der the Coalition Against Deportations and Forced Removals to Zimbabwe, the campaign began with a vigil at the Zimbabwe Embassy in Central London at 8pm followed by a procession to the Home Office headquarters before going to 10 Downing Street.
“What we are saying is that the decision is wrong in that it wants to protect certain sections of the community whole leaving others exposed,” said Mercy Munyaradzi, the coalition’s secretary. “It (the ruling) gave new guidelines that protect those with a military background, activists with the opposition MDC and a few others. We want all Zimbabweans who are here to be protected because everyone is at risk regardless of their backgrounds.”
In Birmingham, activist Mirriam Mutakwa, told zimbabwejournalists.com that the community there was busy preparing for many such protests to show the world how much all Zimbabweans need protection from the Harare regime. – Staff reporter
Canada violates travel ban
OTTAWA – The Canadian government recently allowed Zimbabwe’s foreign minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwe to attend an international AIDS conference in Toronto in violation of the travel restrictions in force by the EU and other western governments.
The excuse offered by the department of Foreign Affairs Department was “the international nature of the conference”.
Regular travel to Canada by officials in Zimbabwe is banned as part of a campaign to pressure the government of Robert Mugabe over serious human rights violations. – Staff reporter
Is there a future for our land?
LONDON – At an inspirational talk here this week, diasporans were encouraged to “embrace their Zimbabwean DNA” and contribute towards the future of the country as Debbie Jeans and Ingrid Landman made their annual visit to London to encourage Zimbabweans to return home.
The duo said they believe now is the time for the rebuilding of the country and this can only be accomplished by Zimbabweans themselves. “Is there a plan, a hope, a future?” asked Landman. “We believe there is. Every person has the power to affect the future of our country, the power of one person to make a difference.”
Landman and Jeans said that they were asking people to contribute towards the rebuilding of the country in any way they could. “Support a charity, support people who have opted to go back – a lot of people are struggling,” said Landman. She also pointed out that people could make a big difference by supporting their old schools by sending money or old textbooks back to Zimbabwe.
“Zimbabwe is undergoing a spiritual growth surge in direct proportion to its economic decline,” said Jeans, adding that people in Zimbabwe needed to know that diasporans still cared about the future of the country. – KJW