AFRICAN TEARS

by Catherine Buckle

The next five minutes were an eternity. It was quiet, so quiet; I couldn't even hear the birds outside; all I could hear, was my heart pounding. And then it started, whistling, loud whistling and one voice HONDO, HONDO, HONDO! (War) Cathy Buckle, home alone at the time, locked herself in her study, sat on the floor and put her hands over her head. This was the beginning of seven months of anguish for a Zimbabwean family at the start of the new millennium. African Tears is the story of the invasion of Stow Farm in Marondera by war veterans and supporters of Robert Mugabe. A farm bought ten years after independence with the Government of Zimbabwe's approval and a Certificate of No Interest. African Tears describes Zimbabwe's descent into chaos and anarchy during the year 2000. Hundreds of farm invasions, horrific political violence against opposition supporters and government critics and the collapse of agriculture and food security.

Genres: Africa, Zimbabwe

340 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Marion Roux · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartwrenching, but a must-read about how a productive, beautiful and happy country was driven down to famine, poverty, cruelty and pain by a comparatively small portion of the population - a bunch of "war veterans" - who were,in fact, mostly just lazy and arrogant people brainwashed by political thugs. Cathy and Ian Buckle were crippled psychologically, financially and emotionally and were ousted from their farm although it was never designated or listed by the government for compulsory non-compensated acquisition.

[Resalo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by a native white Zimbabwe woman who lived thru
the land invasions of 2000. this is a compelling tale of
both survival and resignation. Born and educated in Zimbabwe
the author and her husband buy a farm in 1990 with what they
think is the legal paperwork to protect their property rights.
In 2000, however, President Robert Mugabe unleashes one of his many campaigns of terror and allows war veterans to become squatters and claim owner ship of farms. Buckle tells of her year long experience as her farm slips away to these invasions and of her eventual departure. Although I have read several books on Zimbabwe by Peter Godwin, this is the first written by a farmer. Fascinating read.

[Sergio GRANDE · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sad, sad, sad account of victims of Zimbabwe's land-grabs (government-backed land seizures without compensation by ex-combatants against white farmers).
Not a book that would make one have any sympathy whatsoever for Robert Mugabe or his guerilla troops. For all I know, nothing would.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sad story of one woman's struggle to save her family farm from the "War Veterans" terrorizing Zimbabwe.

[BlakeySnakey · Rating 2 out of 5]

An okay read on the early stages of land seizures in Zimbabwe. The big picture narrative feels incomplete on account of how early the book was published. Probably too many excerpts of letters she has received, I understand that Buckle must be thankful to these people but they were rather repetitive and added little. Overall I can't help but feel the White farmers as a whole were rather naive about the matter, the real miracle of Zimbabwe was that this didn't transpire immediately following the war.

[Nicola · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an important part of the Zimbabwean story. The last sentence summarizes it best. "Our personal nightmare was over but what had begun in February 2000 as a land question affecting only a tiny white minority, had blazed across the country, spreading like an uncontrollable bushfire to every facet of Zimbabwean life."

[Rory Braybrook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a sad story - the loss of the white farmers in Zimbabwe.