This story has been corrected to show the name of the organization is the Infectious Diseases Society of America, not the Infectious Disease Society of America, and Dr. Carlos del Rio is its past president, not its president.
It thrived internationally instead. Thousands of pieces were plundered from Africa. Some later became subjects of repatriation campaigns. Others became prized by tourists and collectors. A permanent collection of 20 Zimbabwean stone sculptures is displayed in a pedestrian tunnel at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, one of the world’s busiest.At its peak following independence, Zimbabwe’s stone sculpture industry thrived, with local white farmers purchasing pieces for their homes and facilitating international sales.
“Customers were everywhere. They would pay up front, and I always had a queue of clients,” recalled Tafadzwa Tandi, a 45-year-old sculptor whose work will feature in the Oxford exhibition.However, the industry has struggled over the past two decades.Zimbabwe’s global image suffered after controversial land reforms more than two decades ago displaced over 4,000 white farmers to redistribute land to about 300,000 Black families, according to government figures. Late ruler Robert Mugabe
, but they had unintended economic consequences.“Many of our customers were friends of the farmers. That is where the problem originated from,” said Tendai Gwaravaza, chairman of Chitungwiza Arts Center.
At the center, the sound of grinders filled the air as sculptors carved. Hundreds of finished pieces, ranging from small carvings to life-sized sculptures, waited for buyers.
“The only solution now is to get out there to the markets ourselves. If we don’t, no one will,” Gwaravaza said.South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has not criticized Trump directly but said the U.S. president is being fed false information by some Afrikaner lobby groups in South Africa and some conservative commentators in the U.S. who have elevated the issue.
at the White House next week in an attempt to “reset” the countries’ relationship.Associated Press writer Matthew Lee contributed to this story from Washington.
More AP Africa news:DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Ndeye Lam visits the cemetery often, praying and gently touching the seashells laid out across her daughter’s gravesite.