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Week Around the Ists, November 1–7
Today it seems like anyone can get an honorary degree. Even Pats owner Robert Kraft got one at this year's UMass-Boston graduation. But some honorary degrees get sticky. For example, twenty years ago, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe received an honorary degree at UMass. Today, UMass trustees are reconsidering their decision today.
According to the Globe, "the Undergraduate Student Senate at UMass-Boston unanimously passed a request to retract the degree."
And for good reason. Although he started off opposing apartheid, his rule of Zimbabwe has been oppressive, and the bottom has dropped out of the nation's economy and food supply thanks to crop failures, high inflation, and the "turmoil" resulting from the seizure of white-owned farms by the government.
The economic troubles and hunger aren't the end of it. The BBC profiled a young refugee of the Mugabe regime, who paints a horrifying picture of his time at a "youth camp": "Rape is a common feature of life in the camps … [the camps] exist to indoctrinate the youth with pro-Mugabe propaganda, and that torture techniques are part of the syllabus." He witnessed his best friend being beaten to death after they tried to escape.
Michigan State University and the University of Edinburgh also want to revoke their honorary degrees to Mugabe.
Image of Robert Mugabe from the State Department.
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Giving Mugabe that degree was a grave mistake in the first place. That dictactor has never been tolerant to any opposition since he got into power. Infact he got to the helm of his party by assasinating his possible rivals.
I am proud that I never supported this man from the on set,I come from the South of Zimbabwe,where we I witnessed 'Gukurahundi'-a crack down on the minority tribe,the Ndebele to which my mother belongs all because of their support of the popular and charismatic rival Joshua Nkomo.
In any case lets correct the mistake that was made,rescind the honor,he doesn't deserve it,he never did.
that this post would be about John "The Beast" Mugabe
Sadly disappointed
The issue of stripping Mugabe of the honaray degrees by Umass and Edinbourgh university is confirming what I have always suspected for sometime now.
Those puttong pressure on these two institutions want to use the degrees as a tool to fix Mugabe when they are the ones that confered them on him without him asking for them.
I think the whole thing is recist in nature. Bec ause he is black and he is onl y doing a right thing for the m ajority of blacks in his country.
What these people want to do is use the stripping of the degrees to silence and warn people like Mandela who have been confered by these dirty degrees that if you talk of empowering a blackman we will stripp you of the degrees and those othe awards.
But that does not give us sleepless night. Because Zimbabwe is for Zimbabweans even if they remove or even kill Mugabe 10 more Mugabes will be created or born.
"They can go hang"
Pamberi naMugabe pasine batengesi. Long live Bob. Let them strip that degree, but you will continue to haunt imperialist where ever they hide. I love Mugabe