How do you solve a problem like Mugabe? (and why won't anyone listen to me when i say that we need to pay attention to what's happening in zimbabwe?)

for years now people have been drawing attention to all of the horrible atrocities that go on in foreign lands (and here at home, for that matter). there are always outcries that we should be doing something about the sudan and north korea and iraq (i'm thinking back to before we bungled that one). this whole time i have been shouting (into an empty void, it would seem to me) that something needs to be done about Zimbabwe. i know that some of you know all about it and that some of you don't. part of the trouble is that the international media is barred from entering the country or reporting from within it so the extent of the atrocities and poverty is not quite known but stories do leak out and reporters sometimes (at very great peril to themselves) do sneak in.

here's the situation--

zimbabwe is a landlocked african nation. it's bordered on the south by south africa, just to give you an idea of its general location.

zimbabwe is currently ruled by the tyrant dictator- President Robert Mugabe. he is the one that expelled all foreign journalists. he has been accused repeatedly of gross human rights violations by organizations such as amnesty international. he has been known to harass and intimidate anyone that opposes him. there is a general fear amongst the people of zimbabwe when it comes to speaking out against him because so many of those who do disappear- never to be seen or heard from again. an election was held in march of 2008 in which mugabe ran against the leader of the opposition (whose name i don't know). the opposition leader clearly won but mugabe refused to step down as president and decided that he was going to disregard election results. it was at this point that the UN said that they would no longer recognize the government of zimbabwe as it was no longer a representation of the will of the people. mugabe couldn't care less.

he has created a situation within zimbabwe that (mark my words) will lead to an implosion of epic proportions. the people are starving and frightened to speak out against him. he kills people at random and is known for his amin-esque paranoia. he printed so many zimbabwean dollars and distributed them that he created hyperinflation. the zimbabwean dollar is now literally worthless. the people of zimbabwe (when the can get their hands on it) use US dollars as currency.

the people are so hungry and lack food to such a degree that a relatively new thing is happening. people are going out and finding strips of dirt by roadsides and in abandoned fields and planting seeds and attempting to grow and harvest what they can.

i could go on forever about what we think we know about mugabe and the horrible things he is doing. instead, i am going to go through a number of bullet points so that you can make your mind up about how far this situation has gone and how long it's going to be before the country implodes completely.

- mugabe has expelled all foreign journalists. in doing so he has taken control of all media within zimbabwe.

- mugabe is an undeniable racist. he appropriated all of the land owned by minority white farmers and kept it in the name of the government. there was an amendment brought up for a vote in the parliament calling for the reappropriation of white owned land. when it failed to win the vote mugabe's men began invading white-owned farms. those who did not leave voluntarily were often tortured and sometimes killed. one was forced to drink diesel fuel as a form of torture. in April 2000 parliament pushed through an amendment, taken word for word from the draft constitution that was rejected by voters, allowing the seizure of white-owned farmlands without due reimbursement or payment. when his actions against whites in zimbabwe were compared to those of hitler (which i think is a bit extreme but what's done is done) his response as to his actions was as follows: "This Hitler had only one objective: justice for his people, sovereignty for his people, recognition of the independence of his people and their rights over their resources...If that is Hitler, then let me be a Hitler tenfold.". remember that this is coming from the man who refused to recognize the election results when his people voted him out, the man who takes farms and land away from his people (both white and black) at random and holds them in his own name and refuses to allow his people to travel outside of zimbabwe. this does not sound like 'justice, sovereignty, independence and rights over resources' to me.

-mugabe has waged a violent campaign against homosexuality. homosexual acts are actually illegal in zimbabwe and his policy is to track and prosecute anyone suspected of being homosexual.

-mugabe over-printed the zimbabwean dollar creating hyperinflation and making it useless. his people now rely on US dollars to survive. if they cannot get US dollars then they are forced to live whatever kind of agrarian life they can. if they don't own land they farm the roadside. they are starving to death and he has refused aid from any other country or any international organization.

-his country is in economic free fall and yet he refuses aid of any sort.

-opposition leaders or people who speak out against him regularly disappear and are never heard from again. the fear of mugabe amongst his own people is so strong that they will not even mention his name when asked about what things are like in zimbabwe today.

i could go on but i think that that's enough to digest for the time being. more importantly, for me to truly tell you about all of the horrible things happening in zimbabwe i would have to write a blog post that would go on for pages. i would like all of you to go out and read and educate yourselves more fully about what's happening there. the more people who know and care the more our governments will be forced to listen when we stand up and say that something needs to be done about mugabe. in iraq we were met with opposition and a war that has gone on for more years than i care to think about. why are we not trying to stop mugabe in the way we did saddam? we would not be met with opposition but with thanks and cheers.