Human Rights Archive Zimbabwe

The utterances of political leaders can be very revealing. Their commitment to democracy and human rights is most tested when there is a serious challenge to their continued hold on power or when they attract heavy criticism. At such times, the leaders either display political tolerance or they lash out at their critics and opponents. Leaders with repressive tendencies will turn to repression; leaders who respect democracy will not.

An examination of a population of survivors more than a decade and half after the traumatic events, which indicates that no-one should be sanguine that survivors of OVT heal themselves: war veterans, activists and the politically uncommitted were all affected by the Liberation War. It seems evident that Zimbabweans, in common with all other people, do not cope well with the effects of OVT.