I vacationed in Zimbabwe a number of years ago and became friends with the people we visited. Recently, I've been receiving updates from them about events in their country. Their messages paint a picture of a place crying for change and a leader willing to do almost anything to keep change from happening. I took the title for this blog post, "Whispers in the Deep," from one of these emails because it communicates the kind of terror that the Zimbabweans are experiencing.  These were personal emails to a small group of people.  The writer did not intend them to become blog entries.  As such, they really don't have a political agenda per se except to let friends now how friends are doing.  It confirms to me that the political terrorism that Mugabe and his party continue exert on their political opponents is real.

I wonder what I can do to help. Like many people, I sometimes feel powerless to bring about change in my own country, much less in a faraway place. In the U.S., it's hard even to get news about some of those places. (This is one reason I like Global Voices Online so much. It taps into the blogosphere around the world, even places where the press can't afford to put staff—which will increasingly be the case given economics.) I have discovered a couple of websites through GVO.  Sokwanele.com maps the terrorism cases that have been reported -- 1429 in all as of today.  I made a donation to Zimbabwe Benefit Foundation in the UK.  The Catholic church was very active in Zimbabwe in distributing humanitarian aid so that may be another place to make contributions.

So I'm sharing this series of emails I've received from my friends in Zimbabwe. I've removed identifying information to protect the writers. I've edited very little because I wanted preserve my friends' voices while getting their meaning across. Any hyperlinks are mine as well.

Date: April 20, 2008
Subject: [none]
I hope you did not think that the war had just began as I was put on a forced writing leave. For the past 2 days I did not have the chance to write due to a forceful Internet sabotage. It was down as Mr M [Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe] wanted to make sure that we stayed home and listened to his speech. I cannot believe it he has the audacity of telling the Zimbabweans the way he likes. In his speech he said there was never never ever going to be another government, maybe he should have added that over his dead body will another government rule Zimbabwe. But history has it that even Ian Smith, may his soul rest in peace, once said that. Kamuzu Banda in Malawi thought he was a Life President but before he died there was Bakili Muluzi. Kenneth Kaunda in Zambia too was out after so many years in power. The list goes on. So Mr M will go, he once said it was the people who put him in power and let the people remove him. The people have spoken; now he is changing his mind.

Yes, Zim will never be colony again but will be ruled by someone unless he uses force and brutality that the people in the rural are facing. While Zim is hungry, he buys arms, which the South African transporters refused to take to Zim. He is re-counting the votes that he was busy putting his own votes during the 3 weeks. What will happen now is he will be winning those constituents that he lost previously. Where would the other votes come from? There have been churches that were on a month-long prayer conferences throughout Zim...but alas that did not soften the heart of the Dictator. So what do we need to do. We need the change like yesterday. Tomorrow will be too late.

Date: April 22, 2008
Subject: Hope and Faith
We are not going to lose hope as we are now aware that the world is watching the Zim politics very closely. So far one observer from South Africa said she noticed one of ballot boxes was tampered with. Someone forgot to do the right thing of returning the seal or did not do one's job good. It also looks like it will take more than the 3 days they said they were going to take. So far more 500 opposition supporters have been arrested and 10 have been killed. There is also a number of them hospitalised. We are hoping and have faith that we will pull through.

Date: April 24, 2008
Subject: Whispers in the deep
It is now quiet, very quiet that one would hear a pin falls a couple of kilometers away. One might think it means there is peace, but this is not the reason. At present one cannot trust anyone the way people are
being taken for questioning. Even as I write this e-mail I should check that nobody is behind me or next to me. As a slight suspection would lead to one getting in the dark rooms where one would be tortured. Thus even at a party or wedding one must be careful what they are saying and to whom the are saying it. They say the walls have ears, it is true this side. Thus one has to whisper to talk about anything for fear of being victimised. Instead of singing one should whistle or hum but make sure nobody thinks bad about the sound you are emitting.

We know the world is watching but most of the things they are seeing are just a tip of the iceberg. The foreign media are showing photos that the local media cannot show and are always ready to say it is news to them. The former Minister of Justice is saying there is not such a problem of beating of the opposition. Well it is okay when it is a dog biting the goat but not OK when the goat bites the dog. Soon it will be a case of the hunter becoming the hunted. We are looking to such a time. It is overdue.


Date: May 1, 2008
Subject: Here comes trouble
I think by now you all have seen or heard about the dubious results that were manipulated cooked etc. So it took them a month and some days to release the fake results so that they could call for a rerun I do not think it would be a good idea to do that as most of the opposition have been hospitalised, and some of them have turned refugees within the country. Those that think they had a close shave will not return to their places where they registered for voting for fear for their lives. Already the militants are being given the army and police uniforms so that they can do as they please with the opposition. The Hotels in XXXX are already having lots of locals that are masquerading as tourists, when in fact they are the militants that are here to make sure they make a change if there will be a rerun. Unfortunately you cannot set traps while the animals are watching, thus the residents have been informed by the workers of the hotels. Due to that, the residents have just imposed themselves to a curfew whereby, at around 7pm people are at their homes. Those that used to enjoy their time at drinking holes they now buy to go and drink at home. They have also been some movements of people coming from the nearby rural areas coming to stay with their relatives in town. We are just hoping things will not go from bad to worse.

Date: May 14, 2008
Subject: Hello
No one is happy with what is going on now in Zim and outside the country namely in Zambia, Botswana and South Africa. Zimbabweans do not know where to go. They are being rounded up at dawn and told to go back to Zimbabwe as they are accused of lots of crimes which they did not commit. As I write the Zimbabweans in Alexandra, a township in South Africa, are sleeping at a police station as they are afraid of staying in the house where some of them had been for the past 10 years. In Zambia last week, they rounded up all the Zim ladies who are doing informal trading. They took them to the cells or were deported without having to take anything from where they were staying. They were branded ladies of the night.

Back in Zim the rerun is a pain to everyone, as the life is going to be a torture up to the time of the elections which we do not know when they would be done, and by then we do not know how many opposition supporters will be left as the former ruling party is unleashing terror. We are back to that time of the whispers in deep, where you do not say anything political even to your own child for fear that being children, they may be talking to their friends and you could be getting some visitors that are not friendly. We are also not opening our doors to anybody that knocks at night. You may as well pretend to be asleep or sleep early to avoid problems. Teachers are going to school to teach because parents have came up with an incentive for them, as they are also trying to leave the country to go outside which is fast becoming a no-go area. In short, we are held hostage.

Date: June 19
Subject: Hello
I am still in Zimbabwe. I could not go as my finance is not OK. I still want to go as that would be good for parents to see that I am alright. The news that things are not OK in Zim is not good news to parents. The Zim economy is very sad at present as every day things goes up.Thus for me to go I need about 300USD, I do not have that kind of money...We just hope things will change for the better come 28th of June. The problem is that Mugabe is saying if he loses he will not give up the State House. He is also threatening war. The people are scared, most people that left the places where they had registered for the voting are likely not to return as they fear that they will be killed. Today we woke up to some news that a house in Harare had been petrol bombed. Four people died.

The opposition leaders are now going in and out of the police cells like they are going to a restaurant to eat. Morgan [Tsvangirai] has been in more than 4 times. We are likely to go to the elections with some of the opposition leaders still in the police cells. We would like to thank you for the prayers, we will keep our fingers crossed and hope he does not rig again. Cheers.