Not that police brutality is ever acceptable. But treatment of National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) activists this week challenge hopes that talks between Zanu PF and the MDC, and the two parties’ recent agreements on Constitutional Amendment 18, mean a softening in the government’s position on freedom of expression. The state may be planning on revising repressive legislation such as and AIPPA, but in the meantime, freely expressing dissent remains as challenging as ever.

According to the NCA, over 400 people participated in a peaceful march in Harare against the 18th Constitutional Amendment. The demonstration was interrupted by the police, and those demonstrators who did not run away in time were rounded up by the police and forced to sit outside Herald House while the police took turns beating them. The photo on the left gives an evocative image of police’s heavy-handed treatment of these demonstrators, even once they were seated and clearly not posing any physical or immediate threat to anyone. You can see more on the SW Radio Africa website.
The NCA reported that 34 people sustained serious injuries from these beatings, and were taken to hospital for treatment.

The dangerous acts these activists committed which caused the police to lash out at them like this? Daring to hold a demonstration and carrying placards reading things like: “No to Amendment 18,” or “No to treachery.”

A friend of mine volunteered in Masvingo for a few months doing household surveys of rural families in that province. The main focus of the project was to find out how families were being affected by HIV/AIDS, and what kind of coping strategies they had developed. She was shocked by how poorly the majority of families she interviewed were doing. HIV was hitting the adult population hard, making it difficult for families to carry out the basic chores and activities they needed to do to survive. Home based care had been an option for some of these families, but she commented that it was becoming more a case of “home based neglect.” When the price controls hit and goods vanished off the shelves, relatives and caregivers in many cases stopped visiting. Whether they were too busy trying to feed their own families, or too embarrassed to visit their charges empty handed, she didn’t know. But either way, they stopped visiting, and those dependent on their assistance were suffering.

Her story reminded me of Tafadzwa Muropa’s recent reflections on home based care. As she put it,

I would like to share my experiences and views in relation to how I see the state of Home Based Care in Zimbabwe and how it is evolving, since most care givers are women, who have a double burden of taking care of the clients who are bedridden in most cases, and also have other responsibilities at home.

My concern lies in the state’s response to the question of not acknowledging the efforts put by women in HBC, by offering them stipends, allowances, or remuneration, especially during these harsh economic times.

Her piece raises concerns similar to those my friend found. Home based care provides individuals with care and support which the state is not currently providing them.

In a recent interview, Lynde Francis, the director of The Centre, observed that the current economic situation is so bad, some Zimbabweans are trying to pretend they are HIV-positive, so that they can benefit from the services and food parcels that those living with HIV have access to.

But when will government prioritise care for its citizens and step into the void which home based care givers and other service organisations are now trying to fill? As those who can increasingly opt-out of Zimbabwe and try their luck in the Diaspora, who is left to care for those in need? How do we support care givers so that they stay engaged, and don’t give up because the are feeling overwhelmed or taken advantage of? Home based care givers are currently providing an essential service of physical, nutritional, moral, psychological and even spiritual support to many of the quarter of all Zimbabweans currently estimated to be infected with HIV. Ever adaptable, Zimbabweans are finding new and creative ways to adapt to the growing strain of life here. Even as we do so, let us not forget the importance of demanding that government also fulfill its responsibilities.

In our latest email newsletter we asked our subscribers to send in their thoughts on the ZBC poll and what was missing from their list of causes of the current shortages of basic commodities. Here are a few of their responses:

The government is responsible.

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With interest I saw your poll on your website regarding who is to blame for shortages. May I suggest to add other possible culprits: the pricing control commission, the ministry of commerce and the cabinet.

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I was interested to see that you are carrying a poll on your website re the shortages, but I do feel you are not providing the viewer with sufficient choices to make the poll meaningful as they are limited to manufacturers, retailers, black market, western sanctions. May I suggest that you add government to the list – this may provide you with a more credible result.

