By Donald N. Levine

There are three reasons why we commonly refer to some happening as a historic event: either it occurs for the first time; it has significant consequences; or it is symbolically important. As a first time event, Emperor Menelik’s cession of the Bogos highlands to Italy in 1889 has been described as historic, as the first time that an Ethiopian ruler ever voluntarily ceded territory to a foreign power. In the same vein, Abebe Bikila’s victory in the marathon race in the 1960 Olympics at Rome was historic, as the first time that an Ethiopian won a gold medal. We also designate events as historic when their consequences significantly alter the shape of subsequent history. The conversion of King Ezanas to Christianity in the middle of the fourth century was historic in this sense because it redirected Ethiopia’s entire cultural development. Similarly, the protection given to disciples of the Prophet Mohammed by the Ethiopian king in the seventh century was a historic event. It led Mohammed to advise his followers to spare Ethiopia from the jihad of Islamic expansion that took place soon after. Likewise, the killing of Emperor Yohannes IV by Sudanese Mahdists in 1889 was historic because it opened the way to the ascendancy of an emperor from Shoa. Even when events have no significant direct consequences, we tend to call them historic when they symbolize important national or universal human ideals. The suicide of Emperor Tewodros II had little political consequencehis rule was over, whether or not he was captured alive by the Britishbut it came to symbolize a sentiment of preferring death over demeaning captivity. The speech of Emperor Haile Selassie to the League of Nations in 1937 is often called a historic address, even though it did nothing to change the course of history, because it came to symbolize the moral weakness of Western democracies in the face of fascist expansionism and the need for a stronger world organization empowered to provide collective security. The Battle of Adwa in 1896 qualifies as an historic event in all three senses of the term. As a historic “first,” it represented the first time since the beginning of European imperial expansion that a non-white nation had defeated a European power.

The Battle of Adwa in 1896 also had two fateful consequencesthe preservation of Ethiopia’s independence from Italian colonization, and the confirmation of Italy’s control over the part of the country Italy had named Eritrea in 1890. Both consequences had repercussions throughout the twentieth century. Italy experienced her defeat at Adwa as intensely humiliating, and that humiliation became a national trauma which demagogic leaders strove to avenge. It also played no little part in motivating Italy’s revanchist adventure in 1935. On the other hand, Italy’s continued occupation of Eritrea gave her a convenient springboard from which to launch that invasion. A generation later, tensions stemming from the protracted division of historic Ethiopia into two partsone under European governance, one under the Ethiopian Crownculminated in a long civil war, and the eventual secession of Eritrea as an independent state in 1993. In addition to these actual historic consequences, the Battle of Adwa was historic because it acquired symbolic significance of many kinds. In some instances this symbolism itself came to exert a certain influence on the course of events.

Adwa’s Symbolism in Other Countries

In Europe, the short-term symbolic significance of the Ethiopian defeat of Italy in 1896 was that it served to initiate a process of rethinking the Europeans’ image of Africa and Africans. During the nineteenth century Africa had come to be viewed in increasingly pejorative terms, as a continent of people so primitive they were fit only for European rule. Ethiopia did not escape such swipes. British officers called Ethiopia a nation of savages and Italian officials described it as “a nation of primitive tribesmen led by a barbarian.” The British Foreign Office supported the provocative move of ceding Zula to Italy, expecting that Yohannes would protest by attacking them and then easily be punished for imagining that Ethiopians were equal to white men. Kaiser Wilhelm responded to Emperor Menelik’s announcement of his accession to the throne with insulting language. The stunning victory at Adwa required Europeans to take Ethiopia and Africa more seriously. It not only initiated a decade of negotiations with European powers in which nine border treaties were signed, it made Europeans begin to reconsider their prejudices against Africans. It came to symbolize a rising awareness among Europeans of African political resources and yearnings and an increasing recognition of indigenous African cultural accomplishments.

