| Submit your comments on this article |
| Africa: Subsaharan |
| Zimbabwe is facing mass hunger, says archbishop |
| 2005-10-24 |
| Roman Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo has warned that 200,000 Zimbabweans could die of hunger over the next few months because of food shortages resulting from government policies. Speaking at the launch of a new film on Operation Murambatsvina, the regimeâs recent massive demolition programme, he declared: âI think Mugabe should just be banished, like [Liberian president] Charles Taylor.â The archbishop claimed that food security in Zimbabwe was now so precarious that he estimated unless there was a dramatic change of policy malnutrition could contribute to tens of thousands of premature deaths by February 2006. Ncube said that this was a personal estimate based on his estimate of the effect of severe food shortages on a population ravaged by HIV/Aids and extreme poverty at a time of hyperinflation and mass unemployment. According to Independent Catholic News the archbishop added that 700 people a day were already dying of Aids in Zimbabwe and the present rate would certainly increase with malnutrition. The Rt Rev Rubin Phillip, Anglican bishop of KwaZulu Natal Province in South Africa and the co-chairperson of the Solidarity Peace Trust, a group of church leaders committed to human rights and democracy, said Zimbabweans âwere living lives of desperation with no glimmer of hopeâ. In May 2005, the government destroyed informal settlements and the kiosks of traders without warning. The United Nations says at least 700,000 people lost their homes or livelihoods in the campaign â one it called a clear violation of international law. The new film, âHide and Seekâ shows President Mugabe saying that the slum clearance operation would move people into new and better homes built by the government. But church and human rights activists say the reality is that tens of thousands of people have simply been dumped in rural areas where they are unknown and unwanted. Nearly all those impacted have no jobs and no money. Eighty percent of the children have not been able to return to school. "The amount of suffering is beyond imagination," commented Archbishop Ncube. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #12 Although God makes his sun shine on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the Just and the Unjust, he's not obligated to plot the fields, plant them, or harvest them for anybody. He gives us chances, but won't shield us from the consequences of our perversities. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2005-10-24 18:03 |
| #11 Genocide is genocide, no matter how it's carried out. Bob Mugabe is taking a page out of Stalin's book and starving his nation into submission. Unfortunately, it's pretty obvious that the world hasn't learned from its history, and will allow him to get away with it. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2005-10-24 18:01 |
| #10 at least Archbishop Ncube is pointing the finger where blame lies, unlike Desmond Tutu and Mandela. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-10-24 15:27 |
| #9 The thing that truly boggles the mind is that Mugabe's abolition of property rights and subsequent land grab that precipitated this disaster is being used as a template by South Africa and Venezuela. |
| Posted by: RWV 2005-10-24 14:29 |
| #8 Roman Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo has warned that 200,000 Zimbabweans could die of hunger over the next few months because of food shortages resulting from government policies. No kidding??? |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-10-24 13:05 |
| #7 The good of the many is the concept that all forms of govt are based on. Since the fall of feifdom, that is. Killing this ass-clown would be a gift to the world, much less his people that he has taken such a lead role in subjecting to endless anguish. One maniacal autocrat would not be missed. |
| Posted by: Crimble Gromons1663 2005-10-24 10:41 |
| #6 "sometimes I ponder on the fact that one bullet could alleviate so much suffering." That's dangerously close to socialism, and the reason it kills so many. "For the good of the many" has been the biggest mass-murder excuse ever. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2005-10-24 07:18 |
| #5 sometimes I ponder on the fact that one bullet could alleviate so much suffering. Am I right or wrong? Before you say wrong - pause for a moment to consider the millions...millions... whose suffering you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. Can one bullet save over a million lives? Should I go to bed and get some sleep? These are the things I ponder. |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-10-24 05:24 |
| #4 Daaang. Off by 12 months in my futures entry. I guess the ZimBOBwean famine begins next month. I'm better at handicapping college football games anyways. On well. |
| Posted by: badanov 2005-10-24 01:57 |
| #3 When is the civilized world going to revoke Mugabe's oxygen consumption license? Having this sack-of-sh!t address the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization is like inviting Pat Buchannan to a formal reception at the Venezuelan Embassy, only less funny. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2005-10-24 00:47 |
| #2 I bet they stank before they were burned |
| Posted by: NotMike Moore 2005-10-24 00:34 |
| #1 I think it is much more important that we focus all of our attention, 24/7, on the fact that two American soldiers burned a dead body that stank. It's far more important and newsworthy. |
| Posted by: Grush Tholuger7316 2005-10-24 00:25 |