to read
or write and a complete innocent in this month of hell, burnt to death
in a house set on fire during the rampage of political vengeance that is
tearing our country apart.
-
- As each day has passed since the elections, Zimbabwe
has drawn quieter and quieter - silenced by fear. No one knows who to trust,
who they can talk to or who might be listening. One man described how he
and his family eat a small plate of sadza at dusk and then go indoors and
sit in silence in the dark just listening to the noises in the village.
-
-
- The slightest change, an unfamiliar sound, the alarming
of a night bird, an unknown voice and the family immediately get outside
and hide in the bush. People are living in constant fear of burnings and
beatings and are ready, always, to take flight at a moments notice. This
week even our own church leaders warned of genocide being a real possibility
if these events are not stopped immediately.
-
- While the voices of Zimbabweans have been silenced, the
calls from outside continue to rise and for this we are deeply grateful.
Ordinary men and women in South Africa, civic society leaders, churches,
political leaders - a great roar of disapproval over events in Zimbabwe
is reaching a crescendo. Most touching in the last few days was the voice
of the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, speaking on BBC radio. Asked if
he had a message for the ordinary people of Zimbabwe, Archbishop Sentamu
said: "Hold on. Do Not be afraid. Change is coming."
-
- Until next week, thanks for reading,
-
-
- love cathy.
-
-
-
- Copyright cathy buckle 26th
- April 2008.
- www.cathybuckle.com My books: "African Tears"
and "Beyond Tears" are
- available in South Africa from: <mailto:books@clarkesbooks.co.za>books@clarkesbooks.co.za
and in the UK from:
- <mailto:orders@africabookcentre.com>orders@africabookcentre.com
.To subscribe/unsubscribe to this newsletter, please
- write to: <mailto:cbuckle@mango.zw>cbuckle@mango.zw
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