The Sunday Mail
Harmony Agere
FOR close to 1 300 days, they have remained loyal to their cause. Despite starvation, harsh weather, poor shelter, criticism and even ridicule, they have remained unbowed.
On Friday, members of the Broad Alliance Against Sanctions (BAAS), who have been camping outside the United States embassy in Harare in protest against its economic embargo on Zimbabwe, counted their 1 287th day at the site.
Equating their struggle to the liberation war, the alliance’s co-founder and spokesperson, Ms Sally Ngoni, says not even death will deter them.
Since the group started picketing at the US embassy in March 2019, Ms Ngoni suffered a stillbirth before losing her mother, grandfather and several BAAS founding members.
Those who are still part of the group have suffered varying personal misfortunes but have vowed to stay put.
They say they were driven into action by the impact of sanctions, which include company closures, unemployment and limited opportunities. BAAS members believe sanctions feed into other social vices such as drug abuse, violent crimes and immorality.
The US imposed unilateral sanctions on Zimbabwe in 2001 under the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZDERA) following Government’s land reform programme , which restored land to the black majority in line with the Lancaster House Agreement. European Union (EU) imposed its own unilateral sanctions on Zimbabwe in 2002, while ZDERA was amended in 2018 to tighten its provisions.
The provisions generally include blocking lines of credit to Harare and discouraging Western companies from investing in Zimbabwe.
“This means we are at war. We have a whole generation of youth whose dreams have gone up in smoke because of sanctions,” Sally said.
“And I must tell you that it has not been easy. I lost my grandfather in 2019; just when we thought we had finished mourning, I lost my mother in 2020. I suffered a stillbirth while I was here.
“One of our founding members, Tamuka Magwenzi, who was also our representative to the African Union, passed away about two weeks back , and we have lost quite a number of our members who were part of the struggle.”
For over three years, Ms Ngoni and other members of BAAS have been sleeping in tents without proper ablution facilities.
The group survives on donations from well-wishers, which, however, are sometimes not enough to cover their needs in terms of food, clothing and shelter.
“When our forefathers went to war, they didn’t know where they would sleep, what they would eat or what they would drink but they still joined the struggle,” she said.
“Just like them, we have taken up the fight and we have well-wishers who understand our cause. They help us with food and other requirements.”
She revealed that among the well-wishers is an American national who has taken a stance against his own nation’s belligerence.
“Some will even be surprised that one of our well-wishers is an American whose business has been affected by sanctions.
“ But there are so many times we have gone to bed without eating, and there are so many times we have gone without water to drink or warm blankets.”
Ms Ngoni said the hardships have boosted their resolve to fight the illegal sanctions.
She said there is a misbegotten view that only ZANU PF supporters champion the anti-sanctions call, but, in fact, several other political parties work with BAAS.
“We have people from different political parties in our membership because we put national interest above politics. Of course, we have youths from ZANU PF who support us but that doesn’t mean that the organisation is being used by ZANU PF.
“We have members from LEAD and their president, we have Zimbabwe People’s Party, we have people from ZAPU, we have MDC Alliance.
“There are about seven political parties and religious organisations supporting this cause because they believe that sanctions are hurting ordinary citizens.”
While sanctions are yet to be removed, Ms Ngoni and her team believe their work is already making a difference.
“We are bringing a lot of attention to the issue of sanctions.
“We frequently host delegations from different countries, who are coming here in support of the removal of sanctions. That is why you see even American citizens themselves understanding and empathising with our cause.”
BAAS secretary Wengisai Imbayago said the organisation has put in place strict measures to ensure that its members do not engage in criminal activities or immoral behaviour while camped at the site.
“There are 18 members who are currently staying here. There were more people but we had to send others back home in compliance with Covid-19 safety regulations.
“We are one family. We cook and eat together. We have strict rules against crime and immorality. For those who break these rules, we take appropriate disciplinary action against them.”
Imbayago, however, said their movement is being sabotaged by fellow Zimbabweans in the name of carrying out public duties.
“We have a lot of projects that we do here but we have a problem with some Harare City Council workers that come to confiscate our equipment.
“We opened a car wash, but they took away our equipment. When we did a follow-up for our equipment, one superintendent from the municipal police actually said he doesn’t care about our fight against sanctions.”
President of Zimbabwe Peoples Party and BAAS Secretary for Lands and Agriculture Dr Gadzamoyo Dewah said the fight against sanctions is everyone’s responsibility.
“We are all affected even if they claim the sanctions are targeted,” he said.
“Since sanctions were imposed big companies closed and we were barred from some of our foreign markets for our products. So you can’t say sanctions are for ZANU PF when we have unemployed youths, when we have drug and substance abuse, when our companies and banks cannot trade freely. It’s a fight for all of us.”
There have been growing calls for the West to remove sanctions against Zimbabwe with the United Nations recently adopting findings of its Special Rapporteur Dr Alena Douhan who said the sanctions affect the general populace and should be removed without conditions.
The African Union and SADC have made similar calls while a number of African Presidents spoke against the measures at the just-ended United Nations General Assembly.
For BAAS members, all this emboldens them to continue camping outside the US embassy until the sanctions are lifted.
