Throughout the past couple of years much has been made of life in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe's leader for 29 years, Robert Mugabe, was once seen as a stable and capable leader. A long time freedom fighter for the oppressed black majority, Mugabe rose to power in the early 1980s. Yet, recently Mugabe has fallen into despotism. He seemingly exerts absolute control over his nation and seems less and less willing to embrace the democratic principles he once stood for.
Using the two articles provided to you, please comment. Discuss in what ways Mugabe's government is undemocratic and what, if anything, you believe the U.S. should do in response.
Comment should be at least 500 words.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Mugabe’s Reign over Zimbabwe started as something that its people thought would be good. Obviously, this is not the case. A democratic leader would not destroy his opponents, especially not in the way that Mugabe has done.
Many women are now trying to overthrow Mugabe in the next election. However, Mugabe has issued a campaign of rape and terror to all opposition against him. According to Jocelyn Zuckerman’s Article We Must Stop the Rape and Terror, there are hundreds of women who have been raped, however, almost no one can go to the police, because rape is such a taboo, that men whose wives are raped often divorce the women to avoid dishonor. When an officer was asked about the reported cases in a month, half of them were rape cases, which their superiors would not allow to be followed up. It is also a crime to give the required medical-request forms that the women need to get care in hospitals. According to Mugabe, Rape is not part of their culture and Zimbabwe does not permit such acts. His spokesmen say that the rape stories are created outside of the country to smear the president’s good name. Some people think that Mugabe, now 85 years old, will not run again in the next election. Regardless, the people who have been raped need justice, and no one is willing to give it to them.
Alex Perry went to Zimbabwe as an undercover reporter. He wanted to know what had turned the country into the poor state it currently is. When Mugabe was first elected in 1980, Zimbabwe had the second strongest economy in Africa. Now, it is one of the weakest. No one knows how many people still live in Zimbabwe now, because so many people have fled, but no one can count how many. Alex broke the law in Zimbabwe by not registering as a journalist, and was arrested 22 hours after landing in its second largest city, Bulawayo. Alex reports that in 1980, the state had the best education and healthcare in Africa. Currently, the Standard of Living is at the levels they were at in 1953. Unemployment in Zimbabwe is one of the highest in the world, at 80%. The expected live span for a woman in Zimbabwe is 34 years, and for a man, 37. Just this year, according to Parade Magazine, Zimbabwe released a $50 billion bill. With that bill, you could buy two loaves of bread. Inflation is 4 digits in Zimbabwe, with about 3700% at the end of 2008. To further compare, a single stone brick costs as much as a three story bedroom, with pool in 1990. Alex became very sick in his prison cell, and got lice from a blanket and Diarrhea from tap water, because he was only given a few sips of water in his 6 day stay. When he asked his lawyer what people ate, the lawyer replied with “Good question.” Zimbabwe’s picture, much like other dictatorships, appears in every building, as if he were always watching you. His court hearing lasted 10 minutes. Alex pleaded guilty and had to pay 100 Zimbabwe dollars, or, when he paid it, .5 U.S. cents. In such a country, something should be done. However, it has taken so long, that any rational action would take 20 years to show any sign of good going. The only thing that should be done is Mugabe killed, and his party disbanded, and a new group of people INSIDE the country take over. But at the same time, I do not really care about Zimbabwe all that much. It is just another faceless country to me, half a world, and half a century, behind us.
Mugabee's government is undemocratic. When government officials think that a reporter is going to write a "negative" story about Zimbabwe, that reporter is arrested. He or she recieves no trial, no lawyer and no phone call. That reporter is subject to beatings, no food or water, filthy jail conditions and intimidating questioning. Many of the guards that run Mugabee's prison realize that Zimbabwe has been ran into the ground. They have to do their jobs to feed their families. The guards of the prison "fear Mugabee more than they hate him." This is a tatic Mugabee uses to scare his citizens and government employees to keep his power. Another tatic he uses is the distribution of a positive image of himself. Those who oppose Mugabee, such as those citizens who belong to the Movement for democratic change (M.D.C.), are beaten, tortured, shot and arrested. Most of the educated people in Zimbabwe have left the country.
