This is Zimbabwe.
Tonight I went to a fundraiser at the Chastleton for humanitarian aid to the people of Zimbabwe. It was organized by my good friend, Michael.
Zimbabwe is in crisis. Half the population is facing the threat of famine, hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced, 80% of adults are unemployed, and the rule of law has been replaced by the arbitrary and brutal rule of a self-appointed elite.
The roots of this catastrophe lie in the actions taken by President Mugabe and his inner circle within the ruling party, the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). Although Zimbabwe’s drought and the legacy of the colonial past represent serious challenges, the people of Zimbabwe should have been able to overcome them. Instead, their freedoms have been curtailed, their economic opportunities have been wasted, and their common heritage has once again been monopolized by a privileged minority.
Many brave Zimbabweans have spoken out against the violence, corruption and mismanagement of their illegitimate government. Some have been murdered; others have been tortured and imprisoned. Many have been forced into exile out of fear for their lives or the need to continue to feed their children. Still others have remained behind in Zimbabwe, risking their lives to serve as witnesses to a revolution betrayed by some of its own authors.
Tonight's fundraiser focused on directing support to Archbishop Pius Ncube - the Catholic Archbishop of Bulawayo and one of the leading human rights advocates in Zimbabwe.
Zim is a beautiful country but it really is going through a crisis. In the six months I lived there in 2003, I saw things deteriorate very quickly. They have a long and hard road ahead of them to rebuild their country, but that's not going to happen till Mugabe and his cronies are out of the picture. Although I lived near the presidential compound, I didn't see Mugabe in person until I went to work for the UN in New York.
Posted by: T-Train | June 02, 2007 at 06:08 AM