Maravi

The plight of freedom fighters

The plight of freedom fighters
By Editor
Monday June 09, 2008 [04:00]

WE don’t think that the Zambian people would oppose any initiative by the government to ameliorate the sufferings of people who struggled for the independence of their country. We have no doubt that our people will not oppose any expenditure by the government toward the welfare of freedom fighters because they are a sensitive and grateful people. Our people know how to honour the sacrifices of those who stand up to advance their rights and defend their dignity, our people recognise those who serve them.

The problem is definitely not with our people but with some politicians of today who were not part of the independence struggle but participated in the campaign for the return to multiparty politics. These appear to be seeking the re-writing of history. They want to put themselves at the same level as those who fought for our independence; they want to see themselves as freedom fighters also. Yes, they are freedom fighters and truly, no one can deny them that label. But they are freedom fighters of a different sort, of a lesser category. And these are not the freedom fighters we are talking about or our people are concerned about.

Our people are concerned about the freedom fighters who fought for independence of our country. Before history, people who act as these freedom fighters did, people who do and give everything for the cause of the independence of their country from foreign subjugation or domination, grow in stature with each passing day and find a deeper place in the heart of the people each passing day.

And we shouldn’t forget the fact that most of these freedom fighters we are talking about today are not young men and women. They are senior citizens in their 60s, 70s and 80s - and probably a few beyond. These are also men and women who after serving this country for more than 27 years in government were sent away without any benefits. These were fulltime politicians, fulltime revolutionaries who dedicated their lives to nothing but service to Zambia.

These are the men and women Sikota Wina is talking about. And Sikota is not asking all these things for himself because he is one of the few lucky freedom fighters who happened to marry a businesswoman and as a result escaped poverty and destitution. There is no doubt that Sikota, who abandoned everything in his life - further studies, professional careers and so on and so forth - to pursue only one mission, that of fighting for the independence of this country and consolidating it, would be destitute today if it wasn’t for his hard-working, intelligent and industrious wife.

It’s immoral to expect these honourable freedom fighters to be seeking favours from the government and others and make them look as if they initiated or joined the struggle for personal benefits.

These freedom fighters did not initiate or join the struggle to fulfil personal ambitions; their struggle was not for personal glory or fame, for material possessions. They thought of nothing but duty and service, with the most absolute purity and with the most complete selflessness. They did not join the struggle for history; they did not struggle for honours or glory. Revolutionaries - of which all these freedom fighters are - do not struggle for honour or glory, or to occupy a place in history or to be given material benefits or pensions for doing so. But we owe them everything Sikota is asking for.
And moreover, a society that does not value older people denies its roots and endangers its future.

The Zambia which we are today enjoying, the Zambia which we proudly claim to have struggled to return to multiparty politics and one under which these old freedom fighters are living in poverty and destitution is the sweet fruit of their lives of struggle, sacrifice and selflessness. They fought a noble battle and lived their lives in pursuit of a better life for all of us, for all who follow.

Looking back, we believe that these old freedom fighters worked with sufficient integrity and dedication not only to win independence for us but also to consolidate it. Unlike our return to multiparty freedom fighters who shared all the government houses and businesses among themselves upon coming to power, these freedom fighters left empty-handed, with absolutely nothing other than their honour and integrity.

Clearly, these old freedom fighters struggled to defend no other interest, no other cause other than the cause of the exploited and oppressed people of our country and of our continent.
And the exemplary manner and the selflessness with which they defended that cause cannot be disputed even by their most bitter enemies.

Therefore, fairness dictates that they be given that which is due to them, that which they worked for. Most of them were denied their benefits from their selfless service in government. Let’s give it to them. It’s their money, they worked for it. And in doing so we are not doing them a favour, it’s simply a question of giving to Caesar that which belongs to Caesar.

Trying to re-write Zambian history will not help matters much. It is interesting to see how the civics and social studies of this country have been re-written for our children in an attempt to over-elevate the political status of those who championed the return to multiparty political dispensation. This is not good and it’s worse if it is used to deny others their dues.

We have to do something as a nation to reduce the suffering of these old freedom fighters. And the government should initiate the move.

Labels: FREEDOM FIGHTERS

posted by MrK @ 3:33 AM