Expats lament Mugabe's 28 years of rule

by Rangariro Nyamidzi

April 18, 2008

AS Robert Mugabe on April 18 celebrated 28 years in charge of Zimbabwe, many expatriate Zimbabweans living in Perth were worried about the situation back home.

 “Mike” (who did not want his real name revealed for fear of repercussions for his family in Zimbabwe) said Mugabe’s murderous regime stressed him out, even though he was out of the country.

“My main concern is for my relatives who are still back home and have to live through this brutality everyday”, Mike, a black expatriate said.

He said he would only become happier once his family joined him in Perth.

Black Zimbabwean student Bernard (surname withheld) was also disgusted by goings-on in the formerly prosperous southern African nation that Mugabe’s repression has reduced to an economic basket case.

“Surely, how can you expect me to concentrate on my studies when my family is not safe in Zimbabwe and they are being beaten up for speaking up through the elections,” Bernard said. “Just yesterday, we read that Mugabe is buying arms from China instead of food for our starving families, surely that’s a shame.”

This was after South Africa announced it would not impound a shipment of arms destined for Zimbabwe from China, reasoning it could not meddle in other nations’ trade. Bernard blasted South African president Thabo Mbeki as a leader who lacked charisma, and the ability to help solve the Zimbabwean crisis.

Black Zimbabwean expats were not the only ones concerned about human rights abuses. On April 18, three white Zimbabwean students ran a petition at Murdoch University, calling for results of the national election held three weeks ago to be released.

The three began their petition at 9am. By midday, they had 83 signatures.

“It’s not time to play the blame game but to try and solve our crisis,” said “Duncan” (not his real name).

Down the blower from Harare, a car salesman echoed the same sentiments.

“The situation in this country is affecting everyone emotionally and physically,” the unnamed auto trader said. “In a country of shortages, running a business is a real challenge as wages are increasing everyday because of inflation but there is no production to talk about.”

He added the situation was looking grim, with no clear end in sight for the country’s woes.

The businessman had previously been thrown in jail for increasing prices to try and cover his car yard’s expenses.