By Dr Masimba Mavaza | Zimbabweans in diaspora are horrified by the sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe for such a long time. No matter how hard the Zimbabwean government has tried to do what the West demand all these efforts are taken as nothing.

In the UK a group of Zimbabweans has formed a coalition against sanctions with some imdibiduals engaging the UK government. This group of Zimbabweans in UK began by noting that the president is the pivotal player in the sanctions policy and that presidents pander to voters in swing states; Therefore, the size of a diaspora’s voting block in swing states should determine whether the American government imposes sanctions on their former homeland or not.

In order to be heard, the Zimbabweans have encouraged their fellow patriots to register for voting in America so that their voice can be recognised. A Zimbabwean group against Sanctions found that a one-percentage-point increase in the size of a country’s diaspora in swing states increases the probability of removal of sanctions by 19 percentage points. It then goes on to calculate causal estimates of the effectiveness of engaging the host governments to abandon economic sanctions and regime change agenda against Zimbabwe. Using the size of diasporas in swing states as an instrumental variable for the economic sanctions fight it shows that sanctions do not have a statistically-significant impact on regime change. How do the desires of disaporas combine with the ambitions of presidential candidates to encourage the American economic sanctions policy? Diasporas from Zimbabwe can feel the effects of the sanctions even if they are away from home. Most of their relatives are out of employment; the industry has been hit hard by sanctions. The political land scape is soiled by sanctions and not a single right minded Zimbabwean will support sanctions against their mother land. The West has now realised that no diasporas despise their motherland and they want the Western governments to abandon the sanctions.

In America it is a fact that the president has the power to unilaterally impose and revoke sanctions so they have to appeal to the president on the promise of removing sanctions. As Zimbabwe commemorated the SADC solidarity on the fight against sanctions, the Diaspora in America are aware that the president panders to swing-state voters. As a result, a diasporas power to fight against sanctions runs through theWhite House and is determined by the diaspora’s distribution between swing states and safe states. Diasporas concentrated in swing states will be able to affect American sanctions policy; those concentrated in safe states will not.Sanctions are costly not only on Zimbabwe but on the country imposing them, so the United States government may be more likely to remove sanctions in cases where they will be unsuccessful, biasing statistical analysis in favor of finding that sanctions are evil and simply destructive to humanity. Conversely, sanctions are often imposed as a last resort, when other policies are seen as either too meek or too costly. Further, if targeted governments believe that resistance is futile, they will be more likely to capitulate before sanctions are imposed in order to avoid pointless damage. In the case of Zimbabwe diaspora has argued that America targeted a wrong country.

Both of these factors would bias the results against finding that sanctions are effective. As a result of these competing biases, previous estimates of the effectiveness of economic sanctions are unreliable and even whether they underestimate or overestimate sanctions’ true effect is unknown.

The Zimbabweans in diaspora have joined SADC in putting pressure on America to lift the Sanctions.

A sanctioned Zimbabwe is a burden to each and every person in Zimbabwe. To this end diaspora views Sanctions as repugnant to social justice.

The so called targets in the sanctions are not the ones to feel the pinch. It is the old lady in Mutoko the young child in Taholotsho the innocent girl in Chikeaka. All these are victims. In this time of COVID diaspora views sanctions as a death trap which needs to be removed for the benefit of every Zimbabwean.
The state of our hospitals we can not improve under these conditions. Diaspora examines the impact of imposed sanctions on the stability of Zimbabwean economy. It explores the transnational nature of Zimbabwean society and examines the history and structure of the Zimbabwean diaspora as well as its transformation since the new dispensation. Diaspora has noted that the government of America as well as both its supporters and its opponents have all instrumentalized sanctions for their own purposes. Zimbabwe has used sanctions to rally supporters “around the flag”, calling on the diaspora to raise voices to negate their effect. By contrast, opposition activists have campaigned against removing of sanctions arguing that a good economy for Zimbabwe may be used for illicit military purposes in breach of human right. In this sense, the sanctions have destabilized a core component of the nation’s resource base. Diaspora sees the evil hand of the sanctions and together with those at home we shout with chocked voices. “We cannot breathe.” We cry together with prophet Amos. “Lord father forgive Zimbabwe can not survive for she is too small”
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