[YouTube] The Lament of a Zimbabwean

[J.Hyde]

The Lament of a Zimbabwean ​

"My name is Rudo Matchaba. I am 51 years old. I am a citizen of The Republic Of Zimbabwe. I was born in 1945, not long after the end of The Second World War, as a member of the colony of Southern Rhodesia, a part of The British Empire. Cecil Rhodes, the man that Rhodesia is named after, declared that this land would have 'equal rights for every civilised man'... As long as they could write their name and address, owned property worth £75 or earned £50 a year. These extra requirements, while not directly addressing race, effectively ensured that the vast majority of the native population, blacks, could not vote, while the minority white settlers could.

In 1965, the Rhodesian Bush War broke out. I fought in that war on the side of the black nationalists, such as Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union, or Joshua Nkomo's Zimbabwe African People's Union. They portrayed themselves as Marxists, socialists and communists, but I didn't join them because of their aspirations to emulate Karl Marx. I fought against minority white rule, because I wanted recognition as an equal. I did not choose my skin colour, I was born with it. My skin colour does not influence what I think in my head, or feel in my heart. I do not bear a grudge against white people, because they are, like myself and others who are black, merely striving to survive and thrive on God's Earth.

When the Bush War ended, I believed that a fundamental change had occurred that would lead to my life, and those of my fellow Zimbabweans, improving in quality. 16 years have passed, and life is harder now, under Robert Mugabe, than during the time of white-minority rule under Ian Smith. Mugabe has taken steps to try and ensure that we, the people, are kept from removing him from his position of power. The electoral rules of Rhodesia disproportionately affected the black community, however they did not prevent the few blacks able to reach those lofty requirements from voting. Mugabe uses violence to intimidate voters, and engages in underhanded methods to artificially increase the amount of votes counted in his favour. Zimbabwe is not a republic. Like so many dictatorships in the world, they plaster liberal-sounding words, such as democratoc, people's, and republic, onto their country in a vain attempt to portray themselves as democracies. Zimbabwe is no different in this instance.

Saying that grass is blue, or that a dictatorship isn't oppressive, does not make such a statement true, no matter how much power the person saying it has. Reality does not bend to the will of powerful people, such power belongs to God alone. Mugabe is a tyrant, a liar, and corrupt to the core. Zimbabwe will never be a nation of free people, unless he and his cronies are removed from power. It is my sincerest hope that this can be achieved through peaceful means, but, recently, Mugabe has shown that violence is the default response to genuine grievances. The state-broadcaster, The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, reported on the march that occurred in Harare, and stated that it was an unruly mob that was causing property damage and threatening the safety of the people. This could not be further from the truth. The march was my idea, and the people who decided to become a part of it acted in a mature and calm fashion.

It was only when the police saw fit to suppress a peaceful march with tear gas and riot shield charges that panic and chaos ensued. Most chose to run away, some chose to stand their ground against this unwarranted assault on their ability to stand tall and say; 'I do not like how my country is being run.' I am thankful that no one's life was claimed by the violence perpetrated by the police, however the fact that they were so quick to retaliate with such harsh measures does raise the question of whether it is safe to use peaceful methods to enact change. Could the next march end in a bloodbath as the police, or the army, engage with rifle fire, instead of batons and tear gas? I pray that it won't, but I have good reason to believe that it will.

For those who have taken the time to watch me talk. I hope that you now realise the extent of the trouble that has befallen my country. I hope that you will do what you can, no matter how small, to help make positive change happen, because every action, no matter how trivial, coalesces with the actions of everyone else to become something much bigger. Thank you for listening."