In Japan, Ethiopia became appreciated as the first non-Caucasian power to defeat Europeans, an achievement the Japanese were to duplicate in warfare against Russia in 1904. This appreciation led to a sense of affinity that bore fruit for decades thereafter. Ethiopian intellectuals looked to Japan as a model for modernizing their ancient monarchy; the Meiji Constitution served as a model for the Ethiopian Constitution of 1931. When Italy invaded Ethiopia again in the mid-thirties, many Japanese citizens (if not the regime formally) expressed solidarity with Ethiopians, sending shipments of many thousands of swords to help Ethiopians in their plight. In Africa, the Battle of Adwa inspired other kinds of symbolism. For a number of colonized Africans, the Ethiopian victory at Adwa symbolized the possibility of future emancipation. Black South Africans of the Ethiopian Church came to identify with the Christian kingdom in the Horn, a connection that led South African leader James Dwane to write Menelik for help in caring for the Christian communities of Egypt and Sudan. The victory at Adwa made Ethiopia visible as a beacon of African independence, a position that inspired figures like Nnamdi Azikiwe in Nigeria, Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana, and Jomo Kenyatta in Kenya in the early years of the African independence movement, as well as leaders in the West Indies like George Padmore and Marcus Garvey from Jamaica.

Adwa as a Symbol of Ethiopia’s Tradition of Independence

Within Ethiopia itself, Adwa symbolized many things, some of which had positive consequences for her development while others did not. Internally, as abroad, it symbolized Ethiopia’s proud commitment to freedom from foreign domination. Of the many emblems of Ethiopia’s historic independence, Adwa is perhaps the most visible and the most dramatic. The spirit of Ethiopians’ defiant protection of their land from outsiders manifests itself in many forms. There is the apocryphal story of Emperor Tewodros, who is said to have ordered the boots of some visitors washed before they embarked on a ship back to Europe, saying: “Far more precious than jewels is a single drop of Ethiopian soil.” There was the refrain I used to hear young braves chant at festive times, jabbing dula (stick) up and down as they danced and sang:

Min alle, Teqel min alle? Ageren le sew, ageren le sew, alsetim alle!
(What did Teqel [Haile Selassie’s horse name] say? I won’t give my country to foreigners, he said.)

With respect to Menelik’s reputation, it partly overcame the resentments he had stirred up by ceding Bogos to Italy in exchange for help against his competitors in Tigray. As a historic assertion of Ethiopia’s independence, Adwa also reverberated with memories of Ethiopia’s experience as a long-lived independent polity. Its symbolism thereby encompassed a layer of meaning that alluded to the historic depth of the Ethiopian nation. It revived memories of earlier achievements and yearnings. At the same time, Adwa may have served to give Ethiopians a false sense of confidence about their position in the modern world. In showing themselves and the world that they could defeat a European invader with their own resources, the 1896 campaign may have led them to think that their traditional resources could be adequate in an era in which war would be waged with tanks and airplanes. It gave encouragement to isolationist and conservative strains that were deeply rooted in Ethiopian culture, strengthening the hand of those who would strive to keep Ethiopia from adopting techniques imported from the modern Westresistances with which both Menelik and Ras Teferi/Haile Selassie would have to contend.

Adwa as a Symbol of Multi-ethnic Cooperation

The symbolism of multi-ethnic collaboration evoked by the Battle of Adwa has been less visible than its role in symbolizing Ethiopia’s tradition of independence. Yet in some ways the former was the most remarkable and meaningful aspect of the entire episode.

Although members of different ethnic, religious, and regional groups had been interacting regularly in Ethiopia for more than 2,000 years through trading, intermarriage, common ritual observances, pilgrimages, and political competition from the perspective of Ethiopian history, Adwa offers the most dramatic instance of multi-ethnic collaboration before the 20th century. This is because it gave expression to a great outpouring of national patriotism, foreshadowing the great patriotic struggles of 1935-41.

