fetuses clog sewers in zimbabwe

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - fetuses clog sewers in zimbabwe

Posted: 2/17/2006 2:29:02 PM EDT

i did a search, no way this is a dupe:

www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/02/17/zimbabwe.fetuses.ap/index.html

The corpses of at least 20 newborn babies and fetuses are found each week in the sewers of Zimbabwe's capital, some having been flushed down toilets, Harare city authorities said, according to state media Friday.

Town Clerk Nomutsa Chideya said the babies' remains were found among a wide variety of waste and garbage cleared by city council workers unblocking sewers and drains in Harare.

"Apart from upsetting the normal flow of waste, it is not right from a moral standpoint. Some of the things that are happening now are shocking," the state Herald, a government mouthpiece, reported Chideya as saying.

Acute shortages of revenue and gasoline in the nation's worst economic crisis since independence in 1980 have crippled public utilities and garbage collection services across Zimbabwe.

Hospital fees and charges for scarce medicines have soared. Church and charity groups blame economic hardships for an increase in illegal back-street abortions.

Chideya said workers removed at least 20 tons of sand from sewers every day. Inflation is running at 613 percent and many impoverished Zimbabweans, unable to afford cleaning materials or detergents, use sand to scour cooking pots and household dishes.]

Posted: 2/17/2006 2:30:51 PM EDT

[#1]

What is there to say.

That is SO fucked up it is literally sickening.

Posted: 2/17/2006 2:35:22 PM EDT

[#2]

I was unaware that they had flush toilets in Zimbabwe.

Posted: 2/17/2006 2:38:14 PM EDT

[#3]

Quoted:
I was unaware that they had flush toilets in Zimbabwe.

I was unaware that they had underground sewers or running water..

Posted: 2/17/2006 2:38:53 PM EDT

[#4]

The NOW gang will likely celebrate this news.....

Posted: 2/17/2006 2:42:49 PM EDT

[#5]

The left will blame it on Bush for opposing birth control and refusing to fund condom handouts.

Posted: 2/17/2006 2:46:01 PM EDT

[#6]

Posted: 2/17/2006 2:50:11 PM EDT

[#7]

It's a good thing our sewer systems are are superier so we can continue murdering babies.

More than 43 million abortions have been performed in the United States since 1973. (Based on statistical information from the CDC and Alan Guttmacher Institute).
The number of reported legal abortions in the United States for the following years according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Abortion Surveillance Report, November 25, 2005:
1972 — 586,760
1980 — 1,297,606
1985 — 1,328,570
1990 — 1,429,247
1992 — 1,359,146
1995 — 1,210,883
1996 — 1,225,937
1997 — 1,186,039
1998 — 884,273*
1999 — 861,789*
2000 — 857,475*
2001 — 853,485*
2002 — 854,122*

Reasons for Abortions:
Reason %
Inadequate finances 21%
Not ready for the responsibility 21%
Would change the woman’s life too much 16%
Problems with relationship; not married, etc. 12%
Too young 11%
Has all the kids she wants already 8%
Miscellaneous 4%
Fetus has possible health problem 3%
Woman has a health problem 3%
Pregnancy was caused by rape 1%

Posted: 2/17/2006 2:52:58 PM EDT

[#8]

2340 abortions a day in the US.

Posted: 2/17/2006 2:58:27 PM EDT

[#9]

Lord, have mercy!

Posted: 2/17/2006 3:04:11 PM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:
2340 abortions a day in the US.

gotta keep the chinese buffets stocked

Posted: 2/17/2006 3:07:32 PM EDT

[#11]

Quoted:
i did a search, no way this is a dupe:

www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/02/17/zimbabwe.fetuses.ap/index.html

The corpses of at least 20 newborn babies and fetuses are found each week in the sewers of Zimbabwe's capital, some having been flushed down toilets, Harare city authorities said, according to state media Friday.

Town Clerk Nomutsa Chideya said the babies' remains were found among a wide variety of waste and garbage cleared by city council workers unblocking sewers and drains in Harare.

"Apart from upsetting the normal flow of waste, it is not right from a moral standpoint. Some of the things that are happening now are shocking," the state Herald, a government mouthpiece, reported Chideya as saying.

Acute shortages of revenue and gasoline in the nation's worst economic crisis since independence in 1980 have crippled public utilities and garbage collection services across Zimbabwe.

Hospital fees and charges for scarce medicines have soared. Church and charity groups blame economic hardships for an increase in illegal back-street abortions.

