The fact that most of the international media attention has focused on the issue of farm invasions, has fed the misperception that the state violence is part of a black-white struggle for land ownership. Without doubt, many human rights violations have occurred and are still occurring in the context of the land invasions: but very few of these violations involve white farmers, with poor rural Zimbabweans being the victims in more than 95% of cases.18 The government’s own land audit recently revealed huge failings in the process. The government originally claimed around 350,000 families had been resettled. In fact, around 70% of families of farm labourers were displaced, representing more than a million people, with only 140,000 families nationwide benefiting from resettlement, most of them not from the displaced farm labourer group.19 During late 2004, there has been a new phase in the land resettlement – that of throwing off some of the newly resettled farms, those who have been on them since the farm invasions. Thousands of the newly resettled have been tear-gassed and burnt out of their homes by police, resulting in some instances in deaths.20 In 2004, with the land redistribution programme officially over, Zimbabweans still live under draconian laws that control the media, prevent any form of civilian gathering, and most recently, laws aimed at shutting down non governmental organisations, in particular those that document human rights abuses and centre their activities on civic education and issues of governance. The majority of human rights violations continue to take place not in or near commercial farms, but in rural or urban areas where support for the opposition MDC is strongest. Torture, harassment and state control at every level continue. 2. The Humanitarian crisis "Why do I get the impression that I have to beg you to feed your people?" 21 The deliberate destruction of the agricultural sector has contributed to three consecutive years of famine.22 Once more in 2004/5, despite earlier assurances by government, the nation has an estimated 50% maize shortfall, which seems certain at this stage to result in widespread hunger.23 18 VOA News, Families of former Zimbabwean farm workers face difficulties, 7 October 2004; The Mail and Guardian, (SA), The new betrayal, 7 October, 2004; Zim Online, Riot police descend on evicted settlers, 5 October 2004; SAPA, Police confirm eviction of Zimbabwe settlers, 3 October 2004. See also ZHRNGO Forum reports for details of who has been victimised in last four years. 19 Amnesty International (AI), Zimbabwe: power and hunger – violations of the right to food, October 2004, for a recent and detailed analysis of land resettlement. 20 AI, Another death at Porta Farm, 1 October 2004; VOA News, Families of former Zimbabwean farm workers face difficulties, 7 October 2004; The Mail and Guardian, (SA), The new betrayal, 7 October, 2004; The Daily Mirror, Showdown looms over evictions, 5 October 2004; Zim Online, Riot police descend on evicted settlers, 5 October 2004; SAPA, Police confirm eviction of Zimbabwe settlers, 3 October 2004. 21 Tony Hall, the special US Ambassador to the World Food Program stated that he had asked July Moyo, the Minister responsible for the food aid program in Zimbabwe, this question in mid-October 2002. 22 AI, Zimbabwe: power and hunger – violations of the right to food, October 2004, for a detailed analysis of the contribution of the land redistribution programme to food shortages in Zimbabwe and to the suffering of farm workers. The important issue of land reform, its motives and its impact have been dealt with in detail in many other reports. See appendix for some examples. Refugees International Bulletin, 23 July 2004, Zimbabwe: Humanitarian access denied to increasingly vulnerable former farm workers; Norwegian Refugee Council, July 2003 23 AI, October 2004, ibid. 23