Even Elephants Know What Is Going On

According a report out of Zambia, a good number of elephants have crossed the Zambezi river to live in Zambia rather than Zimbabwe. I think we can read between the lines and surmise the elephants found Zimbabwe unlivable.

But of course, Mugabe blames western intervention for the problems Zimbabwe is experiencing.

It is amazing that elephants are smarter than Mugabe....

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/5233991/Elephants-abandon-troubled-Zimbabwe.html

This blog is finally making a difference...

Okay maybe not but the New York Times syndicate and Slate has finally heeded the call for Mugabe to be scrutinized. Find the article here:
http://www.slate.com/id/2210830/
One thought....his premise is that his crimes were not as egregious until recently because they were the crimes of an elected government. Genocide is genocide elected or not...until we hold anyone who commits genocide responsible this kind of things will happen again and again and again....
I am thankful that this information is finally hitting the mainstream!

I Usually Encourage Ownership...

but in this case, ownership scares me completely. Our villain of the moment, Robert Mugabe, recently said:

"Zimbabwe is mine. I will never, never, never never surrender. Zimbabwe is mine, I am a Zimbabwean. Zimbabwe for Zimbabweans. Zimbabwe never for the British, Britain for the British," Mugabe told his party's annual conference.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081219/wl_africa_afp/zimbabwepolitics_081219142025

How in the world is Zimbabwe his? Granted, he is ruling the country but only a dictator would say a country is "his".

That should solve it for everyone...talk amongst yourselves......

Cholera...Just another problem for Zimbabwe?

Zimbabwe, for those of you who don't know, is the place in Africa where my wife and I support a child who has HIV. The HIV problem is bad enough (to say the least) but now there is another player in the life and death game for the people of Zimbabwe: Cholera.

MDC secretary for health Dr Henry Madzorera had this to say recently: ""Our observation is that we do not have the capacity to deal with the epidemic, there are gross shortages from human resources to materials, drugs and fluids. The human resource situation is very dire, we have all nurses on strike, and only senior nurses are manning the wards. They are working long hours, they are tired and exposed to the extent that some health workers are now being infected with cholera while on duty," said Madzorera.Some health workers have also been admitted to hospitals as they contract the disease because of lack of adequate protective uniform."

It is amazing that the drug tetracycline and clean water would cure most problems with cholera in Zimbabwe. But yet, Mugabe's group denies there is even a problem with cholera. Shock...

The mismanagement of the government has caused this huge problem once again. This makes Peter Thum's mission even more important. Clean water is the basis for health around the world.

How do we get water to those who need it.....talk amongst yourselves.....

Jimmy Carter and Zimbabwe

I was just reading an article in the L.A. Times about Zimbabwe. A man I admire for his tireless humanitarian efforts, former President Jimmy Carter, said the situation in Zimbabwe is much worse than can be imagined.

This is his quote from the Times:

"The entire basic structure in education, healthcare, feeding people, social services and sanitation has broken down," Carter said at a news conference in Johannesburg, South Africa. "These are all indications that the crisis in Zimbabwe is much greater, much worse than we had ever imagined."

The interesting thing is that Carter has not been to Zimbabwe lately. A group of people that includes Carter and Kofi Anan, who label themselves The Elders, were denied access to Zimbabwe by guess who?

Robert Mugabe.

Carter talked to refugees from Zimbabwe in South Africa to gather the information. An estimated 4.9 million people need aid for food and none of the 4 major hospitals are functioning in Zimbabwe.

This is a problem....read the article in the L.A. Times (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mugabe25-2008nov25,0,7756381.story) and discuss amongst yourselves.....

Mugabe is at it....again!

I expressed some initial worries about the power-sharing deal in Zimbabwe. The reason I was worried was because I had read and heard from people in Zimbabwe the things Mugabe was doing and didn't trust him to share power...with anyone!

It seems those fears were not unfounded. Mugabe essentially ignored the power-sharing agreement by appointing all cabinet positions to those in his own party. So much for the sharing part of that discussion.

His party, ZANU-PF, took 14 ministries, including defense, justice, information, foreign affairs and the powerful local government ministry. It also took mines -- the key to the remaining sources of wealth in Zimbabwe, mainly diamonds and platinum -- and land. Two opposition parties were given 16 minor posts, such as parliamentary and constitutional affairs, sport, labor, arts and culture and education.

