SPECIAL FEATURE
Zimbabweans in chronic state of fear - Study
The generality of Zimbabweans is plagued by fear. Though this fear is chiefly
politically motivated, it manifests itself in different forms. Below is an excerpt from
a research entitled “Fear and Voting for Peace”, which was commissioned by
Zimbabwe Peace Project. The study, which sought to instil confidence in citizens on
political processes, elections and peaceful co-existence, looked at “how fear drives
citizens to act and respond to certain actions during elections and at other times”.
Understanding the Different Types of Fear
Fear is an emotion and the processes of generation of fear either imagined or real fear is
context and time dependent. The Oxford Dictionary of Politics further states that “fear
can be generated from terror and consent can be won through fear, through beatings,
disappearances, forceful abduction. Consequently, people can come to live in a chronic
state of fear. Fear is not only a subjective experience but can be collectively experienced
by communities”.
Citizens interviewed for this report looked at their experiences with elections and other
times of violence and raised concerns about the impact of fear and how it influences some
individuals to make decisions about choices they ordinarily do not identify with. One key
informant remarked that “citizens had very limited choices, either vote for a party that
will guarantee your safety, security and not a party that will lead you to being evicted,
harassed or victimized, it was a no brainer.”
The absence of overt violence is not an indication that there is no potential for such
violence that can be used at any time. Failure by the state to prosecute or arrest accused
persons creates a sense of impunity and removes prospects of remedies for the victims’,
further instilling fear in them. In cases of prosecutions, communities are still concerned
that perpetrators may consider some form of revenge once they have completed their
sentence. The types of fear remain different depending on location, social status and
interests at play.
Fear of being evicted
Evictions have been used as a tool of punishment. Newly resettled farmers are concerned
and or threatened that only one political party champions land reform and the advent of
the opposition or any other party could entail land evictions. It is stressed that if the ruling
party loses elections in a particular constituency or ward, farmers resettled in the area will
be evicted.
In urban settings, especially at markets such as Mbare Musika and Mupedzanhamo,
market stalls are allegedly distributed on partisan basis and as the elections and national
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