Hot Topics » Iran • Michael Jackson • Going Green • Air France • China • North Korea • more topics »
|
June 27, 2008
Posted: 1654 GMT
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – Zimbabweans voted today in an election many called a ‘sham.’ But ordinary people from Zimbabwe were stuck outside the country watching the events in their homeland unfold. 
Voters line up in Harare.
 And so was I. CNN is banned by the Zimbabwean government from reporting in the country.So I spent the week talking to Zimbabweans living in Johannesburg. I met them at Park station in downtown Johannesburg and in a refugee camp next to a plush golf course outside of the city. At the station they gather commodities that they have bought to take back to their families. There are few commodities in Zimbabwe and the inflation rate is over two million percent. They were taking rice and maize meal, clothes and mattresses. “There is no reason to go and vote since they are beating us like this,” said one man at the Park station, “It doesn¹t make sense.” Another agreed, I can’t use any of their names, they are afraid that Mugabe’s government might monitor CNN’s broadcasts and website, “Even if we go back and vote, Mugabe would not accept it. It is better for us to stay here, we are free here.” I was at the refugee camp as voting began. Many Zimbabweans live here and they were depressed about their country. They had voted in March. Now they were too fatigued at the politics or too afraid to go back. They got hold of relatives, worried about their safety back in Zimbabwe. Texas talked to his grandmother. She was too afraid to chat on the phone because thugs were intimidating people at the polling station. Joseph also got hold of his grandmother. She said that militia where forcing people to vote and checking their hands for ink. They stain fingers when you have voted in Zimbabwe. I also met Nesbitt and his father. Nesbitt’s father is a war veteran. War veterans are generally associated with ZANU-PF. But his father, who doesn’t want us to reveal his name, fled the country a week ago. He says he was put on a list an MDC supporter, though he has no real political affiliation. “They said I was an opposition supporter because I am not following their footsteps,” he said, “I fought for democracy, not for brutality after independence.” Not all Zimbabweans are refugees, of course, there are over a million of them living in South Africa. Privilege is one of them. Privilege is a 24-year-old Zimbabwean waitress who’s been living in Johannesburg since 2005. She hopes for a better tomorrow in Zimbabwe, but she has gotten used to her adopted country. “I am better than I would have been had I been in Zimbabwe, so I can say that I am happy.” Whether Privilege and other Zimbabweans ever get to live in their home again depends on how the ruler of that nation and the leaders of the world decide whether the people of Zimbabwe deserve a fair shake. Posted by: CNN Correspondent, David McKenzie |
 
About this blog
Hear from CNN reporters across the globe. "In the Field" is a unique blog that will let you share the thoughts and observations of CNN's award-winning international journalists from their far-flung bureaus or on assignment. Whether it's from conflict zone, a summit gathering, or the path least traveled, "In the Field" gives you a personal, front row seat to CNN's global newsgathering team.  Recent Posts
Follow us on Twitter
Related Links
From our Partners
Archive
 |
|
CNN Comment Policy: CNN encourages you to add a comment to this discussion. You may not post any unlawful, threatening, defamatory, obscene, pornographic or other material that would violate the law. All comments should be relevant to the topic and remain respectful of other authors and commenters. You are solely responsible for your own comments, the consequences of posting those comments, and the consequences of any reliance by you on the comments of others. By submitting your comment, you hereby give CNN the right, but not the obligation, to post, air, edit, exhibit, telecast, cablecast, webcast, re-use, publish, reproduce, use, license, print, distribute or otherwise use your comment(s) and accompanying personal identifying and other information you provide via all forms of media now known or hereafter devised, worldwide, in perpetuity. CNN Privacy Statement.
|
|
Add a comment