Even from the perspective of modern world history, Adwa represented a relatively rare struggle for national independence waged by a coalition of diverse ethnic groups. Twenty-five years earlier, Adwa had been the scene of a protracted battle between Dejazmatch Kasa, who would become Emperor Yohannes IV, and the reigning emperor, Tekle Giorgis II, formerly Wag Shum Gobeze. What the 1871 Battle of Adwa symbolized was the age-old struggle among different regional and ethnic groups for dominance. Yohannes, like Tewodros II before him, came to the throne determined to reunify the empire, which had been fragmented following the invasion of Ahmed Gragn and subsequent divisive developments. Although Yohannes did not live to see it, the 1896 Battle of Adwa was a tribute to his vision and to the thoughtfulness and determination with which he sought to unify Ethiopia while respecting the local jurisdiction of regional kings and lords so long as they remained faithful to the national crown. Those who would deny Ethiopia’s long existence as a multi-ethnic society must be embarrassed by the facts of the Adwa experience. If the empire consisted of nothing but a congeries of separate tribal and regional groups, how then account for the courageous collaboration of 100,000 troops from dozens of ethnic groups from all parts of the country? How then explain the spirited national patriotism of such diverse leaders as Ras Alula, Ras Mengesha, and Ras Sibhat of Tigray, Dejazmatch Bahta of Akale Guzae, Wag Shum Guangul of Lasta, Ras Mikael of Wollo, Negus Tekle-Haymanot of Gojjam, Ras Gobena and Dejazmatch Balcha of the Mecha Oromo, Ras Wole of the Yejju Oromo, Fitawrari Tekle of Wollega, Ras Mekonnen of Harer, as well as Ras Gebeyehu (who died fighting at Adwa) and Ras Abate of Shoa? Of course, deeply rooted antagonisms and persistent rivalries among different factions beset Ethiopia throughout the 19th century. And yet, as historian Sven Rubenson has written, “at the crucial moment, Menelik commanded the loyalty of every important chief in the country.” The Battle of Adwa became and remains the most outstanding symbols of what, a half-century later, a British colonel would describe as the “mysterious magnetism” that holds Ethiopia together.
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Donald N. Levine, Ph.D., is The Peter B. Ritzman Professor of Sociology at the University of Chicago. This article is also published in ONE HOUSE: THE BATTLE OF ADWA, Nyala Publishing. (Originally published on March 1, 1996)

By Yilma Bekele

Adwa was a turning point in the history of non-Europeans everywhere. Adwa’s significance extends beyond our national borders. Our ancestor’s victory over the Italians made the smug Europeans rethink their relationship with those they considered ‘savage’ and needed enlightenment from the superior race. Ethiopians stood tall. After Adwa, fierce, compassionate and merciful is what they said about us.

The 1800’s were not kind to Africans and people of color everywhere. This was the time that became known as the ‘scramble’ for Africa. Every two bit European power possessing a few ships sent expeditions to plant their flag, and to claim lands as far as the eye could see as their own. No one was safe. The British, the French, the Portuguese and the Dutch were the main culprits. As time went on, every one of them got into the act. To be left behind in this mad scramble for resources and national honor was considered a national embarrassment.

Thus, the Italians sent their ships and scouts too. They claimed Somalia, Zula, and Massawa. As time went on, they ventured further inland and built military forts and staging areas for further encroachment. Ethiopian kings were going through consolidations of their own. Emperor Tewodros had been busy conquering Shewa, forcing Tigrai to submit, and controlling Gojjam. Who said it was easy building an empire? He needed arms, he needed expertise, and he needed foreign recognition to reach his goal of a greater Ethiopia. His entanglement with the British was his undoing. Yohanes IV of Tigrai followed him. Same story here. One minute the Shewans are your allies and the next thing you know they are conspiring with Gojjam to get rid of you. The British were knocking from the West, the Italians were coming from the East, and Islam was a constant threat. He died fighting the Mahdists at the battle of Mettema in 1889.

Menelik of Shewa seized his chance. He was crowned King of Kings and then sent out messengers throughout the Empire, to Beghemidir, to Gojjam, Wollo and to Tigrai and the north, to Harrar, to Wellega, to Keffa and Sidamo, to Gemu Goffa, to Arsi, to Bale and Illubabur calling for oaths of loyalty to “Menelik II, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Elect of God, King of Kings of Ethiopia.” While Yohanes was King he had allowed Menelik to negotiate a treaty with Italians, which was signed at Wuchale, Wollo. It was this arrangement that became a point of contention between the two powers. Article 17 was a time bomb. The Italians interpreted it to say that the King of Italy will represent Ethiopia in all dealings with other powers, whereas, the Ethiopian version said Menelik would avail himself the office of the King of Italy if he so choose. The difference became irreconcilable.

The mighty Italians decided to teach the African savages a lesson. They believed in the superiority of their weapons, the quality of their refined culture, their modern military techniques and the supremacy of their Christian god over these heathen Africans. Their arrogance blinded their judgment. Surrounded by their mountains cut off by the rift valleys, the Ethiopians were oblivious to this European mindset. Empress Taitu Bitul ‘light of Ethiopia’ told the Italian emissary to bring it on and said ‘” If it is your wish, start the war next week. Nobody is afraid. We will see when you turn into action. Don’t ever think that we are not willing to sacrifice our comfort and die for our country.’ I love Taitu Bitul!

