March 29, 2013
by Oskar Wermter SJ
The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP – national office), Heads of Denominations (an inter-church body which includes ZCBC) and the Evangelical Alliance, all put out statements urging people to vote YES at he recent referendum for the Draft Constitution. The Zimbabwean Catholic Bishops (ZCBC) and the Bishops of Southern
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December 28, 2012
by Oskar Wermter SJ
Some years ago the people living to the east of Madzima Road in Mbare were without water for many months. Every morning one could see women and big girls setting out with buckets and plastic containers to find water somewhere, e.g. with friends and relatives in remote parts of Mbare,
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July 15, 2012
by Oskar Wermter SJ
Even in Mbare you need to use “politically correct language.” I have learnt that handicapped people want to be called “differently abled”. At least those fluent in English – the Shona speakers don’t know what the fuss is all about. “AIDS orphans,” I am told, is discriminatory, even though it describes
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June 30, 2012
by Oskar Wermter SJ
Mai Fungai has not been seen in church or at any other community function for some time. She has never been in good health, but now the mother of five grown-up daughters, all single mothers with babies, is worse. She can hardly breathe. She desperately needs to be seen by
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April 4, 2012
by Oskar Wermter SJ
This report is reprinted from IN TOUCH WITH CHURCH AND FAITH #171, a Jescom publication. Not everybody in Mbare is poor . Some people have their poverty alleviated by children or grandchildren who work in “Harare North” or in other parts of the globe. There is a man I know,
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November 2, 2011
by Oskar Wermter SJ
This report is reprinted from IN TOUCH WITH CHURCH AND FAITH #166, a Jescom publication. If you ask party members and leaders they are all against violence as a political tactic. In the meantime, political intimidation and terror continue. The mere running around of those well-known agitators in large groups, singing militant songs, is
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October 31, 2011
by Oskar Wermter SJ
reprinted from IN TOUCH WITH CHURCH AND FAITH #166, a Jescom publication. “Makandiwa cashes in” was a recent headline. Religion has become a business. It seems to be as fraudulent as stock exchange speculation where people make money not by production, but by playing with figures. The “prophet” promises prosperity if the gullible pay
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June 28, 2011
by Oskar Wermter SJ
I remember him well, he was the city councillor for our ward in Mbare. He had a keen sense of justice and helped our J & P group in settling disputes. During the violent disturbances of 2008 he was badly beaten: his leg was broken and he had a head injury,
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