Cholera Epidemic Raw Sewage Flowing On The Streets of Harare/Zimbabwe

Starlah · 12-10-2008, 09:17 PM

The following is an interesting Comment by Joe on Global Voices Online Blog of the current cholera crisis in Zimbabwe, the deteriorating water system infrastructure, foreign aid sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the British and United States government contributing to the crisis, and how innocent civilians of all ages are being used as collateral damage in an effort by the U.S. and British governments to depose Mugabe.
Regime change agendas rather than humanitarian aid assistance is more important to Gordon Brown's government and Condoleeza Rice's government than helping Zimbabwe's people fight hunger and disease with the IMF and World Bank.
___________________________________

http://globalvoicesonline.org/2008/1...holera-crisis/

joe:

The response from the Sadc region and Zimbabwe’s friends like China has been swift. Botswana this time was talking about cash assistance and not about closing borders.

The South African government responded by assembling a team to come to Zimbabwe to assess how it could assist. The emphasis here is on assistance and not witch-hunting.

It is fitting that Sadc has taken the initiative to lead the response to the call for assistance from Zimbabwe.

The good neighbourliness from Sadc countries has already seen the region brokering a political deal among the country’s political rivals. Common sense dictates that the well-being of a neighbour can affect the next country. Problems of a neighbour invariably spill across the border whether it is closed or not.

Thus the sincerity of a country in trying to rescue a neighbour, under normal circumstances, should never be doubted.

Unfortunately, this may not be so with some countries several kilometres away which might have their own dirty agendas.

Instead of marshalling humanitarian assistance to Zimbabwe, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is appealing to the international community to help in seeing to it that President Mugabe is pushed out of office.

This is her strange solution to the cholera problem. Her obsession with the regime change agenda has brought some weird utterances from her from time to time. As an advocate of democracy, one wonders why she now seems to prefer cholera to elections in changing governments.

Not to be outdone, yesterday, British Prime Minister Mr Gordon Brown was mooting the idea of once again bringing Zimbabwe to the Security Council over the cholera epidemic.

This is the unashamed view of the leader of a country that once colonised Zimbabwe and is responsible for the present collapsing water infrastructure designed for black residential areas.

We would have expected Mr Brown to fight Zimbabwe’s cause at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to have its former colony assisted with development aid to update this water infrastructure.

Paradoxically, this aid has been frozen at the instigation of Britain and her allies through the illegal sanctions they have imposed on Zimbabwe.

The cholera outbreak is a clear example of the effects of sanctions on innocent people. The people who are suffering most are not the politicians they claim they want to punish, but poor people who are not political animals in any sense.

Among the cholera victims, there is not one who has been issued with a travel ban or whose child has been deported from Australia.

All the victims are a result of the freezing of balance of payments support, depriving the country of foreign currency required to buy chemicals to treat our drinking water. The infrastructure has not been upgraded because the country has been denied development aid from the World Bank.

Britain and her allies have no moral ground to climb on rooftops to shout about observance of humanitarian standards. What right have they when only last week, foreign ministers from the European Union were said to be planning to beef up sanctions as an expression of their deep concern at the “deteriorating humanitarian situation as a result of the cholera epidemic”. Who doesn’t know that the solution to Zimbabwe’s problem is the removal of sanctions?

Britain and her allies right now are busy throwing spanners into Sadc’s efforts to bring a political settlement in this country. When Sadc, which is well versed with the Zimbabwean situation, offers constructive suggestions, some Western leaders are quick to influence their gullible surrogates to scuttle such resolutions.

As Zimbabweans suffer from the effects of sanctions, you hear these Western hypocrites talk about conditional aid. They want a government they feel represents their interests best to be in place first before they can release their aid.

You would think cholera or hunger is a political condition. Genuine aid should have no strings attached.

As Zimbabwe battles cholera, we expect donor organisations and governments to be influenced more by moral obligation rather than political expediency.
__________________________________________________ _____
Kick at the Darkness until it bleeds daylight...Bruce Cockburn

deb003 · 12-10-2008, 09:38 PM

And as always our Communist Media had put a media blackout on the Zimbawee crisis.
I am so saddened by this. This has been going for way too long and it only keeps getting worse. I have heard that Rice had a history of incompetence in her college years.

Remember what they talk about sacrificial rituals. I believe this whole political circus and lack of help to the innocent in Zimbawee is this.

sick sick sick. i pray and think of them every single day.

Starlah · 12-10-2008, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deb003

And as always our Communist Media had put a media blackout on the Zimbawee crisis.
I am so saddened by this. This has been going for way too long and it only keeps getting worse. I have heard that Rice had a history of incompetence in her college years.

Remember what they talk about sacrificial rituals. I believe this whole political circus and lack of help to the innocent in Zimbawee is this.

sick sick sick. i pray and think of them every single day.

__________________________________________

The broadcast was televised across Canada about the situation in Zimbabwe showing babies crying with no tears flowing from their eyes due to hunger and disease, skin peeling off infant's bodies, children staring vacantly into space, abhorent nutritional deficiencies, adults and children lying on hospital floors with a bucket beside them filled with excrement, no running water in hospitals...the list goes on...
____________________________________________
Shame shame on the World's governments...Jeanette Campbell

deb003 · 12-10-2008, 10:07 PM

Unless people in America look for information from independent sources and search themselves, they are ovblivious to what's going on in Zimbawee.

Are they accepting humanitarian aid? are there groups trying to help them?

can we do anything to help from here?

Starlah · 12-10-2008, 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deb003

Unless people in America look for information from independent sources and search themselves, they are ovblivious to what's going on in Zimbawee.

