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ROHR Liverpool Voluntary Community Cleaning - 15 October 2010

Tuesday, 02 November 2010 17:18 administrator

Our efforts to engage the Liverpool local authorities started in July 2010 and culminated in our inaugural participation in a clean-up exercise in Picton Ward of Liverpool on 15^th October 2010.

The exercise was co-ordinated by Christina Williams & Tim Beaumont both of Liverpool City & North Neighbourhood Management Services.

Seven of ROHR Liverpool branch members joined about 24 other individual from different walks of life in the clean-up exercise.

In an exercise that started at 10.30 am and finished at around 3.30 pm, ROHR members were allocated and concentrated on Webster Street and its environs. Our activities included painting (to give a facelift to old and / or uninhabited buildings), litter picking and weeding. We left a clean and refreshing environment in our wake. The area was noticeably “scenic” after our touch.

Some of us were clad in our colourful ROHR regalia and this helped in showcasing the organization.

The organizers thanked ROHR for the “...gesture of goodwill” and promised to keep us informed of similar events in future so that, at our discretion, we may participate. They also inquired about ROHR as an organization and we seized the opportunity to articulate our cause and to market the organization.

This is what Netsai Karota, the Vice Chairperson of ROHR Liverpool branch and our spokesperson at the event had to say after the event, “It was a fulfilling experience and we are proud to have been part of such a good cause. We feel very relevant to the community we live in and, as an organization; we are ever ready to be called upon to serve the community in which we live. In any case, this is at the core of our very existence both as individuals and as ROHR.”

Present: Netsai Karota, Trywell Migeri, Patience Karimanzira, Sheilla Mironga, Ruth Goba, Maramura Nyirenda, Irene Chigumira

Resist instigators and agents of violence!

Monday, 01 November 2010 22:14 administrator

From ROHR Zimbabwe Information Department – 31^st October 2010

Ngativakei Runyararo, Runyararo idonzvo redu tose! (Lets build peace, Peace is our collective goal, responsibility)

The people of Zimuto district yesterday around midday at Zimuto business centre, made a bold solidarity message pledging their undying commitment to jealously watch those sent to instruct people to assume violent actions against members of their community and resist them. The pledge was made during the commemoration of the International Peace Day organized by Victims Action Committee, a member of the ROHR Zimbabwe led consortium on peace building comprising four organizations.

VAC Masvingo provincial chairman, also a resident community member and master of ceremony, Farai Chinobva, said that Zimuto was one of the first places in which violence broke during the 2008 orgy of violence. He further highlighted the lessons the community had learnt, noting that most of the people who masterminded or brought instructions to order villagers of Zimuto to carry out heinous acts against each other were people who came from outside.

It was unanimously agreed that having been the first to experience violence and its ravaging effects, the people of Zimuto will be the first to end violence and resist instructors of violence to break the cycle of violence. All the attendants pledged to repossess the keys to the gates of Zimuto to be watchful, accountable and responsible about who they let in the community and what message they bring to the people. This comes after disturbing reports of a campaign by a notorious gang leader of war veterans Jabulani Sibanda who is reported to be on a tour in the Masvingo province to stir acts of political violence, intimidation and other politically motivated criminal activities.

“Peace building is one of the major significant priorities which must be assumed by the coalition government to bring transformational change to improve the lives of the people and ensure long lasting peace, particularly during contested times like on the holding of elections” said Fortune Muchuchuti, director of VAC.

Clifford Hlatywayo reiterated the chain of responsibility stressing that peace is a deliberate effort that begins with the individual before going to the family, community and nation as a whole. A victim from the 2008 election violence, John Mashakada gave a testimonial about his experience before encouraging the gathering to be part of the peace effort. Solidarity messages were made by attending representatives from ZimRights, ZINASU, prominent local human rights lawyer, resident councilors. The meeting was attended by traditional leaders, church leaders, youths, women, men, artist and children.

