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Church Leader Calls Global Faith Family to Remember Zimbabwe in its New Crisis

STRASBOURG, France — Two years ago, Zimbabweans in Bulawayo and beyond eagerly anticipated hosting the Mennonite World Conference Assembly 2003. Today, they cling to memories of the miracle of that event and the support they felt from their global faith family. They also wonder if that family has now forgotten them as other crises around the world have taken over the news.

"Zimbabwe is crazy," said Danisa Ndlovu, Brethren in Christ bishop of Zimbabwe and MWC vice-president, in a telephone interview on June 8 during a North American visit. "It is much worse than in 2003. Then, money was in short supply. Now basic commodities are. The need for food is incredible."

An already desperate situation due to continued drought, almost no harvest, a collapsed economy and the aftermath of another flawed election in March plummeted to new depths in May. That's when Robert Mugabe's authoritarian government apparently adopted a scorched-earth policy, detaining thousands of people, routing large numbers of street vendors from their stalls, and burning makeshift homes in shantytowns on the fringes of major cities, forcing people to flee to rural areas.

On his way to his office in Bulawayo in early June, Ndlovu saw police officers rounding up street vendors, arresting them and loading them into trucks. He doesn't know where they were taken or whether they have been released.

Published reports indicate that as many as 30,000 residents in cities, including Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second largest city, and Harare, the capital city, have been arrested or detained. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change reported that police and soldiers had forced up to 1.5 million people from their homes. Due to gas shortages, many spend hours waiting in long, winding vehicle queues at filling stations, hoping for a fuel delivery. Others run out of fuel and are stranded with their belongings as they attempt to transport themselves to rural areas, reported Ndlovu.

He concurred with the description of Zimbabwe as "a massive internal refugee centre." He said that many elderly people caring for orphans were among those who lost their homes when the bulldozers moved in.

Police guarded the exits and sealed the outdoor market in downtown Bulawayo where many Assembly 2003 visitors purchased souvenirs. The vendors are gone; so is their livelihood, said Ndlovu.

The official line is that the police are "cleaning up the city [of black market vendors]" he said. But many of the vendors, he explained, were operating legally, paying licence fees for their outdoor and under-roof stalls. The police actions raise suspicions as to whether government "look east policy" is behind the clean up. Local vendors have better products and can sell them for lower prices than products imported from China, Zimbabwe's new ally.

Some speculate that the destruction of markets and homes and arrests in cities are also punishment for urban areas where the governing Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front party was trounced in parliamentary elections on March 31. The re-elected ZANU-PF officially won most of the vote in rural areas. But the political picture is becoming even more complex and unstable.

"It is my own assessment that the [opposition] MDC has made inroads in rural areas. Factories in cities have closed down, forcing people into the country, taking their influence with them," said Ndlovu.

There is little fuel, even on the black market, so some people who do have jobs walk for five hours to get to work. After seven or eight hours of work, they walk another five hours to get home, he said.

"Will it explode? It is difficult to know," he observed. "[Government actions] have created a serious social crisis. They are not close to being ethically right. The country is at a standstill. What are people pushed into rural areas going to do there?"

Are members of the Brethren in Christ Church victims of this latest sweep? Ndlovu believes members of his church are among those profoundly affected, but at the moment he is unable to confirm his suspicions. He has heard that some churches in Harare are opening their doors to refugees, an apparently positive response but one that may have risks.

For the BICC, especially its schools and hospitals, the lack of water due to drought is a serious problem, even more desperate than the shortage of food. In some places they are drilling new, very deep bore holes in a search of water.

Another major problem is the loss of young people and professionals who leave the country "in search of greener pastures." Hospitals have few doctors, not nearly enough nurses, and schools face a constant turnover of teachers. Young people leave because they see little hope for the future.

"Economically, things are very difficult, but spiritually, the church has remained strong. Suffering has its own way of bringing people closer to God," said the BICC bishop. He mused about the prophet Elijah, who faced a difficult situation, depression and a sense of being the only one on God's side. God reminded Elijah that he was not alone, that there were hundreds of others who were faithful.

"God is at work [in Zimbabwe]," concluded Ndlovu. "We have to open our eyes to see just how God is working." He invited the global community to think seriously about Zimbabwe again in its hour of need and to join the many faithful ones who continue to pray for the country and the MWC family there.