The clogged sewers of Harare

[Cowperson]

Look what's clogging the sewers in the Zimbabwean capital.

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/af....ap/index.html

Cowperson

[Kybosh]

That is one of the saddest things I've read for quite a while now. As much as I may complain about my economic situation here in Calgary these poor people have it much much worse. Be thankful for what you have I guess.

[HOZ]

That is horrible.

[icarus]

There is little question Robert Mugabe is destroying that country and it is rapidly becoming a humanitarian issue.

There was a fascinating episode of Wide Angle that compared Zimbabwe with its neighbour Botswana, which happens to be one of the most rapidly developing and successful sub-Saharan African nations. There is a major problem with Zimbabweans sneaking across the border to work illegally in Botswana because the prospect of making a good living in their home country is so austere.

[Hakan]

I published a paper on Zimbabwe and what role, if any, the international community has to help. Unfortunately, a power grab in the guise of pro-African/racist rhetoric has helped solidify Mugabe's hold on power.

Infact, they even hinted during the last election that it would be illegal to vote for the opposition party the MDC. Wow.

[icarus]

Regarding the international community's role in Zimbabwe, Mugabe not surprisingly was one of the few heads of state who was cautious about approving Canada's Responsibility to Protect plan that was adopted by the UN at the 60 General Assembly, and said:

The vision that we must present for a future United Nations should not be one filled with vague concepts that provide an opportunity for those states that seek to interfere in the internal affairs of other states. Concepts such as “humanitarian intervention” and the “responsibility to protect” need careful scrutiny in order to test the motives of their proponents.

[Cheese]

Originally Posted by icarus

There is little question Robert Mugabe is destroying that country and it is rapidly becoming a humanitarian issue.

There was a fascinating episode of Wide Angle that compared Zimbabwe with its neighbour Botswana, which happens to be one of the most rapidly developing and successful sub-Saharan African nations. There is a major problem with Zimbabweans sneaking across the border to work illegally in Botswana because the prospect of making a good living in their home country is so austere.

We just had a gent come to work for us who is from Namibia next door to Botswana. He was talking to me about the region and lamented that regardless of what you hear Botswana is not the haven some suggest it is. Gated and guarded business communities guard against ordinary citizens...I guess it might be consoderably better than neighboring countries but considerably worse than what we know as freedom and hope.

[icarus]

Originally Posted by Cheese

We just had a gent come to work for us who is from Namibia next door to Botswana. He was talking to me about the region and lamented that regardless of what you hear Botswana is not the haven some suggest it is. Gated and guarded business communities guard against ordinary citizens...I guess it might be consoderably better than neighboring countries but considerably worse than what we know as freedom and hope.

I'm not suggesting Botswana is a Utopia. Maybe they are guarding against the thousands of poor Zimbabwean illegal refugees?

Here is the Wide Angle website: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/sh...ana/index.html

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Incredible for a country that used to be the bread basket of Africa.

I worked for a White Zimbabwean here in Calgary, and his family used to have a farm there which had lasted generations. No longer, he's sold it and turned his back on the "ZimBin" forever. The stories he tells me of the place it could have been quite the economic power in Africa, instead of it's current status in the cellar.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

Incredible for a country that used to be the bread basket of Africa.

I worked for a White Zimbabwean here in Calgary, and his family used to have a farm there which had lasted generations. No longer, he's sold it and turned his back on the "ZimBin" forever. The stories he tells me of the place it could have been quite the economic power in Africa, instead of it's current status in the cellar.

I'm guessing it was very different for white Zimbabwean citizens then for blacks too. I just read a book that said the white elites there make up 0.6% of the population and own 70% of the land. What good is an economic power, when that power is isolated to a very small percent of the population? Makes it easier for someone like Mugabe to get support, when he plays up to the black citizens that the white minority is exploiting them.