The peace commemoration is part of ongoing efforts by a consortium of four organisations, Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe (CCJPZ), Centre for Community Development in Zimbabwe (CCDZ), Victims Action Committee (VAC) and Restoration of Human Rights Zimbabwe (ROHR) working towards building peace during the critical time of transformation in the history of the country. The project aims to build capacities, skills and encourage community members and leaders to deliberately be conscious and make purposeful efforts to contribute to the building and sustenance of peace.

Wonder Dangarembizi, the VAC national chairman who comes from the hotly contested Uzumba Marambapfungwe thanked the residents of Zimuto for their spirited courageous decision to be the difference, committing to end intra community violence.

For photos of the meeting check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/

For Peace, Justice and Freedom

Party leaders should restrain members from partaking in violence

Thursday, 21 October 2010 00:32 administrator

From ROHR Zimbabwe Information Department

ROHR Zimbabwe has learnt with shock the report of disturbances published by the local daily newspaper, Newsday 19/10/10, of youths suspected to be ZANU PF members who unleashed terror at a funeral of Sekai Kadyakumbura an MDC activist on Sunday in Mbare. The riotous youths are alleged to have run amok and ended up stealing property including electrical gadgets and blankets.

ROHR Zimbabwe notes with deep concern that the disturbances not only constitute a serious crime but also amount to willful disregard of the efforts being made to build peace and ensuring its sustenance during this transitional period from a legacy of violence.

ZANU PF should be worried by the irresponsibility and apparent lack of accountability by its members engaging in treacherous behavior that is tantamount to tarnishing the image of the party and damaging the national brand of the country at large. We cannot talk of peace when the rights of innocent men, women and children are being violently broken at the whim of individuals who partake of crime in the name of political patronage to appease political polarization.

ROHR Zimbabwe challenges all political party leaders to conscientise their supporters to bear the crucial responsibility of being active players to achieving peace, respect for human dignity and observance of the rule of law. The coming together of the three political parties towards an attempt to govern together is a huge statement that conflict or differences in political affiliation should never be a reason for a people to persecute each other for political expediency.

We reiterate that everyone has a right to partake in political activities of their choice without persecution and also that the police have a mandate of protecting not only that right but also the security of all citizens of Zimbabwe regardless of political affiliation as guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and African Charter on Human and People’s Rights.

We also challenge the police to deal speedily with issues of political violence as they pose the biggest threat to peace as evidenced by the 2008 orgy of violence which claimed more than 200 lives.

It is sad to note that the coalition government has down-played the significant priority of accounting for the past and ensuring that justice takes centre stage in setting a good precedence for the future. ROHR Zimbabwe holds that justice is a key component to the realization of peace that can only be realized by functional independent arms of the state that include among others security forces, the judicial and independent commissions.

ROHR Zimbabwe is embarking on a media campaign to denounce political violence ahead of the next elections and advocate for a free environment that can guarantee a credible result as opposed to 2008.

For Peace, Justice and Freedom

Media campaign to brand 2008 violence- Lets break the circle of violence

Tuesday, 19 October 2010 14:48 administrator

From ROHR Zimbabwe Information Department

CAMPAIGN SLOGANS
NO to sponsored violence
Do not be lured into violence, resist evil
NO to bloody elections, we are one people
Everyone let’s unite to build peace during election time
Violence of March-June 2008 should never be tolerated nor re-lived
Say NO to partaking in violence, join the peace team
Let’s uphold the universal right to vote without persecution for all
Let’s spread the gospel of peace, violence is a cancer to our society
Peace, our collective responsibility
Peace begins with you

With the election mood looming in the air and the inevitable speculation about elections being held in 2011, whether true or false, there is no doubt that 2008 will ever hold memories in the hearts of all Zimbabweans. The year 2008 is one of the worst legacies of what violence can do to a society divided by the curse of political greed and insatiable ego for power.

Two years down the line, 2008 seems far away yet the effects of the devilish deeds still cling like iron on the leg of a runaway convict. The memory of 2008 has buried hopes and shattered many innocent lives. The deeds of that time remain a curse to those who bear the brunt of them. Those responsible – even though their hands are black like coal, stained with blood of innocent men, women and children – remain the heroes and heroines of the day for getting away with heinous murder, gruesome rape, large scale looting, sanctioned corruption, sponsored torture, maiming, arson – the list is endless.

Serious questions have been raised about 2008 and no answers found. Who was responsible for the violence? Where was the state? What has happened to the perpetrators of the violence? What has happened to the violated innocent people? What lessons have been learnt from the orgy of violence? What has been done to prevent the re-occurrence of this sponsored violence?

The unfortunate thing is the worrisome fact that those accountable for providing answers are the very culprits of the gross human rights abuses against innocent people. But another question that quickly comes to mind is: Will the answers ever come voluntarily at the perpetrator’s volition?

The spirit of compromise has plagued our society undermining the values of truth, justice, freedom, transparency, accountability and responsibility. By default the coalition government is a by-product of a boardroom dialogue partition of power and authority as opposed to a credible outcome that is hoped for when elections are held. Its sustaining does not lie in the natural collective power of the electorate but in a circumvention of the people’s will. The grandiose uncultured coalition government is made up of three political parties each a predator or prey competing to outdo to stay afloat caged under one roof.

Justice could be delayed but the reign of terror of 2008 should never be allowed in the future. Lessons to be learnt about the destructive force of full blown conflict that breeds violence are very clear for everyone. It is from this basis that ROHR Zimbabwe will launch a deliberate campaign to denounce the past legacy of violence and amplify lessons to be learnt from 2008. The campaign is motivated by the need to set the tone ahead of the possibility of elections being held in the near future.

Noting the incongruities and deliberate negligence of the coalition government in prioritizing the pertinent issue of justice, an end to political violence and culture of impunity ahead of a possible election in the near future, ROHR Zimbabwe makes the following demands:

The inclusive government should prioritise the issue of justice on all pending issues from the past concerning violation of human rights.
The Zimbabwe Election Commission (ZEC) should be an independent body free from influence from the executive and political parties
The security forces should execute their duties impartially and professionally particularly during elections to ensure the observance of the rule of law and ultimately peace
Military forces should be restricted to their barracks and not unleashed as symbols to intimidate people in the country side
All those caught in promoting violence should be held accountable and made to pay. All those implicated in 2008 violence and disturbances should not be allowed to be part of the elections administering body.
Encourage the establishment of peace structures around the country in politically charged and polarized communities.
The campaign will encourage other stakeholders to join activities like peaceful demonstrations, public meetings, safe dialoguing, interviews etc to put pressure on relevant stakeholders to priorities the issue of peace building and observance of the rule of law

For Peace, Justice and Freedom

Last Updated on Tuesday, 19 October 2010 15:23

Voluntary Community Cleaning Peterborough 15 October 2010

Saturday, 16 October 2010 10:17 administrator

It was breezy autumn day and despite the weather challenges we enjoyed giving back to the community that has embraced us. The integration and cohesion of our families inspired us to undertake such steps to say thank you to the British community for accepting us. lt was an august moment to have the highest citizen in Peterborough grace this occasion The Mayor, Councillor Keith Sharp, was welcomed by our Vice Chairperson Bertha Chiyangwa. She introduced the branch members present to undertake the cleaning. Our Peterborough Chairman Alista Mabiya then spoke to the Mayor about the events that we had done since our last meeting with him in his Parlour and future events – he said he would like to continue to support us. Tariro Chikaka said that doing this cleaning up made our community look pleasant and might motivate someone to have second thoughts about fly tipping in a cleaned up environment – this was echoed by Getrude Kugura and Chipo Mabiya. We shared our concern about the continuing human rights abuses in Zimbabwe especially with the emanating violence during the ongoing Constitutional Reform Programme. We finished cleaning the area with much appreciation and gratitude from the Mayor.

Present: Alista Mabiya, Bertha Chiyangwa ,Tariro Chikaka, Getrude Kugura and Chipo Mabiya

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