'Loss of nationhood, the disintegration of our society ... the forming of degenerate militias': these were some of the stark warnings which the Catholic Bishops of Zimbabwe voiced in 2011 and which they repeat in their recent pastoral letter addressed to 'Zimbabweans in the diaspora'.
In this measured but powerful document, which is obviously also meant to be read by the government, the bishops speak about the 'decimation' of the Zimbabwean population through the haemorrhaging, not only of the professional classes, but also of less educated Zimbabweans who have fled and continue to flee the country in large numbers. This latter group they call the 'southern diaspora' (read 'South African').
'Decimation' is about right — at least one in ten has been lost. In South Africa that would mean 5 million people.
The concern underlying this prophetic assessment is that Zimbabwe's plight could get worse; it could become a failed state degenerating ever further into violent anarchy like Somalia or eastern Congo.
But the bishops' pastoral concern is to speak a word of encouragement and acknowledgement to the diaspora. 'We understand your plight. We know why you left. You are not to blame,' they tell Zimbabweans abroad. This will be a welcome message for a group which has suffered separation from hearth and homeland, plus bureaucratic indifference, harassment, exploitation and violent xenophobia, most notably in South Africa.
The letter documents one particularly appalling incident in which a group, having braved the Limpopo, were attacked by the gumaguma, the thugs that prey on them in South Africa. Five women were raped and two infants were torn off their mother's backs and thrown into the river to drown.
The commentary on this incident is a powerful indictment of the indifference of Zimbabwean politicians of all stripes. 'No national leaders came to console these mothers who were raped. There were no state funerals for their children. These human beings were not seen as national heroes; they are part of a nameless mass.'
The Bishops also ask whether any politicians have visited those members of the diaspora who huddle wretchedly in the border areas. They note that at election time diplomats and military abroad are able to cast their votes, but the diaspora is disenfranchised. 'The vast majority of those who leave