Attacks on farm workers
A reporter for The Independent in a story entitled "War veterans’ reign of terror on farms"reported a series of incidents on farms as follows:

A thick cloud enveloped the mountains that overlook the commercial farms of the Enterprise district about 35 km east of Harare last Thursday. There, another episode of calculated political violence in a litany of incidents unleashed by the ruling Zanu PF party was being played out. At Rudolphia Farm, a compound housing over 100 families of farm workers had been burnt to a cinder. War veterans, who have invaded over 1 000 farms throughout the country, have now extended their mandate of equitable land distribution to attacking farm workers. Their crime? Alleged support for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. As the smoke billowed from the remains of the grass-thatched huts the reputation of Zimbabwe as a peaceful, stable nation went up in the same inferno.

Getting close to the scene of the incident was terrifying. Despite repeated warnings from the surrounding commercial farmers, the Zimbabwe Independent made for the burning compound to have a glimpse of the latest form of "peaceful" demonstration by the war veterans. Over 50 families were moving out of the compound. They said the war veterans, armed with AK rifles, were up in the mountains, hunting down the commercial farmer, Ian Windram, who had already fled the scene of the incident to Harare. When The Independent got to the scene after following an army truck, the wooden buildings were hollow hulks. The salvaged property of the workers was strewn around: radio sets, wooden furniture and clothing. These were poor farm workers, struggling to make a decent living out of the little they get from working on the land. The war veterans and their rag-tag army of Zanu PF supporters had retreated about 1,5km away when the police arrived in a convoy. "We are all going to sleep outside today. I hope it does not rain," said Agnes, one of the farm workers. Other families were battling to transport whatever they had managed to snatch from the raging flames, which included half-burnt beds, tables and stoves and clothes. "We do not know why they are treating us like this. We are just farm workers. If they had a case against Mr Windram, why take it out on us?" asked Agnes. Chara, another female farm hand, could not hold back her tears. Amidst the mayhem, rumour filtered through that the war veterans were coming to finish off what remained of the compound. As reports came out that the war veterans were advancing towards our car, we sped off at high speed heading north, passing streams of families carrying the little precious belongings they could salvage before the return of President Robert Mugabe’s soldiers of fortune. Amongst the refugees were barefooted stooping old men and women in threadbare clothing who trudged along painfully to catch up with their more athletic peers. The moving portrait of poverty - scenes from a war zone - demonstrated that even in peace times the life of the farm workers has never been an easy one.

After moving off the farm we were told the war veterans had set up roadblocks along the way. A local commercial farmer who refused to be identified had packed his four-wheel drive truck and was driving towards Harare. His farm, adjacent to Windram, had been targeted. He would have loved to remain but his life and those of his kids were no longer safe, he said. In a convoy of five vehicles, we proceeded to town like a funeral cortege. We had nothing to bury - except the reputation of our country. Two days earlier, the stakeholders in this whole furore, namely Chenjerai Hitler Hunzvi, chairman of the Zimbabwe Liberation War Veterans Association, president of the Commercial Farmers Union Tim Henwood, and President Robert Mugabe had all agreed to end the violence taking place on the commercial farms.

But there has clearly not been any let up and the hostilities have continued unabated.

The Independent then visited Atlanta farm, also in the Enterprise area along the Mutoko road. Armed war veterans and youths wielding sticks, machetes, axes and knobkerries ready for a kill were visible everywhere. As we drove in a Mazda 323 we were suddenly confronted by the armed militiamen who advanced towards the vehicle and demanded to know what we were looking for. They had no problem with this reporter because I was black but the immediate problem was what exactly was I doing with a foreign journalist in their territory? "Isu hatidi murungu pano, unotsvakei (We do not want a white man here. What are you looking for?)", one of the young men wielding a knife asked. One of the foreign journalists accompanying us paid for our freedom. He handed over a few US dollars, which were enough to calm down the flaring tempers. Having been told their leader was away and hence no interviews could be granted, we drove off. The militias were busy cooking food and bags of meat were being delivered confirming that these acts of wanton savagery are being coordinated by a well-oiled machinery. The militia were chanting revolutionary songs transforming Atlanta farm into a scene reminiscent of a "Pungwe" rally during the liberation struggle.

