Dear Family and Friends,

I write this letter to remember the lives of seven young men and in the hope that Zimbabwe never forgets what eight years of political upheaval and economic collapse have led us to - and why.

It began on Christmas Eve when three men aged 23, 30 and 37 died of hunger and exhaustion in Inyathi. The men were arrested after being caught digging for precious minerals. The men were then forced by Police to fill up trenches for six days. Thulani, Matthew and Gift are reported to have died of hunger and exhaustion at the end of six days of extreme labour. A Police spokesman refused to comment on these deaths but said: "We make them fill up the trenches because they are the ones responsible for the mess."

Dear Family and Friends,

Sitting in a glass on my desk are five Flame Lilies. The water they are standing in was milky and murky and had a brown sediment when it came out of the tap this week. The flowers are exquisite with frilled, scarlet petals edged in yellow and spear shaped leaves tipped with thin curling tendrils. Flame Lilies are synonymous with Christmas and New Year in Zimbabwe and this year they are almost the only thing bringing colour and cheer to our deteriorating situation.

Dear Family and Friends,

This December, for the second year in a row, my Christmas Tree has remained outside in the garden. This tree began life as a seedling amongst the fir trees behind our house on the farm. Just a couple of inches tall I planted the seedling in a black plastic bag when we were being evicted from our farm just before Christmas in 2000. Every year at Christmas time I dragged the pot inside, covered the tree with bits and pieces, starved it of water for a week and then back outside it went.

Dear Family and Friends,

"Congratulations! You are a grandfather!" These were the words that greeted my friend Patson when he arrived back in the rural village after another arduous week working in the nearby town. His wife was sitting there outside their house holding a tiny baby in her arms. This miniscule little baby was Patson's grandson. Patson did not know his first born son had a girlfriend or that she was pregnant. For a while Patson just stared at his wife and the baby and the young teenage mother who sat nearby. She was still a child herself and had not even finished school. The girl had given birth to the baby at her own rural village but then her mother had said she had no money and would not support them. They must go to the father of the baby - he and his parents must take this responsibility.

Dear Family and Friends,

A shameful and very distressing report has just been released in Zimbabwe.

This time it does not come from the UN or any other international body, but from Zimbabwe's own Ministry of Public Service and Social Welfare. Research was undertaken and statistics gathered right across the country and included 58 rural districts and 27 urban areas.

The report says that living standards in Zimbabwe have dropped by 150% in the last ten years. Malnutrition in children under 5 has increased by 35% and the number of people without access to health care has increased by 48%.

Dear Family and Friends,

As the Minister of Finance presented what he called a "people orientated" budget this week, two senior executives from the country's biggest bakery were starting a four month prison sentence. The two men, the CEO and Operations Manager were found guilty of putting the price of bread up by 50% in September without government permission.