By Karen Paolillo

Published February 12, 2001

For over a year the horrific problems in Zimbabwe have continued on a downhill slide. General chaos and mayhem commenced when the ruling party was voted against in a referendum to modify the Constitution. The referendum included, among other things, a proposal to seize land currently owned by white commercial farmers. When the referendum was opposed, the ruling party ignored the legal outcome of the vote and proceeded to seize land. Prior to the ruling, and for the last twenty years of independence, Zimbabwe has been a jewel within the African states. Its' prosperous farming and Wildlife Conservation industries rivaling those of other African nations.

A few years ago the government had granted to their "ex-freedom fighters" a large sum of money and a monthly salary for their part in the liberation of Zimbabwe during the times when it was known as Rhodesia. These people are called "war veterans" and early last year (2000) they were sent by the ruling government to invade -- first white owned farm lands and then, a few months later, white-run wildlife conservancies. 

The invasions by these people have been widely publicized in the press overseas. Local black people were either promised money or other benefits as well as land if they joined with these "war veterans" in creating a state of anarchy.

Now we are in 2001 and the chaos has not stopped, in fact it has escalated. If massive change, resulting in the giving of land to landless people is to succeed, there has to be order. Law and order within Zimbabwe are a thing of the past. Whilst people, both black and white, suffer daily from oppression, harassment, violence and threats, the natural heritage of this country is being decimated at an alarming rate. Within Zimbabwe there are several wildlife conservancies, which were created once it was determined that crop farming and cattle ranching on such land proved unviable. In the southeast Lowveld of Zimbabwe the Save Valley and Chiredzi Conservancies are in a drought prone area totally unsuitable for resettlement, a fact which was initially recognized by the ruling party. Due to there being no farms around the reserves surrounding the Save Valley Conservancy the "war vets" were told to invade this unarable land and bring in the local people. It has to be realized that most of the supposedly "landless people" invading the Conservancies already have their own land in the adjacent rural Communal areas. For two months last year (2000), sections of land occupied by groups of invaders were considered "forbidden territories", if any of the legitimate and legal owners or managers of the land tried to enter these areas, they were aggressed and harassed. This is still the case on some properties. 

After the June 2000 Zimbabwe parliamentary elections, owners of land in wildlife areas and some farms were allowed back onto their properties. In the Save Valley Conservancy alone, over 11,000 wire snares were found in a former "forbidden territory" area. Over 2000 animals were found dead or dying in these snares, a figure that does not include those animals that had already been removed by poachers and sold for meat. 

In the days before the current political crisis there had always been small time poaching in the conservancies. It was more or less tolerated, as it was primarily for the purpose of poaching meat to feed local families (one or two men would climb through the electric fence surrounding conservancies and kill the odd antelope or wild pig. If caught they were fined by the relevant law enforcement officers, albeit lightly). The recent incidences in Zimbabwe, throughout any area where wildlife survives, has nothing to do with people starving and needing to eat -- and everything to do with greed and making money. 

A landowner near Bulawayo recently had 15 of his giraffes slaughtered in one week. In every farming area animals are killed, even domestic cattle if no wildlife is available. The meat is then sold at high prices to anybody wishing to buy it. Within the Conservancies animals are dying daily. There has been no reduction in the slaughter since the invasions of April 2000. As an example of the free for all and the demise of law and order, on the 31st December, 2000 a truck, identified as a government owned vehicle, drove into the Save Valley Conservancy through an area where the fence has been cut (and stolen for making snares to kill animals), several shots were heard and it turned out that the occupants of the (government) vehicle were on a "private" poaching expedition. 

The cutting of the Conservancies' perimeter fences has other repercussions as well. There is a big risk of a foot and mouth disease outbreak affecting Zimbabwe's cattle, as there are many wild animals species which can carry this disease. The free movement of cattle into the Save Valley Conservancy could possibly result in a ban on Zimbabwe's beef export to the European Economic Community -- another nail in the coffin of the country's beleaguered economy.

The Conservancies in Zimbabwe have offered land to the Government in an effort to reach a viable arrangement for all parties, including the wildlife. For example, the Save Valley Conservancy has proposed that 90,000 acres of its' land be given to the people, part of it for resettlement purposes. The remainder is to remain a wildlife area where the neighboring communal people will be involved in the management of the game. If this plan is actually implemented and adhered to, this arrangement could help save the remaining wildlife in Zimbabwe's Conservancies.

Initially, the international press provided extensive coverage of the problems in Zimbabwe, but now it seems that the country has been forgotten. Perhaps the news just got old or not enough people are being killed, but what about the wildlife? 

