There They Go - Again!

Some one recently sent me a poem with the title "Zimbabwe Betrayed".  It is the usual supposed tribute to the suffering of the ordinary Zimbabweans under the rule of Robert Mugabe.  The author ends it with these lines:

And the leaders of the world stand by and sigh,
As they see the people of Zimbabwe die.
Why can't they admit that they made a mistake,
Why can't they do something for Zimbabwe 's sake..
And I wonder what stories the old people tell,
Of the time before they were living in hell.
Of a time when work was plentiful,
And the children were happy and their bellies were full.
Of days before they lived under a dictator so cruel,
In the days before they fought for Majority rule!

It would be nice to think that the words " ... do something for Zimbabwe's sake ..." actually means that the writer would like to see a democratic country under the continued rule of the majority but sadly the next six lines speak to a belief that the 'good old days', (sic), under minority white rule were the best.  

I am saddened by the continued and apparently firmly held belief of so many former Rhodesians that under the rule of Smith et al the majority of the population had something resembling a decent life.  Exactly how does a white adult who would have had the right to vote in elections that excluded over 94% of the population know what life was like for the black majority?  Did she go to one of the poorly funded, dimly lit schools where substandard education was offered to the few who could attend because their parents did not require their labour in order to do household chores or herd animals in order to survive?  Was she able to gain access to decent health care or did she have to queue for hours to attend a clinic with limited resources all the time concerned about both the cost of medicine and the fact that such a visit would result in a loss of income for the day?  How certain is the author that "children were happy and their bellies full ..."? Was there no poverty in Rhodesia?  

Reading the poem made me angry.  It is another in a long line of insults that white Rhodesians thrust on Zimbabweans.  These when-we's have no desire to examine the realities of living in a country where 5% of the population controlled and manipulated the lives of the other 95% by denying them the status of adults.  The years of white rule might have been a golden age for the writer of the poem but for the majority it was not. But I forget myself for the author must know what was, and is, best for the majority because, after all, she is white and by definition better informed and more knowledgeable about what conditions are required to make the people happy - a strange coincidence that it would be a return to the rule of a minority!  

Yes I am angry.  I am angry that this sort of rubbish is sent as forwards around the world using the abuse of power by Mugabe as the justification for so called truth telling!  

The truth is that we are in 2012 not 1912.  The truth is that we should respect the facts of history instead of colouring them to suit ourselves.  No one would argue that Mugabe has been a great leader.  He has done what so many leaders around the world have done when presented with the opportunity to grab and hold onto power.  Just like Ian Smith, and all his government, he has deemed the majority to be unable to make good decisions for themselves.  Just like Ian Smith he has manipulated the truth, told bold lies and retained power by abuse of the majority.  Just as with Smith he has taken power into his own hands in order to retain his position.

If the government of 1965 had not declared UDI and had in fact been reasonable and rational people then history could have been different for the majority of Zimbabweans because Robert Mugabe might never have come to power at all since he would not have had the status of a war hero and leader that he acquired during the war!   Perhaps but then again maybe the majority of ADULT Zimbabweans would have still voted for him because they trusted and believed him only to discover that he  was a liar and dishonest.  The tragedy for Zimbabwe is that the first democratically elected leader has become a dictator. That does not mean that we who once lived there should crow over the people who once considered him a worthy leader. 

These so called poems are a cry for a time when white Rhodesians were in power and benefiting from all that comes with that power.  For the writers those were the golden years but please don't put words into the mouths of others that they would almost certainly find offensive.

Here are some facts about Zimbabwe:
in 2011 it ranked 8th in the world for real growth rate (out of 216), 
in 2011 it ranked 214 out of 216 for GDP,
in 2011 it ranked 24th out of 136 for distribution of household income inequality (South Africa ranked 2nd, USA 42, UK 91 and Sweden 136!)

Zimbabwe is not perfect. It has major flaws in terms of its government, politics and its economy.  For those who regard it as a failed nation at least allow its people a degree of dignity by not applauding the former regime as if it existed as some form of  avuncular state genuinely concerned about the well being of all its people. 

Time has moved on and it is time to allow ourselves to see a reflection that is perhaps more painful but more truthful than that which we have painted. I hope to live to see the people of Zimbabwe regain the freedoms they enjoyed for such a brief period and being able to live in a fully democratic society which will allow them to prosper in the land that is theirs.