As if things weren’t bad enough here, we need to somehow find a way to give attention and help to a terrible human tragedy in progress in Zimbabwe. Even Jimmy Carter and Desmond Tutu have suggested that a military intervention may ultimately be required.

The situation in Zimbabwe has been desperate for years. And leaders of western nations are insisting the corrupt dictator Mugabe must step down. But he refuses to do so. Once considered a hero in southern Africa, he seems to enjoy enough popularity still that other African countries will not bring the pressure needed to remove him. The litany of problems in the country are hard to even imagine.

As recently as 2001, the rate of HIV infection was 33%, though at the end of 2007 it was reported to have been reduced to 15% with 140,000 HIV-related deaths in 2007.

But this isn’t even their worst problem.

Nearly 800 Zimbabweans have died since August from cholera, with a further 15,000 people thought to have been affected according to treatment centre statistics.

But the Red Cross believes the actual numbers of cholera victims are likely to be much higher. . .

Mugabe this week said the cholera epidemic is over. And then later dismissed his remark as “a joke”. Very funny.

Nothing works in Zimbabwe. Eighty percent of all schools are closed. The best hospitals have shut down because of acute shortages of medicine, bandages, and anesthetics. Because Mugabe’s men have taken over the national water authority and have stopped chlorinating supplies, there is no drinkable water in the cities. Hundreds of Zimbabweans have already died of cholera, with more avoidable deaths to come.

Everywhere there is hunger. The World Food Program estimates that 5 million people, about half of Zimbabwe’s diminished population, is hungry or close to starvation.

And with inflation at an astronomical and unfathomable rate of 230 million percent, the government just keeps printing off more and more money to satisfy those trying to withdraw their deposits from banks. And this week the government issued a new 500 million dollar bill with has a value of about $8 U.S.

Jimmy Carter and Desmond Tutu tried to enter the country on a humanitarian mission and were turned away.

NPR Morning Edition, December 9, 2008 • Former President Jimmy Carter says reports of humanitarian conditions from inside Zimbabwe are “horrifying and even much worse than we had feared.” He and a group of advisers known as “The Elders” were prohibited from entering the country and surveying the situation on the ground personally. A continuing power struggle in government combined with a widening cholera outbreak is gripping the nation.

“[Zimbabwean President Robert] Mugabe had made every effort, successfully, to conceal the fact that there’s an absolute, total humanitarian crisis in his country,” Carter tells NPR’s Renee Montagne. Carter says the “campaign of oppression” in the country to restrain dissenting voices is contributing to the problem.

“The rate of death of cholera patients in Zimbabwe is 10 times greater than it would be if they had normal treatments,” Carter says, adding that more than 3,500 people are dying each week. “So all of these things show what terrible disaster is occurring in the country.”

“The Mugabe government is so corrupt that any money sent into Zimbabwe for humanitarian purposes — a lot of it is stolen by his chosen people, so you basically have to send in material goods,” Carter says.

Carter says that international pressure from other African leaders may be the best and most effective way to improve the humanitarian situation, but there are problems with such methods.

“They are very reluctant to condemn Mugabe because he has been a hero in southern Africa, because he was instrumental in overthrowing a racist regime, and he has also helped other nations nearby,” Carter says. “The key country that could bring him down is South Africa. So we hope that with this massive wave of publicity, that there will be additional pressure on these African leaders to demand that Mugabe either comply with their agreement or be removed from office.”

A military option to forcefully remove Mugabe would be a final, last resort, Carter says.

Just for contrast, it’s interesting to read the what a journalist supporting Mugabe writes:

The manner in which the United States and British media have reported how cholera is spreading in Zimbabwe not only reveals they enjoy watching a people whom they cannot intimidate and control suffer, but even, more importantly, it is clearly a masquerade by supposedly compassionate human beings who have nothing to do with the problem. [snip]

While the cholera problem is tragic and deserves our immediate attention, the political parasites in the Western world, obsessed with a racist illegal regime change in Zimbabwe, should be the last ones allowed to pass moral judgment on how President Mugabe and Zanu-PF deal with this matter.

This brings us back to the opportunism of former US President Jimmy Carter and his cohorts who attempted to force their way into Zimbabwe a few weeks ago under a liberal banner and facade of goodwill.

Carter’s inability and unwillingness to aggressively persuade every US President that succeeded him to honour the commitment he made to Zimbabwe during the Lancaster House negotiations speaks volumes in relationship to his concerns about the people’s well-being and the country’s stability.

What is to be done to help the people of Zimbabwe? Many who can are fleeing to neighboring countries. Many thousands more will die needlessly from disease. And all will continue to suffer with no relief in sight.