"Who is My Neighbour?"

By Charles King
"Who is my neighbour?" the young man asked the teacher. The teacher then told him this story.
Late one night a farmer was travelling from Dullstroom to Lydenburg, when he was attacked by hijackers. Stripped of his clothes, beaten up and his bakkie stolen, he was left half dead on the road.
Not much later a dominee drove past rushing to get home after a late appointment. In his headlights he saw the man lying there, but quickly veered to the other side of the road and passed him.
A travelling salesman, with business in the town the next day also drove past, briefly slowed down and quickly averted his gaze, then sped past.
Then a refugee fleeing from violence in his country to the north came along on foot. When he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the refugee soothed his wounds with river water from his old bottle and bandaged him with his T-shirt.
He put the man on his back and carried him to a B&B 4 km away, where he washed his face under the garden tap and nervously called the owner (he had no papers and feared being arrested).
He handed the B&B owner his last two faded brown R20 notes and said to him, "This is all I have, will you take care of this man?"
"Now which of these three would you say was a neighbour to the man who was attacked by hijackers," the teacher asked.
"The one who showed him mercy," replied the young man.
Then the teacher said, "Yes, now go and do the same – go and love your neighbour as yourself."
Last week, as part of the Wits University-based Investigative Journalism Workshop (IJW), I spent a morning outside the main refugee reception centre in Johannesburg.
I say outside because our group was thrown out after having just made it through the gate, past the aggressive, pompous-angry security guards.
While luminous yellow reflector jackets were garish badges highlighting their egos, cruelty and pseudo-power, their megaphones and batons were straight out of fascist Italy or Germany, apartheid South Africa... or modern-day Zimbabwe.
I saw hundreds of this continent's most disempowered people waiting. They were waiting in a ripping August wind laden with the grit-and-dust-and-shit of the winter, amongst the reek of human excrement.
The public 'portaloos', maybe ten of them, had only arrived the day before. Until then, those waiting had shat-and-pissed, menstruated-and-spat-out-their-phlegm on the pavements and in the surrounding open lots.
Arrogantly think what you like, but even for the poorest of the poor, time is money. People waiting here for permits, papers and extensions (only 50 refugees and asylum seekers from the daily hundreds are processed every day) already lost outside 'the system' stood to lose what menial jobs they had.
Every single person I spoke with told of bribery and corruption that started at street level with the translators, but seeped like sewerage though the gates and into the refugee centre.
Tonight as I type these words, a couple of hundred people at least - including children and babies - are sleeping in the bitter cold on the filthy pavement, maybe in rain, but certainly in the reek.

Those I'd spoken to had got there on the Tuedsay morning in the hope of making it into the reception centre on Thursday, maybe Friday. If they didn't make it, they'd be back next week. And the week after that. Nobody gives a damn.
Most of those I spoke to were Zimbabwean. Despite May's xenophobic attacks, not a single one of them would go back even if they could. They'd rather face violence, bleak conditions and destitution here than Mugabe's poverty of spirit and mind.
Sleep easy tonight, when you do.

Charles King is a writer and journalist living in Waterval-Boven. His blog Beautiful Mind, which celebrates life, tourism and travel in Mpumalanga's Highlands can be seen at http://btflmind.blogspot.com/.

Mugabe wants to use Tsvangirai as Condom

Dumi Sigogo
Morgan Tsvangirai knows and so does dictator Mugabe that if free and fair elections are to be held, Zanu PF will be fucked up, so Mugabe will not allow that to happen.
Mugabe is prepared to buy time in power by having a marry go round in the name of power sharing talks.

He has threatened to form cabinet and is trying to paint a picture that Tsvangirai is the uncompromising part. Bob wants to control all security Ministries and wants to chair Cabinet, Tsvangirai says you can have the Defence but can we have the Home Affairs and co chair cabinet, Mugabe says NO WAY MORGIE!

At the MDC’s 9th anniversary Tsvangirai said he it is better to have no deal at all than a bad deal and therefore fresh elections should be held under the international watch. Does he think Mugabe will allow foreign or independent observers to this election? Obvious the useless SADC will not agree.
If Mugabe does agree to the elections at all, then they will be another unnecessary chapter of the spilling of blood as Mugabe’s murderous thugs masquerading as war vets, youth militia will once again savagely assault; burn, torture, traumatize and murder opposition supporters just like they done in the past to win elections.

Some victims of the Mugabe, state and Zanu PF sponsored violence.

Mugabe lost and will loose any credible election so he should not insist on a lion’s share of spoils of these talks deal. If he does not want to bow out or share power equally he should be reminded that he is no longer a legally and morally accepted leader of the beloved Zim.

He rigged his way to the negotiating table and now wants to fuck Zimbabwe and use the MDC and Morgan as condoms.

If the deal is to eventually come out Tsvangirai should be careful not to be sold a dummy by the cunning Mugabe. Remember Joshua Nkomo was defeated and destroyed in the name of a unity government.
The powersharing deal is likely to see Zim recovering but as long as Mugabe is still in the cockpit and its still the Zanu PF way of doing business, then the country is still in troubled waters.

Tsvangirai should know better that Mugabe is politically and economically cornered and wants to use him as a condom to do the dirty work while he Mugabe enjoys the fruits of a recovering Zim. By giving Morgan the finance and economic development portifolios, Bob wants the west to pour money and aid thinking there is now a legitimate government in Zim. He on the other hand will be plundering the resources with his cronies while Morgan and the MDC toil and Zim continues to bleed without tasting the milk and honey.
If Morgan decides to abandon the people he can join the gravy train and suck the milk and honey like the Mugabe regime.

Morgan is right on insisting a better deal becoz that’s what more than half the population wants. They don’t want Mugabe to be the CEO of the country any day or hour more.
MDC should not quickly jump into bed with Zanu PF because it will be like what one writer said “Cozying up to Mugabe – with his degrees in violence – is about as foolish as getting into bed knowing there is a scorpion hiding between the sheets” –Gerald Cubitt
South Africa and the toothless SADC by trying to push MDC to accept this weak deal are trying to say let the big hungry wolf and the fat lamb sleep together.
It seems as if Mbeki’s dishonorable and evil intentions are to salvage the expired Mugabe rather than saving the suffering and abused people of Zim.

History will judge the MDC harshly if they are wood winked and enticed by Mugabe to believe that they have secured a grand deal. History tells us how the despot has survived situations we thought he was finished. He wants the MDC to give him credibility and then he continues to rape beautiful mother Zim.
So if the MDC is not cleaver they will be the ones who will be finished.
For mother Zim to flourish Morgan get the best deal than whats being offered by Mugabe and Mbeki.

Dont be used as a condom Morgan!