Apparently, this is the kind of crap that happens when you treat your citizens like criminals because they simply hold a different political, social or economic opinion than you.

Hopefully, they'll find refuge in a nation-state with a more liberal-minded government. However, I don't know if the further emigration of disaffected Zimbabweans en masse will affect an amelioration of the situation by simply handing control of the country to the fascists by default.

Also, emigration to other countries seems like less of an option as the EU, U.S. and Australia is attempting to put a firmer lock on migration (especially illegal immigration) by poorer, less skilled people from Third World countries. Even South Africa, which already has a *very* large Zimbabwean diaspora community due to its proximity and relative wealth, had that spate of violence against foreign migrants by poorer nativist residents back in May.

Rayne...Zimbabweans seek refuge in the USA Embassy. I wish them good luck. Just ask the Iraqis seeking refuge to the USA. The later took just 700 of them from 2003 to today, after more than 5 years of their war, more than 1 million dead, 3 million refuges to the neighboring Arab countries and an other 3 million Iraqis internally displaced, plus the devastation and destruction of Iraq . The Iraqis are Muslims and dark skinned,you know, right? The Zimbabweans are black a poor. So, I honestly wish them good luck.

I wish the same for them as well, as a U.S. citizen. At least God help them with trying to get as far as possible from coalition troops, Sunni suicide bombers (that may use the mentally challenged to do the dirty work), Shi'ite mullahs (including one that may one day be an Ayatollah and leads a militia of thousands to protect his interests while he's in study in Iran), and vengeful Ba'athists all with some varying degree of bloodlust for a variety of reasons.

Why do we always seem to forget that Iraq is currently mired in violence and violent behavior from more than just U.S. and British troops? It's everyone gunning against each other for dominance AND pacification (the bloody type) of the country's inhabitants (as usual), and the ethnoreligious minorities (Assyrians and other Christians, Yazidis, Turkmen) have suffered as a result.

And I still think that the explanations which led to the invasion were specious, and that the Iraqi military should get itself into gear so that the U.S. can/should get itself out as soon as possible.

Rayne...Zimbabweans seek refuge in the USA Embassy. I wish them good luck. Just ask the Iraqis seeking refuge to the USA. The later took just 700 of them from 2003 to today, after more than 5 years of their war, more than 1 million dead, 3 million refuges to the neighboring Arab countries and an other 3 million Iraqis internally displaced, plus the devastation and destruction of Iraq . The Iraqis are Muslims and dark skinned,you know, right? The Zimbabweans are black and poor. So, I honestly wish them good luck.

Zimbabweans going to the US Embassy and they all arrived at the same time, same day, where have they been and who told them all to go there, after the elections are over? Why didn't these people flood all Embassies during the run up to the elections? That would have made more sense? The ones who went to the South Africa embassy are now being taken care of by the Government of Zimbabwe the same one which is torturing them, how odd? MDC Harvest House how many rooms do they have and how can all those people fit in the building. Let play another game, because this one is a tired one, its being done already in other countries. We know the agenda of regime change, but how can it be done. Last week we heard that the Mayor Of Harare's wife had been murdered, yet Harare only elected a Mayor, on Tuesday 1st July 2008, how is that? The lies are just another attempt. Try another angle, of showing us the 5 million who are needing feeding and let see the houses which have been destroyed from where the people came from. We need a more detailed picture not a snapshot, without a complete dialogue with the people. White domination in Africa is over, so I know of the Ndebele gentleman who was interviewed he is not an MDC PERSON.

Um, the mayor-elect was elected by the MDC majority city council, which has previously suffered interference when Elias Mudzuri (the previous elected mayor, also the MDC organizing secretary) was forced out of office by the central government a few years back.

Also, some of the people who're now in the US embassy had previously been kicked out of MDC headquarters where they had been residing during and after the run-off. And of course the South Africans put the Zimbabweans out of the embassy, since they just had the anti-foreigner riots in South Africa back in May.

Either way, they're trying to GTFO of Zimbabwe's economic, social and political depression. What's wrong with leaving a gaping sinkhole that threatens to take as many people inside as possible?