Posted on 10/12/2008 7:18:43 PM PDT by Clive
Hope Saturday 20th September 2008
Dear Family and Friends,
On the evening of the 15th September 2008 I sat outside as dusk fell over Zimbabwe and I could almost hear a sigh of relief rising up from our broken country. It had been a day of such high expectation and with so much emotion that sitting quietly as the sun fell and the stars rose was necessary for the soul, to take it all in and to look back, and forwards.
The "Zimbabwe Situation," as our collapse is called, started at different times for different people. For me it began on Saturday the 4th March 2000.
"Hide yourself. They are coming, "one of my farm workers had screamed, giving me a few precious minutes of warning. And then, alone and helpless, locked in my study with my hands over my head, I sat paralyzed as men whistled, threw bricks and shouted HONDO, HONDO, HONDO (War) at our farm gate. What happened after that, to hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans from all walks of life is now history.
The rabble at my farm gate were the foot soldiers and had been used to start a political, social, economic and humanitarian crisis of unimaginable proportions. After 8 years and 7 months of living through this Zimbabwe Situation it has often felt like a country at war but now, at last, we have hope.
In his speech after signing an agreement to share power, Prime Minister designate, Morgan Tsvangirai, spoke of painful compromises that had been made in getting to the Agreement. We don't know yet what those compromises were but we do know that they had to happen because we, the ordinary people, simply couldn't go on living like this.
Power sharing isn't what we wanted and the events that have led to it do not set a good precedent for countries whose leaders won't leave power, but for Zimbabwe it must work. For Zimbabwe this Agreement is the first step towards real democracy and it has come at a time when we are hanging over the cliff by a fingernail.
Just a few days into the deal the arguments have already begun and on the surface there is no tangible difference to the trauma and exasperation of every day struggles for bank notes, food, fuel, water, electricity, medicine and much more. Under the surface however, there is a huge sense of anticipation and an urgency to get things going again as soon as possible. Yes there is scepticism, doubt and negativity but as our new Prime Minister said, the door has been unlocked. Each one of us has the chance to push it open a little more.
As I close this week I would like to pay tribute to ZWNews whose editor compiled and sent out at no charge over 3200 issues over almost nine years and kept Zimbabwe in the world's eye. He does not wish to be named but we thank him for his sacrifices and his patriotism.
Until next week, thanks for reading, love cathy
I am catching up on the Cathy Buckle letters that I missed posting while I was away.
I hope we are not writing letters to Cathy in a few years telling her about the “Obama Collapse” in America...
I was worried, Clive. I didn’t know what had happend to you.
Thank you for the posts. They are always welcome.
My best regards.
Here is an explanation that I posted in another Buckle thread:
There has been a hiatus in my resumption of posting Cathy Buckle's weekly letters, for which I apologise.My son had embarked on a renovation project on our home that involved removing every bit of our possessions and sending me and the XYL away on a vacation to keep us (and especially my lungs) away from the dust and sawdust as he took up all the broadloom and refinished the underlying hardwood floors. He did not want to even visit the place until the dust was gone.
So we have been living in a lakefront condominium on the Precambrian Shield, loaned to me by my cousin. Very relaxing.
Unfortunately, it has no Internet feed. Also very relaxing, I suppose.
Since returning we have been making decisions on a piece-by-piece basis as to what to move back into the house and when to do it.
In simple words, nothing has changed.
I have been saying for years that the "government of national unity" concept that Mbeki was pushing for Zimbabwe was a scam. It is a standard device in Africa to nullify, co-opt and neutralize a troublesome opposition movement.
I had thought that Tsvangiri was smarter than that. He had the history of what happened to Joshua Nkomo and his Zapu movement as a precedent.
I have been saying for years that the "government of national unity" concept that Mbeki was pushing for Zimbabwe was a scam. It is a standard device in Africa to nullify, co-opt and neutralize a troublesome opposition movement.
I had thought that Tsvangiri was smarter than that. He had the history of what happened to Joshua Nkomo and his Zapu movement as a precedent.
Thank goodness you are okay.
You have a wonderful son. What a talented, gifted person.
You also have a wonderful cousin.
The heck with the Internet feed. As you indicated, it was a thing of no consequence compared to the vacation and change of pace you had.
Also, things have been so awful politically it was just as well you had a break from FR too.
You are going to have fun redecorating your “new” home. It can only be very beautiful.
Thank you for keeping us posted.
My best regards.
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