Crime or Karma?

[Tedob1]

Zimbabwe government rounds up white farmers

Aug. 18, 2002 | HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- Ignoring court orders and Western condemnation, Zimbabwe's government stepped up its efforts to seize white-owned land Sunday and rounded up more farmers defying eviction notices.

A total of 133 farmers who failed to heed an Aug. 9 deadline to leave their farms have been arrested since Friday, police spokesman Andrew Phiri said.

There would be “no favor or compromise” for those who broke the government's land redistribution laws, he said. The increasingly unpopular government of President Robert Mugabe plans to seize nearly 5,000 white owned farms, claiming they are to be distributed to landless blacks.

About 60 percent of the 2,900 farmers ordered off their land failed to comply, said Jenni Williams, a spokeswoman for a farmers' pressure group, Justice for Agriculture.

The farmers have no intention of confronting the police but would fight for their farms and their title deeds through the courts, she said.

“Farmers are not defying the government, but rather orders they believe to be illegal,” she said.

http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2002/...bwe/index.html

[allenb1963]

/me steps out on the front porch, looks at the land once belonging to the American Indians and shrugs...."who am I to judge?"

[antihaxor]

Good question. Should we punish poeple for the sins of thier fathers? The Bible has a saying"the fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth have been set on edge"
It is true that the land was unjustly taken from the natives..It is also true that the white farmers have developed and work it for generations.They grow most of the countries food and they are already in famine. They will be asking us (as in USof A) to feed them soon.Should we ....if they follow evil with evil? If the consensus is that the land should go "back to the blacks" then the USA should return most of this land back to the american indians. Colonialism was a growing phase the world had to pass thru to get to its current state of development. With the information age coming to maturity it is possible to hope for a time when all people will be judged by thier actions only....I believe in one race...The HUMAN race of which we are all a part(well most of us anyway )

[cwk9]

I know some people who immigrated from Zimbabwe. The problem is not lack of land there’s tons of un-used land in Zimbabwe up for grabs the problem is lack of skilled farmers and capital to start up farms. The worst part is the government won’t let you take money out of the country. All your assets and money has to stay with in Zimbabwe. Of course you could all ways pack up all your stuff and make a run for the border. This whole thing doesn’t surprise me; democracies in poor countries tend to be unstable. I suppose you could call it karma and the black of Africa certainly have a right to be angry for years of oppression but now there’s even less food in Zimbabwe since most of the farms have been looted and would need lots money to get them up and running again. In the end I think this adds to the downward spiral of poverty and corruption. Just my $0.02

[gghornet]

I also think many African nations have a right to be angry about their past,but in order to better their countries I think it would be much more logical to focus on the future.They may not have the luxuries of many other nations,but education of the people is a time proven cost effective way to boost the economy.Kicking people off of their farms(black,white,purple,green,or blue)isn't going to ease the famines and disease.If anything the government should be investing money into the construction of new farms for the landless blacks instead of putting it into their own pockets.I just don't see how taking homes from one group of people will help anything.Can't we all just get along.

[rcgreen]

Farmers do not work to serve only their own interests,
but literally feed the rest of society. Zimbabwe
has, in a short time, gone from a well-fed country to
a famine-stricken one.

The real issue shouldn't be whether you own land,
but whether there is a functional economy in which
everyone has a chance to prosper.

Very few people own farm land in the USA, but we
are swimming in surplus food. Do those people
who are clamoring for free land even know how
to farm it?

[digitalgadfly]

I would have to completely agree with rcgreen

Very few people own farm land in the USA, but we are swimming in surplus food. Do those people who are clamoring for free land even know how to farm it?

The real question at hand here is: Are the people they are awarding this land to going to be able to maintain the farmland and continune to support weakening economy? It would be in everyones best interest to let people do there job. Enconomic shock has never proved to be a wise plan in any country.

[retoor]

I must agree with allenb1963! Who are we to judge? But then again! Why should people repay for their forefathers crimes? Don´t the germans still pay for what their parents did? And should they? I think not!