RR Phantom
Location : Wasted Space
Job/hobbies : Cayman Islands Actuary
 |  Subject: Excellent: Mugabe's storm troopers walk the streets in fear  Tue Jul 29, 2008 3:47 am | |
| 's youth militia members looted, raped and killed, using the timeworn excuse of following orders.
WHEN Robert Mugabe's "green bombers" walk the streets, everyone else is afraid of them. But what everyone else doesn't realise is that the green bombers are frightened too.
The youth militias are so notorious here that they can seem like cartoon bad guys, one-dimensional and evil. But the ordinary face of evil is much more human - and at the same time more menacing.
Two young men who spent months beating, looting, raping and killing in their Harare neighbourhood spoke recently of their experiences. They behaved like guilty boys, defensive about their "chores". It was difficult to picture them beating up a 12-year-old just for wearing red or helping burn a house where trapped people died before the June 27 presidential run-off.
"I did not feel like fighting my brother," said one, a 25-year-old who refused to be identified even by a first name. "We were forced to do these chores."
The level of violence "just depended on your mood that day or that hour", he said.
The interview was conducted in a moving car because the two men were afraid of reprisals for talking to a Western journalist.
Like his victims, the 25-year-old lives with fear. He believes the spirits of those he killed will wreak vengeance. He is afraid to walk alone in his neighbourhood, fearing reprisal.
He is afraid of his superiors, too. "If you don't do it, they can just tell you, 'You are a spy.' They can start beating you or kill you."
He is remorseful, up to a point; mostly he blames his commanders. "When we first got to the base, we were told the rules and orders, which you can't resist," he said. "If the commander tells you what to do, you have to do what he says."
The youth militias were the storm troopers in the campaign to kill and disperse the opposition, and to force people to vote for Mr Mugabe in the run-off. Hundreds of bases were established before the vote, but most closed down in recent weeks.
The opposition says the violence continues at a lower level, with talks aimed at a political resolution under way in South Africa. But the fear remains.
For weeks after the run-off, the 25-year-old was afraid to leave the militia base, fearful he would be attacked. He recently summoned the nerve and fled.
His most serious crimes included rape and murder. "We were beating people and leaving them for dead," he said.
His friend Martin, 28, a member of the same militia, also recently left the camp but is terrified he will face vengeance.
The two went through a Zanu-PF youth training camp for three months in 2002. That's where they received their "green bombers" nickname: the trainees wear green berets.
They admit raping some of the 20 girls forced to live at the base, victims who "feared for their lives. They had no choice. They were not going anywhere," the 25-year-old said. "At that time maybe we'd be drunk so we'd just enjoy every moment."
When it came to discussing the murders, the conversation was punctuated with half-spoken sentences. He insisted he was unsure how many people died from their beatings.
When he joined the militias in 2002, it was an exhilarating adventure. "At first we thought it was exciting. I thought I could get something from Zanu-PF to sustain my family, but it was to no avail. These days we feel like we're prisoners."
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