Guess which major part of the government Mugabe didn't assign to his party.....finance. Mugabe doesn't want his party to be to blame for the economy of Zimbabwe. The other party now becomes the fall guy for the inflation, etc.

He wants the mines of course though because that is where the wealth of the nation is....

Greed is not good, sorry Gordon Gecko.

Shared Power?

On 9/13,a deal was struck that would allow President Mugabe to keep power but the opposing party inZimbabwe would be granted more positions of power.

I am not really sure what this will do. It seems like Mugabe has been the non-officially-recognized Dictator of Zimbabwe for awhile now. How is putting the opposition party in seats of power going to change what a dictator does?

What exactly will this do for the economy? To enhance the ability to help those who need food and medical care? I was interested in seeing what others would say about this in the press. Widespread caution among commentators over how this will fare was the overwhelming response. Exactly how quickly the deal could end the crisis or persuade Western powers - deeply opposed to Mugabe - to step in with massive financial support to aid recovery?

There is still much to be done but I am not sure this is the right next step. Mbeki is next it seems....

The Unintended Consequences of Zimbabwe

I read an article today about the number of sex workers skyrocketing in the countries around Zimbabwe. The reason why this is happening is because citizens in Zimbabwe are leaving their country and moving to the surrounding countries where they have trouble finding a job. When they have trouble finding a job, becoming a sex worker becomes one of the very few options available to them.

I wonder if the Mugabe regime understands how many men, women and children have had their lives uprooted and changed (not always for the better) by their actions. And what the ramifications of the changes in these lives will be for the next generations.

I still have hope for Zimbabwe. Call me a delusional optimist...my wife does!

U.S. Sanctions

Finally the U.S. has jumped on the bandwagon, late once again. President Bush signed an executive order expanding sanctions against Mugabe's regime. It targets companies that are puppets of the Mugabe regime used to siphon off money.

CNN has reported that: "Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer told members of Congress last week that more than 100 people have been murdered, more than 3,000 have been injured by beatings or torture and more than 30,000 have been driven from their homes because of violence that broke out after the general election."

Hitting them financially is a good start. On to other good news, our president is finally doing some good things to end his presidency on a positive note. Here is what CNN is reporting:

"Bush said Friday the United States is ready to provide a "substantial assistance package, development aid and normalization with international financial institutions" should those talks result in a new government "that reflects the will of the Zimbabwean people."
In the meantime, the president said he is authorizing the use of up to $2.5 million from the U.S. Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund to assist Zimbabwean refugees and those displaced by the violence. In addition, he said the United States will continue efforts to provide food and medical care to Zimbabweans."

CNN consistenly covers this situation better than almost anyone else. This aid is a first step in rebuilding the people of Zimbabwe. Now if we can just get working on that new constitution and a fair election....

2 Weeks of Hope

Mugabe and his band of.....of....I'm not even going there.....have finally agreed to talks about sharing power. President Mbeki from South Africa is moderating these talks and hopes to have some kind of conclusion within two weeks.

Two weeks? While this doesn't seem like a long time, but it is. There are bigger things to think about:

1. In two weeks, how many people will die in Zimbabwe?
2. How long will it take for any changes to take place? And how many will die during that time?
3. How will inflation be controlled in the time being?
4. Will humanitarian groups be given freedom to help in Zimbabwe?

One of the promising things about these talks is that there is talk of a new constitution. I would love to know what they are thinking...and what you are thinking that read this blog.

Here is the question: What should a new Zimbabwean constitution consist of?

Got Paper?

While scrolling through a Chicago Tribune paper yesterday, there was an interesting article about a cash crisis in Zimbabwe.

We all suffer a cash crisis at one time in our lives, but this is a whole different thing.

Fidelity Printers and Refiners, the state-owned entity that produces bank notes for Mugabe, ran into a major problem. The German company that supplies the paper was not happy with the government's choices in the recent weeks. It decided to not send them the paper as a way to protest the Mugabe regime.

Without the paper to print they cannot produce money. Inflation has caused bank notes to have denominations like 500 million dollars. Software is now going to be an issue also. The government must use the software to dream up new notes as old ones are worthless because of inflation. What is their software license is pulled because of the Mugabe regime.