Chideya said workers removed at least 20 tons of sand from sewers every day. Inflation is running at 613 percent and many impoverished Zimbabweans, unable to afford cleaning materials or detergents, use sand to scour cooking pots and household dishes.]

I will admit, I take some pretty large shits! But seriously, wouldn't even a severly premature baby cause some severge cloging in a toilet? C-mon am I wrong??? We are not talking goldfish here.

Posted: 2/17/2006 3:08:48 PM EDT

[#12]

Damn.

Posted: 2/17/2006 3:15:37 PM EDT

[#13]

This horror brought to you courtesy of the UN and Jimmy Carter.

Posted: 2/17/2006 3:16:23 PM EDT

[#14]

That made me so sick and mad , I just had to shut my computer down.

Posted: 2/17/2006 3:16:34 PM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:
I will admit, I take some pretty large shits! But seriously, wouldn't even a severly premature baby cause some severge cloging in a toilet? C-mon am I wrong??? We are not talking goldfish here.

probably dumping them through manholes or storm drains.

Posted: 2/17/2006 3:23:01 PM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:
i did a search, no way this is a dupe:

www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/02/17/zimbabwe.fetuses.ap/index.html

<Snip> Hospital fees and charges for scarce medicines have soared. Church and charity groups blame economic hardships for an increase in illegal back-street abortions. <Snip>

But making it illegal is supposed to stop it from happening, right?

Posted: 2/17/2006 3:23:55 PM EDT

[#17]

We have so much to learn from "Mother Africa."

Posted: 2/17/2006 3:25:47 PM EDT

[#18]

Quoted:
Quoted:
i did a search, no way this is a dupe:

www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/02/17/zimbabwe.fetuses.ap/index.html

<Snip> Hospital fees and charges for scarce medicines have soared. Church and charity groups blame economic hardships for an increase in illegal back-street abortions. <Snip>

But making it illegal is supposed to stop it from happening, right?

Hey, it works for gun control.

Let's face it, Africa is hopeless.

Posted: 2/17/2006 3:33:08 PM EDT

[#19]

Quoted:
We have so much to learn from "Mother Africa."

Same shit goes on here. Maybe even more frequently. They just dispose of the bodies less publicly.

Posted: 2/17/2006 3:34:34 PM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:
Quoted:
2340 abortions a day in the US.

gotta keep the chinese buffets stocked

Posted: 2/17/2006 3:35:59 PM EDT

[#21]

Quoted:
Quoted:
I will admit, I take some pretty large shits! But seriously, wouldn't even a severly premature baby cause some severge cloging in a toilet? C-mon am I wrong??? We are not talking goldfish here.

probably dumping them through manholes or storm drains.

Good point.

Posted: 2/17/2006 4:38:21 PM EDT

[#22]

Thank you UN and the left

Posted: 2/17/2006 4:42:54 PM EDT

[#23]

Can anyone school me on who these people gained their independence from back in 1980's?

Posted: 2/17/2006 4:43:41 PM EDT

[#24]

Quoted:
Can anyone school me on who these people gained their independence from back in 1980's?

oppressive crackers

Posted: 2/17/2006 4:52:50 PM EDT

[#25]

Life is cheap in africa, apparently.

Posted: 2/17/2006 4:54:07 PM EDT

[#26]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Can anyone school me on who these people gained their independence from back in 1980's?

oppressive crackers

No Really, does anyone know?

Posted: 2/17/2006 4:56:41 PM EDT

[#27]

The UK annexed Southern Rhodesia from the South Africa Company in 1923. A 1961 constitution was formulated that favored whites in power. In 1965 the government unilaterally declared its independence, but the UK did not recognize the act and demanded more complete voting rights for the black African majority in the country (then called Rhodesia). UN sanctions and a guerrilla uprising finally led to free elections in 1979 and independence (as Zimbabwe) in 1980. Robert MUGABE, the nation's first prime minister, has been the country's only ruler (as president since 1987) and has dominated the country's political system since independence. His chaotic land redistribution campaign begun in 2000 caused an exodus of white farmers, crippled the economy, and ushered in widespread shortages of basic commodities. Ignoring international condemnation, MUGABE rigged the 2002 presidential election to ensure his reelection. Opposition and labor groups launched general strikes in 2003 to pressure MUGABE to retire early; security forces continued their brutal repression of regime opponents.

don't bitch at me about paragraph breaks, blame the CIA

Posted: 2/17/2006 5:52:44 PM EDT

[#28]

