Hope Deferred

Hope Deferred asks the question: How did Zimbabwe, a country with so much promisea stellar education system, a growing middle class, a sophisticated economic infrastructure, a liberal constitution, and an independent judiciarycome so close to collapse? In their own words, Zimbabweans tell their stories of losing their homes, land, livelihoods, and families as a direct result of political violence. They describe being tortured in detention, firebombed at work, or beaten up or raped to punish votes for the opposition. Those forced to flee to neighboring countries recount their escapes: cutting through fences, swimming across crocodile-infested rivers, and entrusting themselves to human smugglers. This book includes. Zimbabweans of every age, class, and political convictionfrom farm laborers and academics to doctors and artistsordinary people surviving the fragmentation of a once-thriving nation.