EDITOR – It is sad that 28 years after our independence Zimbabwe has not had the opportunity to mature in terms of democratic principles. The country after a false independence is today writhing under a host of crises. People (whether the government of Zimbabwe agree or not) have started to question the reality of our independence.
People have seriously started to think that Smith was better than Robert Mugabe. It often said that the devil you know is better the angel you do not know. On the eve of our independence the country was gripped by an enthusiasm that you thought would never die. A hope of nation building, a hope of reclaiming a national identity, a hope of true freedom- but today 28 years after independence the hope has started to die or has actually decayed.
The voters have justifiably lost confident in the voting process, yet the politicians will press on for an election, which will not reflect the will of the people.
Without a new people-driven democratic constitution we will continue in this downward trend. The people and only the people of Zimbabwe should shape their destiny by writing a constitution that they will own before any false process like an election is embarked on.
MUNJODZI MUTANDIRI, Mhondoro Ngezi
Real force is needed
EDITOR – I want to thank you for publishing the letter that l wrote in shona and also at the same time want to thank Collen Zhou for letting me know that at least my letter was read in the rural areas. ACHIEVEMENT !
I think it’s high time Zimbabweans act wisely, and face Mugabe with means matching his hard headedness. It doesn`t need a rocket scientist to conclude that once Mugabe have decided to stand even against the will of his fellow Zanus and knowing well that he was defeated in 2000,2002,2005 and swindled to be where he is today , then you think he will say yes to free and fair elections.
Mugabe needs real force to leave power, and this is the time. Nguvandiyoino, kana kuti tomirira hedu kuti afenegwaMwari , torega kukuvadzisa vanhu nekurohwa vachikambena.
Vanotenderana neni ndinyorerei pa s.ndumureyengozi@yahoo.com
S NDUMEREYONGZI, Zimbabwe
We cannot forget the past
EDITOR – Zimbabweans are on the brink of destruction. Things are falling apart. And yet I survive. Perhaps we should wonder about that.
The problem with white Zimbabweans is that we grew up and knew a country where we had all of the advantages of Western Society. Now we complain that there is corruption. There is no water. There is no power. That no one is there to help us. But, if we were in Hwange Game Park, the Kruger or the Masai Mara we would expect to have buckets for hygiene and water. We would expect rough living.
But we cannot forget the past. So we fret and talk about leaving the country, chatter continually about the problems, implying that it used to be so much better, how heroic we really are in managing to survive. What we feel we have lost is too hurtful. So we dare not look in the mirror and ask where our real selves are.
And the truth is tougher than we might care to admit. We have lost entitlement. That is one thing black people cannot bear about African whites…..we have always acted as if we have entitlement. In our heads and hearts… OUR country….I go first in the queue, I have a right.
We may have thought we were liberals, that these ‘race’ differences were really a class thing. But, the bald and brutal truth is that we feel betrayed from what we thought we were. What we were permitted to believe unconsciously or not. We no longer have any entitlement. And with the rantings of Mugabe, the psychological pressure is unrelenting. Whites can be killed and imprisoned and beaten and tortured just the same as the blacks. For white Africans that has meant a complete loss of identity.
Because now, Mr Mugabe has a sense of his own entitlement. Which is why he will do anything to survive at all costs. Slaughter is only one of his methods.
There are many parallels with the Obama-Clinton debate. Obama can see entitlement in Clinton – the white eyes that do not really engage with black eyes on an equal level. And Hilary cannot look in the mirror to see the bald truth that she is at heart a paternalist .Judging by the success of Mugabe in Zimbabwe, Hilary Clinton will win the race, which is a pity. Obama’s success might help all us think beyond survival. Obama would make us rethink our self esteem and identity.
RORY KILALEA, Zimbabwe
Carried on angel’s wings
EDITOR – I am a man of 88 living on my own in a bungalow in Honiton. Apart from
walking with two sticks I was as fit as a fiddle, that was until the accident happened.
At eleven o’clock on Monday January 14th I was sitting in my easy chair drinking a cup of hot chocolate. Clumsily I knocked it over. A strange lethargy invaded my whole body. I tried to use the telephone at my elbow but the jumbled figures mocked me.
