The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) Annual Delegate Meeting (ADM) heard from the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists Secretary General, Foster Dongozi.
Speaking to delegates at the Southport Convention Centre, Foster expressed his gratitude for the solidarity offered by the NUJ. He said: “I stand before you humbled and honoured by the support the NUJ offers to the ZUJ.”
Journalists in Zimbabwe are working in an environment where the work they carry out is viewed with extreme hostility by the government. In the 2002 Presidential election the newly formed Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) were able to offer a serious challenge to Robert Mugabe’s government.
The Daily News, Zimbabwe’s highest circulation independent daily newspaper was seen as the cause of this opposition and banned in September 2003. He said: “Enemies of the state and running dogs of imperialism were terms regularly used by the government to describe the media”.
Media Attacked
These attacks on the media were followed by a number of newspapers, radio and television stations being forced to shut. The result of this was that “journalists left Zimbabwe in droves” which further weakened their ability to report effectively on the problems within their country.
For those journalists who stayed behind there was a real climate of fear. Foster said: “Journalists are living in real fear of violence and torture. In 2008 a journalist was assassinated after filming Morgan Tsvangirai being beaten by government forces.”
Some Hope
Recently there have been some small improvements in the situation, although Foster is quick to point out that it is far from perfect. He said: “There was hope that draconian laws would be repealed. Whilst there have been slight glimmers of light, nothing concrete has been formed.”
Many of the problems faced by Zimbabwean journalists are not simply legislative ones. A significant issue is that of a simple lack of resources. Foster said: “A lack of computers and the internet are very prohibitive in telling Zimbabwe’s story.”
NUJ Support
Foster does feel that the continued support of the NUJ is helping to rectify this situation. He said, “Thank you very much for your (NUJ) assistance. Our members are now able to earn a living wage due to the equipment you have sent us.”
He went on to say that, “we seek assistance to better represent our members in a grim environment and we are particularly grateful for the NUJ visit in August. We believe it has opened many doors for us.”
He finished by saying “when people are afraid of their government that’s a Dictatorship. When the government is afraid of its people that’s democracy.” A strong media can make this happen.
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