Quoted:
The UK annexed Southern Rhodesia from the South Africa Company in 1923. A 1961 constitution was formulated that favored whites in power. In 1965 the government unilaterally declared its independence, but the UK did not recognize the act and demanded more complete voting rights for the black African majority in the country (then called Rhodesia). UN sanctions and a guerrilla uprising finally led to free elections in 1979 and independence (as Zimbabwe) in 1980. Robert MUGABE, the nation's first prime minister, has been the country's only ruler (as president since 1987) and has dominated the country's political system since independence. His chaotic land redistribution campaign begun in 2000 caused an exodus of white farmers, crippled the economy, and ushered in widespread shortages of basic commodities. Ignoring international condemnation, MUGABE rigged the 2002 presidential election to ensure his reelection. Opposition and labor groups launched general strikes in 2003 to pressure MUGABE to retire early; security forces continued their brutal repression of regime opponents.

don't bitch at me about paragraph breaks, blame the CIA

Thanks for that.

It's just how I guessed it would be.

Posted: 2/17/2006 6:04:00 PM EDT

[#29]

There are some things that need not be posted. This is one of them. Believe it or not,we don't need to know EVERYTHING bad that happens to kids.

Posted: 2/17/2006 6:06:38 PM EDT

[#30]

Quoted:
Quoted:
2340 abortions a day in the US.

gotta keep the chinese buffets stocked

Posted: 2/17/2006 6:20:23 PM EDT

[#31]

Quoted:
Life is cheap in africa, apparently.

And in the US

Posted: 2/17/2006 6:24:40 PM EDT

[#32]

They still have 5-6 gallon flush toilets in Africa...those things will flush damned near anything that will fit!

Posted: 2/17/2006 6:40:55 PM EDT

[#33]

Home of the Rhodesian Light Infantry

and the Rhodesian Sealous Scouts

together some of the finest bush fighters the world has ever seen.

Rhodesia

UDI
The British government adopted a policy known as NIBMAR (No Independence Before Majority African Rule). This policy dictated that those colonies with a substantial population of white settlers would not receive independence except under conditions of universal suffrage and majority rule. This policy was opposed by the European minority Rhodesian Front (RF) government, led by Ian Smith. The white settlers in Rhodesia enjoyed economic and political priveleges. It had become apparent from the mid 1950s that the whites were prepared to go to extreme lengths to retain those priveleges.

After failed negotiations between the UK and Rhodesia, on November 11, 1965, Smith's government declared the country independent from British government rule in what became known as UDI (Unilateral Declaration of Independence). The timing of Smith's telegram announcing UDI to British Prime Minister Harold Wilson is significant. It was sent precisely at 1 p.m. local time (11 a.m. in London) on November 11, 1965, at the precise moment that the UK started its traditional one minute of silence to mark the end of World War I and honour its war dead. The not so hidden message to "kith and kin" as Smith put it was to recall the fact that Southern Rhodesia helped the UK in its time of need in World War I and World War II and that the British should not forget that.

UDI was internationally condemned, and at the behest of Britain, Rhodesia was placed under the first United Nations Security Council authorised sanctions, beginning in 1965 and lasting until the restoration of British rule in December 1979. The terms of these sanctions forbade most forms of trade or financial exchange with Rhodesia. Sanctions were not universally adhered to, however. South Africa, Portugal, Israel and some Arab states helped Rhodesia. In the immediate term, Rhodesia was able to evade sanctions by various means. But the means of evasion typically involved "selling at a discount and buying at a premium". Also, no outsider would invest in Rhodesia.

From the time of UDI onwards, the Rhodesian government struggled to obtain international recognition and the lifting of sanctions. No significant state ever granted recognition to Rhodesia, and in 1970 the US government categorically stated that "under no circumstances" would it recognise Rhodesia. [1] Rebel or secessionist provinces have never been liked by the international community.

Initially, the state maintained its loyalty to Queen Elizabeth II as "Queen of Rhodesia" (a title to which she never consented) but not to her representative, the Governor Sir Humphrey Gibbs, whose constitutional duties were exercised by an "Officer Administering the Government", Clifford Dupont. On March 2, 1970, Rhodesia's government formally severed links with the British Crown, and Rhodesia was declared a republic, with one Clifford Walter Dupont as President. Dupont was a London accountant who had emigrated to Rhodesia in 1953.

