Zimbabwe Farmers Speak
THE WORLD MUST KNOW YOUR STORY
● The Truth ● The Trauma ● The Strategy ● The Impact
The story of Zimbabwe’s brutal and catastrophic farm invasions
 Violent, government-sponsored land seizures began in February 2000 carried out by so- called "war veterans" |  Squatters, often trucked onto farms in government vehicles, invaded hundreds of white-owned farms, attacking the farmers and their workers |  The nephew of Cabinet minister Nathan Shamuyarira orders Mike Campbell off of his Mount Carmel farm |  Settlers in the Mazowe district are evicted to pave way to unnamed individuals with government offer letters in 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|
 Commercial farmer Terry Ford who was bludgeoned to death on his Norton farm on 19 March 2002 |  Commercial farmer Charles Andersen was murdered on his Norfolk Estates farm on June 2002 |  A farm worker sustained injuries during an attack on Friedawil farm in the Chinhoyi district in October 2009 |  A farm house, worker homes and a linen project in the Chegutu district were destroyed by fire in August 2009 |
 Devastated farm workers after their homes in the Chegutu district were burnt to the ground in August 2009 | ![Farm workers evicted Monora farm [2] July 01.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/272bea_c7f5892395af4f39921650d3029388ae.jpg/v1/fill/w_250,h_134,al_c,q_90,enc_auto/272bea_c7f5892395af4f39921650d3029388ae.jpg) Devastated farm workers were evicted from Monora Farm in the Marondera district in July 2001 |  Family members of evicted farm workers cook breakfast on the roadside outside Mvurwi village during May 2008. |  New farmers in the Mazowe district were evicted and their homes burnt to make way for four unnamed individuals in October 2014. |
 An Nguni cow was brutally axed by farm invaders on a commercial farm during 2000. |  Centre pivot irrigation equipment was destroyed on a commercial farm in January 2005. Photo courtesy Farmers’ Weekly SA. |  Invaders wantonly destroyed the green houses on this profitable commercial farm using angle grinders in 2015. |  Once dubbed the "bread basket" of southern Africa, Zimbabwe now relies on international food aid for its people. |
 Police demolished the homes of more than 200 families on Manzou Farm to make way for Grace Mugabe's wildlife project. |  Since the seizure of white-owned commercial farms in 2000, Zimbabwe has relied on extensive international food aid. |  |
Farmers Speak
THE WORLD MUST KNOW YOUR STORY
Dear Farmer
I remember the first time I saw the film that told our story, titled ‘Mugabe and the White African’. It was a very traumatic experience – especially as it was the day after our home was burnt down in front of us - Sunday 30 August 2009, as we arrived home from church. This was the day that we finally moved off Mount Carmel farm and lost everything on it.
Telling our stories about such things is traumatic. Many people have never told theirs – or the full extent of the trauma that they, and in many cases their farm workers, experienced. But each adds to the whole story and builds the foundation for the future. It is only you that can tell your story and thus make a vital contribution to the documentation of the terrible events that took place during the brutal farm invasions. And since nobody else can tell your story, it’s very important that you do this.
Review of new book by David Coltart:
The Struggle Continues:
50 years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe
Website Objectives
This website seeks to publicise the extent and trauma of the brutal farm invasions, the gross injustices perpetrated and their catastrophic consequences. The farmers’ stories, told in their own words, present a human face to this deliberately strategised tragedy. Zimbabwe’s commercial farmers were a pillar of the country’s agri-based economy and they played a vitally important supportive role within the rural communities....
Read a Farmers' Story
A farm is not just a piece of agricultural land. It’s home to the farmer and his family, as well as his workers and their families, some of whom may go back for generations. It’s a place where the farmer’s hopes, dreams and vision are translated over many years into a viable, productive and carefully nurtured enterprise of which he’s justifiably proud. And he passes on his knowledge.....
Submit Your Story
Your story is unique, just as your farm was unique. And the circumstances through which your home and livelihood were taken away, often with appalling brutality, are also unique. Your workers have become destitute. Your once productive land lies idle. Please fill in our questionnaire (mark whether it’s confidential or for open viewing) and tell us your story .... the World Must Know.