About five kilometres from Atlanta farm another group of about 100 war veterans had made themselves comfortable under thin plastic structures at Remari farm belonging to David Pascoe. One of the war veterans told The Independent that they had come from as far as Murehwa. "All what we are saying is let’s share this small piece of land. We are not a violent lot, but if we get provoked...If say the farmer resists our advice, we will get violent," said Israel Kanodaweta.

It was not clear who exactly was supplying them with bags of cabbages and meat that were being carried into their makeshift structures. As the Independent moved onto the farm the war veterans were addressing farm workers. The farm owner told The Independent that the war veterans came in a police truck and demanded that they address the farm workers. From a distance, revolutionary songs could be heard as threats were being unleashed against the farm workers. "They have been accusing them of collaborating with whites. They just want to have them on their side, and I just allowed them to do so," the farm owner said.

It was clear by this week that Mugabe’s militia had successfully subdued large swathes of the farming districts around Harare. Any evidence of MDC support had been literally obliterated. Whether this campaign of terror works in the long run remains to be seen.

Mugabe’s soldiers

Gem Farm’s young white owner, a supporter of the new opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), has fled north to Mvurwi.

Meanwhile Mugabe’s foot soldiers have transformed his farm into the fourth "re-education" camp to be established in the area to the north and north-east of Harare in the past few days. Mugabe’s "correction" of the rural poor has now begun. The immediate cause of this mass disappearing act can be traced to events at the end of last month. Then, Chenjerai "Hitler" Hunzvi (the nickname is his own invention), the infamous leader of ZANU PF’s "war veterans", reached a so-called deal with white farmers which promised an end to months of violence if his followers could remain squatting on their farms until a solution to Zimbabwe’s land crisis was found.

Hunzvi lied

But Hunzvi was lying. The violence, the beatings and intimidations - aimed mainly at black farmworkers, despite the death at the weekend of a third white farmer - has continued and, if anything, intensified. The deal simply gave the "war veterans" - in reality, a mix of old soldiers from Mugabe’s liberation war, ZANU PF supporters and paid young thugs - control over the farms, farmers and hundreds of thousands of workers who had turned to the opposition, rejecting Mugabe and his corrupt one-party state.

At Gem, 500 men, women and children are already assembled. The set-up appears to be part boot-camp, complete with military-style drill. I visited one of the five nearby farms where I met Peter, a white farm manager, and his wife Elaine (not their real names). They were packing up their things behind an eight-foot spiked fence, the entrance gate chained and padlocked, while a voice on the farmers’ radio network announced that yet another farm had been emptied of workers.

Attend classes

"Some of our labourers escaped from Gem during the night and returned asking for money so they could run away," said Peter. Money was given and the workers had gone, but ZANU PF thugs were expected to return in the night to punish anyone who failed to attend classes. Peter and Elaine have already met ZANU PF’s "teachers". They came to the farm demanding cows, beer and money but though they were polite, their rubber truncheons suggested that their civility might have its limits. Elaine, a feisty woman of 33, rails first against the economic damage being done to an already crippled Zimbabwe. Pointing to the farm’s long rows of roses, she exclaims: "They should be being cut and packaged for export." She then turns to Mugabe’s targeting of Zimbabwe’s white population: "I was born in Zimbabwe and I have as much right here as any black," she says defiantly. But the quiver in her voice betrays her.

Shoot a black

It is hard, says her husband, to be brave when 40 chanting ZANU PF supporters come running at you across your compound. The couple have a gun but would have to be desperate before they would use it. They say Mugabe, who is using the land issue to obscure his wider persecution of the opposition, is just waiting for a white farmer to shoot a black. "We told our workers not to be heroes, but to do exactly what ZANU says," says Peter. "They can vote with their conscience in the election (promised by Mugabe though no date has been set)."

His line is echoed by other farmers, who have retreated from public support of the MDC, either for selfish or pragmatic reasons.

And it’s the same line espoused by two labourers I meet walking towards Peter’s farm. Samuel, 26, has been sent home from Gem to change after helping slaughter one of the cows taken from surrounding farms. Joseph, 21, is walking with him. They confirm there are at least 500 men, women and children at Gem. And more are arriving all the time. Lorries laden with people can be seen turning off the main road led by young men clenching their fists in the ZANU PF salute.

