I think we must no longer call them government hospitals because the patients pay for almost everything: food, medicine, drip, injections, and beds and most of the people working there do not have a salary for the job at all. They depend on their children who are working in other countries especially South Africa. The government does not take responsibility for the supply of medication in government hospitals in fact money paid by the patients is used to buy hospital supply.

There are no ambulances in St Luke’s hospital in Lupane, even though it is the main hospital in Matabeleland north province. Those who get sick are transported to hospitals through scotch carts and many die before even reaching the hospital, others they do not even go to the hospital because they do not have the money to pay for the doctor, the utensils and the medication.

My family with me went to find my sister’s body and it was the worst. The hospital mortuary are stinking. The fridges in the mortuary are not powerful enough to freeze the body and corpses are not allowed to stay there for more than two days. Electricity can go off for two, three days and just imagine the fluid coming out of the mortuary. I witnessed this myself.

There is no doctor during weekends because there is only one doctor responsible for the whole hospital and I am sure he will be tired to work seven days a week. In fact he is an old family man and he needs to rest but he is still sacrificing his life to help the people. He works overtime from eight in the morning to eight or ten in the evening. If anything happens to him, maybe get sick or if he decide to resign it will be a big blow to the people needing services in that hospital. I do not think his replacement will be able to offer services as he is doing now. They are many people who are dying now due to the lack of services and shortage of doctors but the man is reducing the number (of deaths) by half.

If some non governmental organisation or interested individuals can lend a hand in St Luke’s hospital and help the situation they may save life, lots of them.

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Also while I was visiting my rural family in Lupane they told me about the schools and the children who are missing education now.

Schools in rural areas have become a playing ground, I think right from the morning pupils go for PE, then break time, then lunch time and then they dismiss. This is happening everyday you can hardly find the children inside the classroom learning. Due to the decade of political suffering caused by state sponsored violence there are no books, classrooms have potholes and parents are suppose to buy books for their children which they cannot afford. The reason that makes them not afford is none of them are working and to get one American dollar in rural areas is very difficult.

The Minister of Education Honorable David Coltart has played a big role in the sourcing of school books especially for the primary schools but that is not enough because teachers are not teaching. They need the parents to pay them incentives and I know the parents do not have and the teachers won’t teach unless and until they get the money they want. They do not want to help the children’s future for nothing and their reason is valid but the children are compromised. I think the World Vision organization must also help in the educational sector because a country without education will never have a bright future.

Zanu-PF have already started lobbying people to adopt the Kariba draft, which will allow Mugabe to be President for another two terms. They are telling people that the money the unity government used to draft the constitution was meant to buy seedlings for farmers on recently invaded commercial farms. They forget that the funding was provided by international organizations and not by the Zimbabwean government. Zanu-PF is also using violence and the army to scare people into supporting the draft. I think the main reason why Mugabe wants to adopt the Kariba draft is to try and escape prosecution of the Gukurahundi atrocities.

The Kariba draft is one hundred percent backed by Zanu-PF but one hundred percent rejected by most of the people. If adopted I think it will give Zanu more power and cases of political violence and human rights abuses will be left unattended forever. If the Kariba draft is adopted, there will be serious violence and torture campaigns during the elections in 2011 and if Mugabe wins then Zimbabwe will be forever in ruins. I do not think this time Zanu will change and follow what is in a new draft constitution because what they want is to stay in power and nothing less than that.

Most of these torture camps have been brought back in Mashonaland, Manicaland, Midlands. Many of the youth who were in the camps up to 2008 were put into the police, army and the CIO as a way of keeping them available in case anything happens. The youth are taking part in making sure that the constitutional process is disturbed and that the elections are to be held under the Kariba Draft, the current constitutional document. They are making sure they do their best to intimidate, torture and instill fear, so people will vote for the Kariba Draft in the referendum.

