Many people in Zimbabwe are feeling powerless right now. Alana Pugh-Jones is fighting this by putting pen to paper. She’s written a poem about a woman she’s never met – Jestina Mukoko. It’s important during these very difficult times to do whatever we can and speak out whenever we can.

Jestina Mukoko, Director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, was abducted from her home in the early hours of Wednesday, 3rd of December. Her whereabouts are still unknown.  We await her safe return.

Cry, Jestina

Cowards.
They came before the break of day,
Creeping towards your home in the shadows of the night.
What could have made men hardened by liberation so scared,
A cruel dictator so terrified,
Of a single woman?
Twelve plain clothes men clutching their guns to surprise you
Barefoot and in your nightgown.

You are one brave voice,
One courageous witness,
One of many,
Yet you alone were thrust into the unmarked car that day.
You stand as a giant to injustice,
In this moral wilderness.
And so they came to drag you by your hair,
Before the eyes of your son.
Cowards.

Every day I ask my friends,
Your comrades in the battlefield that has become Zimbabwe,
Who strove, side by side with you, to bring some light to this darkness,
If there is any word,
Any sign,
Any hope.
They answer me slowly,
As if their words struggle to surface from under the burden of sorrow on their shoulders,
No word,
No sign,
Yet hope.

I have never had the privilege of meeting you Jestina,
But one day,
In the future we fight for,
I pray to have the chance to meet you in the streets of Harare,
Standing tall,
Surrounded by freedom.
That day I’ll shake your hand,
Weary but steady from recording the testimony of this repression.
And I will thank you for your inspiration.

Until that day,
For you and this beautiful nation,
I cry.

George Bush, Desmond Tutu and many others are calling for the removal of Mugabe. But Sophie Zvapera, a Kubatana subscriber suggests another approach altogether.

I realise that there is always joy when another leader or renowned person calls for the removal of Mugabe from office given the untold suffering that the people of Zimbabwe are going through. I also realise that it is seen as piling more pressure on Mugabe if there are widespread calls for him to be removed/toppled. However, I just want to say that the more the West calls for Mugabe to be removed from power the more hardened Mugabe becomes. So in my opinion this international groundswell is working in reverse by hardening Mugabe’s stance even further. This means the more the West goes over the fact that Tsvangirai should be given the Ministry of Defence for instance the more Mugabe sticks onto his guns and the more he refuses to make concessions. This is my understanding of Mugabe’s psyche that the more the West speaks the more he enjoys spiting them and the more ruthless he becomes to prove a point.

I am saying this so that people realise that even now with all these deaths and the crises let us not assume for one moment that Mugabe will raise his hands up in surrender. The Gukurahundi deaths are said to be 20 000 or more but did Mugabe care then? Did he stop because the numbers were alarming? No! It is therefore not in Mugabe’s make-up to think that the people of Zimbabwe have suffered enough through cholera, starvation, HIV/AIDS etc so he should step down. He will continue to hang on as long as he can.

I doubt that there is going to be any UN intervention any time soon which means people are continuing to die in large numbers, abductions and disappearances will continue and suffering will continue. I believe that it is only dialogue that can bring an end to this suffering and my suggestion is that since it is only Tsvangirai whom we can appeal to and not Mugabe, why does he not consider going into the inclusive government for the people’s sake to avert the humanitarian catastrophe that is unfolding in full view of the whole world with no solution in sight so far, except to talk and talk and even talk louder?

Amanda, one of my colleagues, has been keeping me amused with her telephone calls to the President’s Office. She’s been phoning them trying to get either a Fax number or an Email address. Apparently their fax is broken and they don’t have email. Pull the other one I say.

We would like your help though. Give the little guy a call on +263-4-707098 and make a noise about the recent abductions of civic and political activists in Zimbabwe.

First things first.

The authorities have shut down the water to Zimbabwe’s capital city, Harare, because there are no chemicals because They say They have no money to buy chemicals. How about fewer five star negotiation trips to South Africa . . . and buy some chemicals instead of forking out money hand over fist on big boy flights of fancy?

Meanwhile I see that road crews are busy painting lines on the only road that matters to little bob. The Borrowdale Road leading to his mansion.

On the foraging side of life I’m happy to have found a source of dog food. I collected a bag of 40 packets of chicken type pet food from a car showroom the other day. I had a chat with the very helpful woman selling it while standing in among some brand new Isuzu bakkies. She was full of information on pet food. For example she said that she was getting ostrich the next day and would I like some? And that her son had just shot a wildebeest and her dogs Go Mad for wildebeest especially the meat taken from where the wound was because it was all clotted with blood. And would I like some?

Much as I appreciate finding these lifelines in the chaos of Zimbabwe I’m looking forward to the day when I can walk into a regular old supermarket and buy what I need.

Jumped into my car today and went off to do two chores in town. Pretty much all the traffic lights weren’t working. There’s litter everywhere. The Sunshine City is decidedly grimey. I saw a large pod of riot police sauntering down Julius Nyerere Way and my heart skipped a beat. Maybe WOZA were around the corner. You can’t keep good women down. A couple of street kids were scooping water from a pipe on Samora Machel Avenue. I’ve never seen the city center so full of people. The banks are being besieged by people trying to get their hands on THEIR cash. Tsvangirai and the Movement for Democratic Change don’t need to bus anyone into Harare for the mother of all protests. They’re there already. It’s leadership that’s missing.

As many of you know, Kubatana uses a variety of communication tactics to reach out to inform and inspire Zimbabweans. We have a great web site (a self pom pom if ever there was one), weekly email newsletters, SMS alerts and notifications, postcards, Freedom Fone, and printed materials like (gasp) the occasional newspaper.

We also have a little black board outside our office door and the Kubatana team, and sometimes complete strangers, pick up the chalk and express themselves with a cheeky slogan.

Recently we asked Zimbabweans to text us their solidarity messages for the two Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) leaders, Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu, who were detained by the Mugabe regime. Get your head around being detained for demanding an end to hunger – I’m still trying.

Below I share some of the messages that came rolling on in.

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We salute u gels big up.

Hope the women of iron are fit and strong. Thank u for yo bravery and courage.

We appriciate your courageous campaign, we pray that you do not tire until we are free. We are in this together.

Woza new zimbabwe new president and new generation for young people with fresh minds.

Makorokoto madzimai kunyange zvichirwadza kurema kana kuoma!Rambai makashinga!We are ralling behind you in every endevours, tinokudai makadaro.

Zim is for us all. It’s not for 1 man or a clique. Aluta continua. The end’s nigh.

woza`..yu have bn dnied justc by mugabe, justic delayed is justc denied dont loose hpe keep on fighting 2show mugab that we ar fed up wit him ..u ar heroes 4real u are freedom fighters for the day fighting against a gurilla liberator who turned oppressor..zanu must go .

Welcme bek brave woman of zimbabwe!we r with u in yo suffering!victory iz certain and nt vry far.we luv u!

Al things cme 2 an end and I hope that the election of obama wil force a rethink in zanu pf because their world continues 2 shrink day by day.

You are admired beyond words . So brave.

WOZA proud of u.grateful 4 yo rls.were on knees 4 u daily.can’t lv wthout pple lyk u. kp standing 4 yo ground.