Bulldozing leaves Zimbabweans homeless
He said Britain has done everything possible but African countries are not doing enough.He said: "The problem we face is a lack of real commitment by all of Africa's leaders by the scale of horror in Zimbabwe."We are former colonial masters but we are thousands of miles away. Bluntly unless and until Africa's leaders as a whole recognise what is going on and take action not only to condemn it but to deal with it, we are likely to have many more months of this until Mr Mugabe steps aside."A month after Zimbabwe's government began "Operation Clean Up the Dirt", levelling homes and businesses and making hundreds of thousands homeless, the United Nations says it is to send a special envoy to the country "as soon as possible". Lindsey Hilsum reports.This is the grave of Charmen Nyika. She died a week before her second birthday. Her parents are numb with grief.Charmen is a victim of Robert Mugabe's project to "clean up" Harare by destroying what the government calls illegal structures, and their owners call home.This is the cement floor of Charmen's parents' home. Herbert and Lavenda Nyika have cleared the rubble now. Two weeks ago the police knocked it down without bothering to find out if there was a toddler inside.Lavenda Nyika said: "For me it's a very painful experience. I can't stop thinking about it. It's consuming me."The couple had built their home in her father's compound in the township of Tafara, south east of Harare. Her father's house was deemed legal so it was left standing. But there's no room, so Herbert and Lavenda sleep outside now. They're unemployed and have no idea how they and their remaining child are going to survive.Herbert Nyika said: "I blame the government for ordering this operation, and the police for carrying it out. They deliberately destroyed people's property and they stole things too."They are not alone. The local MP, who represents the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, visits other families in Tafara. Hundreds have been made homeless, with nowhere to go.The government won't allow non-governmental organisations to provide food or shelter, so the people are destitute.Timothy Mubhawu, MP for Tafara, said: "It's quite terrible its pathetic unthiunkable i understand the essence of a govt is to protect and provide for its people but this kind of action is not imaginable"It's a sea of rubble. They are dying, these people."These were the homes and small businessses of his constituents. He says they were targeted because they voted for him in the recent elections. The opposition says this is Mr Mugabe's revenge for his party's defeat in urban constituencies.The satellite image shows Mbare, another township, south of Harare, in April. The next image shows the area after the police bulldozed it. Mr Mugabe's operation "Clean the Dirt" has done the same in towns and cities across Zimbabwe.The Archbishop of Bulawayo said: "The man is at his worst. It appears he has lost his mind, he has gone mental. How come he has become so cruel to the people, now they are going to starve he has destroyed the economy in this country."At Caledonia Camp, the government brings people after demolishing their houses. Here they're told they must now go to the countryside. Food is short in Zimbabwe, so who knows what they'll eat.The South African leader, Thabo Mbeki, says he can solve Zimbabwe's problems by quiet diplomacy. He's said nothing about Mr Mugabe's policy of destroying his people's homes and livelihoods.A red flag denotes death in the family. It flies over the ruins of two-year old Charmen Nyika's home. How many more will die, before someone intervenes to stop it.
Zimbabwean President Mugabe's Operation Murambatsvina ("Drive out rubbish") has seen at least 200,000 people made homeless in Zimbabwe as the government bulldozes "illegal" homes, buildings and markets.

The opposition has said the operation is designed to "punish" those who object to Mugabe's government.

Two children under the age of two have been killed, the first deaths reported so far in the actions which have been taking place for a month now. 

International pressure is building on Zimbabwe to stop. British Foreign Minister Jack Straw has been joined by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in condemning the evictions and urging African leaders to speak out.
Family living on the streets of Harare, Zimbabwe.
The government has said the buildings it is destroying are "illegal", and have said that the "black markets" are to blame for the country's "economic meltdown". Over 70% of the population is unemployed.

The bulldozers have the protection of armed police as they do their work. Sometimes the police have forced homeowners to carry out the destruction themselves.

At other times, the government has claimed it is destroying the buildings to get rid of unsafe structures and to reduce overcrowding. Other children have died when the walls of their houses have collapsed.

The authorities are also preventing non-governmental organisations from providing aid to those who have lost their homes.

The country currently needs to import 1.2 million tonnes of food to avoid famine as rural farming production drops.