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out following a campaign of violence against his supporters.

The world appeared to be up in arms, although representatives of other African nations could not bring themselves to condemn Mugabe, most notably Thabo Mbeki of South Africa. Even the world outside of Africa, however, did not remain united in its stance against Mugabe. The majority of people in Zimbabwe do not have jobs, cannot find food and struggle to survive, but when members of the UN tried to pass a resolution which would impose sanctions on Mugabe and his top officials, China and Russia demurred.

Poverty is rife in Zimbabwe, yet it only really becomes news when representatives of rich nations decide to talk about it, even though they fail to provide any solutions, or when there is violence and the threat of social disorder. Africa seems to have a special place in the heart of Western efforts to tackle poverty, perhaps out of a sense of guilt left over from the days of imperialism, perhaps as a result of vested interests, in reality probably a bit of both. Indeed, no influential individuals or nations are prepared to tackle the real causes of poverty, which are borne out of the inequality perpetuated by a capitalist system. To do so would be to jeopardise their own position in the world.

The media itself is influential but is also driven by market forces, needing to sell newspapers or to accrue revenue in other ways, and so whilst journalists may alert the world to poverty and the unfairness of the world, there is only so much they can do. However, despite the futility of tackling poverty it remains essential that there are still those willing to report on the issues surrounding poverty and to inform the rest of the world about how the inequity of the capitalist system affects people lower down the social scale.

Learn more about this author, Michelle Wilkinson.
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