ZIMBABWE - LETTER FROM THE DIASPORA !

6th September 2008.

Dear Friends,

Sometimes, not often, but occasionally, I almost give up on Zimbabwe. It would be so much easier, I think, just to sit quietly at my desk overlooking an ancient cathedral and a pleasant canal where long boats drift by, write my books and not worry anymore about a situation which I cannot change. But the pull of Africa is too strong. Even now four years after I left Zimbabwe, I cannot break the ties that bind me to the people and country I love. It is the same for all exiles, we watch and listen to the accounts of suffering and heartbreak as the motherland tears itself apart and know that we are powerless to change anything. 'Eternal Suffering for African People' I remember seeing that written on the back of a country bus travelling along the Nyamapanda Road in the late eighties and it is true now as it was then. As Robert Mugabe approaches his 85th birthday after twenty-eight years in power, nothing has changed except for the worse. Still he blames everyone else for Zimbabwe's problems, the collapsing economy is the fault of western sanctions, the food shortages are caused by the west's refusal to give aid, the failure in agricultural production is nothing to do with his disastrous agricultural policies, it is all the fault of the perfidious white farmers who have sabotaged the 'land reform' programme, aided and abetted by the British backed opposition. He surrounds himself with self-serving parasites and praise singers while Africa stands by and looks on as he ruins a once prosperous country. 'Share power, fifty fifty' advises the Chair of the AU in response to the current stalemate - for stalemate read collapse - of the talks between the two sides. And how does Mugabe respond? He tells the MDC leader sign the agreement or else "I will form a government without you. My government is empowered by elections" he claims but is careful not to acknowledge the result of the March elections which clearly demonstrated the will of the people in favour of the MDC. His unelected Minister of Justice Patrick Chinamsa adds his voice and declares, " It was left to the people of Zimbabwe to decide and they have done."Where is their honesty? Where is their humanity? As the nation collapses under the burden of unprecedented hardship and suffering how is it that Mugabe who constantly trumpets the virtues of African culture has forgotten the honoured maxims of Ubuntu/ Unhu which underpin African culture? Writing in 1980 the respected Zimbabwean historian Stanlake Samkange defined the concept of Unhu as incorporating three basic maxims. One: to be human is to affirm one's humanity by respecting the humanity of others and on that basis, establish respectful human relations with them. Two: when faced with a decisive choice between wealth and the preservation of life of another human being - then one should opt for the preservation of life and Three; that the king ( for 'king' read Mugabe!) owes his status including all the powers associated with it, to the will of the people under him. Speaking about the concept of Ubuntu/ Unhu in Shona, Nelson Mandela said that above all it represents tolerance, humanity and respect for others. It is a universal truth, the very basis of an open society because it ties each member of the community to all the others. We are dependent on each other; we owe our very humanity to the existence of other humans. Our humanity is defined by Unhu.(In Shona, Munhu munhu nekuda kwevanhu)and the whole community is enriched by it. That is the basis of African democracy.

How is it that Robert Mugabe, the self-proclaimed nationalist and pan Africanist, has forgotten this noble African concept? As he clings ever more desperately to power and Zimbabwe, the House of Stones collapses round him burying the people, Mugabe forgets - or chooses not to remember - that he owes his power to the people he governs. I read that analysts inside the country say he is no longer in control, that it is the army generals who will not let him cede power to Morgan Tsvangirai, fearful that they will face prosecution for their dreadful misdeeds, from the Gukuruhundi massacres right through to Murambatsvina and the recent pre and post-election violence. If that is intended to excuse the Old Man's failure to accept defeat, I for one do not buy it. I read also that some Zimbabweans have resigned themselves to another five years of Mugabe's misrule. "The people are so angry," said a good friend when he phoned me recently to tell me of the hunger and shortages making life a misery, " but they are so passive." Anger needs to be channelled if it is to be an agent for change. And change is what Zimbabwe desperately needs but not change at any price. We need a change which reflects the genuine will of the people, anything less is a denial of basic democratic rights as enshrined in the concept of Ubuntu/Unhu which as Mandela points out is central to the well-being of the community and improves life for everyone, " if you can do that you have done something very important," said the great man. The tragedy for Zimbabwe is that it is ruled by a man and a party whose only interest is holding on to power. They have forgotten that their job is to serve the people; Zimbabweans should pray that newly elected MDC members will not fall into the same trap.

Yours in the (continuing) struggle. PH.