One example of the problems facing Zimbabwe's wildlife and the people trying to save it, is illustrated in the story of wildlife researchers' within the Save Valley Conservancy. These researchers' have worked with the Turgwe River Hippo's for the last ten years. Currently, 8 of the Hippo's in one study group are missing, perhaps snared or shot, perhaps alive, but in any case, not accountable. Recently, the researchers encountered several "war veterans" on their property (most not old enough to have fought in the liberation struggle), within 150 meters of their home, all carrying panga"s (a sharp machete). The addition of the turmoil of political unrest and the inherent threats of violence and slaughter adds additional work in the care of the remaining wildlife. Now, in addition to dealing with the harsh climate, it is required that the reseachers' canvas the Hippo's habitat on a daily basis, checking for snares and poachers and generally panicking about the future of the hippos and their habitat. Flooding from the cyclone that hit Mozambique last year caused extensive damage to the Turgwe River. 3 out of 4 weirs* were broken, and now there is too much sand in the river due to erosion, etc. The majority of the river is only two to four inches deep.18 hippos are in the last remaining weir* pool, the water shrinking in size daily, due to the amount of sand coming down the river. 14 kms. downstream in the river, one natural riverine pool still exists, 3 of the Turgwe Hippos are currently occupying it. To date this natural pool is adequate for these few Hippo's, but as the rains fail to come and the sand continues to fill the pool, it will soon become inadequate.

The Turgwe Hippo Trust (a non-profit Trust) is desperately seeking donations to repair the broken weirs* and remove excess sand from the weirs and riverine pools. Even if the rains come this work must be carried out. 

Urgent funds needed :
US$1500 excavator hire 
US$6000 suction pump hire 
US$4500 to repair the weirs
US$12,000 - Minimum needed quite urgently 

(*Weir: A wall, typically made of rock and cement, is built across a river in order to create an area of deeper water, upstream of the wall. The flow of the river is not stopped, it continues it's natural flow over the wall.)

Contact GlobalAnimals@aol.com regarding donations.
Please send a brief e-mail stating the amount of your pledge and your contact details. Please specify if your donation is for the Turgwe Hippo's or if it is available for use for any urgent wildlife needs. - Thank you.

Newspaper and magazine articles and internet exposure could help tremendously. 

The Turgwe hippos are now on two web sights:
www.savethehippos.com
www.garethpatterson.com

Below is a "POEM of DESPERATION" written by an 18 year old, A-level pupil at A rural school, outside of Harare (Zimbabwe), on a day when he was at his lowest, when the prospects for returning to his home on his family's farm, after four months away, seemed impossible, and where it seemed that there was no hope.....

For those of you who don't know the young man's family, you should appreciate that his parents work relentlessly for the people of this country (Zimbabwe) both in AIDS awareness and other humanitarian good works - his mother heads the Commercial Farmers' Union, internationally acclaimed, AIDS awareness program. She has worked on this program and it's consequent Farm Orphan problems for the last decade and her input has been way beyond the limits of the average farmer's wife. The young man's father has given her his undivided support, as have her three sons and two adopted children - (one an adult male and the other the orphaned teenage daughter of great friends who were killed in an airplane crash two years ago).

Sadly for this family, their farm borders a politically diverse communal area - one of the constituencies presently being contested by the "Movement for Democratic Change." From the moment the build up to elections commenced in Zimbabwe their farm became one of the target areas for thugs, squatters and "war veterans", culminating in the father being badly beaten up on his farm in March 2000. He got away with his life intact by swimming across the farm pond where he was rescued by his son. Since that time the family has been in hiding because of death threats - their home has been ransacked and they have generally had a nightmare of a life … not knowing what to expect next, and still waiting to return to their home. The father is a fluent Shona linguist and a very gentle, quietly spoken and lovable man. The (deceased) paternal grandfather of the young man, was a ZANU PF member of Parliament at Independence in 1980.

The young man's poem gives us insight into what effects the present situation is having on Zimbabwe's future adults.

DESPERATE 

A certain calmness has returned
Day to day chores are carried out
The mind strays little from work 
Every so often a thought or two 
Disturbs the tranquility of school 
But stays only for a short while. 

Seldom is there anything worthwhile 
One just drifts through time
Hoping and being ever patient. 
Coping is the hardest goal to achieve. 
Never offer a glimpse of sadness 
As it will only dissolve what little
happiness there is left to enjoy. 

Like adrenaline injected straight into the heart
So the feeling of violence erupts 
The desperate desire to punish
The ultimate goal is to annihilate 
the perpetrators without remorse

If only there was reason

A pure understandable meaning to the chaos but there isn't 
Every man to his own?
UNITY is the way forward 
But not everyone wants to stand together. 

Solutions emerge for a situation
Then a new situation arises and clouds that solution.
Nothing is ever fixed or amended 
Instead it is thrown back into the 
revolving pandemonium of recurring problems.

Who is to be trusted? 
Who is and who is not? 
The good men or the bad 
confused are the good because 
even they cannot trust each other
Has unity gone forever?