A political opponent to Mugabee is the M.D.C. party. Many of the members i nthe M.D.C. are women. THe M.D.C. had been gaining power. As a way for Mugabee to keep his pwer, Mugabee has authorized a campaign of rape against his female opponents. The women who have been brutally raped are thought to have contracted HIV and AIDs. Many of the women who are brave enough to go to police stations and report that they have been raped recieve no help. Police stations are barred from following up on rape reports, and they are not allowed to offer or suggest medical care or attention to women who have been raped. Women that do seek medical attention can not use the medical evidence against their assailant. Those who support the M.D.C. are often shunned from friends and family, it is illegal to offer aid or food to citizens who support the M.D.C. party. The AIDs free world are trying to out Mugabee on trial by a UN backed special court. They aim to prove that the rapes commited in Mugabees name were systematic and widespread. These are two characteristics that define crimes against humanity.
I beleive that the U.S. should support the trial of Mugabee. And help to capture Mugabee. I believe that teh U.S. should try and aid the citizens in need in Zimbabwe. I believe that Mugabee has committed criems against humanity and should be tried as such a criminal.
Webster’s dictionary defines violence has an exertion of physical force so as to injure or abuse. When thinking of great leaders, does the word violence come to mind? No. A great leader does not use abuse and rape on the citizens of their country. However the leader of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, feels differently. While he has been the leader, Zimbabwe’s conditions have deteriorated dramatically. Inflation has rocketed up to 80 billion percent, a cholera epidemic has killed thousands, and hundreds of thousands are starving from food shortages. There are many untold stories of abductions, beatings, and rapes. Betty Makoni, a Zimbabwean activist and rape survivor, said that she knows of 700 women who have been raped and suspects the number is far greater. Most of the women who are raped are infected with HIV. Sixteen percent of the population has been infected with HIV. The reasoning behind all the violence throughout Zimbabwe is because the citizens were targeted as “agents selling out the country.” Robert would have supports of his opposition, The Movement for Democratic Change, beaten and raped saying that they were selling out the country.
Survival in Zimbabwe is difficult. The conditions are unbearable. Robert Mugabe’s hold on power seems unlikely to slip anytime soon. This means that the circumstances now are only going to get worse. One thing that Zimbabwe will never run out of is pictures of Robert. The framed pictures hang in every house, store, gas station, and restaurant in the country. Robert is a man who is full of himself rather than doing what is best for his country. There was an interview that aired on television of Robert at his 83rd birthday saying, “Some people say I am a dictator, but my own people call me handsome.” To me this sounds like a joke. How can the leader of a country be joking around when hundreds and thousands of his people are dying?
The question is: what can America do to stop this man? If we try to step in, is he going to have America beaten too? A country should not be centered on violence and rape. It should be centered on peace and what is best for the citizens. The citizens of Zimbabwe should be able to elect a leader who they feel will better them and represent them the best. They should not have to watch their back every second and be prepared for the next attack from the government. When reading these two articles on old but true saying came to my head, violence is NOT the answer. And this is what I believe. I think that people use violence because they are scared themselves. They are scared that other people could be a better leader than they are and they just do not want to admit that.
America should help the Zimbabwean citizens, but not cause anymore violence than there already is. We should convince Robert to come to his senses and step down as leader and let the people choose and vote for their next leader. America should help them establish a democracy and bring peace to this country.
I was currently reading an article by: Jocelyn Craugh Zuckerman, and it was describing current conditions in Zimbabwe; from certain perspectives. Most was from women who have been raped and beaten and then have contracted HIV. The women are mostly trying to promote against their dictator, and then are attacked by the governments “thugs.” The Movement for Democratic Change is the country’s opposition political party and trust me the government doesn’t like it. The beatings get worse each day even beating and raping 13 year old girls. Disease and beatings follow these women and girls with no sign of relief in the future. These Women are almost as the women in our early 20th century. All they want is general rights of a free government; Democracy. This movement needs help and I think the United States should intervene and take down the monster known as Mugabe and send him to prison for what he has done, or hasn’t done. This Cholera epidemic has also started, with no signs of dying down unless Mugabe gives funds to help with medical care.
