Posted on 7-1-2001

Zimbabwe's Black Days
by Cathy Buckle

On Tuesday a 24 year old farm manager, Duncan Cook, was attacked in the
fields of the farm where he works. He was slashed across the right side of
his forehead with a machete by a government official.The photograph of this
man, barely out of school, deathly pale, lying in blood saturated bedding
with a massive line of stitches from his right ear to his eyebrow has left
me in deep, deep shock. Please visit my website to see this for yourselves,
to see that violence on farms in Zimbabwe has not stopped and that every
day the farmers of our country are literally risking their lives to keep
putting food on our tables. Their desperate attempts, against overwhelming
obstacles are not enough though. Too many farmers have now been chased off
their farms, too many have been told they may not grow food and people are
already starving. On Tuesday this week the Daily News reported that two
children died of starvation in Hwange on a farm where people have been
resettled. A relative of the deceased children said: "There is no maize
meal in the shops. More people will die, especially children, because we
are going for days without food." Shop owners in the area confirmed that
they have stopped selling maize meal because they are making serious losses
due to the price controls on the staple food.

While people are now literally starving to death, our President and 7618
delegates held their annual Zanu PF congress in the Victoria Falls. The
Zimbabwe Independent estimates the cost of the transport and accommodation
alone to have been Z$440 million. The gap between the rich and the poor is
now an enormous chasm. This week it was officially announced that
Zimbabwe's inflation rate hit 103,8%. This is the first time in the
history of our country that inflation has gone into three digits and it has
become almost impossible for most of us to survive. Newly re settled
farmers this week told the Financial Gazette that they were having to sell
the fertilizer and seed maize they had been given by the government under
the fast track land re-distribution scheme. One settler said: "What will I
be living on until next year...? If I manage to sell some of the fertilizer
to make a living and send my three children to school then I do not see
anything wrong with that..." Zimbabwe's new farmers simply do not have the
resources to grow the food needed to support 13 million people. I shudder
to think what we will be facing by this time next year.

So why do I stay here? Why are so many farmers, now holding 90 day eviction
notices, still staying in the country? Why are farmers who have not been
allowed to farm for more than 6 months still here? Why are men and women,
black and white, who have been tortured, beaten and raped, still here? So
many people ask me why I bother, why I don't just leave Zimbabwe. Let me
speak only for myself. I was born and went to school and university here. I
have lived here all my life and my son was born and is being educated here.
My neighbourhood is a mixture of black and white people. My friends are a
mixture of black and white people. My son goes to a multi racial school and
as I write he is playing with his best friend Brian who has a different
skin colour to him. I stay here because it is my home and it is my right. I
stay here because 85 people have died to give me a free and democratic
government. I stay here because I believe in my country and her people. I
stay here because I know that 99% of Zimbabweans want me to be here. I
speak out because so many hundreds of thousands are unable to do so and we
all know this will not last. As the laws close in on us, every word becomes
harder and more dangerous to write or speak. Throwing a stone at a
government building will soon attract a 10 years prison term. Giving food
to a starving person without government permission may also land me in
gaol. Writing letters like these will soon be a punishable offence but I
will continue to speak out as long as I am able. This week a new radio
station began broadcasting to and for Zimbabwe. SW Radio Africa at 6145 khz
on the 49 metre band is telling us the truth every night from 6 - 9pm. The
tears ran down my face as I listened to their first broadcast and the
closing message, sung by and for Zimbabweans was: "Hold on, just a little
bit longer." I must close by thanking all the hundreds of people who
continue to give me moral and emotional support. Without you I would have
given up. I wish you all a peaceful Christmas with family and friends and
hope we may all see an end to the terror that has become the way of life in
2002. To all my Zimbabwean friends and family - Hold on just a little bit
longer.

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