International Emergency in Zimbabwe

Write to your Members of Congress today and urge their support for the ongoing diplomatic pressure necessary to end Robert Mugabe’s authoritarian control of Zimbabwe and increased food and medical aid to ensure innocent civilians do not perish from starvation or disease.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Crisis in Zimbabwe

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

As a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), I write with deep concern about the crisis in Zimbabwe. I urge you to take immediate action to ensure that the highest level of U.S. diplomatic pressure is levered to end Robert Mugabe's authoritarian rule in Zimbabwe and that emergency food and medical aid is provided to innocent civilians.

The ELCA relates to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe (ELCZ), which was established in 1962 and has about 100,000 members. Since the fraudulent spring elections, our brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe have relayed their struggles to attain adequate supplies of food, clean water and medicine. For example, ELCZ supports a network of four hospitals that can no longer retain qualified medical staff, afford to purchase food or medicine and provide ambulatory services.

My church, the ELCA, has already responded to the crisis with nearly $1 million in emergency relief to support the Lutheran hospitals in Zimbabwe and the purchase of seed and fertilizer. Still, the needs of our brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe are far from being met. The cholera outbreak has already claimed at least 600 lives and on Tuesday, December 9, 2008, the World Health Organization warned that an additional 60,000 lives are at risk without an immediate and aggressive infusion of international humanitarian aid.

Please do all you can to help relieve the suffering in Zimbabwe. Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to hearing about your actions.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
December 10, 2008

Background Information

On March 29, 2008, the people of Zimbabwe voted to replace President Robert Mugabe with Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), and to eliminate control of Parliament by Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). In response to this surprise upset, Mugabe, who has ruled for 28 years, resorted to his favorite tactics of oppression: state violence and intimidation. Dozens of innocent civilians associated with the MDC have been killed, hundreds injured, thousands displaced and scores unjustly arrested or kidnapped.

Political violence and intimidation ensued through the June Presidential run-off election which was necessitated by Mugabe’s claim that Tsvangirai had not received 50% of the vote. U.S. President George W. Bush decried the run-off as a “sham.” Since then international efforts have focused on establishing a power-sharing government between Mugabe and Tsvangirai.

In the meantime, Zimbabwe’s economy unraveled. The country’s currency now represents the world’s highest inflation rate, estimated at 231 million percent in July. Only one in 10 people are still employed, many hospitals and most schools are closed and the price of food doubles every 24 hours. Once a prosperous nation that produced food for the entire region, Zimbabwe will now need international food aid next month to feed at least five million innocent civilians, more than half of its population.

Theses circumstances created the perfect environment for an outbreak of cholera, a deadly water-born disease, which has already claimed 600 lives this month (December 2008). An additional 14,000 people are estimated to be infected with the intestinal disease. With the nation’s health infrastructure nearly collapsed, international leaders are calling the situation an “international emergency.” On Tuesday, December 9, 2008, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that 60,000 lives are at risk without an immediate and aggressive infusion of international humanitarian aid.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recently stated that “it’s well past time for Robert Mugabe to leave” and that “The United States will always do anything and everything that it can to help innocent people who are suffering.”

The ELCA has responded to the crisis in Zimbabwe with an emergency $600,000 to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe (ELCZ) to support four of its hospitals. The ELCA is allocating another $330,000 for the purchase of 90 metric tons of seed and fertilizer to help secure food production. In addition to contributing to direct relief and development efforts, Lutheran’s in the U.S. also have an obligation to urge their elected leaders to take action and fulfill one of the appropriate roles of government - to help meet the needs of the most vulnerable throughout the world.

Click here to view a short video featuring the Rev. Ambrose Moyo, executive director, Lutheran Communion in Southern Africa, and former bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe, describing the situation in Zimbabwe.

Click here to read more about ELCA efforts to provide food and medical relief to our brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe.