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Hello and welcome to Spotlight. I'm Liz Waid.
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And I'm Ryan Geertsma. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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What can a person do when his home or land is suddenly taken away from him? It is happening in many countries. People are attacked violently and forced to leave the place they called home.
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In Zimbabwe, this has been the experience of many people. Today, we tell some of their stories.
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Nyasha* and her family are black farmers in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. They live in a poor area, with little money. A few years ago, she watched government workers come and destroy her farm's crops. When she protested, a soldier beat her hard on the back. Nyasha and her family were left with nothing.
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Many kilometres away to the north, a white farmer also talks with sadness. Mike Campbell and his family were not poor, but they too were beaten when invaders tried to seize their land. Now, they have to defend themselves in the place they called home.
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Sadly, these two stories of suffering are among many. The complex issue of land ownership has caused much pain in Zimbabwe. The problems have their roots in history.
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Britain ruled Zimbabwe for much of the 20th century. Several laws during that time gave white settlers the best farming land. This forced the African people to the poorer areas. They remained oppressed.
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Over 100 years have passed since British settlers started to govern in Zimbabwe. But many white farmers there today have bought their land fairly. They cared for it, fed their families from it. Their farms have made Zimbabwe a major African food exporter. By the end of the 20th century Zimbabwe had become an independent country. But there remained an unequal divide of land. New laws were supposed to make a fairer system. But the laws have given land mostly to rich black people. Poor black farmers continued to struggle.
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The current president of Zimbabwe is Robert Mugabe. In the year 2000 he introduced a new land reform programme, called ‘fast track'. The stated aim was to take land from rich white Zimbabweans and give it to the poor black Zimbabweans. Many people strongly criticised the fast track programme. Here are some of their reasons:
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Many white farmers said the land legally belonged to them. They had paid for it. Taking the land was stealing.
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Black people working on this land lost their jobs and homes.
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Poor black people did not receive any of the seized land. Instead, Mugabe's officials got the land.
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Mugabe's officials did not take good care of the land they gained. In the years that followed, harvests were poor. Many people blamed Mugabe's programme for the resulting food shortages.
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To make up for the loss in food produce, poor black farmers were forced to grow crops for the government.
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Mugabe's followers attacked and beat white land owners and their black employees.
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Mike Campbell was one of these white land owners. Mike's story reached the international press. Mike is in his seventies. Yet he is one of the few people to stand and resist Mugabe. Also, Mike and his family behaved in an unusual way toward the people who beat them. Here is David Bast with more of Mike's story.
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Mike Campbell bought his farm in 1974. It lies on Mount Carmel, west of Harare, Zimbabwe's capital city. He lived there with his wife Angela. Nearby, lived their daughter Laura and her husband, Ben Freeth. Under Mugabe's fast track programme, the family have suffered terribly. Invaders have beaten them, threatened them and tortured them. During the attacks, seven of Mike's bones were broken. Ben suffered a fractured skull - a broken head. The victims said the worst night of torturing lasted for nine hours. They thought they were going to die.
It was during this attack that something strange happened. Ben remembered his Christian faith in God. He said his fear of dying turned into a deep peace in his heart. Angela was lying on the ground outside. In the darkness, she looked up at the star-lit sky, and she praised God. Ben's hands were tied together. But he reached them out to the attackers. He was giving them a sign of love. It was sign that he forgave them for what they were doing.
The attackers understood what they were saying and stopped their violence. They put their victims into a vehicle. They took them to a town not far away. They threw them out, and then drove away.
Skilled doctors in Harare repaired the three victims' injuries. Later, they all returned to their farm. But they continued to receive threats of violence.
The Campbell family then won a legal battle in an African international court. The court told the Zimbabwean government to respect and defend the Campbells' rights to the land. But the Zimbabwean government has refused to obey the court. In April 2009, the Campbells had no choice. They had to leave their farm. Their son-in-law, Ben Freeth, continues the struggle to keep his farm.
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And what about Nyasha? We told about her earlier in the programme. Nyasha is one of many black farmers who has suffered injuries. However, the international press did not tell many of these stories. Some people say this made it easier for people to think Zimbabwe's land issues were about race - not power.
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Nyasha lives near the city of Bulawayo, south of Harare. Fertile land surrounds her small, poor house. She used to grow crops here to feed her family. But now only one plant grows here - maize. Maize is Zimbabwe's main diet. Nyasha told how Mugabe's soldiers forced her to grow crops for the government:
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‘They destroyed everything of ours. They ordered us to grow maize. They said they were going to take the maize themselves.'
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Nyasha is not a young woman. But she still tried to defend her rights for her land. She said:
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‘They beat me on my back and leg. We depended on our farm for everything. Now we have nothing.'
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Early this year Zimbabwe had a new Prime Minister - Morgan Tsvangarai. He said that farm invasions are only "isolated incidents". However, news reports say that that almost 80 farms were taken from white farmers, even since Tsvangarai became Prime Minister.
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Many good people in Zimbabwe are suffering because of the weak economy. But, many Zimbabweans - both black and white - have faith in God - like the Campbell family. They look to God to find peace in their hearts now, even if peace and justice in their country has yet to return.
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