Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Average member, about age minus24.6 years...

The "war veterans" gangs of the ZANU-PF of Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) that serve as the enforcers of the regime of Robert Mugabe are at it again with the threats against anyone deemed to be against the revolution...

Quick reminder: the term "war veterans" is uniquely applied in propaganda to those insurgent soldiers of The Second Chimurenga (Rhodesian Bush War). The Lancaster House Agreement that sold out the future of the nation officially ended that in December, 1979. Any "wars" that the Mugabe regime has gotten into since then have been either slaughtering the tribal support groups of rivals or have been kleptocratic interventions into things like The Congo Wars. So the youngest "veteran" was just of the age to join the fight in 1979, which was 29 years ago. That would be maybe 12 years old, then.

But here is something to ponder:

Here's the BBC Country Profile for the neighborhood. It's a little out of date, so...

Here's the CIA Factbook entry on Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) current to 2008, which gives the median age for males in the country right now as...

16.4 years.

That's pretty typical of many undeveloped and underdeveloped countries, by the way, to have a median age below 20. High birthrates and early deaths do that to a place's demographics.

So when you read about the farm invasions and political repression that are daily occurrences *still*, and some noble-sounding so and so hauls out the "war veterans" claim for redistribution as a justification for the attacks, ask to see pictures of these murderous thieving totalitarian thug "veterans".

T.I.A.

3 comments:

L.Douglas Garrett said...

*(Before you give me the treatment I sometimes give others, I know full well this is an oversimplification. It is one I chose to make for effect.)

Karl Reisman said...

Is "War Veteran"in Zimbabwe, a title, like "Teacher" in Mexico where the job is hereditary? or is it a syndicate of people who's head, served? :-)

L.Douglas Garrett said...

Heh, hereditary, no.

It's certainly a syndicate... in the criminal sense.