Visiting
\nZimbabwe can be a heart-wrenching experience. It is a beautiful land of
\nwarm and soft-spoken people. But hovering over the landscape at all
\ntimes is the specter of extreme poverty and political oppression. The
\npoverty is merely tragic. But the political oppression is brutal,
\nmurderous, and criminal. Most of the people I met went quiet with fear
\non the subject of Robert Mugabe, afraid that a stranger may be a
\ngovernment agent and any criticism can make you the next target of his
\nthugs.<\/p>\n
One innocent victim was Ben Freeth, a sunny Christian
\nfarmer who, after publishing an article in the Western press about the
\nillegal and murderous farm seizures being carried out by Mugabe’s Zanu
\n(PF) party, was savagely beaten and later watched as his farm was burnt
\nto the ground. When I met Freeth in Harare last week he described to me
\nand my friends from the Christian relief organization ROCK of Africa
\nwho were hosting us how, in the midst of the assault that fractured his
\nskull, he suddenly reached out and touched the feet of his assailants
\nand said, “Bless you, bless you.” My Christian counterparts were deeply
\nmoved by this quintessential story of Christian love for one’s enemy.
\nI, however, was aghast.<\/p>\n
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Ben is a hero who, at the risk of his life continues to serve as a
\nspokesman for the thousands of white families who have been brutally
\ndispossessed of their land and many of whom have been killed. But I
\ncould not help but challenge this aspect of the story. “Every ounce of
\nblessing we have in our hearts has to be reserved for the all the AIDS
\norphans that I saw dotting this once-proud land. These wretched thugs
\ndeserve not our blessing but our contempt, not our love but out
\nhatred.” A debate broke out in the room. I alone maintained my
\nposition. My dear friend Glen Megill, a saint who founded ROCK of
\nAfrica, said, “Shmuley, Jesus told us to love our enemies.” Yes, I
\nsaid. But your enemy is the guy who steals your parking space. G-d’s
\nenemies are those who murder His children. And Jesus never said to love
\nG-d’s enemies. To the contrary, the book of Proverbs is clear, “The
\nfear of the Lord is to hate evil.” Psalms reinforces the point. “Those
\nwho love G-d hate evil.”<\/p>\n
This is something that has always puzzled me. My Christian
\ncolleagues at ROCK of Africa are angels. In ten days we distributed
\ncorn seed to the poorest villages, gave out mosquito nets, hugged and
\nprayed with AIDS victims, and put on large feasts for hundreds of
\nhungry villagers and children who dwell in mud huts. We colored
\npictures with orphans in Harare and gave them toys and presents. The
\nhearts of evangelical Christians are enormous repositories of
\nloving-kindness. But why must the heart be so wide as to extend to
\nMugabe’s killer henchmen? What place have murderers earned in our
\nhearts? The same is true of my many Christian brothers who have told me
\nthat their faith commands them to love Osama bin Laden.<\/p>\n
My fear is that such distortions of Christian teaching undermine our
\nresolve to confront evil regimes. When Jesus enjoined to ‘Turn the
\nother cheek,’ he meant to petty slights and humiliations. Does any sane
\nperson really imagine that he meant to ignore and overlook mass murder?<\/p>\n
Mugabe has brought a reign of terror to Zimbabwe, making its name
\nsynonymous with wholesale slaughter, political intimidation,
\nbrutalization of opposition elements, and illegal land grabs. The
\ncountry is now the poorest nation on earth, with an annual per capita
\nGDP of just $200. Donor agencies estimate that more than 5 million
\nZimbabweans, representing almost half the population, currently rely on
\nfood handouts. The stores are half empty and last year they were
\ncompletely empty. The ATMs often have no cash. Many of the gas stations
\nhave run out for the day. Even Victoria Falls is nearly bereft of
\ntourists.<\/p>\n
The black population is noble, extremely welcoming, and exhibit the
\nnobility of spirit of those who have suffered much but complain little.
\nA white population of approximately 4000, down from about 250,000,
\nstill remains. They seem to love Zimbabwe, consider it their home, and
\ninsist on staying.<\/p>\n
They are, of course, hopeful signs, especially the new unity
\ngovernment which has brought Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara
\ninto shared power with Mugabe. I interviewed Mutambara, a 43-year-old
\nformer Rhodes scholar whom I knew from Oxford and is now the country’s
\ndeputy Prime Minister (the full interview is available on my website).
\nA compelling man of vision, eloquence, and academic brilliance, he is
\nconvinced that within two years Zimbabwe will be completely ready for
\nfree and fair elections. I hope he is right.<\/p>\n
But farm confiscations continue and Mugabe’s gangsters still
\nterrorize political opponents. And the only hope for Mugabe to be
\ncompletely and utterly marginalized is if the international community
\ncomes together to push him off the scene. This will not come if the man
\ndoes not chill our bones. We must not bless but curse his rule.<\/p>\n
I don’t do well with tyranny. I have undisguised contempt for
\ntyrants and knowing that I was staying just a few miles from Mugabe’s
\nhouse spooked me throughout my stay in Harare. As you drive by his home
\nyou are told that you are not allowed to look for fear of attracting
\nsuspicion and being arrested. Highly-educated locals told me there is a
\nlaw that says that you cannot stare at his motorcade either and that
\nhis guards have been known to fire on those who do. Is this a man whom
\nmy Christian friends tell me I must love?<\/p>\n
No, I refuse. I will go further. Anyone who loves the wicked is
\ncomplicit in their wickedness. Anyone who blesses the cruel is an
\naccomplice to their cruelty.<\/p>\n
I choose to bless the courageous people of Zimbabwe rather than the
\ntyrant who has slaughtered and impoverished them. I choose to bless a
\ncountry like America which fights to liberate the weak in Iraq and the
\noppressed in Afghanistan rather than the Saddams and the Taliban who
\nhave brutalized them. Most of all, I choose to bless people like Ben
\nFreeth that one day the long arm of justice will catch up to his
\ntormentors and they will discover that while G-d is indeed a
\nlong-suffering G-d, for those who continue to slaughter innocents He is
\nalso a G-d of justice.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n