Saturday, August 27, 2011

Mugabe and the White African


Thanks to Litfuse Publicity Group for providing this book in exchange for my honest review.

Wow. This is one hard book to read. My heart is heavy and hurting for the country of Zimbabwe. I was there in 1994, just traveling through on my way to Mozambique. I had no idea what was going on there. Honestly, I don't think I realized until I read this book that Zimbabwe was the mess that it is. I am horrified by the blatant lack of respect for human life or even their own country exhibited by those in power. I'm sure that is naive on my part. It is beyond my realm of comprehension to hear of national leaders systematically destroying their country just to obtain and maintain power. I feel frustrated and hopeless for them. I am just in awe of Ben Freeth and his family. They stay and fight for their country no matter what their country does to them. They think clearly in a time where clear thought has fled their nation. I wouldn't know what to do or where to start but they reach for the stars no matter what. The Lord has not abandoned them and he has given me great insight in how to pray not only for Zimbabwe but the nation of Africa as a whole. I highly recommend this book. If for no other reason than this evil needs to be brought to light. We need to not be ignorant of what is going on world wide and what our brothers and sisters in Christ are suffering through. 

This family has opened my eyes to the meaning and power of 2 Corinthians 4:16-18:
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,  as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.


About Mugabe and the White African:

Ben Freeth has an extraordinary story to tell. Like that of many white farmers, his family's land was "reclaimed" for redistribution by Mugabe's government.

But Ben's family fought back. Appealing to international law, they instigated a suit against Mugabe's government in the SADC, the Southern African equivalent of NATO. The case was deferred time and again while Mugabe's men pulled strings. But after Freeth and his parents-in-law were abducted and beaten within inches of death in 2008, the SADC deemed any further delay to be an obstruction of justice. The case was heard, and was successful on all counts.

But the story doesn't end there. In 2009 the family farm was burned to the ground. The fight for justice in Zimbabwe is far from over--this book is for anyone who wants to see into the heart of one of today's hardest places and how human dignity flourishes even in the most adverse circumstances.


The PBS debut of Mugabe and the White African, the award-winning documentary of the same name, was on July 26. Watch now at PBS: http://www.pbs.org/pov/mugabe/.



About the Ben Freeth:

Ben Freeth, MBE, is a British-born Zimbabwean farmer. He has lived in Zimbabwe most of his life and is raising his three young children there, together with his wife Laura. Ben's story has already been the subject of an award-winning documentary which won Best Documentary 2009 (British Independent Film Awards), was nominated for the BAFTA Outstanding Debut Film 2010, and shortlisted for an Oscar in 2010.

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