Back in July the second Oxfam-CAA International Youth Parliament was held here in Sydney. My daughter was involved as a volunteer, and we home hosted a young man from Zimbabwe, and also entertained a young Zimbabwean woman. As my brother was married in Zimbabwe to an English girl brought up and educated there, I've always had an interest in that country, but from these wonderful young Christians I learnt that
- many many young Zimbabweans escape to Britain, only to be sent back - Mugabe is considered a once good leader who's stayed too long - Zimbabweans blame Britain and not the white farmers for the land redistribution crisis - the largest embassy in the country is the Iranian - Mugabe idolises Iran as it epitomises anti-West sentiment - rioting breaks out only at election time - Australia feels [surprise, surprise] a great deal safer! The young man was told by an elder at his church that, once out of Zimbabwe, he should not to return. The young woman learnt during her stay here that Mugabe was ordering UN personnel be cut by 50%. She was a graduate in Agricultural Economics and employed by the FAO. She phoned her boss, who refused to confirm whether she had a job or not. They both wanted to know about their chances of getting asylum here. I didn't give them much hope. She decided that her standing with the UN might be destroyed if she didn't return. She returned, still has her job but her contract expires in 6 months. He decided to return to finish his degree. Within a week of their departure I watched a documentary on SBS on Mugabe's youth camps, where children and teenagers are desensitised and ordered to kill... I felt sick that I hadn't encouraged my friends to stay... Sue On Thu, 28 Oct 2004 10:02:17 +1000, Stephen forwarded: >Proposed Zimbabwe clampdown on NGOs faces church opposition >ENI-04-0709 > >Geneva, 27 October (ENI)--Opposition is mounting in Zimbabwe to a >draft law that seeks among other things, to ban foreign funding >for non-governmental organizations that deal with governance >issues. > >A local ecumenical body blasted the proposed law as "provocative" >and "deeply sinister". "The bill is all about control," said >Christians Together for Justice and Peace, a grouping of >Christian denominations, in a statement on 17 October. It >described the bill as "iron-handed control which an unpopular >administration seeks to assert over one of the last remaining >democratic spaces in this country". > >Similar sentiments have been expressed by groups of lawyers, >journalists, civic groups, human rights organizations and church >bodies such as the Solidarity Peace Trust and the (Roman) >Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace. > >On Tuesday, Zimbabwe immigration officers seized members of a >South African trade union delegation as they met in Harare with >their Zimbabwean counterparts. > >The South African group had been allowed into the country the >previous day but had been told by Zimbabwean authorities not to >hold meetings with a number of civic groups, including the >Zimbabwe Council of Churches, news reports stated. > >Some critics of the proposed new law described the measure as >akin to Zimbabwe's harsh media and security laws that have been >used to shut down two independent newspapers and to virtually >criminalise many activities of civil society, opposition >political parties and human rights groups. > >"We discern in this bill a deeply sinister purpose, and that is >to disable all NGOs which the ruling party perceives as a threat >to their continuing brutal hold on power," read part of the >statement by Christians Together for Justice and Peace. > > >A group of women were arrested near Harare in September after >walking 440 kilometres to protest against the bill. > >:: Stringent laws controlling media in Zimbabwe prevent effective >reporting in the country. > > > >Susan & Wesley wrote: > >>Try again... >> >>----- Original Message ----- >>From: "Susan & Wesley" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >>To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >>Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 2004 2:26 PM >>Subject: While we are at it... >> >> >> >> >>>There has been a lot of posting on this group lately about the political >>>'problems' present in Austraia and the USA. >>> >>>Here are some web links to a more serious political problem: >>> >>> >>> >>http://www.theindependent.co.zw/news/2004/October/Friday22/882.html >> >>http://www.theindependent.co.zw/news/2004/October/Friday22/881.html >> >>http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAFR460062004?open&of=ENG-ZWE >> >>http://hrw.org/reports/2003/zimbabwe1003/ >> >>Unfortunately 70% poverty, 70% unemployment, life expectancy of just 37 >>years, infant motality rate of over 30 deaths to every 1000 live births >>(over 6 times the Aust. rate), 1/3 of the population suffering from AIDS/HIV >>and 200,000 people dying from AIDS/HIV every year just doesn't sell. >> >>Wesley >> >> >>------------------------------------------------------ >>- You are subscribed to the mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>- To unsubscribe, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put in the message body 'unsubscribe >>insights-l' (ell, not one (1)) >>See: http://nsw.uca.org.au/insights-l-information.htm >>------------------------------------------------------ >> >> >> Sue Bolton Sydney, Australia ------------------------------------------------------ - You are subscribed to the mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put in the message body 'unsubscribe insights-l' (ell, not one (1)) See: http://nsw.uca.org.au/insights-l-information.htm ------------------------------------------------------
