White exiles fear for Zimbabweans

A doctor examines a white farmer after he was attacked by war veterans in Zimbabwe's Chinhoyi district

LONDON, England -- White farmers who have left Zimbabwe say they fear for the safety of their friends and relatives in the face of increasing violence against them and their property.

Some Zimbabweans have fled to neighbouring African countries, usually South Africa. Most have gone further afield: to Australia, New Zealand, the U.S., Canada and particularly Britain, where family connections guarantee them a safe haven.

"Up till about a year ago it was almost exclusively young people who were leaving," says Bruce, 27, a former farmer who now lives in London, England. "Now it is people of all ages."

Bruce -- who declined to give his surname for fear of reprisals against his family -- was born and brought up on a 12,000 acre cattle farm just outside Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second-largest city.

He fled the country just under a year ago with his wife Allison, leaving behind his parents and one of his two sisters (the other had already left for Australia).

In the current political climate, with attacks on white farmers a regular occurrence, he fears constantly for their safety.

"I worry about them every single day," he says. "I am in contact with them by telephone and e-mail, but it doesn't make it any easier."

Although he himself was never personally attacked by "war veterans," Bruce had many friends and colleagues who were.

"There was always that sense that we might be next," he says. "There was definitely a potential for trouble."

Bruce is the fourth generation of his family to live in Zimbabwe. His great grandfather, who was born in Scotland, was one of the first white settlers to make his home there, coming north with Cecil Rhodes' pioneer column (his ancestor designed much of Bulawayo).

He freely admits that much of the early distribution of land was "unfair" and acknowledges the failings of white colonialism.

At the same time he argues that it was the efforts of these early settlers that made much of the land farmable in the first place, and that as a fourth generation inhabitant he has as much right to live in Zimbabwe as anyone else.

"I feel I am as indiginous to the area as any black person," he says. "I was born there, it is my home."

He says that the violence took him and most fellow whites completely by surprise.

"I never saw it coming, to be honest. For 18 years we had no racial problems at all. The vast majority of people are still peaceful and decent. It's just organised thuggery."

Leaving was hard choice, not least because his parents refused to go with him.

"They will always stay. They are very patriotically Zimbabwean.There's no way you will get them out."

A farmer and bush guide by profession, he has now re-trained as an IT consultant.

"In many ways I'm lucky. I have an English passport, and had friends to stay with when I first arrived here, so at least I could make a go of things.

"The majority of black people can't do that. All they can do is stay where they are and hope things get better. It doesn't look good, though. If it carries on like this for much longer the people are going to starve."

Mugabe has promoted policy of enforced land redistribution

But his description of the situation in Zimbabwe is vigorously denied by government ministers and civil servants.

Nhlanhla Masuku, chairman of the government's National Economic Consultative Forum, insists that reports of violence against Zimbabwean whites are "exaggerated."

"I am here," he told CNN, "And everything is normal. There is no exodus of farmers from the country."

Mabuku says no land is being seized unlawfully by the government, and that much of the violence flaring in the north of the country was provoked by white farmers attacking black settlers.

"One of these settlers is fighting for his life in hospital, and others were maimed with head injuries. It is funny that no one ever reports injuries to black people."

He says Zimbabwe is a peaceful, lawful country -- "I was in England recently, during the Bradford race riots, and couldn't wait to get home," -- and urges Bruce to return.

Whether he will, though, is uncertain.

"More than anything else I want to live there," he says, "But we can't go back as things are now.

"If we have children we want to be sure that they can grow up in safety, and if I'm completely honest that's not going to happen."

He does believe that Zimbabwe can recover back from its current problems.

"Economically it has huge potential," he says. "I think it can bounce back reasonably quickly."

Like many fellow white Zimbabweans, however, he probably won't be there to see it as he and Allison now have a flat in London. "We've kind of adjusted to life in England," he says. "But I have a burning desire to go back to Africa.

"I still regard Zimbabwe as home, and always will."