According to the passage, some Zimbabweans believed it was inappropriate to go ahead with the festival because it didn't provide many jobs for people living in Zimbabwe
the organizer lived in London and not in his native Zimbabwe
the country was in a state of economic and political emergency
the performers could become victims of crime
nobody would be able to attend due to the fuel crisis in the country
It is clear that those against going ahead with the festival actively communicated their view to the public
staged large demonstrations in the centre of Harare
included the London Community Gospel choir
were afraid of accidents resulting from the fireworks display
were successful in stopping it
It is clear that Manuel Bagorro believed that staging the festival was important because it would have been costly to cancel the festival
it promoted positive feelings when there seemed little or no hope
the fears of crime in the city were greatly exaggerated
it provided much needed employment for Zimbabweans
it made it seem that everything was fine in Zimbabwe
198 THE ENVIRONMENTAL COSTS OF WAR A quarter century of conflict and war has rendered Afghanistan one of the most environmentally damaged nations on the Earth, and now, Afghanistan's environmental degradation is considered a stumbling block to its development.
"Our evergreen forests have been diminished in the last twenty-five years by 4050%, or in some places 60%. Our pistachio forests in Badghis and Takhar in the north are gone, or at least 90% of them are lost," says Yusuf Nuristani, Afghanistan's minister of irrigation, water resources and environment.
A recent report by the United Nations Environment Program warns that Afghanistan faces a future without forests, clean water, wildlife or unpolluted air if current trends are not reversed. The report says Afghanistan's environmental damage is a "major stumbling block" to reconstruction and development. It is not only Afghanistan's forests that are disappearing though. Five years of drought and the destruction of a centuries-old canal network have left many Afghans without clean drinking water or water for irrigation. The UN report says even the good news, such as the return of more than one million refugees to Afghanistan last year, has hurt the environment, choking major cities with exhaust fumes and overloading the sewer systems.
Mr Nuristani says a quarter century of war has left his country environmentally devastated. "Right now, we are in a mess. The drought, the war, the neglect and the low level of understanding among the people about the environment have caused all these problems. So we have to intervene right now in whatever way we can," he said.
