Zimbabwean Politics

I'm trying to understand the politics of Zimbabwe, but it's difficult, because there are so many problems left and right, it can be hard to make sense of this mess. My perspective has been one of pure observation and conversation with the people who live here. I've spoken to business owners and I've spoken to workers and the one major problem is quite clear. Robert Mugabe.

Mugbabe's power over Zimbabwe has been in place for 28 years now since Zim's independence from Britain. Zim is a place with a collapsed economy and a dictator with exorbitant personal expenses. But really, that's beside the real problem. I don't want to get into the endless list of details about what Mugabe has and hasn't done, because quite honestly, I don't know enough about it. But what I will tell you is the real problems I saw right in front of me. Quite simply, Robert Mugabe is killing the people of Zimbabwe and nobody is paying enough attention to what is happening here.

After going to Botswana for the day we were taken back to Victoria Falls. Our driver was a really nice man who was employed by the backpacker for a few years. He lived not too far away in a place he called "the ghetto," and as we drove back, he asked if we wanted to see the area. "Of course," we said. We drove around the area and he pointed out different stores and even the local hospital. I asked him about HIV and AIDS. He told me that most people in the area were HIV positive. I asked him about medication. He said there was none. So I asked him what was being done about this problem, and he said there was nothing that could be done. There are just no resources to help these people, so, as he put it, people will get sick and go on with their lives because that is all they can do. Mugabe has been more concerned about getting weapons into Zimbabwe than ARVs. Incredible.

It seems like Robert Mugabe's corrupt influence is unbound-- the election and re-vote have just ended, and sure enough, Mugabe got his way. He stole it. Reports of Morgan Tsvangirai being forced to withdraw over new attacks on members of the MDC are all the more frustrating.

And you speak to the people here, and you ask them what needs to happen, and they tell you, it's real change that they need. They need a fair, democratic election, but that seems impossible with the ruthless rule of Mugabe. The US has now issued sanctions against Zimbabwe to the United Nations over the unfair election process, but really, what will come of this? So this isn't over and I'm wondering what will happen next. Better question... why aren't more people concerned about this??