Then I was lead into another article, entitled Land Of Chains And Hunger; By: Alex Perry. This article talks about slave camps pretty much. This is when kids and adults are being taken for work or just brain washed, or what was called brain drained. Prisoners also live in fear, knowing they can be beaten or killed for being evolved with “monkey Business.” State police even attacked a Christian march that correspond with the M.D.C. and arrested the leader and beat him within his life. Alex Perry found this out quickly, as he was arrested within 22hours of being in Zimbabwe. As he entered the country he started interviewing multiple citizens; until he was arrested. After this he was thrown into a jail cell and kept their for five days. Not only was he innocent of a crime he was alone. The cell consisted of only a rusty drain and a lone light. He was only allowed to use the restroom if given permission. He also smelled horrible from not being able to take a shower and not being able to keep in shape. This is from exercising to eating regularly the only time he was allowed to eat was the day of his trial. During his stay he was told of the hardships that all people endured. He was even asked by one of the guards if Alex could look for a job for him. Then day five came, he was allowed to proceed out of his cell and into a car. He was taken to a ran down diner and was surprised to see a full American breakfast. This consisted of eggs, bacon, sausage, etc. Now he was taken to court and he pleaded guilty. The crime committed was reporting badly about the President. He was ordered to pay the 100 Zimbabwe dollars for the fine. This is an equivalent to ½ a cent American dollars. He knew the state wouldn’t look for him but the federal government would. So, he fled the direction not traveled by many; North. Then he was free once more.
Well, in the first article, We Must Stop The Rape and Terror, by Jocelyn Craugh Zuckerman, you can definitely tell that Zimbabwe is not democratic at all and is definitely a dictatorship. They try to act like they are not a full dictatorship by holding elections, but don’t get caught trying to run against Robert Mugabe. There is an opposing party right now in Zimbabwe called the MDC, or Movement for Democratic Change, whose leader is Morgan Tsvangiria. There is a story about a woman at home about to go to bed when she hears trucks pull up outside her home. It was Mugabe’s “people”. They pulled her out of her home, drove to an empty street, beat her and raped her repeatedly. This woman was currently working for the MDC so she knew why they did it. This has happened to over 1000 women in Zimbabwe for going against the current leader. Zimbabwe’s living condition are at their worst right now, having an 80 Billion % inflation rate, making even loaves of bread impossible for the average Joe to afford. This has called hundreds of thousands to die of starvation. A cholera epidemic has also killed thousands. The husbands have no support for their wives in Zimbabwe, as so far of 26 women giving their affidavits, one was accompanied by their husbands and almost every husband in Zimbabwe has disowned their wives.
In the second article I read, First Person: Imprisoned in Zimbabwe, by Alex Perry, it talks about a tourist trying to get a feel for how bad Zimbabwe actually is. He definitely got what he wanted.
Mugabe’s government is extremely undemocratic. For one thing, Mugabe has been in office for over 30 years. The election held in 2008 would only be accepted if Mugabe would win. That right there is undemocratic. Just because you hold an election does not mean anything if the people don’t have the right to choose, freely, who they want to be their leader. Anyone who opposes the Zimbabwean government, women in particular, are raped or beaten brutally. So why would anyone want to oppose it? Live undemocratically or be raped? I know which side I would choose.
Being a girl, it makes me especially upset that this happens. Anyone should see the wrong in this boy or girl. The whole thing makes me sick. What kinds of people do this? Why are women being targeted the most? It’s pretty obvious they have limited power so why rape them if they oppose? What is the point? And if they’re not raped they are deprived of food or taken away to a camp or badly beaten. When does it stop? This could lead to genocide of women in the country of Zimbabwe. In the article it said that most of these “thugs” could not afford guns and weapons so they resorted to rape. Rape is just as if not more effective than weapons. And these women and children do not deserve that.
The United States cannot really do anything about this. In class we discussed what were to happen if we went in to stop Darfur and the end result would not be good. Sure we would stop the violence and send supplies but what would happen if we leave. I strongly believe we should go to Zimbabwe and stop all this madness but I’m not sure how we could do it. And the United States could not do it alone. Maybe the U.N. could rally up countries to go in and stop this. Whatever we do we have to do it fast because this is simply inhumane and cruel. These people have gone through so much hell because they want a better life or maybe just because some thug felt like raping them. There are husbands who have watched their wives get raped and have not been able to do anything about it. They have actually been encouraged to disown their wife. Children have been raped just to prove a point to the child’s parents. This has to end. It’s just not right at all. And if nothing is done then eventually the world will turn into a chaotic and horrible place, more so than it is now.
When I read those articles it truly disturbed me. If I had to live like that I don’t know what I would do. It makes me truly appreciate living in America where I can be free and do as I please. It makes me wish for those poor women and children to have the life I have. Hopefully someday they will. I cannot come up with a solution but hopefully someone will.
Post a Comment