The Observer - 23 February 2014 - 3
Land disputes sprout in MashWest
M
Black farmers in Zimbabwe find maintaining newly acclaimed farm lands difficult. Courtes of zimbabwesituation.com
ajor land disputes which
include double allocations,
boundaries, divorces and
illegal settlements are causing
confusion in Hurungwe North.
Demand for land countrywide is still high
with villagers in Hurungwe North, Kapoko
area in Mashonaland West which is under
Chief Chundu being instructed to return to
their “areas of origin”. Villagers who spoke
to Zimrights said they had been told that they
had settled on land reserved for grazing and
that there was overcrowding.
“Just last week we had a meeting with the
chief and we were told to return to our places
Mother Gives Birth
to 17 Babies at Once!
A
Indianapolis
n American woman
has totally annihilated
the former World
Record for the most
babies in a lone pregnancy by
giving birth to seventeen babies
over 29 hours last weekend at the
Indianapolis Memorial Hospital.
“It was incredible” explains
Dr. Jack Morrow who assisted
the woman through the whole
operation.” The babies kept
coming and coming and coming
and coming… Man! I think I’m
gonna have nightmares about this
day for a long time! This was my
last delivery!” he adds in disgust.
Catherine Bridges and her
husband had been trying to have
a child for many years and had
decided last year to use medical
assistance from a fertility clinic in
Rhodes Island. The insemination
process was definitely successful,
as the couple got an entire litter of
seventeen beautiful and identical
boys.
The couple has already chosen
the names for the boys with an
obvious continuity of thought:
James, Jacob, Jarod, Jarvis,
Jason, Jeffrey, Jeremy, Jerome,
Jesse, Jimmy, Joachim, Jonathan,
Jonas, Joseph, Julian, Jimbo and
surprisingly, Darth Porkinus. worldnewsdailyreport
of origin. We have nowhere to go, we belong
here,” said Violet Mhara, a villager from Ward
8.
“As widows we don’t have family support
and if we are to move, it will be a devastating
process for us. What surprises me is that since
the 1980s, we have been staying here. This is a
piece of land that my husband inherited from
his parents.”
It was also revealed that most people
residing in the area had been employed by
white commercial farmers who had lost their
land under the land redistribution exercise.
Said Trust Mambo another villager: “We
grew up on the farms and these are the
only homes we have known. The talk of us
relocating has been going on for a long time.
Even 10 years ago we were told the same
thing. We don’t know what will become of us
but government should intervene so that we
do not end up homeless.”
Zimrights said there was need for the
responsible authorities to ensure that no one
was left without a place to stay.
“This has become a major cause for
concern in several parts of the country with
reports of demolitions that have left families
stranded,” a Zimrights official said. “Land
and property allocations must be done in
accordance with the law and respect for the
people’s rights to shelter and stability.”■
17-year-old boy dies of
rare old age disease
A
17-year-old
Jewish
boy died of a rare old
age disease this week,
according to hospital
officials in Massachusetts.
Sam Berns, a high school student,
who suffered from Progeria, a very
rare premature aging disease, died on
Friday.
Progeria is a fatal genetic disease
characterized by the appearance
of accelerated aging, according to
the Progeria Research Foundation.
An estimated 200 to 250 children
worldwide suffer from the disease at
any given time, with an average life
expectancy of 13 years.
Berns was diagnosed with progeria
at 22-months-old. His parents, who
work as doctors, established the
foundation in 1999, with an aunt to
find a cause, treatment and cure for
the disease.
As he found himself able to impact
public awareness of the disease, he
did not shy away from it. He led a
very public struggle, supported and
encouraged by all of the local sports
teams. Berns was adopted by the
Boston community. His cause became
theirs, and continues to be so. As the
disease progressed, he understood
his prognosis, but refused to allow
it to slow his mission to spread the
word and raise as much awareness as
he could.
Looking at his stature, it was
impossible t