Project

One Step From Hell

In almost three decades of rule, Robert Mugabe's evolution from liberator to tyrant led Zimbabwe from democratic independence and its status as South Africa's breadbasket to a one-party state with an inflation rate over 231 million percent. Mugabe met early electoral wins by the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change and its leader Morgan Tsvangirai in March of 2008 by launching a nationwide "re-education" campaign, killing and torturing MDC members and supporters in order to win the run-off election.

Despite U.N. intervention led by Britain and the U.S. to reach a power sharing agreement, Mugabe was sworn in for his sixth term in office and the two sides remain deadlocked over the distribution of ministries. Meanwhile, the populace suffers food shortages, massive unemployment and most recently, a cholera outbreak in the capital city of Harare. The stories of the violence and desperation struggle to make it out of the country. Journalism in Zimbabwe has become "punishable by death," and while the government bans foreign broadcasting stations, journalists within the country are routinely threatened, detained, charged with inciting hatred against Mugabe and are often beaten or killed.

Despite this climate of fear and intimidation, independent Zimbabwean journalists are still reporting, often secretly. The reporting here is one such brave journalist's work.

Now the Terror Has Returned

How much lower can Zimbabwe sink? Chronic food shortages, hyperinflation, a cholera epidemic, people abducted for speaking out against President Robert Mugabe's regime -- all this is the stuff of daily life for ordinary Zimbabweans, as related here by a journalist in Harare, the capital. She reports for PBS's Frontline/World, with support from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Her name is withheld for her safety.

Dec. 5, 2008 -- Disappeared

Zimbabwe: A Harsh Reality

Just as a power sharing agreement between Robert Mugabe and the opposition MDC party was announced today in Zimbabwe, Frontline/World's Joe Rubin talks with our correspondent -- who must remain anonymous for her own safety -- about the situation there.

Zimbabwe: The Deal that Never Was

On September 15, 2008, the cellphone networks were so jammed, I couldn't reach any of my friends in Zimbabwe or abroad to share the news that I was covering first hand. What a day in the history of our country! After months of anticipation, the political deal was signed.

Zimbabwe: Enemies of the State

http://www.pulitzercenter.org/pimages/1315.jpgPracticing journalism in Zimbabwe has become a crime punishable by death.

Last year, my colleague Edward Chikomba learned this the hard way. I still can't believe he's gone -- the jovial spirit, the burly tummy, the camera bag he always wore slung backward over his shoulder. He worked for the country's only TV station, the state-owned Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation.