The Government responded by launching a double attack in Matabeleland. The first attack was on the dissidents, and the army units used were 4 Brigade, 6 Brigade, the Paratroopers, the CIO and Police Support Unit. The second attack was on ZAPU and its unarmed civilian supporters, mainly in rural areas and at times in the cities. The units used for this second, undeclared conflict, were 5 Brigade, CIO, PISI and the ZANU-PF Youth Brigades.

The Government's attitude was that the two conflicts were one and the same, and that to support ZAPU meant to support dissidents. ZAPU denied it was supporting dissidents. Whatever the truth of this, it is clear that thousands of innocent civilians in Matabeleland were killed or beaten and had their houses burnt during these years, mostly at the hands of Government forces.

Unity is a good thing to aim for, to try and truly bring together people from different regions of the country. This is for the sake of all our children who may otherwise face violence in the future. Such unity only seems likely if all Zimbabweans face up to what happened in the 1980s, and take steps to prevent government soldiers from ever torturing civilians again in Zimbabwe.

But people all over Zimbabwe need first to know what happened, in order to understand the need to change some things so that it can never happen again. This is why the history needs to be known.

Painful Wounds - healing through talking and being heard
This story is not just about the past, but about how the past affects the present. There are many problems that remain in communities as a result of what happened, in particular from the murders and beatings by soldiers.

Many people can tell stories of how they have failed to get death certificates for those who died, or how such certificates have a false cause of death , which upsets them.

Others tell of mass graves or shallow graves in their areas and how this disturbs their communities. Some tell how members of their families were taken at night and have never been seen again.

Many other individuals have to live with physical injuries, which means they cannot work well in the fields, or travel easily on buses, for example. And still others lost homesteads or possessions, and have been poor ever since.

There is still much pain in the communities as a result of what happened. This affects not only the bodies, but the hearts and minds of those who suffered. Some people are bitter and suspicious of the government to this day. This means people often do not feel that their ability to contribute in Zimbabwe is recognised, or do not see any point in taking part in development projects.

Telling stories, and being listened to, can allow the healing of these painful memories to begin. While there were some people speaking out at the time atrocities were occurring, these claims were not being "heard", either in the country or outside the country. Only a few churches and human rights people, and a few journalists from overseas, really listened to these stories. Until the report was released in 1997, the story of the 1980s remained almost entirely unspoken and unheard.

This book will speed up the process of "Breaking the Silence" and, it is hoped, of "Building True Peace". It is hoped that more people will feel safe to tell their stories once they see others have done so. This means that more people will hear about it and see the need to do something to speed development in affected regions.

Restoring communities through development
While the telling of stories is an important step, there is also need for some kind of economic compensation. It is difficult to obtain compensation for individuals now. Proof of injury or loss is hard to prove after so many years. Other laws prevent cases from being brought forward now.