The situation in Zimbabwe represents one of the worst humanitarian emergencies today. This book asks the question: How did a country with so much promise ? a stellar education system, a growing middle class, a sophisticated economic infrastructure, a liberal constitution, an independent judiciary, and many of the trappings of Western democracy ? go so wrong? In their own words, Zimbabweans recount their experiences of losing their homes, land, livelihoods, and families as a direct result of political violence. They describe being tortured in detention, firebombed at work, or beaten up or raped to ?punish” votes for the opposition. Those forced to flee to neighboring countries recount their escapes: cutting through fences, swimming across crocodile-infested rivers, and entrusting themselves to human smugglers. This book includes Zimbabweans of every age, class, and political conviction, from farm laborers to academics, doctors to artists, opposition leaders to ordinary Zimbabweans; men and women simply trying to survive as a once-thriving nation heads for collapse.

The fifth volume in the Voice of Witness series presents the narratives of Zimbabweans whose lives have been affected by the country's political, economic, and human rights crises. This book asks the question: How did a country with so much promise?a stellar education system, a growing middle class of professionals, a sophisticated economic infrastructure, a liberal constitution, and an independent judiciary?go so wrong?

In their own words, they recount their experiences of losing their homes, land, livelihoods, and families as a direct result of political violence. They describe being tortured in detention, firebombed at home, or beaten up or raped to 'punish' votes for the opposition. Those living abroad in exile or forced to flee to neighboring countries recount their escapes, of cutting through fences, swimming across crocodile-infested rivers, and entrusting themselves to human smugglers. This book includes Zimbabweans of every age, class and political conviction, from farm laborers to academics, from artists and opposition leaders to ordinary Zimbabweans: men and women simply trying to survive as a once thriving nation heads for collapse.

Underground America tells the stories of men and women who have come to the United States seeking a better life for their families, only to be subjected to dehumanizing working conditions. Supporting myriad industries, these workers form an essential part of our economy ? often by working the least desirable jobs without the most basic legal protections. Underground America allows this largely ignored part of our country to finally share its experiences.

Surveying three decades of land reform efforts in Latin America, Peter Dorner draws upon his broad experience as both a policy maker and a researcher specializing in land tenure systems. He argues that the failures of Latin American land reforms are due to a lack of political will and commitment exacerbated by inadequate capital resources.
Avoiding polemics, Dorner evaluates the many competing theoretical and ideological positions in the ongoing debates over land reform, from structuralist economics to liberation theology. He then looks at a range of actual reform experiences, including local peasant initiatives and international aid projects. Emphasizing the growing complexity of Latin American economies, Dorner demonstrates that solutions successful in one country may fail in another. He concludes that aid and political pressure from the international community can play only a peripheral role. Recognizing that change must come from within, Latin American countries must develop multifaceted approaches to meet objectives based on their own individual experiences.
Dorner warns that “romantic” expectations for future land reform relying on any one solution will continue to lead to disillusionment. If opportunities for the landless population were actually a top priority of governments and power-brokers, Dorner believes, they could be achieved through agrarian reform policies that set clear goals and criteria for implementation. Nevertheless, the potential gains from such a program are, in most cases, more limited now than thirty years ago.