Now we come to the most interesting point of this epic conflict. Both sides have their job cut out for them. Surely a European power with many ships, unlimited weapons capable of mighty destruction, a professional military force with modern supply and the support of their rich cousins, is no match to a rag tag army gathered at the last minute using weapons bought from different suppliers and living of the land. Lloyds of London will not underwrite this risk. Las Vegas odd makers will sit out this bet.

So our Italian friends devised a two-pronged attack. First part was their well-trained army and the local Askari force. Second was their belief that they will buy off the different Kings and subvert the local chiefs to help them against Menelik. Little did they know that these Ethiopians were very tricky people. They proved them wrong on both counts.

Menelik was able to assemble a force of 100,000 motivated solders. Country or death was the battle cry. They came from all four corners of the country. Those further South who could not make it contributed money and resources in millions of silver Maria Theresas, gold and ivory. Ras Mengesha Yohannis of Tigrai, Ras Sebhat Aregawi of the house of Sabagadis and ruler of Agame, Ras Sebehat Shume of Agame, Ras Welle Bitul of Wello, Ras WoldeGiorgis, Ras Tesema Nadew, Azajh Wolde Tsadik, King Tekle Haimanot of Gojjam, Ras Wolde Michael Solomon of Hamasien, and Ras Mekonen all stood together.

What the Italians saw was Amharas, Tigreans, Oromos, Gurages, Welaitas and Sidamas prepared to do battle to defend the motherland. The Italians underhanded trick to divide them by promising power and riches to the different Rases and chiefs was rejected. With the consent and knowledge of Menelik they all pretended to conspire with the enemy and lulled him into complacency. The parts knew there was no Ethiopia without the whole as one.

Emperor Menelik took up his position on Amba Abba Gerima with his Imperial Guards, King Tekle Haimanot and the 12,000 man army of Gojjam marched off and formed the right wing of the Ethiopian forces. Ras Mengesha Yohannis and Ras Alula with the 13,000 man army of Tigrai took up positions at Kidane Mihret and the left wing. Ras Makonnen and his Harrar troops, Ras Michael and his Wello Oromo troops, and Ras Welle with his Yejju and Simien troops made up the center. Empress Taitu also took up a position close to Amba Abba Gerima where her 5000 man army and her canons prepared for the Italian onslaught. The rest is history.

That was March 1st. 1896. It has been one hundred and thirteen years when our forefathers stood up and told the whole world do not thread on us. They shouted loud and clear to be heard around the world ‘Ethiopia has no need of no one; she stretches out her hand to God.’ Where do we stand today? Are we standing on the shoulders of these historical giants or are we at their feet slithering like snakes? Did we mange to build on their accomplishments or are we an embarrassment to them and their memory?

It is sad but the true story of where we are today will not only embarrass us Ethiopians but all those who thought it was the beginning of a new dawn of pride and purpose of unity. Today we have Kilils, Nations, Nationalities, and the infamous Article 39, a time bomb built into our constitution. Article 39, is the new article 17 that brought about Adwa. The new usurpers are playing the old game of sabotaging our unity by promising phantom power and riches to a few Askaris. The children of those who marched north together to face the common enemy are told that they are enemies to be separated into Bantustans and view each other with suspision and contempt. Those who lived together for millennia, intermarried and shared common religion are told it is not all true, it did not exist, and history is rewritten in front of our own eyes. It has become a fashion to declare ones’ allegiance to ones’ tribe instead of ones’ nation. We are told not speak each others languages, not teach our children in a common language, and not to think as one. Some of us have believed it. Some of us have taken it to heart. Some of us have traveled thousands of miles away from home and learned to live with strangers, but refuse to relate to our kin and friends from the same mother.

Oh! How soon we forgot that if it were not for our unity at Adwa there would have been no real Ethiopia of our forefathers. It is not farfetched to say if it was not for our gallant ancestors that there will be no Injera to eat, no Shema to wear and no books in Amharic, Tigregna or Oromegna but only Spaghetti and Lasagna to eat, Armani to wear, and bleached faces and straightened hair to exhibit.

So it is with sadness that we hear that the Ethiopian government wants to raise funds to construct the word ‘Adwa’ both in Amharic and English at this holy site of all black people. It is a copy of that tourist attraction of nothingness near Los Angles, the Hollywood sign. A clear example of form over essence if you ask me. So it seems that, we have fallen down again. It is all right, it happens to nations and it happens to people. The trick is to try to get up. We should try again to be energized by the memory of Adwa and those that fell down, so the rest of us can get up and continue the job. They did their part and it is our turn now. Success is built based on unity, respect, and shared values. May the God of our ancestors watch over us.

