Vince Musewe
Note that I say here freedom from colonialism – not freedom – because we are not yet free from oppression.
I think I should write a book on their stories to enrich our appreciation of what they went through. This will give us context and maybe a better understanding of why we are where we are as a society.
Their harrowing accounts of what they did to survive and what they encountered during the struggle will leave one quite angry because all their sacrifice has not borne any fruit. In their minds they were fighting for a cause and not for an individual who would choose who to call a hero and who not. All they wanted was to contribute to the freedom of the majority at all costs even at the ultimate cost of their lives. They were prepared to die for our freedom.
Some died terrible deaths at the hands of the enemy and of course others died at the hands of their own colleagues.
New struggle
Sometimes I wonder where that spirit went because today we are faced with a tyranny that has done more damage to our potential than colonialism and yet I detect a hesitance by most Zimbabweans today to contribute to the new struggle against the tyranny of those that allegedly liberated us.
It seems to me that modern day Zimbabweans are more interested in making money than in freedom. As a result most are doing nothing – hoping that the tyranny will go away by itself. We have abdicated the responsibility for our own freedom and happiness by fearing to vociferously challenge what in essence is an evil system of oppression of blacks by blacks.
We will not even contribute to causes that help our society and yet we expect the West to feed our hungry, clothe our poor, educate our children and even treat our sick.
In the three years that I have been in Zimbabwe, I have seen that it’s more important for some amongst us to survive on crumbs than to challenge the status quo. Even some of our successful companies are quick to donate funds to a Zanu (PF) dinner – but reluctant to help those in need. I have even seen piles of rubbish outside one of the most successful supermarket chains. They just don’t care. I have seen some amongst us brag about drinking the most expensive whiskies to impress friends but they will not give a beggar even a dollar. How sad.
Selfish society
We have become a narrow-minded and selfish society and yet we are not free. Most expect others to fight for their freedom while they criticise those who have taken the personal risk of challenging the status quo so that all Zimbabweans may be free and enjoy a better quality life. Because of this spirit of selfishness, we have all inadvertently strengthened the dictator. We are a society complicit in its own oppression.
In my opinion, the West is tired of contributing to our politics when we are not prepared to contribute ourselves. I have been told horrible stories of how some political parties abused funds in 2008.
Some of them got millions and have nothing to show for it today. It is even rumoured that some of the leaders of these political parties converted contributions of party assets to their personal use. I therefore do not blame the West for holding back because funding political parties in the past has not created any results.
The only solution is for us to take the responsibility for our future and contribute to the change we want to see. There is so much fear of being change agents here, especially in the business sector it is frightening and yet these are the people who will benefit from any change.
Doing nothing
I have also spoken to those in the Diaspora and sadly it’s the same. Everyone has something to say about what should happen in Zimbabwe, but nobody wants to contribute a cent towards the achievement of the future they desire.
The fight for freedom is not a free lunch. It is not a comfortable and convenient project. Ask those who fought the war. As we seek to change Zimbabwe, it is important that we realise that our doing nothing contributes to things getting worse. We need to take a collective responsibility for our future because all we have are our numbers. If every Zimbabwean contributed a few dollars to change Zimbabwe we would get somewhere. We really can’t expect others to fight our battles for us.
What continues to amaze me is that, despite being an allegedly educated lot, Zimbabweans are pouring millions each day into Pentecostal prosperity scam churches where so-called bishops and prophets are driving luxury cars on the back of the poor masses that pile into their churches hoping for their own personal prosperity. It is a sad spectacle.
 – Vince Musewe is an economist and author based in Harare. You can contact him at vtmusewe@gmail.com
Post published in: Featured
“As we seek to change Zimbabwe, it is important that we realise that our doing nothing contributes to things getting worse,†said Vince.
You have a point there although I think the situation is a bit more complex than you make it. It is not entirely true that the people have decided to do nothing to end the Zanu PF dictatorship. Just as people risked all to end white colonial rule, in supporting MDC they have done the same again to end Zanu PF dictatorship. We should not forget that many millions of Zimbabweans have suffered fighting to have a meaningful vote and over 30 000 lost their lives.
Sadly the sacrifices by the people to get MDC into power has failed to deliver the democratic changes the people had hoped for just as the 1980 independence failed to end oppression. It is therefore understandable why the people are loathed about doing anything; what is the point of them doing something and risking life and limp when at the end of the day nothing changes anyway.
Those who are advocating for change, you brother Vince are one of them who are passionate, must first acknowledge that people like President Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai and other before you took the people for a ride and now you, the new liberators, must demonstrate that you are not seeking to take the people for a ride too but will deliver real change at last.
The people can see things are getting worse, yes; but jumping in and giving their vote to the first village idiot who says they will get them out of the mess has not helped in the past and that is the first lesson the people must learn! The international community have learnt the lesson has the reason they have frozen all help to Zimbabwe’s opposition and civic society. The people, the few with any money, should too tighten their purse strings until they are satisfied their donations with be put to good use. There is very little evidence on the ground of any leaders with common sense so why should anyone fund such cowboys just to be fleeced!