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An Army of the Poor
We go to the polls here in Zimbabwe in three days time! Those of us who
are
deeply involved with the MDC are totally exhausted, many are hoarse
from
speaking at meetings two and three times a day for weeks, many are both
physically and mentally exhausted by the effort they have put into the
campaign.
I have often pointed out to any who will listen, that the MDC is a
Party of
the Poor. If you had visited a Zanu rally you would have been
astonished at
the variety of vehicles in the vicinity - army, police, CIO, Mercedes,
BMW,
every form of 4x4 and luxury twin cab you can name and few you probably
have
never seen. By contrast at the MDC rally on Saturday - with 35 000
people
crammed into a stadium that holds 15 000, there were a handful of
battered
pick-ups and the now familiar armored twin cab that carries the
President.
On Wednesday evening we will deploy our own army to their posts. An
army of
peasant farmers, widows, grandmothers and low-income workers. This army
-
numbering 35 000 have all volunteered to have their names printed in
the
newspaper for all to see, along with their ID numbers and physical
addresses
and will go out to witness and supervise the elections at 8 300 polling
stations.
They will have to walk to their stations in most cases; many will sleep
at
the stations they are looking after because they live too far away.
Only a
handful will have their own transport and the MDC simply cannot move
them to
their stations because they themselves have no "wheels".
They will vary from illiterate people who cannot write their names to
teachers and headmasters who have defied their government employers to
help.
They will carry small packs - a candle, a box of matches, some toilet
paper,
2 kilograms of maize meal and some form of "relish" to go with it.
Perhaps
some water in a plastic bottle.
They will have to man their stations for up to 24 hours straight - no
sleep
as people will vote all day and in some cases well into the night. They
run
the risk of physical violence and intimidation and offers of money to
abandon their posts or allow the operation of the station to be
subverted
while they are there.
After the election they have been threatened with the loss of their
jobs,
transfers to hostile places and the denial of food and medicine for
their
families. In Masvingo the Head of the Armed forces said this past week
that
the "bushes would become soldiers and MDC supporters beheaded".
At their polling stations they will enter a totally hostile
environment.
There will be police present, probably youth militia, peasant farmers
will
be faced with their traditional leaders all of who are paid to work for
the
State and Zanu PF. All the officials in the polling station will be
hostile - probably drawn from the army or the CIO. Even the staff of
the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission will be vetted by Zanu PF and will be
proven
Zanu supporters and cadres.
And into this situation will march our rag tag army of polling agents -
some
barefoot or in sandals made out of old tyres, wearing their best
clothes
because this is an honor. They will be armed with two pens, some
stationary
and their commitment to democratic principles and a free and fair
environment for our people to vote in. They will only be allowed one at
a
time into the polling station itself and there they will watch the
whole
voting process. They will be alert for any actions that may result in
the
returns for that station being subverted in some way.
They will have had a days training from the MDC and a couple of hours
with
the ZEC. They are the only way we can stop the kind of activity that we
saw
and experienced in 2000 and 2002 and which resulted in the election
being
stolen from the democrats. For that is what we are - we are the only
democrats in this race - for the others, this is not a test of public
opinion, it is just a front for electoral fraud on a massive scale.
What astonishes me and gives me hope for Zimbabwe and for Africa is
that the
commitment to real democracy at this level of our society is so strong
and
alive. These may be the poor, but we have found that they not only
fully
understand the value of democracy but also want it to work for them.
Ask any
group of poor Zimbabweans if they are "ready". You do not have to
explain,
they know you are asking "are you ready to vote?" and the answer
without
exception is yes!
So here you have an army of the poor, going once again into battle for
their
future, the future of their children and their country. A battle that
they
have fought twice before and been beaten - not by fair means but by
foul. An
army that has not given up despite propaganda, threats, hunger and
worse.
Hundreds of thousands tortured, hundreds beaten or even killed. They go
against armed forces numbering 120 000, armed with AK 47's and
strutting
with pride and arrogance. They go against a State controlled system
that has
been designed and built to frustrate their desires and will.
They are in small groups - three per station, in lonely places, many
kilometers from the nearest town. They are armed only with their
principles
and pens. They cannot call on reinforcements if they get into trouble
and we
may not even get news of them for hours after any incidents. But these
are
the people who are holding the line for democracy in Africa and I am so
proud to be one of them.
Eddie Cross
Bulawayo, 28th March 2005.
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