Cathy Buckle writes: “In a busy residential suburb of Harare along the roadside where children walk and cycle to nearby schools and people go backwards and forwards to shops, medical facilities and work, a platoon of soldiers wearing full camouflage and carrying rifles can be heard long before they are seen. Everyone stops and listens to the chanting and singing, wondering if something peaceful or frightening is approaching. As the soldiers come into view, rifles swinging, people move well out of the way. Why must they do this through a residential area and why must they carry guns? We wonder but say nothing.”

Letter From Zimbabwe 03.05.13 [ 5:02 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Cathy Buckle writes: “As we draw ever closer to elections in Zimbabwe and despite not yet knowing when they’ll take place, the rhetoric is already growing. Top of the list is the embarrassing incident concerning the UN and the
132 million US dollars we apparently need to hold elections. After a joint request was made in writing for financial assistance from the UN by the MDC’s Finance Minister Tendai Biti and Zanu PF’s Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, a team of UN assessors headed in our direction but didn’t quite make it all the way into Zimbabwe.”

Letter From Zimbabwe 26.04.13 [ 5:25 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Cathy Buckle writes: “Because it’s a dangerous occupation taking photographs here, it’s safer to use words to describe what my home town looks like 33 years after independence from colonial rule. Outside the large provincial government hospital half a dozen convicts from the local prison have been put to work doing the job that the ratepayers of the town pay the municipality to do, but which they don’t do. “

Letter From Zimbabwe 19.04.13 [ 5:31 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Author Cathy Buckle writes: “This Easter with a couple of friends there was nothing nicer than sitting under a big shady tree near a stream, water spilling over rocks on one side and a three legged black pot bubbling gently on the other. We call it a potjie here, a strange Afrikaans word of Dutch origin pronounced poy-key that translates into long, slow cooked lunch the African way – meat, vegetables and gravy all in the same pot over a fire. That was one face of Zimbabwe this Easter but not very far away, in the straight line of a fish eagles’ flight, something very ugly had just been going on.”

Letter From Zimbabwe 12.04.13 [ 4:51 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Cathy Buckle’s weekly Letter from Zimbabwe, in which she writes: “The irony of the timing of Mtetwa’s arrest left everyone dumbfounded. Her lawyer said: “Her arrest is not just an attack on her profession but on the people of Zimbabwe who have just voted yes to a new constitution that enshrines fundamental human rights.” On the same day that Mr Mugabe and his wife were meeting and being bowed to by the new Pope Francis in the Vatican, Beatrice Mtetwa was appearing in the dock at the Harare Magistrates Court.”

Letter From Zimbabwe 29.03.13 [ 4:42 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Then it’s time for Letter from Zimbabwe, author Cathy Buckle’s weekly email in which she writes: “Standing outside the polling station were two SADC election observers.They asked me if something was wrong. They were as bemused and confused as everyone else when I showed them my papers and said I hadn’t been allowed to vote. Here was a born, resident, tax-paying Zimbabwean classed as an Alien and not allowed to vote because her parents had been born in another country.”

Letter From Zimbabwe 22.03.13 [ 5:32 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Then it’s time for author Cathy Buckle’s Letter from Zimbabwe, in which she writes: “Sales are down, business is slow, money is hardly circulating and with a sense of dread we prepare to head towards polling stations. It’s not the first ballot that scares us so much because both of the main political parties are calling for us to vote YES for the proposed constitution that is being put to a national referendum. Most of the people I’ve met in the last two weeks haven’t even seen the draft constitution, let alone had the time to page through it or had a chance to think about it, so it remains to be seen how many people will go and vote.”

Letter From Zimbabwe 15.03.13 [ 4:26 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Cathy Buckle writes: “By the time you read this letter a twelve year old boy will have been buried in Headlands. His is one of the first names that will go on the 2013 Roll of Honour commemorating victims of political violence in another election year in Zimbabwe. Just two weeks after the date of our constitutional referendum was announced, a little boy died, burnt to death in the middle of the night.”

Letter From Zimbabwe 08.03.13 [ 5:10 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Cathy Buckle writes:”For people in Zimbabwe it has been very, very hard to understand why, when all these things are happening, the EU went ahead and lifted their targeted sanctions against 21 people. It’s hard not to believe that diamonds are our new dictator. Cynicism perhaps best describes our response to the two news reports which offered the most likely explanation to the EU’s decision:
Belgium and UK clinch deal on Zimbabwe diamonds and Violent Chegutu ‘war vet’ removed from sanctions list.”

Letter From Zimbabwe 01.03.13 [ 3:57 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Cathy Buckle writes: “On Valentine’s Day WOZA members again tried to protest, this time in Bulawayo. They said they were demonstrating on a day of love to demand a response from police to their complaints of police brutality at a previous protest. In a number of separate protest groups, eight hundred women converged on Police Headquarters. WOZA said that when the women arrived police swooped on them and began beating their members.”

Letter From Zimbabwe 22.02.13 [ 4:52 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download