OneWorld.net (U.S.)

WASHINGTON, Jan 12 (OneWorld.net) - Ordinary Zimbabweans, church leaders, trade unionists, community workers, and human rights lawyers have appealed on film for immediate and decisive action from South African leaders to help resolve their country's political, economic, and humanitarian crises.

• Selling fruit on the side of the road; Harare, Zimbabwe, 2006. Approximately a third of Zimbabweans are dependent on food aid for survival. © Amodiovalerio Verde (flickr)The appeal, entitled "Time 2 Act," was recorded Dec. 19-26, 2008 by a small team from CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, an international network of groups promoting citizen action for democracy. The film will be distributed to the leaders of South Africa, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union, and South Africa's ruling party, the African National Congress. Click here to read CIVICUS' statement on the appeal.

• "Here we are not free. We do not get enough food to eat. We do not get enough clothing. We do not get any care at schools. We do not get comfortable at home. When we wake up, we do not get any food to eat. We only get water and go to school....Water does not give us strength to learn....There are not doctors at the hospitals. We need doctors also. We need teachers, we need qualified teachers," said one young person interviewed by the CIVICUS team in Part I of its film report (below). The political deterioration in Zimbabwe has been accompanied by harsh repression of civil and human rights, a near-total economic collapse, a nationwide outbreak of cholera, and rising levels of hunger and poverty. For an overview of politics, health, and human rights in Zimbabwe, visit OneWorld UK's Zimbabwe country guide.

• "A key observation during the trip was the disillusionment with the mediation efforts of the South African government and Southern African Development Community (SADC)," said CIVICUS in a written trip report last week, adding: "The team discovered a pervasive feeling that SADC and the South African government have not done enough to pressure the 'government' in Zimbabwe to restore democracy and constitutional order." In Part 3 of the film report (below), Nolwandle of the Women of Zimbabwe Arise activist group said to former South African President Thabo Mbeki: "Mbeki, you have failed to be the mediator....Now Zimbabweans are dying -- inch by inch, Zimbabweans are perishing. I think by next year when it comes, I think the population of Zimbabwe will be 10 percent less than it was....Thabo Mbeki should really pull up his socks and be the mediator that he was chosen to be."

Zimbabweans appeal on film to South African leaders for urgent, decisive action

From: CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation

Time 2 Act - Part 1 of 3

Time 2 Act - Part 2 of 3

Time 2 Act - Part 3 of 3

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