A Zimbabwe Journal of Strong Arm Politics and Suffering

In Zimbabwe, the opposition has finally reached a power-sharing agreement with the Mugabe-controlled government, but Mugabe remains in control of crucial elements of the government in collapse, and a military that has remained loyal to him.

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DISPATCH: MUGABE'S ZIMBABWE
'Now the Terror Has Returned'

Sunday, February 1, 2009; Page B02
How much lower can Zimbabwe sink? Chronic food shortages, hyperinflation, a cholera epidemic, people abducted for speaking out against President Robert Mugabe's regime -- all this is the stuff of daily life for ordinary Zimbabweans, as related here by a journalist in Harare, the capital. She reports for PBS's Frontline/World, with support from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Her name is withheld for her safety.

Jan. 30 -- Still Waiting for Help

It's late afternoon. I just got the news: The opposition has agreed to join Mugabe's government, with Tsvangirai to become prime minister within weeks. From South Africa I watch on television as people gather outside the MDC's headquarters in Harare, cheering at the announcement. The police are too stunned to make any arrests. For the crowd, today is another day for hope.

But like many Zimbabweans, I find it hard to celebrate. Mugabe remains powerful under the new government, still controlling the state coffers, the military, the police and the media. I sigh as I think of the problems ahead. The United Nations estimates that 7 million Zimbabweans -- as much as 80 percent of the population -- need food aid. The cholera death count creeps ever higher. Yesterday the government announced that citizens may do business in the U.S. dollar, the British pound, the South African rand and even the Botswanan pula, effectively abandoning the worthless Zimbabwean currency and making life even more confusing. As I wait at the airport for my flight home, the light at the end of the tunnel seems so far away.

For more imformation:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/30/AR2009013002781.html?hpid=opinionsbox1