Part of my mind was crystal clear and told me repeatedly that I needed help and wanted it now. Sometimes a man discovers within himself a strength he had never dreamed of before. Some call it being carried on angels’ wings.  How it happened I do not know but somehow I staggered from my chair, grabbed my sticks and
moments later I was knocking on my neighbour’s door. He took one look at my
haggard face, listened to the gibberish that fell from my lips, and called an ambulance.
At the hospital a mini stroke was diagnosed and my body is quickly learning
to heal itself. I of course had the fright of my life. There is a moral to my tale. If you have not got an alarm, get one today for the sake of your family, friends and for your own safety.
MERFYN TEMPLE, Devon
Constitution is corrupt
EDITOR – The MDC should grow beyond selfish concerns and become a party of the people lest it falls in the same prey of Zanu (PF).
The draft constitution was drafted by four people on behalf of the country, namely Welshman Ncube sometimes described as a CIO agent, Tendai Biti tipped to succeed Tsvangirai and two bogus politicians from Zanu (PF). A constitution should be authored by the masses and not few ‘intellectuals or technocrats’.
The constitution is morally corrupt as it failed to respect proper channels when writing a public document. The MDC, by accepting to be dragged up the garden path by Zanu, proved to be corrupt itself.
In 1999 people of Zimbabwe denied the constitution which had been written by Zanu thugs in secret – what makes the current one better?
As an independent Zimbabwean I urge fellow countrymen to be cautious when joining demonstrations whose real agent is privy to politicians alone.
The MDC should start demanding a people-driven and democratic constitution which is all inclusive.
EDMUND SHUMBA, Zimbabwe
One person can make a change
EDITOR – Gertrude Mthombeni was a strong and a powerful Zimbabwean woman. She had an intense love for God and her hearts desire was to see a free and prospering Zimbabwe in the lives of its citizen. She was a sister, she was a daughter, she was a fighter, she was a friend. She loved everyone, she didn’t judge. She let the love of Jesus shine brightly through her.
When she spoke people would notice her and see that there was something different about her. I remember hearing her praying to God “I want You to use me to reach the un-reached” God has answered this prayer. Through her legacy, a lot of people in Zimbabwe and around the world have seen her dedication to bringing peace and justice to Zimbabwe. She has been an influence, an encouragement, and an inspiration to so many people. She proves that one person can make a difference and change the world.
She’s taught me so many things about God and life. The most important lesson is the simple fact that none of us know what tomorrow holds. Life is so precious, and we never know if we will live to see tomorrow. Do you know where you will be when it is your time?  Do you know what death holds?  God is real today, and is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Let us live by God’s words that Gertrude lived b y- LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
MARIEGOLD ADAMS, US
No elections without an interim govt
EDITOR – Now that Mugabe is adamant about the March election and that MDC is contemplating not participating, what is the way forward for Zimbabwe? Should people force Mugabe to postpone until a further day? Should people boycott? Or should people participate? Or maybe democracy sometimes has to be sustained by non-democratic means.
The institutions of power – the army, police and intelligence are in the hands of Zanu (PF). So too is everything else – parliament, senate, cabinet, judiciary, water, food and money as well as defined personal freedoms like speech, expression, movement and association. What then does it entail to a general citizen of the country? We are slaves of Zanu (PF).
Shat the opposition should be doing now is to enter into coercive engagement with level-headed or disgruntled people within Zanu (PF). Alliances are made for specific purposes within the course of any revolution that is why ANC chose to align with SACP when even Mandela was skeptical of communism and guess what, it was not Thabo Mbeki or Nelson Mandela or Jacob Zuma who led the struggle; it was Joe Slovo and Chris Hani who were both communists. Had ANC not embraced the SACP right now South Africa could still be under apartheid rule.
Our responsibility as common Zimbabweans and not political leaders is to put pressure on the current government, to mobilize against it and ensure that a favourable candidate wins come elections. The diaspora should not only hold demonstrations at embassies but should seek to make its economic power be felt by ZANU PF by withholding foreign currency. Those still within the country should work to educate and reassure fellow Zimbabweans that their children in the diaspora have not forgotten them but that the action is for a purpose.
FREEMAN FORWARD CHARI, Zimbabwe Youth Movement
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