What surprises me is that the unity government is pushing the issue to remove the sanctions, and South African President Jacob Zuma was in the United Kingdom pleading with the west to lift sanctions, but not acknowledging the torture that will come thereafter. Once the sanctions are lifted, members of Zanu will go overseas and grab their wealth, stolen in Zimbabwe but hidden abroad, and take back their assets to local banks. Once they do that, come elections they will revive torture camps and people from the opposition will be killed and then, even if they bring back the sanctions, it will be of no use. For the safety of all of us in Zimbabwe, sanctions must stay. SADC must conduct the elections and not just observe. It must take part to make sure the referendum and the constitution-making process is done freely and fairly. If that is not done then the Global Political Agreement (GPA) will just be one other useless, ceremonial gathering of the time.

The political instability is the reason there are still torture camps in Zimbabwe, and there isn’t much hope it will improve. The only way the three political giants will make peace is if one joins the other, but Zanu will not give it easy to the two MDCs. They fear they will go from being heroes to prisoners in The Hague, so unless someone proves that they will be safe and they feel convinced maybe they would let the power go to the other parties or else nothing is going to happen. Zimbabweans will always suffer and the MDC will disappear like smoke in the air in the hands of Zanu-PF.

It is the duty of South Africa as the mediator to make sure that what was signed is being implemented, and to make sure ordinary people are not being abused by their own brothers and sisters. After the World Cup, there is speculation of xenophobia here in South Africa. If these militia camps are allowed, then there will be no place for us, the Diaspora, in Africa because we are targeted in South Africa for being foreigners and targeted in Zimbabwe for not supporting Zanu-PF.

It is not yet clear why the church leadership is trying to suspend Verryn, but I think it is a big blow to those refugees who have made the church their home for the last three years. What will they do now? The government will take everybody out to a temporary residence that allows those without a home or place to stay to use the place for a maximum of three months. In these three months you are supposed to be looking for work or to be making a plan on how to face your future. If you fail to find work or put things together in the three months given, you will be thrown out because they need to make space for new refugees. This is why the Bishop would not allow the government to take over managing the refugees. If they are failing to find jobs while they are in the Church, how are they going to get those jobs while in the temporary residence?

Last year alone South African President Jacob Zuma promised to create half a million jobs but then a million jobs were lost through the world economic recession. These unemployed South Africans are now failing to get other jobs. Most of the refugees in the church have got Section 22 refugee permits and according to South African law, first preference should be given to locals and then foreigners. There are not enough jobs for the outsiders, which is why we witnessed xenophobic attacks on Western Cape farms and countless cases of abuse against foreigners across the country. The reason the Bishop wouldn’t allow the government to take over the refugees is so serious and valid that even a blind person can see why. Whatever they do to him, be it suspension or being chased at work, we will support him and be there for him.

I remember one day when I really did not have any food, somebody who has been very helpful to me since I came to South Africa seven years ago directed me to the Bishop for help. When meeting me, he pulled out his last R60 and gave it to me so I could have my first supper in three days. The man is so helpful. I think I expected a little more from him because he is white and he is a Bishop of a big church. But when I saw the large number of people living in the church under his responsibility I realized that to get the R60 was very lucky. The man is a friend to Zimbabweans and if one day our freedom comes, he must be honored and given a place to stay for the job well done in the protection of human rights of our fellow citizens.

The government wants the church to be closed so I think the church board of trustees decided to suspend the Bishop in order to stop the government from shutting the Holy place. If the government can assure the Bishop that they will take care of the refugees forever and not take the people to a temporary place and then chase them away, then the Bishop will cooperate with them.

Refugees in different countries in Africa face similar problems to what we face here in South Africa. In South Africa, refugees have been faced by the problems of xenophobia, unlawful arrest and detention in various police stations and a repatriation centre called Lindela. Lindela is one of the biggest jails in South Africa, if not in Africa, that is supposed to hold eleven thousand people but the officials overcrowd it with fourteen thousand refugees. This is something that one cannot find in countries abroad. A recent study revealed that refugees in Britain, Canada and the United States of America receive better treatment than us in our mother continent Africa. Why do Africans treat their brothers and sisters in this manner?