The idle winds are left alone
Intellectuals and profferers of truth 
are relentlessly pursued and attacked 
The story of life according to God 
those who stand up for what is right 
will always be persecuted Even though it is right.

The world is nothing but a revolving
wheel of madness 
Why can't the wrong see they are wrong?
Why do the good commit evil
when they know it is wrong?

Perseverance, courage, forgiveness 
Their abundance in every person are 
only qualities of a perfect being. 
I have numerous faults, cracks in my character.

These cracks are continuously being widened
Driving me to one point 
The point of no return 
Soon I will commit murder 
The murder of myself or my enemies 
Some turn to alcohol, some to God
And some disappear into a world of fantasies 
Eventually madness. 

Why? because the mind cannot cope
It is confused to a point 
A place where it has no solutions 
You may think the solution is waiting for things to be done lawfully
When there is no law. 

Yes the country must UNITE 
To bring peace, stability and law
But individual interpretations are different
The ultimate goal should be LOVE 
Love is the only rational act.

How does one unite different religions
Different levels of literacy and intellectuality?
One does it by using love.
How do you love someone who has disrupted your life, stolen your home
Beaten your loved ones to death
All in the name of land and politics.

The devil has blown through your life
Like a wild fire, consuming what
little good you had ever grown in your heart 
Some may say he and the Lord do not exist
If this is so then why do you feel, touch, think, fight, love, hate, live,
die and then live again? 

Your home is where your heart is
And my heart is in ZIMBABWE. 
When someone threatens my home
they threaten my heart
My existence
I want to exist therefore I will fight. 
Focus, don't let it disrupt your work
the less affected say
They don't and can't feel what I am feeling 
Keep drumming into my head 
Consciously I am alive
Subconsciously I am dying.

The time has come to rid
this country of evil, to speak freely
Our thoughts on everything that
concern our lives, our future 
To denounce political wrong doing 
To repel evil and those who perpetrate it
There will need to be sacrifices
but be not afraid.

I feel alone and isolated from people
from those around me
They do not understand my pain
How do I make them understand?
I am cornered and slipping down the
wall and falling to my knees
I am fighting with myself
And drowning in my own thoughts
And in so doing losing my loved ones.

Being temperamental, impatient and volatile inhibits communication
Trivial matters become monstrosities
and I turn on those who care 
Slowly my courage and strengths are being consumed and
I am retreating into darkness
Quitters are losers
I guess by giving up I am quitting
If so, I have lost.

Below are just a few examples of the unrest in Zimbabwe:
Zimbabwe - COMMERCIAL FARMERS' UNION FARM INVASIONS AND SECURITY UPDATE
Excerpts from reports dated, December 2000 & January 2001 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Chinhoyi - Under the cover of general lawlessness, criminals broke in during the early hours this morning and attacked the owner of East Range Farm who is in his mid seventies. Wages had been drawn in cash the previous morning. The assailants attempted to strangle the elderly farmer to death with a piece of wire. The attack was aborted after a farm guard raised the alarm. One suspect has been arrested.

Nyamandhlovu - There have been increased invasions, tree cutting and poaching in the area and police have been unable to control the situation. 
There is an anthrax outbreak (contagious cattle disease) in the Mhondoro communal area. 45 cattle and two people have died and many people have been hospitalized. Despite the threat of continued spread of the disease, illegal occupiers continue to move cattle from Mhondoro into commercial farming areas with no intervention from the authorities. A similar situation in the Chinhoyi area was reported last week.

Illegal wood cutting has reached commercial proportions, with chain saws used for felling and large lorries for transportation. Approximately 50 waterbuck worth around $3 million and 38 head of cattle have been slaughtered on this farm since invasions began. Consequently, the owner has had to sell his entire cattle herd. Several kilometers of fencing has been stolen from Damvuri and Rockbar since the DA fast tracked those properties. Fifteen giraffe and many other animals are missing.

Despite the assurance of numerous high level delegations, up to Vice President, ploughing continues within the conservancy and poaching is rife especially on Masapas Ranch. "War vets" (invaders) met with the new manager of Mukasi Ranch and have 'allowed' him to stay on the property provided his game scouts do not patrol over 80% of the ranch. Two head of cattle were snared on Mukwazi Ranch.

General - There is no reaction from the Police concerning the above reports. Lots of illegal movement of cattle continues. Continued deforestation. Influx of new squatters on most properties. Large number of cattle being mutilated with pangas and axes, approximately 15 reported dead. Many other cases not being reported as it is "out of the ordinary". Police only responding to livestock theft and maiming in various degrees. Reports of Cane theft increasing. Report of a letter from Ministry of Lands telling people to get off farms. Confirmed by the DAs and PA. MPs forcing people to invade in large numbers.

For more information about incidents of "Farm Invasions" in Zimbabwe, visit the CFU website: CFU Website: http://www.mweb.co.zw/cfu
Choose "Home" 
Choose "Farm Invasions"