The Bush War, or Second Chimurenga
A lengthy armed campaign by ZANLA (the military wing of ZANU [the Zimbabwe African National Union]) and ZIPRA (the military wing of ZAPU [the Zimbabwe African People's Union]) against the Rhodesian government followed UDI. This became known as the Bush War by the Europeans of Rhodesia and as the "Second Chimurenga" (or rebellion in Shona) by supporters of the guerrillas. The war is generally considered to have started in 1972 with scattered attacks on isolated white owned farms.

ZANU was lead by Robert Mugabe, latterly based in Mozambique and was supported by China. ZAPU was lead by Joshua Nkomo, based in Zambia and was supported by the Soviet Union. ZANU and ZAPU together formed 'the Patriotic Front'. Broadly, ZANU represented the 80% of the population who were Shona speaking and ZAPU represented the 20% who were Sindebele speaking. The degree of support offered by China and the Soviet Union to the nationalist parties was probably less than was commonly thought at the time. The nationalist parties were often described as 'marxist', but events showed that this marxism was a superficial thing. The main priority of ZANU and ZAPU was to end white rule in Rhodesia.

Once the war started, an impression quickly took root that the Rhodesians were going to lose. International business groups involved in the country (e.g. Lonrho) transferred their support from the Rhodesian government to black nationalist parties. Nkomo was feted on his visits to Europe by business leaders and politicians. Funding was provided for his ZAPU party and associated ZIPRA military operations. This funding allowed ZIPRA to purchase sophisticated weaponry on the international arms market, which ultimately led to the demise of Rhodesia. ZANU also attracted business supporters who perceived the course that future events were likely to take [2]

Initially, the war was very one-sided since the Rhodesian government was able to deploy an overwhelming superiority in manpower, firepower and mobility. But the situation changed suddenly after the end of Portugese colonial rule in Mozambique in 1975. At that time ZANU's alliance with FRELIMO and the porous border between Mozambique and eastern Rhodesia enabled large-scale training and infiltration of ZANU/ZANLA guerillas. The government adopted a 'strategic hamlets' policy of the kind used in Malaya and Vietnam to restrict the influence of insurgents over the population of rural areas. Local people were forced to relocate to protected villages (PVs) which were strictly controlled and guarded by the government. This was deeply unpopular and served only to increase support for the insurgents. The war degenerated into rounds of increasing brutality from both sides.

The Rhodesian government faced a serious economic struggle during the 1970s as a result of sanctions, emigration, and the strain imposed on the economic system by conscription of all white men. At this time volunteers were recruited from overseas to help in the fight. One particular source of volunteers was Vietnam war veterans (mostly US and Australian nationals) who had found it difficult to adjust to civilian life. Their response was to find another war to engage in. The commonest cause of death amongst this group while in Rhodesian service was suicide.[3]

From 1975 Rhodesia began to lose vital economic and military support from South Africa, which, while sympathetic to the white minority government, never accorded it diplomatic recognition. The South Africans started to place limits on the fuel and munitions it supplied to the Rhodesian military. In 1976 the South African and US governments combined to place pressure on Smith to agree to a form of majority rule. Some Rhodesians claimed that one possible reason why South Africa started to withdraw aid from Rhodesia was the still embittered history between the British Rhodesia and the Afrikaner dominated South Africa. It was seen by some as one last way the Boers could "stick it to the Brit" for the previous centuries of domination, and from the lingering resentment over the Boer Wars. Ian Smith claimed in his memoirs that even though the South African people (white only) were supportive of Rhodesia, South African Prime Minister John Vorster's policy of detente with the Black African states ended up with Rhodesia being offered as the "sacrificial lamb" in order to buy more time for South Africa. Other observers perceive South Africa's distancing itself from Rhodesia as being an early move in the process that led to majority rule in SA itself. [4]

The Umniati was downed by ZIPRA insurgents using a SAM7 "Strela" missile on 12 February 1979. All 59 passengers and crew were killed.By early 1978 the Rhodesian armed forces were on the defensive. The early strategy of trying to defend the borders was abandoned in favour of trying to defend key economic areas and lines of communication with South Africa, while the rest of the countryside became a patchwork of "no-go areas". This last term was first used in Rhodesia and has since entered the English language. Rhodesia's front-line forces never contained more than 25,000 troops, eight tanks (Polish made T-55s) and nine old Hawker Hunter jets. Those forces could still launch raids on enemy bases, but Rhodesia was facing diplomatic isolation, economic collapse and military defeat.

