In reply to James Harvill.

I don't think you realize what you are saying by advocating for collective punishment. There are bout 12 million Zimbabweans including myself and it would be grossly unfair to punished for the things, words and whims of a few higher ups. Should Americans be criticised for the extremly offensive things Donald Trump says? I would like to believe the US, and Zimbabwe for that matter, is bigger than a few crazy people spouting hateful things.

For the record having lived under sanctions for more than a decade I have to say they are the most stupid idea to bring about change. They, and isolation has not stopped "them" from driving around in posh cars and doing as they please. About the only real impact I can see is that for some reason I cannot sign up for SitePoint nor can I receive payments via PayPal. With their illgotten wealth "they" can easily bust these flimsy restrictions. I know for a fact that they do business with the US despite laws and provisions like ZIDERA.

Meanwhile I am thankful for FOSS. I use Ubuntu and WordPress to earn a living unlike my unemployed friends (with a 90% unemployment self-employment is your safest bet).

The WordCamp will hopefully spur more people to join the online revolution and help bring our country out from the cold. Personally I am going to build on that by writing introduction to WordPress tutorials on our local TechZim blog.

May the odds be always in our favour.