Botswana, just like any other country in Africa, is faced with high levels of unemployment, high risks of HIV infection among citizens, and a large number of African refugees, dominated by Zimbabweans. The biggest problems faced by refugees in Botswana, especially those from Zimbabwe, is no free medical assistance at the government hospitals and a difficulty in obtaining refugee status. The working permit is also very expensive and cannot be processed easily. The refugees also face a high level of hatred from the Botswana nationals, usually because the Botswana nationals think the Zimbabweans are taking more space and jobs meant for them. Zimbabweans are believed to be the hard workers so they attract the employer’s confidence and that has hugely affected the people of Botswana. Education also plays a big role, as most Botswana people are not as educated as Zimbabweans.

All these factors of hatred, lack of medical assistance and employment, and failing to get better documentation leads to refugees committing crimes. But Botswana has zero tolerance on crime, so they all end up in jails. Now they enter the jails sick and most will be suffering from the deadly disease HIV. Since the law in Botswana does not allow people from other countries to get medical attention, these refugees do not receive anti-retroviral drugs from the government of Botswana. I think the law must be revisited because it is unlawful and it violates the rights of the prisoners. How can you arrest someone and not give him/her medication but at the same time not allow him/her to go free and access the medication. This is murder and the government of Botswana must be held accountable.

How do they feel when their people are given medication when visiting other countries but they do not offer the same in their own country? Can’t they copy what South Africa is doing for the visitors who are coming for the World Cup? Many African students used to learn in Zimbabwe in the early nineties and they were given free medication. It is time our African brothers and sisters pay us back by doing the same.

MYN managed to raise R1000 from its members, most of who are not working and have no suitable income to support themselves. They know R1000 is nothing compared to what happened in Haiti and they wish they could help more. The situation needs people to come up with huge amounts of money so that the country can be rebuilt and to provide counseling because I do not think those people sleep well. The MYN is still waiting for other members to bring more donations, which will be forwarded to the victims via the SABC.

The group has plans to rebuild Matabeleland but they stopped concentrating on these plans to pass a helping hand to the Haitians. If people do not understand and fail to donate money to the people of Haiti, the whole country will fall apart and dead bodies will be left unattended, much like the twenty thousand bodies in Matabeleland. Even now you can find these bodies and bones in caves and during road construction. Such things can traumatize people for life. We have a reason to donate as we do not want bones of dead people to be seen around because the memory will always be there and people will find it difficult to forget. This is the situation for the people of Matabeleland. Until someone comes and apologizes and buries the dead bones, it will be difficult for people to forgive and forget. This was said by the MYN spokesperson.

I don’t know whether the Zimbabwean government made a donation to the Haitian victims and I will not be surprised if they do not bother themselves as they have tortured many of their own people. The other thing is they do not know what it is to be a victim; they are always victimizing. The MYN leaders have a vision to rule and be acceptable worldwide, unlike our leaders in Zimbabwe who do not have a clear understanding of other nations, even African countries. The organization claimed in future they would visit the embassy of Haiti to show their support and sympathy and to express their wish that this not happen again to any other country in the future.

These leaders want to bring back confidence to Matabeleland, which was tarnished by the Zanu sponsored dissidents and later Gukurahundi. This practice made Matabeleland very poor because it lost investor confidence in the early eighties. Now, by engaging in international disasters like Haiti, they are trying to make the world understand them and know their background, even though during the Matabeleland genocide, no other countries stepped in to help.

Many Zimbabweans all over the world started migrating during the liberation struggle and later during the times of Gukurahundi, and the number rose to millions in the late nineties. Many civic organizations were then formed in a way to help refugees with food, health services and accommodation provisions. I believe much has been done but there is still a long way to go. Look at the situation in the Methodist church in Johannesburg, or the fact that more than three thousand refugees sleep in the streets, most of whom are youths who are supposed to be in schools and universities, yet not many organizations have done much help academically.

