Category Archives: Zimbabwe

Posts written about, or linked to, Zimbabwe, the country in which I was born and went to school and where my family have lived for four generations.

Innocent Victims by Catherine Buckle: Extract 2

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Here is the second of four extracts from Cathy Buckle’s book ‘Innocent Victims’ about animal rescues in Zimbabwe. This piece is about Terry Ford’s devoted dog Squeak.

The Phraser

Innocent Victims - Rescuing the stranded animals of Zimbabwe's farm invasions by Catherine Buckle Innocent Victims – Rescuing the stranded animals of Zimbabwe’s farm invasions by Catherine Buckle.

Terry Ford was murdered on Gowrie farm in Norton in Zimbabwe in March 2002. A photograph of his body, concealed beneath a blue bedspread and with a Jack Russell curled against its side, was picked up by news teams around the world.

The dog was called Squeak. His defiant vigil ensured that the world acknowledged his master’s brutal death.

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Innocent Victims by Catherine Buckle: Extract 1

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This is the first of four extracts from Cathy Buckle’s book Innocent Victims – a book that tells the stories of the animal rescues attempted during the chaos and damage of Zimbabwe’s land redistribution programme. It begins in 2000.

The Phraser

Innocent Victims - Rescuing the stranded animals of Zimbabwe's farm invasions by Catherine Buckle Innocent Victims – Rescuing the stranded animals of Zimbabwe’s farm invasions by Catherine Buckle

In 2009 Merlin Unwin published Innocent Victims by Cathy Buckle – a book about the efforts made to rescue the animals caught up in Zimbabwe’s farm invasions. Meryl Harrison led the team that tried to help.

Here’s a little background as to how it all began, followed by an extract of a few paragraphs to give a flavour of the story.

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Review: Innocent Victims by Cathy Buckle

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This is an updated version of a book review I wrote in my first year as a blogger. I hope, that if you don’t already have a copy, this might persuade you to look for this excellent book about animal rescues in a difficult time in Zimbabwe.

The Phraser

Innocent Victims - Rescuing the stranded animals of Zimbabwe's farm invasions by Catherine Buckle Innocent Victims – Rescuing the stranded animals of Zimbabwe’s farm invasions by Catherine Buckle

Turmoil tore into Zimbabwe’s farms in the early 2000s, the years Mugabe’s government chose to ignite its programme of land redistribution. Thousands of animals were trapped in the mayhem that followed.

Innocent Victims tells the story of the rescues carried out by a small team from the Zimbabwe National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ZNSPCA). The team leader was Meryl Harrison.

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Book Review: The Odd Man In – Mugabe’s White Hand Man by Denis Norman

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The Odd Man In by Denis Norman

The Odd Man In by Denis Norman

The Odd Man In, understated and direct, reaches out to all Zimbabweans. It is a respectful testimony by a man who served as an independent government minister for seventeen years in Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe.

It is a record of events from the inside.

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Zimbabwe and the Crocodile

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Zimbabwe's children - what next?

Zimbabwe’s children – what next?

The sense of dread comes in waves.

How to watch? Where to find the words when the killing starts again in Zimbabwe?

This is an outline in story, a sketch, of the elections (result still contested) held recently in Zimbabwe, and the intention is to try to explain to those who have no connection with the country a little of what is at stake. It is not intended in any way to make light of the efforts and agonies of those involved.

The story is set in a boxing ring, and the prize is leadership of a land rich in elephants, pangolin, gold, diamonds, rivers, life-giving soil…and Zimbabweans.

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The pangolin – still here but only just

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A pangolin in Zimbabwe with its handler/protector

A pangolin in Zimbabwe with its handler/protector

The pangolin, or scaly anteater – legendary, gentle, and about to disappear.

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The 2 Incredibles are home – Tom’s Trek for ZANE is done

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Not far now – Tom and Jane Benyon near the end of their walk for ZANE (Zimbabwe a National Emergency)
Tom and Jane Benyon and Moses at the end of their 2018 fundraising walk for ZANE (Zimbabwe a National Emergency)
Tom Benyon OBE of ZANE (Zimbabwe a National Emergency)

“It’s time to make some wrong things right!”

The 2 Incredibles – who are they?

Tom Benyon is one, and his superpower, unleashed as the millennium changed, is his ability to honour the forgotten of Zimbabwe. Stubborn and determined bearer of the deep red roundel for ZANE (Zimbabwe a National Emergency), he strides the valleys and peaks of his island home to raise ransom for those held hostage by lack of care. His mission – to bring them care.

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