8 endless emphasis on patriotism and liberation theology may reinforce this, but it is probable that a very large number of Zimbabweans also know personally the cost of belonging to the out-group. Thus, it is often useful to test the hypotheses of large scale surveys with rather more in-depth research, and, in the Zimbabwe situation, where it is evident that distrust and fear may have been contaminating factors, this seems to be an interesting approach. Extended discussions, where trust and confidence can be developed, may allow the teasing out of some of the conclusions in the survey. This is the objective behind this small monograph. It reports upon an extended series of workshops with two key groups, the youth and the victims of organized violence and torture. The first group, the youth, are amongst the most disadvantaged of all Zimbabwean constituencies: increasingly dropping out of formal education due to the economic pressures, and massively unemployed, they conform completely to Gay’s notion of a group that has no freedom. It might be expected that they would display all the pessimism necessary to express despair about democracy. The victims of organised violence and torture, on the other hand, are drawn from the ranks of the activists mainly, and many have held, or hold, positions in employment. They were largely drawn to the role of activist by their beliefs in democracy, freedom, and development, whether they did so within the ranks of a political party or a civil society collective. It might be expected that they are not pessimistic, although their experiences might have altered their previously optimistic opinions. As will be seen, these small investigations do not suggest that Zimbabweans have become pessimistic or have given up on democracy. They hold strong views on the state of their nation, and have strong views on how to remedy the many obstacles to the freedoms they need in order to develop. Methodology The data derived for these small studies came from a series of workshops with the two target groups. Although the overall design was similar, there were some differences between the two groups that are described below. Youth As part of the youth process a survey was conducted in February 2004 using the Revised IDASA Democracy Index. The sample was drawn from 5 areas in Zimbabwe: Chitungwiza [18], Bulawayo [17], Masvingo [16], Mufakose in Harare [20], and Mutare [23]. The sample was composed equally of men and women. The sample was educated up to school-leaving in the main, with 94% having reached O’Level, but none had gone beyond this level and attained A’Level, College, or University. As regards age, 25% were under 20 years, 70% under the age of 25 years, and 96% were under the age of 30 years. As regards employment, 47% were unemployed, whilst 43% had some form of employment in the informal sector, 4% had a short-term contract job, and 1% had a temporary job. No-one had permanent employment. It is perhaps unsurprising that no-one in this sample had a permanent job since the sample was derived from the members of youth groups set up to support youth, and clearly unemployment is the major attraction for joining these groups. The survey asked questions on the following areas: consensus and citizen participation in selfgovernment; popular selection of decision makers; popular control over decision makers; protecting citizens’ equality and their ability to control decision makers; and socio and economic rights. The survey findings were then presented to the workshops and bolstered by in-depth discussion over three, 3-day workshops with representatives of these groups. The findings of the survey were used as the discussion material, and reasons sought for the findings as well as remedies for the problems. The workshops were characterised by vigorous discussion, and a high degree of understanding about the history and the current problems facing Zimbabwe. IDASA: Zimbabwe at the Cross-Roads: Views of Zimbabwean citizens on democracy and transitional justice.