General Chat

You may have read about the terrible situation in Zimbabwe in last weekend's papers. There was another article today, which is quite distressing - http://www(.)timesonline(.)co(.)uk/tol/news/world/africa/article1560536(.)ece - please read it if you can bear to. We went there 12 years ago and it was such a wonderful country with warm and friendly people - only a hint of the awful poverty and disease they are suffering under now. Surely there is an even more deserving case for intervention here than there was in Afghanistan or Iraq? Surely there is something that the international community can do. Maz. XX ****** ps details of petition posted below ... ******

Maz , I signed an online petition yesterday...will try and send you it if you like, and if I can find it. BC

Yes BC please do - I will add it on here. Maz. XX

I will look Maz, Totally agree that it deserves the worlds full attention and our forces could be better used there, caz x

Here is the petition - please please can you sign it - there are not even 40,000 signatures yet. http://www(.)avaaz(.)org/en/zimbabwe/ Maz. XX

Nudge.........

Going to do it xx

thank you :-)

Hiya Maz Have just signed

Maz, its a much more desperate situation and i agree that the world powers such as they are should step in. Unfortunately i dont think thats going to happen cos theres not so much in money and greed terms to be gained. Sorry if i sound cynical but im seriously beginning to think that life really is cheap these days! Ive signed x

When this country went into Iraq, I remember seeing Prime Minister's Question Time, and an MP asked we were not sending troops to Zimbabwe or Rwanda instead, if we were so concerned about human rights. Tone's reply was that Zimbabwe and Rwanda were not threatening us with nuclear attack, and therefore Iraq was a pressing emergency. That was four years ago, Still haven't seen any evidence of nuclear weapons in Iraq, and the atrocities in Zimbabwe and Rwanda are still going on. Of course, neither Zimbabwe nor Rwanda supply us with oil. OC

Sheesh, sadly I think both you and David have got it right :-( Lynda - this is one of the times when you feel so powerless to help isn't it? Maz. XX

I also think that the fact that there is still a lot of tribalism in african countries doesnt help either and god help you if youre not of that tribe if an evil person like mugabe gets into power. Might be a million miles wrong but it strikes me of ethnic cleansing too- just my opinion x

OC yes exactly - for 'money' in earlier posts, please read 'oil' ! Sheesh - the articles last week actually called it genocide. Maz. XX

Maz, poor Zimbabwe does not have oil, or anything the West would step in to help for.....

Maz, thanks for putting this post up :-) ive been worrying about it for a while and finding it hard to believe that a person can cause this much misery for a whole nation - thank god we live in the uk even though we complain!

me too Sheesh - having been there it really upsets me to think of what has become of such a beautiful and friendly country. thanks Ginny. Maz. XX

Signed.

Saddam Hussein might have been everything bad and evil, but at least the country had some infrastructure - food supplies, water, electricity etc. Zimbabwe has none of these. We managed to interefere in Uganda when the despicable Idi Amin was strutting his stuff - why can't we now? OC

OC - perhaps my comparison wasn't the best in the world but hope that you can see my point ! Amin being a classic example. Ginnyx