Pathetically grateful

Only a few workers, the two men say, have been beaten "this time". Given the terror of the past three months, it’s something for which they seem pathetically grateful. But no one can leave Gem without permission and no one knows how long the re-education will last. Hundreds of ZANU PF supporters are patrolling the camp, armed with sticks and knives. "We were ordered to sing yesterday from 2 pm until deep into the night," says Samuel. "Then we started again and sang until 6 am this morning." He describes the sleep and rest deprivation and the boot-camp routine. Everyone was kept awake overnight. "We must jog for hours, then we eat the food stolen from farms just to get the energy to jog again." Joseph says that no one spoke to them of land. They were simply ordered not to vote MDC. In rural villages all over the country ZANU PF is warning people that it will know from numbers printed on ballot papers who voted MDC and that those people will be punished later. But despite everything, Joseph will vote for the opposition.

Re-education camps

When the MDC comes to the farm, Samuel says, he dons its T-shirt, but when ZANU PF turns up, he changes into its colours. "But you know in your heart what you will do," he says. "As the English saying goes, ‘you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink’." Samuel and Joseph seem to have retained their independence, but the question is: if the re-education camps spread to other parts of the country in the run-up to elections - which, given the continuing violence, can never now be fair and free - how many workers will "turn"?

Forty minutes’ drive north at Mvurwi, labourers were re-educated two days before the Concession camps were opened. Here, more than 1 000 workers were trucked into the huge Forrester tobacco estate in vehicles commandeered.

Thuggish men

The farm entrance was guarded by thuggish young men with whips. ZANU PF supporters now call Mvurwi a "liberated" zone. No outsiders were permitted, but one of Forrester’s black assistant managers who was too scared to give his name, says: "The message was that the British want to rule Zimbabwe again and that to vote MDC is to vote for white power." At the camp, workers were encouraged to turn on each other. "We were told we must beat anyone wearing an MDC T-shirt," said the assistant manager.

Forced recruitment to the mob is something he knows all about. The weekend before, Forrester’s general manager Duncan Hamilton, his girlfriend and another woman were trapped in their house by hundreds singing ZANU PF songs. The black assistant farm manager was among them.

Electric cables

Twenty people were beaten with electric cables and rubber truncheons that night. Their fellow workers watched in silence, "scared they would be next". Lists were produced of alleged MDC members and workers were forced to hand in party T-shirts. But the manager says he will still vote MDC because Mugabe always promises land and never delivers. Besides, he adds, Zimbabwe needs change.

But gardener Johnphane Chisare, 29, is one who believes what he was taught in camp. He stands in ragged green overalls on the lawn he manicures for his white bosses. Warren, the white senior manager in this section of Forrester, has picked him to talk about the marching and singing at camp. But Johnphane says ZANU PF also told him that it would "sort out" any white who gave him trouble. He stuns Warren by saying ZANU PF has his vote. He has been promised 30 acres of his own by ZANU PF. "Yes, I believe it," he says, nodding vigorously. Had not Mugabe himself promised that land grabs without compensation will soon begin?

Johnphane is not alone in his conviction. At Forrester the poor have been invading fields and marking plots that they are sure will soon be theirs.

Government’s fault

The truth is that Johnphane could not farm 30 acres without training and education. That he stands no chance of getting any is the government’s fault. In 20 years, Mugabe has produced only a handful of black commercial farmers. But it is also true that to be forever in the white farmer’s employ can mean a life-time of humiliation. When Warren barks Johnphane’s name, he replies "Sir" like a timid army recruit and comes running. When they go out in the truck, Warren sits in the front while Johnphane jumps in the back with the dogs. There are white farmers whose sense of superiority is so strong that they routinely refer to their workers as "My Afs (Africans)". So Johnphane clings to a land promise, betrayed in four previous elections. "I want to be independent," he says. "I need to be free."

Shattered by terror

Just how many Johnphanes will ZANU PF seduce, particularly now that the MDC’s rural political network has been shattered by terror and new laws limiting its campaigning?