Zimbabwe’s Woes
Posted by John Malloy on 11/27/2008
Three former Zimbabwe residents hope to boost awareness of political violence against opponents of the African country’s President Robert Mugabe Saturday during a full day of events planned for Ashanti Coffee Cafe in Thornbury.
Karen Clegg returned to Zimbabwe, where she was born and raised, in March for elections widely thought to have been won by Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Mishandling of the results and government resistance to a proposed national unity government has only worsened the country’s already dire circumstances, Clegg said Wednesday.
Clegg, whose grandfather still lives in Zimbabwe, now manages marketing and administration for Ashanti Coffee, a Thornbury-based roasting and distribution firm for coffee beans grown in the eastern highlands of Zimbabwe. Proprietors David and Amy Wilding- Davies — both Canadian citizens — own a 400-hectare coffee estate in Zimbabwe, but left three years ago under pressure aimed at white farmers and at their estate in particular.
They still own the land and employees harvest and export raw coffee beans, but they farm only about a third of the productive acreage.
Saturday’s event runs from 8:30 a. m. until 5:30 p. m. and includes presentations by both Wilding-Davies and by Clegg. The presentation includes slides and newspaper clippings Clegg obtained during the March general election.
“If we can create some awareness, that’s our biggest goal this time,” Amy Wilding-Davies said. All proceeds from sales of coffee and baked goods are to be donated to the purchase of medical supplies for victims of political violence in Zimbabwe through the MDC-backed Zimfund.
“Our goal isn’t as much financial as it is awareness and we’ll see where it leads,” she said.
She fled Zimbabwe with the two oldest of her three children after parts of their farm was occupied. David remained behind to complete harvest that year with supervision from Canadian diplomatic officials.
The occupation was organized to target Movement for Democratic Change supporters, many of whom worked for the Wilding-Davies estate, Amy Wilding- Davies said. Mugabe supporters who occupied the farm sought mainly to deprive the farm’s employees of income…
www.owensoundsuntimes.com
Posted by
John Malloy
on 11/27/2008. Filed under Uncategorized.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the
RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