A serious issue is the tension between different groups in the Diaspora. Zimbabweans who came to South Africa recently often think that many of those who have been here for long do not participate in the elections, which is why Zanu is always in power. Those who are from Zimbabwe claim they are from the ground at home and know the MDC better than those who have been in South Africa for a long time. Most people who came long ago do not even have Zimbabwean documents. Instead, they got South African documents in 1994 when Nelson Mandela came into power. They do not believe in the vote to remove the regime and rather believe in the armed struggle. They claim they know that Mugabe will not give anybody the leadership of Zimbabwe unless if through an armed struggle. This is what he always emphasizes in every speech he addresses.

When it comes to demonstrations, the crowds will be full of who came recently because they believe in democracy, freedom of expression and protection of their rights. Those who came long back will first check the impact of the demonstration and what differences it will bring to their country Zimbabwe. According to them, demos will not change the regime as they have been done and nothing has changed. Instead, many Zimbabweans are still coming to South Africa, which means the method that is being used must be revisited. If voting is not effective, people must go back to the drawing board and plan something better. This is what the Zimbabweans who have been here a long time claim, and they love the statement made by Desmond Tutu and Tony Blair that Mugabe must be taken out by military force. But many of those who came recently are against this, which causes tensions between the two groups.

I think those who came long back saw how the liberation struggle was attained in Zimbabwe and now in South Africa, they’ve gotten used to violence and shooting, while those who came recently do not know much about using guns. Most of them did not witness Gukurahundi and only know of Murambatsvina. They were seriously victimized by armed forces in Zimbabwe so they do not want anything involving armed force.

When it comes to the election into positions, the ones who came recently become the majority and favor anybody that was at home during the year when MDC was being introduced. They become the majority in two ways: firstly, most of them are unemployed so are always at any gathering, be it an election or demo. Secondly, they have formed organizations, about fifty, and none of them assist those who came long back if they need some form of help. But the refugees who came long ago are also unhelpful to those who came recently. Many of those who came long back have jobs, some even good businesses, yet their hands are not open for suffering Zimbabweans because of all the conflict politically.

I have just got back from a trip to Zimbabwe and it appears Zanu PF can’t block everything that is being achieved. I think Zimbabwe will be back on its feet. There’s a big change that is taking place in Zimbabwe. There are some problems here and there but people are now managing to survive. In Gwanda, I saw that people are managing to travel from point A to B. I also think people are now managing to get clean water too. It has been quite some time that Bulawayo has run out of water. It also seems you can get the medicine you need at some hospitals around Bulawayo.

What most people are now complaining about is the black market, which is now a problem in Gwanda, Bulawayo and Harare. Most people I spoke to said they need the GNU to control the black market because it hurts the poor who cannot afford it. In Bulawayo, there is a lot of confusion relating to the black market. For example, the taxi men are robbing people who don’t know the charges or the rates. Some people believe that the Zanu PF thugs are involved in this black market. In Harare, you will find a group of people asking if you are looking for foreign currency. What surprised me is when the municipality chases away vendors, the black market people don’t run away. I asked a lady why these people are not running away from the municipality police, she said to me Gono is still ruling them. GNU is just a tool to them, which they don’t use.

But despite this, Harare is doing quite well. You can find people cleaning the city, which was not seen for the past ten years. And like Bulawayo, Harare is getting clean water. They are changing old pipes with new ones, which is helping. But people are worried about the deadly cholera as we enter the rainy season. In some places in the country they don’t have clean water and they have to get their water from boreholes around the area where they stay. They said if heavy rain falls then it will be difficult to drink water from the boreholes because they are not protected.

Although there are still some problems here and there, I think the MDC are doing a good job. They must be given their own time. They are promising a big change in the country.

Everything was normal until I reached the Beitbridge border. As soon as I left the border there was no tarred road, it was gravel. I do not know what all the money which they charge at customs is used for. I think it is supposed to be used to repair the road and improve the infrastructure there at the border gate but this is not the case. The place is dry there and you can hardly find a water tap, also temperatures are very high compared to Johannesburg.

The cars carrying goods and people are checked three times, first by the ZIMRA officials, secondly by the CID and thirdly by private security.  All of these do not search as their duty but ask for bribes and then let the vehicle pass. If you do not bribe they will delay you by demanding all the goods to be brought down to check if you have declared everything.  And if not you will go back to the ZIMRA officials and can then spend the whole day at the border.

