Basic HTML Version
RHODESIATO ZIM
A bloody guerrilla war comes to an end after seven years; elections sweep
a revolutionary leader into power. What does the future hold for this war-weary /and–
and the rest of troubled southern Africa?
by
Gene
H.
Hogberg
A
RIL
18, 1980: T he pro–
claimed birthday of Zim–
babwe, Africa's newest in–
dependent nation. Behind the cele–
brations !ay many unhealed scars,
legacies of the seven-year-long guer–
rilla "bush" war:
• 25,000 people killed, most of
them under the age of 15.
• The physical maiming- and of–
ten brutal mutilation-of an addi–
tiona1 10,000.
2
• More than 800,000 made home–
less.
• A nearly depleted national trea–
sury.
• A 25 percent drop in living stan–
dards over the past four years and an
emigration of 15 percent of its skilled
white population.
Wlth Peace, a Boom?
Despite the suffering of the recent
past, many observers are hopeful of
the future for the nation's seven
million war-weary inhabitants. Zim–
babwe-for its first 90 years known
as Rhodesia- remains an advanced,
fairly prosperous country by African
standards. And now, an economic
boom just might take off.
lnternational sanctions first levied
against the "rebel" government of
former Prime Minister Ian Smith–
who declared unilateral indepen–
dence from Britain in 1965- have
The
PLAIN TRUTH