Nicole C. Lee, Executive Director, TransAfrica Forum

As of the day I write this column, it has been 146 days since Zimbabweans first went to cast their votes in the 2008 presidential election.  Nearly twenty-one weeks later, with their country in economic shambles, those same Zimbabweans live day-to-day burdened by unemployment, hunger, and abuse at the hands of the state sponsored military.  Meetings are held, press conferences are conducted, and empathy expressed worldwide.  What good is this posturing to the people of Zimbabwe?

This past week, Wellington Chibebe, Secretary-General of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unionists (ZCTU) visited the US.  During his stay in the U.S., he shared the true stories of union members and regular people trying to make a living in Zimbabwe.  Out of 40 million Zimbabweans, there are only 700,000 in the active labor market.  Of that 700,000, Mr. Chibebe proudly speaks of a membership in ZCTU numbering nearly 300,000.  While it is easy to skim over numbers, he represents almost 42% of Zimbabwe’s working citizens.  Also, it is vital that those who care about the fate of Zimbabwe listen to his voice because Chibebe is not a candidate for president of Zimbabwe, nor a surrogate of either party.  Actually, Chibebe thinks Mugabe’s party, ZANU-PF, and the Tsvangirai’s party, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), are both flawed.

Mr. Chibebe speaks with a disarming smile that almost makes you forget that he was once a child soldier, fighting for Zimbabwe's independence.  At the same time, his passion for Zimbabwe is unmistakable.  When asked about the reported 80% unemployment rate, Mr. Chibebe replied that the rate was closer to 95%.   Some people are underemployed, thus earn wages that cannot support their families.  For example, a bottle of soda costs more than the average wages earned by Zimbabwean teachers per day.  Because some teachers have been critical of the government, there is little incentive for increasing wages to a level by which teachers can survive.

The underemployment rate is one of many examples Mr. Chibebe gave of the situation on the ground in Zimbabwe that we don't hear on CNN or read in the western papers.  The international media focus is on the presidential situation, which is important, but the worst human tragedies are happening to the average Zimbabwean citizens.  Their stories - indeed their voices - are being muffled by canned statements and rhetoric.  Leaders in the Western world claim to visit Zimbabwe and come out with the stories from the ground, but their visits are almost always scheduled through the government or the opposition party.  They see what people want them to see.  

And they hear what they want to hear. Mr. Chibebe repeatedly stated that the people of Zimbabwe will not rest until they have a true democracy which will not rest with any one leader but that leadership must be continually accountable to the people.  

Mr. Chibebe consistently repeated his invitation for all of us to come to the rural areas if we really want the full story.  Don’t stay in the bigger cities like Harare and Bulawayo.  Stay with the people, not in a hotel.  Experience what it is like to have to leave your home at 3:00am to walk three hours to work because you cannot afford transportation, not to return home until 11:00pm.  Then get up and do it again.  And again.  Hopefully you can earn enough money to buy one meal a day for your family.  Most likely, there will be enough for one meal every two days.  It is easy for us to nod understandingly when we discuss skyrocketing inflation, but I can barely comprehend what 11,000,000% inflation must look like.  In what other country can a millionaire not afford to feed his family?  

The people of Zimbabwe are suffering, and people like Wellington Chibebe have committed to telling their stories to anyone who will listen.  I am committed not just to hear, but to truly listen.   

Nicole C. Lee is the Executive Director of TransAfrica Forum