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My strongest opinion is that shortages have been caused mainly by the ruling party chefs as they are the only ones with meaningful business properties in Zimbabwe. They own up everything. How many opposition members we know who are operators of all sots of businesses beside Zanu PF stalwarts. It is a wonder that Mugabe stands there pointing his finger at western sanctions when he cannot ask his politburo friends what they are doing within their businesses. They are all in agreement that goods are extremely expensive when they stand in their meetings but cannot wait to run straight back to their organizations to push upwards prices then claim later suppliers have cut back supplies because of price controls. They are not a clean lot. They are the greatest shortages causers.

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The range of options is too narrow, and tends to show that the author of the survey has a superficial appreciation of how economies function. In fact the question should be: why are Zimbabwean producers not satisfying the demands of the market? In respect of the present, superficial question my response would be: NONE OF THE SUGGESTED ANSWERS -
Manufacturers – do not have the inputs required, as they cannot afford them
Retailers – do not manufacture anything, they are just intermediaries
The black market – is always created by bottlenecks in supply, and can disappear as quickly as it can appear if there are changes in those areas
Western sanctions – what sanctions? Preventing a megalomaniac dictator and his cohorts from gallivanting all over the world at will talking nonsense certainly does not equate to sanctions.

The real cause is the subordination of everything else in that country and economy to uncontrolled hunger for dominance of everything and everyone! All other ’causes’ are just symptoms and consequences. My two cents worth.

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My views are retailers are to blame because when they have goods which are scarce they take advantage and sell these to their staff who later transfer this to the black market. Black market is at other times responsible, but their contribution to this can be cut straight right easily. If supply is increased. On the term of the Manufacturer it is difficult for them to fill the market even, if they are responsible for commodity shortages but they have corners to hide about this they blame low production, high running costs, lack of foreign currency and poor electricity supply.

So as my point of view before these 4 above have been resolved I think shortage will continue and builds up more opportunity for black market. For us to have a good point of view let’s think what are factors that builds black market.

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ZBC should be on the list, broadcast the truth of the matter and you get off the list clean.

Most of the time when I leave my house I’m running, cycling or driving. But I’ve found myself needing to slow down a bit and reflect more lately, so I’ve taken to walking. It’s my favourite time of year here in Harare, summer in all its splendour, and the rains haven’t yet begun. The jacarandas have lost the air of surprise of their first flush, but they are still stunning. There’s a ridge I see when I turn a certain corner and the yellow acacia blossoms, purple jacaranda and green of leaves in between makes me catch my breath every time. The dusty earth is carpeted in yellow, purple and mauve blossoms, and the jacaranda buds pop underfoot.

Walking isn’t without its challenges, of course. Like the man who greeted me on my way home last night: “Hello girl.” I roll my eyes. He pauses. Looks twice. “Are you a girl or? . . .” and trails off laughing to himself. As I continue down the road I overhear him asking the next people he meets – do you think she’s a girl? Is that a girl? I’m not exactly flat-chested or slim-hipped. And I figured the stripey turquoise and cream vest would be a dead giveaway. But clearly not.

I left the office yesterday to go hunting and gathering for some sustenance for myself and a workmate. I bumped into a friend who told me she was working on a proposal to help children process their lives better and to help them develop coping mechanisms to deal with all the emotional and psychological trauma growing up in this place is inflicting on them. She says over half the youth in Zimbabwe are at risk of mental illness. An estimated 40% of the adult population are also suffering from poor mental health.

This doesn’t surprise me.

Take just one example: My best friend mentions she’d quite like to eat some lamb. So I send a text message to a friend of mine who (amazingly enough) is still managing to farm out in Mutare. In addition to some crops, she also runs some sheep. Two days later, I get her reply. She says she’ll sort out my friend’s meat, but it will take a while – they’re lambing now and of course the fluffy little guys have to grow up a bit before they can hit the chopping block. So I say no worries, I’ll tell my mate to be patient, and please can I come see the lambs, they sound too cute. She texts me back straight away:

30 lambs as of yesterday. Gorgeous! You welcome any time. Might have to move whole flock to your garden. Eviction notice yesterday for 4th December.

