Prisoners of Conscience Appeal Fund

Letters from Zimbabwe

Here are just a few of the messages we have recently received from our friends in Zimbabwe...(names and personal details have been deleted for obvious reasons).

7th May 2008

Alert! Killings Shamva

In the last 48 hours 8 people have been confirmed beaten to death by militia in camouflage uniforms in the Shamva North area. Over 30 people are badly injured. Trucks have been dispatched to pick up the injured and ferry them to safety and to seek medical attention.

30 houses have been burned in the same area, leaving over 100 homeless and without food.

More people have been injured - at least 10 in the Mazoe area. They are also being picked up.

An ex-army officer who was part of an MDC support group wa abducted from near his home 2 weeks ago. He was taken to Cranborne Barracks and tortured. He died as a result of the torture yesterday.

This is Mugabe's "campaigning" for a re-run of the presidential election; using the militia and senior army officers to brutalise and kill anyone construed to be a part of the MDC. Livestock and domestic animals are still being burned to death.

The violence must be stopped immediately.

21^st April 2008

A friend who manages a horticultural farm in the Macheke area of Mashonaland East was on his way home today when he passed two youths in civilian clothing walking casually down the road with AK47 assault rifles over their shoulders.

When he got back to the farm he asked a "tame war vet" who has a plot on that farm, what was going on. The response was "we are all being armed, we are going back to war".

Put this together with what has been going on, and is still going on country wide, together with the importation of Korean and Chinese troops, walking around in military uniform, do the WARNING BELLS NOT RING loud in your ears????

I wonder how long it will take, or what it will take, to bring this rogue regime under control? The election was won by Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC, in an overwhelming vote by the people of Zimbabwe, that they want change, they want a new Zimbabwe, they want to rebuild their lives and their country. Now they are being brutalised, vandalised and murdered for democratically voting for change.

Their animals are being burned alive, their granaries and homes burned.

Maybe talk to the old man of 85 from UMP who came into Hospital today (three days after being brutalised) with two broken arms, his four little houses burnt down and his three cattle axed to death and then burned. He shook his head and said, "I have nothing left in life but my wife, I don't even have a blanket". What could I say? Nothing. I just put my arms around him and and said “We will make sure you have something to go back to".

14^th April 2008

Dear Family and Friends,

Well never thought I would have to do this email - do not know if it may be my last from our farm. At 3.30pm today a lorry load of so called Mugabe brain washed "war-vets" arrived at our gate to take over our land, equipment and pedigree cattle. This crazy action is occurring in a country where there is v little food being produced!

It is now 6pm and they have been singing their war songs at our gate for three hours, the atmosphere is violent and more and more of them have arrived. We managed to get our daughter XX and her young son XX into town and for now it is just XX and myself, plus our dogs remaining in the house on the farm. They have said that our labour will not work tomorrow. They have demanded that XX must kill them a sheep, which he has flatly refused to do, so no doubt they will simply kill one for themselves. None of our paid labour will even attempt to come to work tomorrow either. XX, who lives south of us is also under siege at the same time as us, so this siege of the last remaining whites is an orchestrated plan.

The XXs and XXs are in the same boat. They have already taken over XX Lodge, and XX and his wife XX are now in town.

Please pass this email on to as many folk as you would like to, this illegal action must become "known" throughout the world. If you know of anyone in the media, please ensure that they become aware/are alerted to this evil tyrant's actions to keep power at all costs. We have to let the world know what is happening. So for now please keep all of us in your prayers and we will send a follow up tomorrow if we are able.

Our love to you all.

X and X.