As soon as you leave the border gate there is a roadblock for what reason I do not know because there are a lot of policemen at the border and the second roadblock is two kilometres away from the first one. All these demand bribes and if you do not pay them, you will have to bring down all your luggage and those items which were not declared in the border are processed. That is how they get extra money. Those people who know how to speak Shona survive better than those who do not as it is the most commonly spoken language. But those who stay in that area speak Venda, so it is difficult for them.

Ten kilometres from the border is a tollgate. The money collection is not done by the Ministry of Transport but by ZIMRA.  The money that is collected from road users is not used for the reconstruction of the roads.  People say the government uses the money to pay the police and the army and the CIO which are loyal to Mugabe.

From the border to Bulawayo there are two tollgates and six roadblocks, cars pay from R10 – R25. The ZIMRA officials have made their own individual receipts to issue road users and the money goes into their pockets. This information was even published in the Chronicle newspaper.

After the signing of the political agreement last year September there are still outstanding issues especially for the MDC that has not been resolved up to now. Maybe it is because MDC promised the people will not engage themselves in any agreement if the human rights activist Jestina Mukoko is not set free. Two days later when Morgan visited the activist in jail I thought he was going to get them out but unfortunately they do not have that power like Zanu in the GPA.

A week after I saw on television Morgan making vows in front of Mugabe that on it’s own made Mugabe to be more powerful than Morgan. So that is maybe why Zanu is more powerful than MDC in the inclusive government and of course SADC favours Mugabe more than Morgan, reason being he is a long friend in the revolutionary movement. Mukoko was only acquitted after one year of attending courts, this means it was just torture and intimidation of loyal people who are concerned with the people freedom.

Twenty four hours after the signing of the agreement the appointment of the provincial governors was supposed to be done and completed but up to now after a year nothing has happened. The constitutional making process was supposed to be people driven but Zanu is insisting that the Kariba draft must be used to represent the people’s choice.

This shows me that the only people who are recognised as people in Zimbabwe is Zanu PF supporters. Those who do not belong to Zanu and those who run to neighbouring countries as political refugees and those who oppose the system of governance are considered to be people of no rights in Zimbabwe. The policy is support Mugabe and you will enjoy full protection of rights, if not move out of the country or face detention, torture or arrest and even death.

As part of the agreement no political violence was to be permitted after signing but to my surprise farm invasions started afresh and people were moved from their property by force in a very small or no time. The farm owners and their workers were forcefully removed and thrown next to the road for them to travel and go away with nothing. SADC kept quiet while
people were tortured for the property but it was agreed that no more farm invasions after the signing. This shows that this is not an agreement, it is an act of protecting someone from getting out of power. The freedom of all political prisoners was part of the agreement but many are still in prison now. It is better for those with big names like Roy Bennett, Mukoko and Tendai Biti but what about those in remote areas and unknown?.

The appointment of permanent secretaries was supposed to be shared equally but not even one is from the MDC all of them are pro Zanu. So will the MDC implement what they think is right with the secretaries from Zanu which will make it a point that what ever the MDC ministers plan will be destroyed. It must not be seen that the MDC can do anything because it has
the peoples trust and if they do well in government the support will be more. They were not supposed to allow all the permanent secretaries to be from one party, especially Zanu.

As it was done to the Ministry of Home Affairs it was also supposed to be done in the Ministry of Defence, that is to have one minister from the MDC and the other from Zanu even though the ones from MDC seems useless and powerless and is not prepared to make arrests on crimes committed by Zanu. Maybe he is afraid. If he is why did he engage himself? Why did he not mobilize loyal forces within the police of the MDC through the MDC if they are serious about people’s freedom?

The freedom of expression is still a long way to go, as to get a licence to broadcast and to write about anything you face torture, detention or arrest. I would support the continued MDC boycott of the GPA because it is illegitimate and it never changed anything to better only giving Zanu more and more power.