'I thought my boss was a devil. Not now, He was my saviour. '

Independent ^ | 18 August 2002 | Basildon Peta, Zimbabwe Correspondent

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Charles Mushambati had always regarded Thom Martin as being among those "devil" Zimbabwean white farmers who grossly underpaid their workers and kept them in squalor. With hindsight, he now believes he was wrong.

More than 60 white farmers had been arrested around Zimbabwe by yesterday as President Robert Mugabe cracked down on 1,800 farmers who were refusing to leave their land. His confiscation policy is supposedly aimed at helping people such as Mr Mushambati, but the 59-year-old labourer, like most of the 80,000 farm workers who have found themselves unemployed and homeless after their bosses went out of business, has lost his illusions.

Mr Mushambati had often quarrelled with Mr Martin over his wages, and was elated when he attended a rally before the 2000 parliamentary elections at which Mr Mugabe promised "land to my people".

The labourer applied for a piece of land, but officials asked him for a Zanu-PF card, demonstrating membership of Mr Mugabe's ruling party, to attach to the application. He didn't have one.

"They made it clear that no one would get land without a party card," he said.

Mr Mushambati returned to work for Mr Martin, who paid him 4,000 Zimbabwe dollars (£50) a month. His wife also worked for the white farmer and they received free produce from Mr Martin, and sent their children to a school he built for his employees.

"I used to think the boss was a devil, but with hindsight he was not. He was my saviour," said Mr Mushambati.

The Farm Community Trust, a welfare organisation, estimates that of more than 100,000 families given pieces of land on farms seized from whites, fewer than 2,000 are farm workers. The latest crackdown puts the livelihoods of 300,000 more agricultural labourers at risk.

As the collapse of agriculture threatens half of Zimbabwe's 13 million people with starvation, displaced farm workers and failed subsistence farmers are drifting to the towns and cities, where there is 65 per cent unemployment. Crime levels have rocketed. Carjackings and armed robberies, almost unheard of a few years ago, are becoming commonplace. Tim Neil, executive director of the Zimbabwe Community Development Trust, expects the number of children living on the streets to start increasing in the next six weeks.

This is the future now facing Mr Mushambati - a plight often forgotten in the international attention devoted to thewhite farmers. Mr Martin told his workers last week he had given up the fight for his land and was emigrating to New Zealand. Mr Mushambati asked his employer to take him too.

"Unfortunately, the boss said he will not own a farm any more. He is going to work in a hotel in New Zealand," said his employee of 20 years. He broke down. "I am finished. I have no future."

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

In very short order, Mugabe will have turned Zimbabwe into a desert, and the calls of the Hollywood elite to feed the starving people fo Zimbabwe won't be far behind . . .

6 posted on 8/20/02 10:13 AM Eastern by Space Wrangler

Well, the solution to all this is, of course, for America to send more money to Zimbabwi. After all, these poor, helpless people just can't make it on their own. And isn't it our responsibility - being so rich and all - to take care of them? </sarcasm>

Surely this is not only a socialism issue but a race issue as well.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Ping.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Surely this is not only a socialism issue but a race issue as well.

It's a communist issue and race is used to divide and conquer.

[Campion]

Well (not that you couldn't have guessed this), Zimbabwe has very strict gun control laws. Only Mugabe's thugs are armed.

You have to be pretty cantankerous to face a 17-year-old carrying an AK-47 armed with only a machete.

[Technocrat]

I'm not talking about the family types, I'm talking about the older men, those who have no dependants. Every time I read a story like this it seems like old men are prominently featured in the role of the farmer. And yes, you're bloody well right that if I had no other option, and I was that old, that it would be relatively easy for me to make the decision that if I'm going then I'm taking a few of them with me. But the last stand is for people who have run out of ideas, or used up all their other ideas, or think they can take out what's left with the element of surprise. What about poison in the water or food? What about using the local insect or animal population? What about a tossed stick of dynamite at 3 in the morning? What about flash bangs? Gasoline? Psyops? (Give one of them a piece of land in front of all the others, because he's been so "cooperative") That's what I come up with in five minutes. If I had years to think about it - well, that's something else altogether.

[Technocrat]

OK, that makes a lot more sense. But what about hiring a black assasination squad for Mugabe? With three million dollars you could hire a frigging army down there, or at least get some well-equipped Soldier of Fortune types. Seems like some of those farmers are still rich. I remember hearing about onne guy from SA (or was it Denmark) that had a personal fortune of almost $100M. If they are truly that liberal, well then, I guess that's what you get for being stupid.

[weikel]

To have a revolt perhaps but they could always assasinate Mugabe.

[weikel]

You could probably overthrow Zim with a couple of well trained platoons.

[Technocrat]

Tell me about it. I posted a pretty good plan to do just that a few months back at the end of this thread.

[weikel]

I don't even think your plan would have to be that elaborate. Charles Taylor jsut sailed in with 100 guys with AK-47s and took the capital of Liberia.

[KC Burke]

Unfortuantly, without Order, there is no Liberty.

Without Rule of Law, a just government ready to protect property and equality under law, metaphysical defense of Rights is often just as futile as you envision.

A valiant stand, when there is a right thinking community of individuals or a just legal system (under a limited government) to come to your aid can be a noble thing. In a corrupt state, defense of metaphysical Rights against a metaphysical Will of the State is often a self-destructive jesture.

[Technocrat]

You know, my father goes by the name Charles Taylor. No relation :)

[Technocrat]

Liberty or Death. How precious our Republic truly is, and how few truly comprehend it.

[weikel]

If Im rich I plan to start my own kingdom( well its one of my many fanciful ambitions) in some 3rd world African country( nopardons said I was mad but how many dynastic founders haven't been mad?). It will be run along libertarian/objectivist lines and ill bring in lots of English speakers and selectively others from civilized countries.

[Technocrat]

I'm THERE. Africa could be a paradise if it weren't for the idiots living there.

[weikel]

Well understand though it would NOT be a Democracy I would be absolute monarch Democracy leads to socialism and eventually to the Mugabe's of the world. However if all my children were idiots I would be willing to designate an heir outside the royal house of Weikel.

[Naspino]

Didn't Cynthia McKinney have a phone ad with Mugabe giving his endorsement?

[weikel]

I don't know. Any sane society would have hanged McKinney a long time ago.

[nopardons]

That idea IS quite insane and no, you can't do it. That is the plan of an adolescent , who hasn't thought any of it through, knows virtually nothing about the place he envisions taking over and less about the people there.

Frankly, if you ever ( doubtful ! ) have enough money to start your own silly, little LIbertarian commune / experiment, you'd be better off buying some small island, somewhere and taking ALL of FR's Libertarians with you. Of course, it wouldn't work on some islanmd, any more than your original idea of storming some African country and taking that over.

[weikel]

Don't want to argue about starting my own colony with you again but why such antipathy towards libertarians?