'The Only Thing White Farmers Understand!'

Chilling accounts of a new wave of farm invasions

Hopes that the signing of the power-sharing agreement would result in an end to the forcible evictions of white farmers in Zimbabwe have been dashed with the news that the reverse is true. Taking advantage of the current stalemate between the ruling parties, a fresh wave of farm invasions has been launched.

It is currently believed that another 35 white-owned farms have been grabbed in the last two weeks, usually by combined bands of Zanu-PF militia and so-called War Veterans. In many cases the farms are taken over and stripped of everything of value, before the gangs move on to another target.

The President of the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU), Trevor Gifford, told me that things were getting progressively worse. "There are a lot of new invasions," he said, "the worst areas being Manicaland, Masvingo and Mashonaland East, West and Central." The invasions had been regularly reported to police, but no action was taken.

One white farmer is recounting an incident at his farm which left him staring down the barrel of a gun wielded by a self-proclaimed top official of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO).

Mr. Filippo Marucchi-Chierro, originally from Italy, who farms at Trelawne but has never been listed for acquisition, described how a Mr. Andrew Muzonzini, with an ID number 63-447595B-18, describing himself as the Political Commissar of the CIO, drove onto his property on September 12.

After an argument over whether and how Mr. Marucchi-Chierro should move out, Mr. Muzonzini shouted: "The only thing you guys (white farmers) will understand is if we use this."

He then produced an AK-47 weapon from his vehicle, and pointed it at the farmer.

Mr. Marucchi-Chierro is still on his farm, but for how long remains questionable. Meanwhile the latest invasions are certain to disrupt preparations for the new rainy season, now only weeks away - this in a country where food shortages remain acute, and every farmer needs to produce as much as possible.

Another farmer I spoke to, Mr. Swan Hurbbet, had this to say: "Invading farms in Zimbabwe has ceased to be an event of our time. It is now a tradition, passed down from one generation to another."

Comments

[Debra]

surely where is Rhodesia heading to
when a farmer friend in Shamva told me about this a few days ago thought he was just kidding
now its on the media is scarey
so the rains a just about to fall and land grabs re-start whats the meaning to all this
please may the international community intervene decisively now
send in peace keeping troops there for i see another bloody land grab

[Joyce]

Debra we have got no country called Rhodesia. Zimbabwe is heading to a serious and catastrophic situation. I agree with the idea of sending peace keepers to Zimbabwe formerly Rhodesia. Mugabe is a war vet who has got no concience at all.

This shows that there is still no rule of law in Zimbabwe.Mugabe is still running the country as before ignoring GNU.Zanu-PF is well known for waisting everybody's time.It ignored or rigged several elections results and now it continues to invade farms without consulting GNU.This means the agreement brokered by Mbeki was also a waist of time.Anyway,time will tell.

[Carlmadzi]

This shows that there is still no rule of law in Zimbabwe.Mugabe is still running the country as before ignoring GNU.Zanu-PF is well known for waisting everybody's time.It ignored or rigged several elections results and now it continues to invade farms without consulting GNU.This means that the agreement brokered Thabo Mbeki was also a waist of time.Anyway,time will tell!

[Nicholas Folkes]

The jungle still rumbles. Why do people honestly believe that there is a future for Africa when Africans run it? Or run it into the ground. We have messed about with black empowerment, liberation and put up with afro-centric crap and we have gone nowhere. It is time for the West to re-colonise Africa again.

If the U.N. were truly an organisation for world unity and humanity Mugabe (the rock ape) would have been imprisoned but instead the U.N. wastes valuable time constructing new 'useless' resolutions.

[Nicholas Folkes]

The jungle still rumbles. Why do people honestly believe that there is a future for Africa when Africans run it? Or run it into the ground. We have messed about with black empowerment, liberation and put up with afro-centric crap and we have gone nowhere. It is time for the West to re-colonise Africa again.

If the U.N. were truly an organisation for world unity and humanity Mugabe (the rock ape) would have been imprisoned but instead the U.N. wastes valuable time constructing new 'useless' resolutions.

[DC]

The reason for these farm invasions are no longer political: there is massive starvation and deprivation in Mugabe/Mbeki's Zimbabwe, and people are desparate. They are using ZANU-PF and the shield of lawlessness is allows to get their hands on something - anything. Of course there are some not-so-hungry opportunists as well.

The MDC(T) must withdraw from the GNU and let Mugabe face the music.

[Alisdair Budd]

They only thing White farmers understand is farming.

The only thing Zanu understand is violence.

If it were the other way around you wouldn't be in this mess, and they'd be a lot more protest from the AU, and less protection at the UN by South Africa.

[macon]

I've just returned from a month in Zim, and think DC may be correct... a lot of relatively decent people are being driven by desperation into doing things they wouldn't do in normal circumstances.

With the current Mugabe-authored economic situation in Zim, services are dirt cheap, but imported goods are way over-priced due to tariffs... which means the people are paid very little for their labors and can't afford to buy what little is available. So, when the thugs decide they need more cash for booze or drugs, they're joined by many who would not normally associate with that under-belly of society, and end up becoming a part of that segment themselves by helping to strip the farms of anything of value they can sell. So, decency gets trampled in the stampede and Zimbabwe inches ever-closer to Mugabe's "total control"... total control by the Chinese.

My comments are in no way intended to excuse or condone the behavior, only to offer a possible explanation.

[RMacleod]

Without a shadow of doubt DC is correct and as Macon has described in his account of a recent visit to Zimbabwe, desperate and hungry people are easy to control.His mention of 'total control by the Chinese' also confirms recent comments in this blog feed.

'How China has created a new slave empire in Africa' as described by Peter Hitchens of the Sunday Daily Mail (uk) after his recent visit to the Congo and Zambia is horrific.

At this very moment Mugabe is in the process of neutralising the MDC which indicates the Chinese takeover of Zimbabwe is very close indeed.

[Jay Davies]

Let these feral beasts starve. They wanted the farms so badly let them run them! The kicked out the only citizens with any kind of work ethic so let them face the consequences! No aid of any kind for Zimbabwe until the farmers get their farms back.

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