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It’s a nation with an inflation rate of over 15,000 percent, where political repression is common, the unemployment rate is 80 percent, and where food supplies continue to dwindle. A primary travel destination — not — but it is where UUP member Robert Compton of Oneonta wanted to go as a Fulbright Scholar.
The Fulbright Scholar program’s mission is to build mutual understanding between the citizens of the United States and other nations.
“I wanted to highlight the importance of faculty being engaged on an international front so that SUNY and UUP could have an impact on our world,” Compton said in explaining why he sought a Fulbright scholarship. He had made several prior trips to Zimbabwe and South Africa to study politics in those countries, where he established links with civil society organizations and key staffers in Parliament. He said those qualifications, plus his proposal to study the effectiveness of civil society organizations, earned him a Fulbright.
Compton arrived in Zimbabwe in January, the timing he wanted so he could observe the activity surrounding the long anticipated election in March. That’s when President Robert Mugabe, in office since 1980 who rules the African nation with an iron fist, was being challenged.
In the weeks leading up to the election, Compton eye witnessed the political repression, with an armed police presence.
“I saw a man who was distributing literature for two anti-government civil society groups beaten to a pulp by a truckload of Zimbabwe police,” Compton said.†“About a hundred people stood by in dismay and just watched. They never stopped, and even when they dragged him in the truck, the police kept kicking and hitting him.”
Compton’s research centered on evaluating the impact of such civil society organizations (CSOs) on the legislative process in Zimbabwe.
“CSOs are independent of government and the courageous people who risk their lives agitating for justice are the foundation for a better life for Zimbabweans,” Compton said.
In addition to conducting his research, Compton taught two courses at the University of Zimbabwe. To say that working conditions there are way below marginal is the height of understatement.
“There are 18-hour brownouts, no water on campus, no textbooks, no functioning technology, and an environment where students struggle to obtain food,” Compton explained.
Compton suffered through 13 days without drinking water after the fuel supply to operate the pump ran out. He also coped with the astronomical inflation.
“Prices go up every day. When I arrived in January, it cost $800,000 to ride the local transport into the city. Less than two months later, it cost $5 million,” he said.
Despite the deplorable conditions, the students valued Compton’s classes. He describes the students as very dedicated and serious and very distraught about the circumstances in which they live.
“Students know there is no future without education,” he said.
Sharing enthusiasm for the role of unions also occupied Compton’s activities. He visited neighboring Botswana to meet with the faculty and staff unions of the University of Botswana and the Botswana Institute for Administration and Commerce. He delivered an address about the importance of academic involvement in unions as a critical component in furthering democracy.
Compton credits UUP for paving the way for his Fulbright experience.
“The leadership development training provided by UUP and NYSUT gave me good insight into organizational operations and building,” he said. He also praises what he calls the climate of excellence in scholarship built up at UUP’s Oneonta chapter. He believes his overall work in Zimbabwe is in keeping with the union mission.
“As unionists, we have the responsibility to participate in the larger life of the community and to stand and act for justice,” he said.
— Donald Feldstein