Fidelity has propped the Mugabe regime by constantly printing new money. But no more. Those legs are about to fall off....

Liberia Shows Rare Support for the West

As the Zimbabwe situation continues to be problematic, 2 rays of hope have arrived:

1. Mugabe and the opposition party are now meeting with South African leaders to hopefully start the process of getting aid back to those who truly suffer, the people not heading the political parties.

2. Most of the time, African countries have been leary of western involvement in African politics. But the President of Liberia has come out for the western sanctions:

"Meanwhile, Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf backed sanctions against Zimbabwe's leadership, in rare African support for the Western-backed move."

It shows that even the African countries are seeing what Mugabe is doing is wrong and hurting the people he is supposed to protect.

I don't think putting the opposition party automatically in power is the right move either. I propose a two pronged plan:

1. First and foremost, get aid back to those who need it by allowing humanitarian groups to return to their work in Zimbabwe.
2. Rehold the recently held elections with a U.N. peacekeeping force overseeing the process.

Then people will stop dying and have the ability to vote. That is a good start for Zimbabwe. Then we can start thinking about the economy....

Hitting 'Em Where It Hurts...maybe

The U.N. has taken up the Zimbabwe situation. Unfortunately, it seems the U.N. tends to be more reactive than proactive.

Here is what was published in the story in USA today:

"The proposed U.N. sanctions include an international arms embargo and freeze on the personal assets of Mugabe and 11 other top government officials whom the U.S. believes played a key role in using violence to undermine Mugabe's opposition."

I have a tendency to think the freezing of the assets of Mugabe and the 11 other top government officials would be more effective on the surface. But given the inflation that exists in Zimbabwe (see my last post!), what exactly would this do if the 12 had their money in Zimbabwe currency?

If the 12 have their money in another currency, that tells us everything we need to know about them anyway...

4.1 billion dollars in 2 weeks: The New Rate of Inflation

Ah yes, Zimbabwe takes center stage in my brain. Again....
I got an email from a group working in Zimbabwe and some of the happenings are even more startling that what is being said in the news media.

· The salary level for teachers and principals cannot possibly keep track with inflation. Last month a principal received his salary. It was only enough to buy 4 bananas!! It is very understandable that the staff of schools are not present to teach the children.
· Cornelious was called in the night to take one of the caregivers to the hospital. When he arrived, he found there were no doctors present at this major hospital.
· Two weeks ago (the week we left South Africa for a 5 week trip to the States), the Zimbabwe dollar fell from 2 billion Zim dollars for 1 US dollar, to 6.1 billion Zim dollars for 1 US dollar. And that was within just one week!
· The March presidential election, and the following runoff election of June, has left the country with Mugabe sworn back in as president, but not recognized as legitimate by many of the world’s major leaders, including many in Africa. Some African figures have called for armed intervention. The nation continues in painful limbo.

6.1 billion dollars to 1 U.S. dollar. 4.1 million dollars in inflation in one week. It is understandable that four bananas is not enough to feed a family.

Other than removing Mugabe from power (which I support!), how can we help stabilize the economy and restore aid to Zimbabwe?

Mugabe Tries To Handle His Competition

Ah, yes Mugabe from Zimbabwe is performing the oldest trick in politics: if you are worried about your opponents taking power from you, just put them in jail!

The police in Zimbabwe are now holding 200 members of Mugabe's opposition party in jail and the UN Security Council is holding a closed session about the declining situation in Zimbabwe.

Mugabe's opposition party now has political control after the most recent election threatening Mugabe's power.

It is time to look at the real losers in this situation: those who still don't have access to food and medicine because of Mugabe's political aspirations.

Mugabe needs to allow change to take place rather than hold onto power.

Something big is happening in Zimbabwe

check back in a few minutes......

And we think George Bush is bad

President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has announced that humanitarian groups are not longer able to function in his country because one supposed group is campaigning for the opposition in the June 27 presidential runoff between Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai.

What does this mean? Lots on two fronts:

1. AIDS medication will no longer be given to many.
2. Food, which is in short supply to say the least, will not be handed out.

Death and starvation in the name of politics.

Impeach Mugabe?