Of course she’s known this could come at any time. She’s been threatened and violated and harassed in the past, and found a way to reorganise the farm and keep going, at least for some time. She felt a duty to her workers, having seen how farm workers were mistreated on other places that have been taken over. But, like the reorganisation of Foreign Currency Accounts which gives government control over NGO’s and exporters FCA’s, it feels like command, control and subjugate not because you have some bigger plan that will benefit more people or improve the lives of ordinary Zimbabweans, but just because you can.

The gardener where I stay came to me the other day to tell me his son had died – 19 months old, he lived some 250 kilometres away in rural Shurugwi with his grandmother. His father and mother both live and work in Harare. The baby got sick, and the only clinic close enough for them to take him to couldn’t do anything for him. Two days later he died. They postponed the funeral for six days while they waited for the boy’s parents to get transport to the village. When I expressed my shock and sympathies, he shrugged – ndiMwari anotonga, he told me – It’s God who’s in control.

It’s reminiscent of the sentiment I’ve often heard when I’ve asked people what they think will happen here. Zvichanaka they say, things will get better. How? God is in control. When? Some time. Meanwhile, zvakadhakawa. As Alex Magaisa put it, with the price controls and shortages, shifting goal posts and every changing government policies, “that everything appears to be in a state of inebriation aptly captures the uncertainty and lack of direction in desperately uncertain and economically turbulent times.”

Zvakadhakwa – Zvichanaka. Is it any wonder we’re all getting a bit frayed around the edges?

The beer flowed fast and furious at last weekend’s Chibuku Road to Fame Finals at Glamis Arena in Harare last weekend. The Road to Fame music contest features groups from the country’s ten provinces. This spectator is enjoying his Chibuku – an opaque beer served in containers reminiscent of scud missiles.

To use this image contact Taurai Maduna on khulumani [at] gmail [dot] com

Across Zimbabwe, Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), is known for its courage and determination. It is one of the few organisations which is regularly in the streets, protesting against government policies and demanding that its concerns be heard.

Since 2003, WOZA has been conducting non-violent actions across the country as women (and more recently men) join together to fight for their rights. They have held sit-ins at Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) offices to demand power to the people. To raise funds and protest the NGO Bill in 2004, they walked 440 kilometres from Bulawayo to Harare, facing blisters, hunger, dehydration and arrest along the way. They have held demonstrations in Bulawayo, Harare, Mutare, Masvingo, Lupane, Gweru, Filabusi and more. Their Valentine’s Day actions, to show that the power of love can overcome the love of power, have become annual events across the country.

Their bravery inspires Zimbabweans. But a recent report highlights the price WOZA women pay for defending their freedoms, and those of the nation. The report takes a random sample of just 15% of the 2,200 WOZA members interviewed earlier this year about their activities and human rights violations they have experienced. The survey data from the larger sample is still being processed, but the preliminary report provides a powerful reminder that freedom certainly comes at a price.

WOZA member are at risk not only during their demonstrations, but are also victimised by the police for their participation and are isolated for later mistreatment. According to the document:

As this report was being finalised six women and a one and a half year old child were abducted by Law and Order police officers from their homes in Bulawayo during the early hours of the morning. They were taken to a mountain overlooking a river and told to tell the ‘truth’ about the whereabouts of their leaders (Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu). They were shown ropes and rocks and told they would be thrown into Khami Dam if they did not divulge information required by police officers. It was only the casual appearance of tourists, presumed to be journalists, which alarmed the officers who decided to return them to their homes, threatening that if they exposed their ordeal they would be killed.

Another recent incident was the arrest of 19 members, both male and female, from a sports stadium in Masvingo where they were playing netball and soccer. They spent 48 hours in custody and then had to ‘buy’ their freedom by paying admission of guilt fines. Another two members who went to the police station to bring them food were arrested and spent 48 hours in custody before having to also ‘buy’ their freedom.

The survey reports that 73% of WOZA members have been arrested at least once. Some members have been arrested over 25 times. Over half have been detained longer that Zimbabwe’s statutory limit of 48 hours without being brought to court. 40% of the sample have suffered physical assault, most generally at the hands of the police who arrested them, and 26% needed medical treatment for their injuries.

Despite this mistreatment WOZA marches on. Their humour, action, song, fliers, banners and creativity feed a spring of hope that may one day flood the nation.