Robert Magabe, one of the Africa’s most notorious leaders, was ‘re-elected’ into his seat as a executive president. Many countries have or are considering ignoring the legitimacy of Magabe’s candidacy due to vote-rigging on top of decades of political unrest and acts of state terror. He has systematically abused the people of Zimbabwe. The chasm between international guarantees of human rights and the abuse instigated by Mugabe against Zimbabweans continue to widen.
Mugabe once compared himself to Hitler in an article by the Daily Telegraph of London. Mugabe said in the article that “this Hitler has only one objective: justice for his people, sovereignty for his people, recognition of the independence of his people and their rights over their resources. If that is Hitler, then let me be a Hitler tenfold”.
One story about a man, a former Zimbabwean prison guard by the name of Shepherd Yuda, has recently surfaced. He filmed, in secret, vote-rigging at his prison that he worked at. For doing this, he has been forced, along with other fellow prison guards, to flee his country. He was forced to vote for Mugabe by superior officers. The people of Zimbabwe do not have a chance to choose who they want in office and if they attempt to vote for the Mudabe’s opposing party, it might mean death.
Let me paint you a picture of how desperate the times are in Zimbabwe. The horrors the people of Zimbabwe face on a regular basis is exponential. On the financial side, the average income for a Zimbabwean has dropped from $975 in 1990 a year to below $400. The inflation rate continues to soar and is already over 620 percent above normal. The unemployment rate of Zimbabwe is at 70 percent and climbing.
On the health side, accordingly to the World Health Organisation, the life expectancy at birth for Zimbabwean men is 37 years and 34 years for women, the lowest of any country in the world. The life expectancy used to be in the 60’s in 1990. One in four people have HIV and over 4,000 of them day each week because of it. Even though the United States has provided over 400 million dollars in food aid between 2002 to 2007, Mugabe has placed government policies that has directly caused Zimbabwe to have the highest number of people starving to death. He uses international food aid for economic power against Zimbabweans and maniputes the distribution of international and government food aid to benefit his political manueverings. For example, A Zimbabwe citizen cannot have access to food aid unless he or she possesses a registration card that supports Mugabe’s political party.
Also, many consider Mugabe as racist and homophobic because of various comments he has made throughout his history in power. He has systematically attempted to remove the white population from Zimbabwe, who he considers to be enemies of the state.
In 2005, Mugabe drove out 10,000 homeless individuals from their make-shift shelters that he had placed there originally by the Mugabe-installed Operation Murambatsvina (literally meaning: Drive Out the Rubbish). Many of the poor that was displaced from their already-shanty homes to cardboard boxes supported the Movement for Democratic Change opposition party, which further illustrates that the move was politically-driven by Mugabe.
These examples are only the tip of the iceberg of what Mugabe has done to the people of Zimbwabe. I could go on and on about the atrocities that he has inflicted on his people and it would take awhile to go through the endless examples and stories. We may not be able to directly influence or change Zimbabwe, but what I want to point out is how ridiculously lucky/blessed we are to be able to vote, or even more specifically, the freedom to choose whoever we want to govern us. I think we take it for granted. I know I do. I’m a hypocrite, but I want to try.
How lucky are we that we get to vote? We are not impeded by the military, the government or any other outside force to choose who we want in office. The election is around the corner and as always, people are divided by who they want in office, but we should consider the opportunity to vote for the most powerful man on the planet as an honor. With that honor and right to choose, we have the responsibility to research and learn who we best feel represents us and the country. Don’t just cull an opinion from one source. Research the news, talk to people who don’t agree with you, talk to people who agree with you, watch the news, read the news, read books, learn both sides, but ultimately, make a well-informed choice.
Rhyme Culture 