awa...
Posted on 05/24/2008 3:31:21 PM PDT by Clive
Which way now?
Saturday 24th may 2008
Dear Family and Friends,
They say that a picture speaks a thousand words and if that is true then a deafening roar filled the African sky this week. We have seen images so dreadful that they are haunting our thoughts and are etched into our memories. From The Zimbabwean newspaper comes the picture of a victim of political violence. A 22 year old woman beaten so badly that her buttocks have been reduced to cavernous holes." A mess of raw flesh" is the description used by Peter Oborne, the shocked writer who met Memory, the young mother of two who was beaten in the playground of her childhood school along with others accused of being MDC supporters.
Pictures and reports such as these are not new in Zimbabwe. They have become a part of our lives - a tragic record of a country that has lost its way and is crying out for help. Then came the other images that shocked us even more.
The picture of a man burning alive on a road in a South African town is a sight too cruel for words. He was the victim of an attack against foreigners. Then came pictures of mobs of men armed with sticks, throwing rocks, beating people and chasing away their own neighbours. Now the pictures are of many thousands of frightened, homeless people taking shelter in police stations and churches and reports that the violence against foreigners has spread to other South African cities.
For the last eight years South Africa has been a place of safety for Zimbabweans - an oasis of sanity and an orderly, law abiding, normal way of life. Even though the South African government chose not to speak out about events in Zimbabwe, ordinary people opened their homes and hearts to us; they could not have been more caring, supportive and compassionate to us and our plight.
An estimated three million Zimbabweans are living in exile in South Africa. They have left home not because they wanted to but because they had to. Many left here with wounds, injuries and physical scars, others with memories of extreme trauma but always it has been the great kindness and support of our neighbours that has helped heal the wounds, restore dignity and begin the process of healing.
The eruption of violence against foreigners, many of whom are Zimbabweans, has left us in deep shock here. How can it be, that without warning and when Zimbabweans need support and refuge more than ever before, this can be happening across the border. Our temporary sanctuary, the place where we felt safe and could find food, friendship and compassion has suddenly gone. Which way now for our poor people? Too frightened to stay, too frightened to go.
Until next week, thanks for reading, love cathy.
This is only the part of the volkerwanderung tha made it to South Africa and stopped there. The internal population displacement is not included in the above figure, not is the number of those who moved on to Great Britain and other parts of the Commonwealth or those who moved to other SADC countries, so the actual size of the volkerwanderung is somewhat larger than one quarter of the former Zim population.
Botswana has now set up a refugee camp.
The white population of Zim as of 2000 was about 50,000. It is estimated to now be about half that.
“The white population of Zim as of 2000 was about 50,000. It is estimated to now be about half that.”
I’ve never understood why the Whites stayed there, since their lives were in immediate danger from the murderous, subhuman 1st century filth.
Any opinion as to *why* they stayed and were slaughtered, Mr Clive? Just curious...
Cathy Buckle’s amazing Letters from Zimbabwe seem to reflect well the story of that country’s descent into socioeconomic hell. She is a brave woman for continuing to communicate to her family and friends about the civil disorder there; she might be accused of perpetrating journalism.
Anybody out there have any ideas on why this story is not in the major news outlets? I have my own suspicions but I would like to see if they match up with what other Freepers are thinking.
Part of it might be that they lived on that land for generations. Part of it might be difficulty in getting visas to immigrate to a First World country. They're not as desirable as radical Muslim goatherders </sarcasm>
Got a (twisted and sad, though) point there, Mr Papabear3625; never thought of it that way, sir.
(((sigh)))
Either Cathy is writing this from an apartment in New York, laughing her butt off, or she’s completely insane.
Africa is Africa.
“Anybody out there have any ideas on why this story is not in the major news outlets?”
Um, because the MSM has been carrying water for this socialist dictator for years. After all, libscum just love socialist dictators aka “Heros of the People.”
The deeper reason is cognitive dissonance. In their world view, socialist dictators are a power for good in the world as they offset the evil US. When those dictators’ policies eventually bring their nations to ruin, a libdolt MSM reporter/editor is faced with trying to reconcile the reality of those dictators’ evils with a left wing worldview. It’s not possible. However, changing worldviews is emotionally painful. The “out” for them is to use a defense mechanism - they simply do not even see the thugs’ evils. That, in a nutshell, is cognitive dissonance: failing to even perceive facts that counter ones worldview in order to protect that worldview.
In other words, the libdolts aren’t intentionally failing to report these evils. Rather, they literally do not even see them. Failure to report follows as an inevitable consequence.
awa...
The South Africans are reacting to having millions of destitute, illiterate “undocumented immigrants” come into their country (which is pretty damn poor already) and gettting welfare, such as it is, in SA.
Reminds me of some other country......
I cry every time I read one of her letters. It’s the saddest, slowest kind of death. She clearly loves her country and her fellow citizens. The situation is so pathetic and hopeless. It’s truly heart-rending.
Agree totally. Unforunately, that thug Mugabe isn’t going anyhwere until things get even worse. That is, unless the “evil” USA steps in militarily to the screams and howls of the UN and our own cognitively dissonant left. And frankly, we have our hands full dealing with the global threat of a nuclear armed miitant islam, again to the tune of those very same howls. Sad sad world, repeating the mistakes of the past but with more dire consequences.
It staggers the mind that 25,000 whites have not been able to find a way to escape.
I generally agree with the sentiments you have expressed; I have appreciated Cathy Buckle’s letters for a few years now. Unfortunately, my sympathy is always tempered by the knowledge that Cathy Buckle along with her father and her lawyer-husband were big-time activists 30 years ago in Rhodesia, and they all cheered when the evil white imperialists were thrown out and Robert Mugabe took power.
Rhodesia, once the thriving “Breadbasket of Africa,” is now the third-world toilet known as Zimbabwe.
Can someone post Carter’s statement on the theft of the election. I’ll wait arounbd for it.
“a tragic record of a country that has lost its way “
“Lost its way”? How about having an almost predictable outcome as a result of the do-gooders? That is a gross(and purposeful) mischaracterization of what is happening and what did happen to bring Rhodesia to it’s knees.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.