The shooting down in 1978 of a civilian Air Rhodesia Vickers Viscount airliner (the Hunyani) in the Kariba area by ZIPRA insurgents using surface-to-air missiles is widely considered to be the event that finally destroyed the Rhodesians' will to continue the war. Although militarily insignificant, the loss of this aircraft (and a second Viscount, the Umniati, in 1979) demonstrated just how vulnerable Rhodesian civil society was to insurgent attack.[5]

End game
The need to cut a deal was apparent to most Rhodesians by 1978 – but not to all. Rhodesian special forces carried out a raid on Joshua Nkomo's residence in Lusaka (Zambia) with the stated intention of assassinating him. This was curious, given that the Rhodesian government was secretly negotiating with Nkomo over a deal to keep Mugabe out of power. Nkomo, tipped off by the Rhodesian intelligence service, escaped this attempt on his life.

As the result of an "internal settlement" between the Rhodesian government and some fringe African nationalist parties, which were not in exile and not involved in the war, elections were held in April 1979. The UANC (United African National Council) party won a majority in this election, and its leader, Abel Muzorewa (a United Methodist Church bishop), became the country's nominal prime minister on June 1, 1979. Additionally, the country's name was changed to Zimbabwe Rhodesia. The internal settlement left control of the country's police, security forces, civil service and judiciary in white hands. It assured whites of about one third of the seats in parliament. It was essentially a power-sharing arrangement which did not amount to majority rule.

While the 1979 election was described by the Rhodesian government as non-racial and democratic, it did not include the main nationalist parties ZANU and ZAPU. In spite of offers from Ian Smith, the latter parties declined to participate in an election leading to anything less than full and immediate majority rule.

Bishop Muzorewa's government did not receive international recognition, the Bush War continued unabated and sanctions were not lifted. The international community refused to accept the validity of any agreement which did not incorporate the main nationalist parties. The British Government (then led by the recently elected Margaret Thatcher) issued invitations to all parties to attend a peace conference at Lancaster House. These negotiations took place in London in late 1979. The three-month-long conference almost failed to reach conclusion, due to disagreements on Land reform, but resulted in the Lancaster House Agreement. UDI ended, and Rhodesia reverted to the status of a British colony ('The British Dependency of Southern Rhodesia').

The outcome was an internationally supervised general election in early 1980. ZANU (PF) lead by Robert Mugabe won this election. Elements in the Rhodesian armed forces toyed with the idea of mounting a coup ("Operation Quartz") [6] to prevent ZANU taking over government of the country. But almost everyone knew that the game was up, and the coup collapsed before it even started. Rhodesia died.

Independence
Mugabe and the victorious black nationalists were rather less concerned by Operation Quartz than the possibility that there might be a mass exodus of the white community of the kind that had caused chaos in Mozambique 5 years earlier. Such an exodus had been prepared for by the South African government. With the agreeement of the British Governor of Rhodesia, South African troops had entered the country in order to secure the road approaches to the Beit Bridge border crossing point. Refugee camps had been prepared in the Transvaal. On the day the election results became known, most white families had prepared contingency plans for flight, including the packing of cars and suitcases.

However, after a meeting with Robert Mugabe and the central committee of ZANU (PF), Ian Smith secured an understanding which allowed the whites to stay. Mugabe promised that he would abide strictly by the terms of the Lancaster House agreement and that changes in Zimbabwe would be made gradually and by proper legal process.

On April 18, 1980, the country became independent as the Republic of Zimbabwe, and its capital, Salisbury, was renamed Harare two years later.

In the end Rhodesia would have reached the point of majority rule, just as other African nations have. But it would have been without the terror and bloodshed brought on first by England's anger at being disobeyed and....well, the horrors of Mugabe's rule speak for themselves. Of course I suppose it would be in bad taste to mention now that I guess ol' Ian was right. Anything was better than giving the country to Mugabe.

Posted: 2/17/2006 6:42:48 PM EDT

[#34]

Quoted:
Quoted:
2340 abortions a day in the US.

gotta keep the chinese buffets stocked

Posted: 2/17/2006 7:01:00 PM EDT

[#35]

I spent half of November in Zimbabwe. The place is savage. You can tell that everything came to a stop in 1980.

Oddly enough, we're not much better. We murder way more babies than they do.

Posted: 2/17/2006 8:37:09 PM EDT

[#36]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Life is cheap in africa, apparently.

And in the US

exactly ... they just dispose of the dead bodies more discretely here.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - fetuses clog sewers in zimbabwe

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