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 Mogwe said the crisis could no longer be ignored as its effects have spilled over to neighbouring countries. "Our trade with Zimbabwe has been affected, Zimbabweans are exposed to harassment, exploitation and xenophobic tendencies right here," she said. Mogwe pleaded with security and law enforcers to treat both foreign and local lawbreakers with dignity. She affirmed that it is important to teach people the dangers of Xenophobia. She said the unending crises in Zimbabwe should be a concern to all mankind. She noted that the oppression in Zimbabwe could no longer be condoned. She pointed out that since 2000, the Zimbabwean government has continuously oppressed those they deem to be its enemies. "We don't like it when the government oppresses the press and trade unions," she said. She took a swipe at the government for Operation Murambatsvina, which left thousands of people homeless. A member of the Crisis in Zimbabwe coalition, Nkosilathi Tshuma pleaded with SADC leaders to intervene in Zimbabwe. "President Robert Mugabe would have not succeeded in 1980 had you not assisted him. Even today the problem cannot be solved without the intervention of SADC countries," Tshuma said. He decried the harsh living conditions that Zimbabweans are exposed to in foreign countries. In South Africa, Zimbabweans who seek work there are exploited and in some cases they are not paid for the duties they execute, he noted. Members of the press are at times kidnapped and tortured. "But the attitude in the SADC region has always been that Zimbabwe should solve its own problems but that would not assist any of us," he said. He applauded Batswana for their efforts to highlight the plight of Zimbabweans. He stressed that by highlighting the Zimbabwean crisis, it does not mean that they hate Mugabe or ZANU-PF but do not condone the abuse instituted by the government. "We don't want farms to be given to people who cannot produce, we do not appreciate it when the private and independent press no longer have a voice," he said. Tshuma said a lot of Zimbabweans are willing to go back home provided the situation improves. He said people in Zimbabwe live in fear and cited a case in which police interrogated pastors who marched in commemoration of the victims of Operation Murambatsvina. He said the operation has resulted in the influx of Zimbabweans to neighbouring countries. Speaking at the same event, a manager of the auspices that shelters homeless Zimbabweans in South Africa, Joyce Dube condemned the repatriation of illegal immigrants as she feels it is expensive. Dube said that instead of spending money repatriating Zimbabweans, they should spend money documenting them so that they could be traced. "The reason why they commit crime is a result of lack of documentation, they know that they can do as they please as they cannot be traced. It is the law of the jungle, kill or be killed," she said. She called for the speedy intervention, as the Zimbabwean situation is disheartening. In some instance people are deprived of food rations because they do not have ZANU-PF cards. She said a lot of young people have fled Zimbabwe because they fear participating in youth militia. She indicated that violence has heightened; women are raped, their men tortured and everyone is living in disarray. She narrated a sad story of a man who was tortured and had his foreskin removed only to find his wife raped when he got home. She said a lot of Zimbabweans die along the borderline as they enter at ungazetted points. "Our people are eaten by crocodiles. But nobody does anything about this. Women think rape is normal because they experience it every day," she said. Botswana Civil Society Coalition for Zimbabwe, which comprises Botswana Council of Churches, the Botswana Council of Non - Governmental Organisations, the Botswana Federation of Secondary School Teachers, Ditshwanelo and the Media Institute of Southern Africa, (Botswana Chapter), hosted the service. Activities to highlight the plight of Zimbabweans will take place until July 18.
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