h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The main news over here in South Africa at the moment revolves around the newly completed elections in Zimbabwe. The results are not yet known. Most folks I know want president Robert Mugabe to lose. From the time of becoming president of Zimbabwe in 1980 he's been doing all sorts of nasty stuff against anybody he perceives to be opposing him. Members of certain ethnic groups have been arrested, terrorised, tortured and (it is claimed) even killed. Lots of evidence supports claims of genocides against for instance the Matabele people, the number of victims estimated in tens of thousands. In fact one theory is that Mugabe fears being ousted as President because that would expose him to being charged and prosecuted for these genocides.

Another ruinous thing was that the land of white farmers have been confiscated and given to supposed 'War Veterans', and the productivity of that land has plummeted since many of the 'war veterans' have no idea how to farm. The white Zimbabweans, so derided by Mugabe and his supporters, have been very important for keeping agriculture, businesses and industries in Zimbabwe productive, and the acts against these prosperous whites, rather than uplifting anybody, has devastated the national economy. (I AM HUGELY in favour of uplifting people who were previously downtrodden. But it's no use giving all productive farm land to people who don't know how to farm, or giving businesses and industries to people who can't run them. There are more practical ways of transferring wealth - and in my view more importantly, wealth-generating ability - to erstwhile deprived groups.) Mugabe frequently launches tirades in his speeches against especially the Brits, accusing them of sabotaging his country, and anybody who's seen as being hand-in-glove with the British. All of Mugabe's opponents are automatically tarred with that brush. It is true that Zimbabwe has been economically ruined and has at the moment perhaps the highest rate of inflation in history. Many people are starving and many of the 'necesssities' of life are unobtainable in Zimbabwe. However, many people believe that Mugabe himself - and the policies instituted by him, as I explained above - are to blaim for this economic ruin. Many people in Zimbabwe itself are very strongly opposed to Mugabe; many are finding life almost unliveable there; many Zimbabweans have consequently fled into South Africa, seeing it as a land of 'milk and honey'. The reality is much more bitter. Zimbabweans coming to South Africa find themselves unwanted, without money, without desirable skills, without social networks, unable to speak the local languages, and viewed with mistrust by the locals. Jobs are scarce in South Africa, and our 'legitimate' citizens see Zimbabweans either as competitors for a very limited number of jobs, or, if they cannot get jobs, as potential criminals. In concequence, angry mobs have frequently burned down huts of people known or suspected to be Zimbabweans or other 'outsiders'. Often people are targeted for being too dark in skin colour. In one case a man was deliberately burned to death in his own house. This is the kinds of xenophobia faced by Zimbabwean refugees and others from other African countries trying to settle here.

That is the background of the present elections. The elections have taken place and we are all now waiting for the results. The claims are at the moment that Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change that has been opposing Mugabe, has won! Many claim that the results are being held back so they can be 'cooked' by Mugabe and his men to show him as being the winner. Mugabe has actually said that any claim by the MDC of having won *before* the official results were out, would be considered as a 'coup d'etat' attempt.

So we are all waiting to see what happens next.

Willem,

As I understand it, when the British handed over to the Zimbabweans it was a prosperous thriving country. You are right in your appraisal of the risks of handing over land, businesses, and indeed government to people who are not equipped.

I think most of us here hope Mugabe will be ousted, though personally I am not sure whether any new ruler would be much different? It would be good to see Mugabe brought to justice for his crimes against humanity. I wonder if we ever will.

Take care - I hope you are well away from the unrest.

Websailor

This delay can't be good news. Something has to change there, whatever goes on with Mugabe he seems so incredibly bitter that it's hard to see any real change for the better happening while he still holds power.

Rhodesia was prosperous, that's absolutely true, and in material terms quality of life was much higher - but it was on the back of cheap labour and oppression of the majority of the people living there which makes it hard to tell exactly what Zimbabwe should achieve.

I didn't realise Zimbabweans would be so unwelcome in SA but if there's a shortage of work it's bound I suppose it's bound to cause tension. We get enough tension over here even though there's no such work shortage.
Waz