Zimbabwe: A Harsh Reality
BY Joe Rubin

Just as a power sharing agreement between Robert Mugabe and the opposition MDC party was announced today in Zimbabwe, we talk with our correspondent -- who must remain anonymous for her own safety -- about the situation there.

She describes a terrifying reality, with human rights activists reportedly being tortured and languishing in jail and a worsening cholera epidemic that has already killed at least 3,000 people. She says Zimbabweans find hope in Barack Obama, a president they view as a fellow African, but, in her view, the only way to bring about real change might be with military intervention.

In a reporter's diary to be published in the Washington Post's Outlook section on Sunday, our correspondent says that she is not optimistic that anything will change soon. "I find it hard to celebrate [the power sharing agreement]. Mugabe remains powerful under the new government, still controlling the state coffers, the military, the police and the media. I sigh as I think of the problems ahead."

This is a joint project with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

Previous reports

Zimbabwe: On the Brink
As Zimbabwe teeters on the edge, our correspondent in Harare describes violent and chaotic scenes as opposition supporters and journalists try to escape Mugabe's wrath.

Zimbabwe: Shopping for Survival
Read the author's first dispatch from Zimbabwe, a six-part series in which she describes traveling hundreds of miles to find food and basic supplies, an ordeal that has become part of daily survival for millions of Zimbabweans.

Zimbabwe: Shadows and Lies
Watch our broadcast story from 2007, where FRONTLINE/World goes undercover in Zimbabwe to find a population struggling with hunger and poverty, and living in fear.