Heroes and heroines

Heroes and heroines
By Editor
Thursday April 05, 2007 [04:00]

In a country of more than ten million people, there is no denying the fact that plenty of our heroes and heroines go unnoticed. Despite the fact that not all heroes or heroines will grab the attention of the media and achieve instant recognition status, the truth is that heroism is all around us and we only have to take hold of what is right there or here to become a hero ourselves.

And when we talk about heroes, we are also talking about people who do not go out there seeking all sorts of credentials in order to be recognised for their achievements. We are also talking about people who crave for character as opposed to seeking limitless and sometimes meaningless credentials. We also talk about people who value humility over honour.

However, some heroes or heroines, by the nature of their achievements cannot go unnoticed. Some heroes, by the magnitude of their achievements, bring with them a sense of pride to their communities or nations. These heroes deserve the recognition of their own communities.

It is for this very reason that we are satisfied with the decision by the government to recognise the achievements of our indisputable national heroine - Esther Phiri - who has brought a lot of pride to us as a nation through her amazing abilities in the field of boxing. It is important for us as a nation to find ways of celebrating our heroes because it is one way of saying thank you to those people who have changed our lives through their selfless actions in their various enadeavours.

Since we know that heroic feats are in most cases not preformed with the thought of being thanked for helping others, celebrating our heroes and heroines is in a way the ultimate way for expressing our admiration and appreciation for their efforts.

We are encouraged by the trend of this government to find ways to recognise or honour each and every hero or heroine that emerge among us. It is important that the efforts of our good citizens are recognised when they are still alive, instead of waiting to present belated eulogies at their funerals.

And we know that there are many ways in which we can thank the people who change our lives and the lives of others. While some will follow their hero’s amazing stories to the very end, others build shrines, name roads and parks after them and create artwork to commemorate the achievements of someone. Some even award these outstanding humans with gifts and awards to announce their actions to the rest of the world.

And we are impressed that the government found it necessary to get some decent accommodation for Esther Phiri as a way of recognising her as a national heroine. This is as it should be and it should be encouraged. We think that we have an obligation as a nation to ensure that our heroes and heroines are honoured in a befitting manner.

Having said all that, we should also add here that it is quite important for our heroes and heroines to live up the expectations of the people because they are not just there as heroes or heroines unto themselves, but they are also other people’s role models. We are saying this not out of malice but because we have the advantage of learning from experience.

Today we know of some of our former heroes and heroines, who were stars in their own right and admired by many, who have been reduced to nothing but destitutes. We have examples of former football stars, who apart from having been household names in the world of soccer, used to earn thousands of dollars but who now do not even have anywhere to stay. They cannot look after themselves and they are unable to send their children to school.

There is plenty of evidence to show that some of our heroes and heroines have failed to cope with their stardom and they have completely failed to live in a responsible manner and today they have been reduced to beggars, they are nothing but paupers. Yet these are people who used to earn incomes that could have helped them invest for the future.

There is indeed a tincture of truth in the saying that those who refuse to study history are naturally condemned to repeat it. So to our new heroes and heroines like Esther Phiri, it is advisable that in the days of their honour when their heroism is inescapable, they should also learn to think of their future. Let them learn not to repeat the mistakes of the heroes and heroines of the past.

Otherwise, we salute the efforts of the government to recognise and honour our heroes and heroines while they are still alive. After all, it is the acts of our heroes and heroines that bring a sense of heroism to all of us as a nation.