My friends at Sokwanele – an activist organization in Zimbabwe – sent me a card: The card commemorates the second anniversary of Operation Murambatsvina – which translates in Shona to “Operation Drive Out Trash”. The campaign, officially known as “Operation Restore Order” was designed to “reclaim” slum areas throughout Zimbabwe. The operations may have forced the relocation of as many as 2.4 million people, and were harshly condemned by the Zimbabwean opposition and the international community. Many people believe that the clearances were designed to punish slum dwellers from voting against Mugabe in the March 2005 parliamentary elections; others argue that they were designed to weaken the MDC opposition party, which had widespread support in these communities. I probably wouldn’t have thought about Murambatsvina today had I not gotten the card – unlike my friends at Sokwanele, I don’t have this week marked on my calendar. So in that narrow sense, the e-card was effective. And it’s got me thinking that eCards are an excellent, simple tool that campaigns – like the Free Monem or Free Kareem campaigns, for instance – might consider using to spread their messages. I expect eCards to be saccharine, sweet and sent by relatives I… (more)
(Posted by Ethan Zuckerman in Movement Building and Activism at 10:27 AM)