22 3.2.2 Human rights violations experienced by farm workers and their families As was the case with the farmers, a wide range of different violations committed against farm workers and their families was reported by the respondents. Displacement, dispossession, political intimidation, being forced to attend Zanu(PF) meetings, forced to join Zanu(PF), and denial of food, were all reported with a high frequency. However, assault, death threats, and youth being forced to join Zanu(PF) are also very common, and it is hard to see what this has to do with land acquisition. The more serious human rights violations were reported less frequently, but certainly with more frequency than is acceptable in a law-abiding country. Table 6 Violations against farm workers and their families Number[%] Abduction 71[0.1] Assault 1938[3.9] Death threats 1786[3.6] Deliberate killing/maiming of wildlife 0 Denied food if not member of ZanuPF 5360[10.7] Disappearance 45[0.1] Displacement 9621[19.3] Forced attendance at political meeting 8686[17.4] Forced to join political party 8587[17.2] Held hostage 204[0.4] Intimidation of key workers 673[1.4] Murder 20[0.04] Pet animals killed/maimed 0 Political intimidation 9788[19.6] Rape 26[0.05] Torture 642[1.3] Unlawful arrest 233[0.5] Unlawful detention 116[0.2] Young person forced to join Zanu(PF) 2363[4.7] 3.2.3 Comparing violations against farmers and farm workers Above the comment was made that many more violations were reported by farm workers than farmers, but, given the disparity in the respective populations of these two groups, this may not necessarily indicate that the former were more likely to be targets. As can be seen from Table 7 [over], analysis shows that, relative to the size of the respective populations, farmers were considerably more likely to suffer violations than farm workers. Of the gross human rights violations, farmers were more likely to experience abductions, assaults, death threats, being held hostage, murder, rape, torture, and unlawful arrest. Unsurprisingly, farmers were also more likely to report the deliberate killing or maiming of livestock, wildlife, or pets. A Preliminary Report on Human Rights Violations on Commercial Farms, 2000 to 2005.

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