The two-day work stay away that didn’t turn out so well yesterday fizzled again.

A two-day strike called to protest a crackdown by President Robert Mugabe’s government on informal traders headed for a total collapse on Friday when most businesses opened as usual for the second consecutive day.

A coalition of civic groups, supported by the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), had urged Zimbabweans to stay away from work on Thursday and Friday to protest the destruction by police of illegal homes and street businesses.

Police said a week ago they had arrested nearly 23,000 people and a UN official has estimated about 200,000 were left homeless.

In a statement, the main Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions which participated in the call, acknowledged it had attracted “a minimal response”, with its sole success reflected in a boycott by MDC legislators on Thursday of Mugabe’s speech to officially open a new parliament.

State media crowed over the flop on Friday, and the official Herald newspaper quoted Mugabe as saying the MDC had behaved like “little children, not yet mature”.

“If they want to stay away, the better and we will move on…What room is there for you to discuss anything with them,” said Mugabe, whose ruling ZANU-PF party denies charges it rigged March 31 elections to win a constitution-changing two-thirds majority in parliament.

A Reuters round-up of the capital’s major industrial sites and the central business districts on Friday showed most firms were open and employees at work on the second day of the protest.

It seems that’s that for now. Meanwhile, Zimpundit is publishing an account by an opposition MP about the roundups and holding camps set up by Mugabe. If you’ve ever heard of the Holocaust, then you might notice a striking resemblence here. And that’s no exaggeration.

UPDATE: Sokwanele has the latest email from opposition MP Trudy Stevenson.

This afternoon police set fire to furniture and other belongings of those Hatcliffe Extension residents who had not yet managed to leave – despite the fact that there were not enough police lorries to ferry all the people away to Caledonia Farm by the time they started burning! My suspicion is that they simply got tired, and decided to finish quickly by burning out everyone remaining – babies, sick, elderly, crippled, etc. included.

As I write, I have no idea how many people have lost everything they possessed, nor do I know what has happened to those people. It was reported that they were told by the police that they had taken too long to leave, and now they would have to go in the lorries simply in the clothes they were wearing, nothing else – no food, no clothes, no furniture.

It was not possible to get into New Stands this afternoon, because the fires were already out of control when I arrived around 4.00 pm. At this time of year the fields are full of dry long grass and mealie stalks, so fires spread extremely rapidly. I went into the old Holding Camp to ascertain reports that Nyasha Chikwinya (ZanuPF MP ’95-2000) had visited and that ZanuPF were registering their members to be allocated stands at the new stands, but the atmosphere there was too tense. I was told to leave quickly because ZanuPF were writing lists and making threats, but before I could leave their delegation marched up and threatened me. We decided to leave before the vehicle was stoned.

I fear that we will lose track of many constituents, and have no means of finding out what happens to them.

Concerning your generous donations to all those unfortunate people, please hold on to all donations of blankets, food, etc, for the time being, until we find a way forward. Meanwhile cash donations can still be used to transport some of the residents to their preferred destination, provided we can trace them – or they contact us!

Thank you all for your concern and your generosity. The victims have really appreciated knowing that “people out there” know about their situation and have been supporting them thus far.

Her earlier emails are here and here.