Zimbabwe's Mugabe faces rising tide of protest
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HARARE- Samuel Meso's graduation gown was once a source of pride for the 25-year-old Zimbabwean who studied engineering. But now he can't get a job, and the academic attire is a badge of shame and protest that he wears to anti-government demonstrations in Zimbabwe, where discontent over economic hardship is growing.
"My parents sold all their livestock to pay for my schooling. It was supposed to be the escape plan from poverty. But right now, my parents still have to take care of me," said Meso, who makes a little money by selling Zimbabwean flags on the streets of Harare, the capital. "Imagine, they will have to take care of their grandchild too if I decide to marry. This gown has become a sign of poverty; everyone laughs at us."
These are turbulent times in Zimbabwe, where escalating protests and rifts in the ruling ZANU-PF party are eroding the tight grip that Mugabe has held since independence from white minority rule in 1980. Despite the 92-year-old president's weakening authority and physical condition, few people write off a man who has defied numerous expectations of his political demise and even death, and there are questions about whether Zimbabwe's fragmented opposition can offer a viable alternative to its entrenched rulers.