By Charles Cooper | cnet.com

An Internet {www:security} company claims that Iran has taken {www:advantage} of a computer security breach to obtain engineering and communications information about Marine One, President Barack Obama’s helicopter, according to a report by WPXI, NBC’s affiliate in Pittsburgh.

Tiversa, headquartered in Cranberry Township, Pa., reportedly discovered a security breach that led to the {www:transfer} of military information to an Iranian IP address, according to WPXI. The information is said to include planned engineering upgrades, avionic schematics, and computer network information.

The channel quoted the company’s CEO, Bob Boback, who said Tiversa found a file containing the entire blueprints and avionics package for Marine One.

“What appears to be a defense contractor in Bethesda, Md., had a file-sharing program on one of their systems that also contained highly sensitive blueprints for Marine One,” Boback told WPXI.

Tiversa makes products that monitor the sharing of files online. A representative for the company was not immediately available for comment.

Boback believes that the files probably were transferred through a peer-to-peer file-sharing network such as LimeWire or BearShare, then compromised.

By RUPA SHENOY

CHICAGO (AP) — Paul Harvey, the news commentator and talk-radio pioneer whose staccato style made him one of the nation’s most familiar voices, died Saturday in Arizona, according to ABC Radio Networks. He was 90.

Harvey died surrounded by family at a hospital in Phoenix, where he had a winter home, said Louis Adams, a spokesman for ABC Radio Networks, where Harvey worked for more than 50 years. No cause of death was immediately available.

Harvey had been forced off the air for several months in 2001 because of a virus that weakened a vocal cord. But he returned to work in Chicago and was still active as he passed his 90th birthday. His death comes less than a year after that of his wife and longtime producer, Lynne.

“My father and mother created from thin air what one day became radio and television news,” Paul Harvey Jr. said in a statement. “So in the past year, an industry has lost its godparents and today millions have lost a friend.”

Known for his resonant voice and trademark delivery of “The Rest of the Story,” Harvey had been heard nationally since 1951, when he began his “News and Comment” for ABC Radio Networks.

He became a heartland icon, delivering news and commentary with a distinctive Midwestern flavor. “Stand by for news!” he told his listeners. He was credited with inventing or popularizing terms such as “skyjacker,” “Reaganomics” and “guesstimate.”

“Paul Harvey was one of the most gifted and beloved broadcasters in our nation’s history,” ABC Radio Networks President Jim Robinson said in a statement. “We will miss our dear friend tremendously and are grateful for the many years we were so fortunate to have known him.”

In 2005, Harvey was one of 14 notables chosen as recipients of the presidential Medal of Freedom. He also was an inductee in the Radio Hall of Fame, as was Lynne.

Former President George W. Bush remembered Harvey as a “friendly and familiar voice in the lives of millions of Americans.”

“His commentary entertained, enlightened, and informed,” Bush said in a statement. “Laura and I are pleased to have known this fine man, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”

Harvey composed his twice-daily news commentaries from a downtown Chicago office near Lake Michigan.

Rising at 3:30 each morning, he ate a bowl of oatmeal, then combed the news wires and spoke with editors across the country in search of succinct tales of American life for his program.

At the peak of his career, Harvey reached more than 24 million listeners on more than 1,200 radio stations and charged $30,000 to give a speech. His syndicated column was carried by 300 newspapers.

His fans identified with his plainspoken political commentary, but critics called him an out-of-touch conservative. He was an early supporter of the late Sen. Joseph McCarthy and a longtime backer of the Vietnam War.

Perhaps Harvey’s most famous broadcast came in 1970, when he abandoned that stance, announcing his opposition to President Nixon’s expansion of the war and urging him to get out completely.

“Mr. President, I love you … but you’re wrong,” Harvey said, shocking his faithful listeners and drawing a barrage of letters and phone calls, including one from the White House.

In 1976, Harvey began broadcasting his anecdotal descriptions of the lives of famous people. “The Rest of the Story” started chronologically, with the person’s identity revealed at the end. The stories were an attempt to capture “the heartbeats behind the headlines.” Much of the research and writing was done by his son, Paul Jr.

Harvey also blended news with advertising, a line he said he crossed only for products he trusted.

In 2000, at age 82, he signed a new 10-year contract with ABC Radio Networks.

