Posted on 08/08/2002 6:45:12 PM PDT by pttttt
Sorry I don't have a transcript. The source URL is to today's show; the actual interview is at
http://www.npr.org/ramfiles/atc/20020808.atc.14.ram.
I'm generally mistrustful of NPR's highly liberal agenda. But this vividly portrays the abomination that's taking place in Zimbabwe. The farm wife interviewed demolishes the Mugabe humbug about righting injustices with one sentence (there's plenty of unsettled land in the country, they don't have to rip off the farmers).
It's also a chilling revelation that these people aren't leaving the country at high speed, that they've bought a house about 50 clicks away and are even trying to move their farm equipment, apparently but delusionally hinking they're protected in some way by the local legal system. This could get ugly. I hope they get out while they can.
She talked about the numerous opportunities the government had to buy farms or distribute unsettled land. These opportunities had been squandered. She sounded very tired, not suprisingly. She was resigned, but not strident, dogmatic or the slightest bit racist.
She and her family are heading toward a small house 50 km away from the farm. They bought it as a "bolt hole" several yeaars back, never thinking they would actually have to live there. They have managed to salvage their household furnishings. She said they hope to bring out their farm equipment too, but they don't know what will happen when they try to do that.
They plan to take some time to think about options. She expressed hope that they might get the farm back or get some compensation for it. I found that the saddest part, because I think they will soon realize how futile that is.
It was a very sad piece, despite every effort of the NPR interviewer to steer it away from the suffering of the family and the stupidity of what the government was doing.
Where is our government, and where is the UN on one of the most egregious ethnic cleansings of this new century?
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