Obama focuses on Zimbabwe in Time Magazine Article

Presumptive Republican Nominee John McCain and Presumptive Democratic Nominee Barack Obama have written articles for Time Magazine that are meant to highlight their understanding of “Patriotism”. While some pundits will undoubtedly spend most of their time dissecting the articles trying to compare and contrast the two, most of the African community will focus in on Obama’s Zimbabwe reference. This will be significant particularly because Obama seems to present himself as someone who is aware of global events and more importantly, as someone who can translate & communicate American ideals & values within an international context.

Obama writes the following in the Time Magazine article:

“I've been reminded of this recently as I've followed the brutal injustice surrounding Zimbabwe's so-called elections. For weeks, the opposition party and its supporters have been silently hunted, tortured and killed. They have been dragged from their homes in the middle of the night and strangled while their children watched. The wife of a newly elected mayor was so badly beaten that her own brother only recognized her by the skirt she wore on the day she was killed. Even voters suspected of disloyalty to the President have been herded together and thrashed for hours, all for the simple crime of casting their ballot.”

It was reported by SW Radio (London) that Barack Obama had spoken to MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Apart from expressing his concern to the opposition candidate, Obama went on to say “'The United States and the international community must be united, clear and unequivocal: the government of Zimbabwe is illegitimate and lacks any credibility.” Obama also challenge region leaders to take more initiative in trying to resolve the Zimbabwe crisis.

Many Zimbabweans will find comfort in the fact that the plight of their nation is within view of American politics; or at list within sight of Barack Obama.  Zimbabwean’s have struggled to keep news of their country’s demise on the front pages and Barack Obama may have just given their predicament more credence as an international crisis that should not be ignored. Should this spotlight on Mugabe be pointed elsewhere, many fear Mugabe will be given more breathing room to push his brutal agenda.