Harvey was born Paul Harvey Aurandt in Tulsa, Okla. His father, a police officer, was killed when he was a toddler. A high school teacher took note of his distinctive voice and launched him on a broadcast career.

While working at St. Louis radio station KXOK, he met Washington University graduate student Lynne Cooper. He proposed on their first date (she said “no”) and always called her “Angel.” They were married in 1940 and had a son, Paul Jr.

They worked closely together on his shows, and he often credited his success to her influence. She was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1997, seven years after her husband was. She died in May 2008.

CHINHOYI, Zimbabwe (CNN) — Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe was celebrating his 85th birthday with a lavish all-day party Saturday despite the fact that the country is gripped by an economic and health crisis.

Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party said it raised at least $250,000 to hold the party in Mugabe’s hometown of Chinhoyi, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) outside of the capital, Harare.

Critics of the president say the country is desperate for that amount of money to be spent instead on its citizens, who are suffering from a cholera outbreak, food shortages, and spiraling hyperinflation. On Friday, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai visited a hospital’s closed intensive care unit that he said needed $30,000 to resume operating.

During the celebrations, Mugabe announced that his controversial land reform would not be reversed. The program is designed to have white-owned farms given to blacks, and there have been violent seizures of such farms since the program began in 2000.

He emphasized that the country’s “indigenization program” — which forces all major foreign companies operating in Zimbabwe to have at least 51 percent black ownership — will be carried out. It began last year and hasn’t been implemented yet.

Mugabe’s birthday falls on February 21 but his party loyalists postponed the celebrations as they were raising money for the event.

“I think it is going to be a great day for the legend and icon whose birthday we are celebrating today here,” said Mugabe’s nephew Patrick Zhuwawo, one of the fund-raisers for the birthday. “The country might be having problems, but we need to have a day to honor the sacrifices the president has made for this country.” What do you think about the celebrations?

Zhuwawo said about 100 beasts would be slaughtered for the birthday bash. iReport.com: What do you think about Mugabe’s lavish party?

Mugabe also invited schoolchildren from around the country to attend the party, being held at Chinhoyi University.

The farming town of Chinhoyi is usually quiet, but Saturday’s event has changed everything. Cars with Mugabe’s supporters could be seen hooting and some ZANU-PF supporters sang Mugabe’s praises.

A banner in Chinhoyi read, “Age ain’t nothing but a number.”

Mugabe invited Tsvangirai, his new partner in a power-sharing government, but a Tsvangirai spokesman said the opposition party leader turned it down. He said it is political party function, with most of the attendees being ZANU-PF elite. As the prime minister, Tsvangirai is not obligated to attend, the spokesman said.

The spokesman would not acknowledge whether Tsvangirai had initially agreed to attend, but it was widely reported in Zimbabwean media that he had agreed to do so.

“Mr. Tsvangirai has other commitments, as far as I know,” said Nelson Chamisa, a spokesman for Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change.

Tsvangirai last year said Mugabe’s birthday party was “a gathering of the satisfied few.” But at that point, he and the president were preparing to face off in a hotly contested presidential election.

As Saturday’s celebrations began in a carnival atmosphere, just less than a kilometer (0.62 miles) away stood a deserted Chinhoyi government hospital — a reflection of the country’s dire health situation. A few nurses are attending to patients.

“There are no medicines. These patients have no option but to come here, but there is nothing we can do,” said one nurse at the hospital.

On Friday Tsvangirai visited Harare Hospital, one of the country’s biggest, and said its intensive care unit will need $30,000 in order to start operating again after a funding shortage.

Once a darling of Zimbabwe, Mugabe is blamed for driving the country into a meltdown.

A cholera epidemic that broke out in August has since hit every corner of the country, killing 3,731 people and infecting nearly 80,000, according to the World Health Organization, which quoted Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Health.

The preventable disease has spread through Zimbabwe’s 10 provinces through lack of access to clean water, faulty sewage systems, and uncollected refuse, according to Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), which released a report this month on the outbreak.

The problems, MSF said, are “clear symptoms of the breakdown in infrastructure resulting from Zimbabwe’s political and economic meltdown.”

On Sunday, Tsvangirai appealed to the international community to help Zimbabwe’s crippled economy, saying it would take $5 billion to stabilize the country.

The cholera outbreak has worsened Zimbabwe’s economic crisis. Failed government policies and an acute food shortage because of years of poor agricultural production and widespread corruption have ravaged the currency of Zimbabwe, which has the world’s highest inflation rate.