Are they accepting humanitarian aid? are there groups trying to help them?

can we do anything to help from here?

__________________________________________________ _____
I doubt very much if foreign aid is getting through because of the sanctions imposed by the British and American governments.
I will do some more research and let you know if I find anything useful that can answer your questions.
__________________________________________________ ___
Anything that is not impossible, is mandatory!...Michio Kaku

Starlah · 12-11-2008, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deb003

Unless people in America look for information from independent sources and search themselves, they are ovblivious to what's going on in Zimbawee.

Are they accepting humanitarian aid? are there groups trying to help them?

can we do anything to help from here?

_________________________________________

You might want to check out the following Websites:

http://www.soschildrensvillages.ca

http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/

http://www.freerice.com/index.php
___________________________________________
Kick at the darkness until it bleeds daylight...Bruce Cockburn

12-10-2008, 09:17 PM	#1
Starlah Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: British Columbia, Canada Posts: 372	Cholera Epidemic Raw Sewage Flowing On The Streets of Harare/Zimbabwe The following is an interesting Comment by Joe on Global Voices Online Blog of the current cholera crisis in Zimbabwe, the deteriorating water system infrastructure, foreign aid sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the British and United States government contributing to the crisis, and how innocent civilians of all ages are being used as collateral damage in an effort by the U.S. and British governments to depose Mugabe. Regime change agendas rather than humanitarian aid assistance is more important to Gordon Brown's government and Condoleeza Rice's government than helping Zimbabwe's people fight hunger and disease with the IMF and World Bank. ___________________________________ http://globalvoicesonline.org/2008/1...holera-crisis/ joe: The response from the Sadc region and Zimbabwe’s friends like China has been swift. Botswana this time was talking about cash assistance and not about closing borders. The South African government responded by assembling a team to come to Zimbabwe to assess how it could assist. The emphasis here is on assistance and not witch-hunting. It is fitting that Sadc has taken the initiative to lead the response to the call for assistance from Zimbabwe. The good neighbourliness from Sadc countries has already seen the region brokering a political deal among the country’s political rivals. Common sense dictates that the well-being of a neighbour can affect the next country. Problems of a neighbour invariably spill across the border whether it is closed or not. Thus the sincerity of a country in trying to rescue a neighbour, under normal circumstances, should never be doubted. Unfortunately, this may not be so with some countries several kilometres away which might have their own dirty agendas. Instead of marshalling humanitarian assistance to Zimbabwe, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is appealing to the international community to help in seeing to it that President Mugabe is pushed out of office. This is her strange solution to the cholera problem. Her obsession with the regime change agenda has brought some weird utterances from her from time to time. As an advocate of democracy, one wonders why she now seems to prefer cholera to elections in changing governments. Not to be outdone, yesterday, British Prime Minister Mr Gordon Brown was mooting the idea of once again bringing Zimbabwe to the Security Council over the cholera epidemic. This is the unashamed view of the leader of a country that once colonised Zimbabwe and is responsible for the present collapsing water infrastructure designed for black residential areas. We would have expected Mr Brown to fight Zimbabwe’s cause at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to have its former colony assisted with development aid to update this water infrastructure. Paradoxically, this aid has been frozen at the instigation of Britain and her allies through the illegal sanctions they have imposed on Zimbabwe. The cholera outbreak is a clear example of the effects of sanctions on innocent people. The people who are suffering most are not the politicians they claim they want to punish, but poor people who are not political animals in any sense. Among the cholera victims, there is not one who has been issued with a travel ban or whose child has been deported from Australia. All the victims are a result of the freezing of balance of payments support, depriving the country of foreign currency required to buy chemicals to treat our drinking water. The infrastructure has not been upgraded because the country has been denied development aid from the World Bank. Britain and her allies have no moral ground to climb on rooftops to shout about observance of humanitarian standards. What right have they when only last week, foreign ministers from the European Union were said to be planning to beef up sanctions as an expression of their deep concern at the “deteriorating humanitarian situation as a result of the cholera epidemic”. Who doesn’t know that the solution to Zimbabwe’s problem is the removal of sanctions? Britain and her allies right now are busy throwing spanners into Sadc’s efforts to bring a political settlement in this country. When Sadc, which is well versed with the Zimbabwean situation, offers constructive suggestions, some Western leaders are quick to influence their gullible surrogates to scuttle such resolutions. As Zimbabweans suffer from the effects of sanctions, you hear these Western hypocrites talk about conditional aid. They want a government they feel represents their interests best to be in place first before they can release their aid. You would think cholera or hunger is a political condition. Genuine aid should have no strings attached. As Zimbabwe battles cholera, we expect donor organisations and governments to be influenced more by moral obligation rather than political expediency. __________________________________________________ _____ Kick at the Darkness until it bleeds daylight...Bruce Cockburn

12-10-2008, 09:38 PM	#2
deb003 Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 297	Re: Cholera Epidemic Raw Sewage Flowing On The Streets of Harare/Zimbabwe And as always our Communist Media had put a media blackout on the Zimbawee crisis. I am so saddened by this. This has been going for way too long and it only keeps getting worse. I have heard that Rice had a history of incompetence in her college years. Remember what they talk about sacrificial rituals. I believe this whole political circus and lack of help to the innocent in Zimbawee is this. sick sick sick. i pray and think of them every single day.

12-10-2008, 10:07 PM	#4
deb003 Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 297	Re: Cholera Epidemic Raw Sewage Flowing On The Streets of Harare/Zimbabwe Unless people in America look for information from independent sources and search themselves, they are ovblivious to what's going on in Zimbawee. Are they accepting humanitarian aid? are there groups trying to help them? can we do anything to help from here?