Zimbabwe, Liberation or Destruction?

Zimbabwe, Liberation or Destruction?

The glorious shift of power in South Africa is a well known peaceful revolution. It is lesser known that just north of South Africa, in Zimbabwe, that there was also a shift of power, but one that the people payed the price for in blood. The revolution in Zimbabwe was one that brought the power shift that the people wanted, but wreaked havoc on the country for years to come. The aftermath of the revolution, as stated in a paper by ACCORD, created overall economic collapse and plunged the country into a state of violence and lawlessness.  This state of anarchy caused many problems that would plague the country for years, such as the economic collapse causing hyperinflation(ACCORD). An article by the Economist shows the effects of this collapse and inflation in the modern day. After the inflation in Zimbabwe reached eighty billion percent the country adopted the American Dollar to use as currency. This sudden shift created issues in the market especially because most businesses did not immediately obtain any US dollars making so that they could not give out change or perform any other transactions (Economist). As well as economic collapse there has been constant violence from ex-ZIPRA (Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army) militants. A Refworld article brings to light that there have been hundreds of deaths caused by these ex-ZIPRA militants. They do not only kill, but they also perform armed robberies on anything from banks to buses. This violence has been happening for a substantial amount of time. In 1982 the ZIPRA fighters abducted six foreign tourists, causing the government to launch an anti-guerrilla activity campaign to insure the safety of the people(Refworld). These terrible conditions are causing mass immigrations from Zimbabwe to its more stable neighbor South Africa. There are currently between one point five and two million Zimbabwe born immigrants in South Africa. Zimbabwe only has a population of fourteen million, so that is an extremely large portion of the population that is migrating to new and safer places(IIJD). Zimbabwe’s revolution shook the country and it is still affected by it to this day. The future is looking up for Zimbabwe, as foreign aid increases, while violence and inflation have almost ceased.

Works Cited

ASWIN. "IIJD | ASWIN Profiles." IIJD. ASWIN, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.

HARARE. "Nothing for Money." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 14 Feb. 2015. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.

This Article by The Economist, was a true insight into the economic troubles faced by Zimbabwe, and the sudden shift of currency and its effect on the people. The source is reliable because it is by a very notable magazine that has released many reliable articles.

"Occasional Papers." ACCORD. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2015.

"Refworld | Zimbabwe: Activities of the Zimbabwe People's Revolution Army (ZIPRA), the Military Army of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), including Leaders, Platform and Whether It Has Been Alleged or Has Been Found to Have Participated or Committed Human Rights Abuses (1980-July 2002)." Refworld. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2015.

"Sadomba, Zvakanyorwa Wilbert. 2011. War Veterans in Zimbabwe's Revolution: Challenging Neo-Colonialism and Settler and International Capital." Africa Today Magazine 58.3 (2012): 98. Global Issues In Context. Web. 6 Mar. 2015. <http://find.galegroup.com/gic/infomark.do?&source=gale&idigest=0f48ecee8b1fd7f446ffb51dd31f8b93&prodId=GIC&userGroupName=los42754&tabID=T002&docId=A284754261&type=retrieve&PDFRange=[]&contentSet=IAC-Documents&version=1.0>.