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Gokwe residents speak on torture
Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights)
October 04, 2010

ZimRights' torture awareness meetings at Chinyenyeru Primary School in Gokwe North, Midlands, proved that torture is a sensitive issue within communities.A clear cause for concern and need for urgent attention as this form of human rights violation continues to take its toll.

Most people at the meeting confessed that hatred among the villagers is being nurtured everyday due to the politically fuelled assaults and harassment they experienced not only during the 2008 violence but also during the current constitution making process. They added that their experiences are still fresh, yet nothing is being done to deal with the effects. One participant pointed out that as long as politicians and law enforcers continue to turn a blind eye to this form of human rights violation, more will suffer, while tension continues to build up amongst the people.

Participants were reluctant at the beginning of the meetings as few people were comfortable with the topic. Participants started to open up, however, as the meeting progressed. The facilitator clearly pointed out that ZimRights is a non partisan organisation, therefore anyone is free to share without fear. Different interpretations of torture were shared, a sign that many people had fallen victim to torture but in different forms of it. Some identified torture as the inflicting of severe pain for the purposes of obtaining information, amusement, punishing or disciplining a person; while some defined it as the reopening of wounds that were once healing. Common torture experiences shared during the meetings were arson, rolling in human excretion, endless frog jumps and press ups, being beaten with bottles on the knees, being beaten on the soles continuously and humiliation through tempering around with one's private parts.

Participants added that the issue of torture will take time to dissolve in the Zimbabwean society as most perpetrators are politicians. Torture has been a major tool that they use to force people to either release information which might not be true or to admit that they are guilty even if they are not. ZimRights calls for an end to torture or any form of intimidation as this is benefiting the few perpetrators at the expense of a whole nation's development and democracy.

The organisation will continue to advocate for an anti-torture culture in Zimbabwe through empowering people with knowledge of the benefits of peaceful conflict resolution methods and tolerance of varied opinions. Most importantly ZimRights will continue to advocate for the government's ratification of international conventions against torture.

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