In a few days time Zimbabwe will be celebrating “ Independence” day. A day worth celebrating given all the sacrifices made by those who selflessly gave up their lives for Zimbabweans to live with dignity and respect.

One of the Djs at zim NET radio skillfully looked at the hostage standoff involving the Somali Pirates and an American Citizen.
The analogue just looks at what the respective governments do to protect and serve their citizens.
Pirate Sea gangs from the lawless Horn of Africa nation grabbed world headlines this week when they briefly hijacked the U.S. freighter Maersk Alabama.
Its 20 crew retook control, but the gunmen took one man the ship’s captain Richard Phillips hostage on a lifeboat.
A state-of-the-art U.S. naval destroyer armed with missiles, torpedoes and helicopters kept a watchful eye on the lifeboat.
Just by taking this one American hostage the Pirates were probably regretting as the Americans sent at least 3 War ships to surround that small lifeboat.
 One news report said “On the U.S. side, it looks like this: The warship, the USS Bainbridge, is on the scene and “American Naval reinforcements” are en route with General David Petraeus saying he had called in “other warships.”
The guided-missile frigate USS Halyburton (no, this is not a joke) is reportedly among the ships deploying to the area. An “FBI hostage-rescue team, practiced in a patient approach” is also on-hand, while a Boeing surveillance aircraft hovers above.
“We want to ensure that we have all the capability that might be needed over the course of the coming days,” Petraeus said.
Seriously, who needs the Onion? According to the Associated Press, “President Barack Obama is getting regular updates on the situation [and] U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the United States will take whatever steps are needed to protect U.S. shipping interests against pirates.”
The stand off ended with 3 dead Pirates and one taken into custody and a free American . This happened because Americans value one of their own.
All this just to protect one man and send a clear signal that an American will be protected wherever they are.
Only a few days ago South Africa Broad casting Corporation screened its now world famous documentary “Hell-Hole” which is showing horrible conditions in Zimbabwean prisons. The images look like they have been extracted from a German Nazi concentration camp where millions of Jews were tortured and starved to death.
It is clear there are crimes against humanity being committed against Zimbabwean Citizens by the Government of Zimbabwe. A government committing crimes against humanity on its own citizens?
One is then forced to look at the response of the Americans to save just one man and the Government of Zimbabwe’s response on how it is treating its own citizens who are in the state’s custody. Its shocking to say the least.
The concentration camps being operated by Prisons Chief Paradzai Zimondi , financed by Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono with the Protection of President Mugabe supported by the Joint Operations Command only serve to show how much Zimbabweans in particular and Africans in general to not value their own people.
And as such Africa will for a very long time remain underappreciated and looked down upon by others just because the Africans themselves don’t respect or protect other Africans.
Mugabe, Gono, Zimondi and JOC can only commit such crimes against humanity in Zimbabwe because they are in Africa where their neighbors only reward them with a Government of National Unity after losing an election.
Gono printed money to buy cars that were used to abduct, torture and detain Zimbabweans under such inhuman conditions with the blessing of Mugabe and JOC which is now re-branding itself the Social Revolutionary Council. One wonders how many revolutions does Zimbabwe have to go through to see that Crimes Against Humanity can’t be tolerated to keep people in power.
Zimbabwe’s neighbors continue to look the other way when such clear crimes are taking place which only shows that to them life of a Zimbabwean is not worth that much.
If it was worth anywhere near that of an American as the one being held by the Pirates its clear serious action would have been done and by now Mugabe, Gono, Chihuri and their partners in crimes against humanity in JOC would be history.
Given the Crimes Against Humanity being committed in Zimbabwe a Truth and Reconciliation Commission is the only way to start the healing process and possibly to make those responsible accountable for the actions. Such a Commission was critical in assisted in the creation of a new South Africa, Zimbabwe may need to borrow from that model.
Those who have committed crimes against humanity can be pardoned or prosecuted depending on the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

By GILBERT MUPONDA
Zimdaily

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