Maravi

(HERALD) Independence must unite us

Independence must unite us
By Diana Muringisi and Vimbai Komani

WE must never forget that true independence does not simply mean flying our flag over our territory, neither does it mean spending most of our time in pubs having a good time. It means determining our own destiny in a manner chosen by the majority of this country. As a nation, we must celebrate the full sovereignty of our country regardless of political affiliation.

Independence Day celebrations are not confined to a certain political party or social group, but should be celebrated by all Zimbabweans because we are all enjoying the fruits of the blood-bought freedom.

Most people tend to think that independence is about one political party, Zanu-PF, but we have to remember that getting to where we are today is a result of the sacrifices of people from all walks of life.

In the words of the late Martin Luther King Jnr, these brave sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, also had a dream to see the nation of Zimbabwe rise and live out the true meaning of the creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

Martin Luther King Jnr went on to say: "There is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold, which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds.

"Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline.

"We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force . . .

"We refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.

"And so, we’ve come to cash this cheque, a cheque that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice."

The people of Zimbabwe should now concentrate on working together to build a nation that can regain the glories of days gone by so that we can continue to enjoy the fruits of the independence we celebrate every year on April 18.

When we look at the path travelled over the past 29 years, there is every reason to celebrate the achievements made; gains unparalleled by any nation that attained independence in our generation, or even those that have been free much longer.

We have covered a lot of ground to transform our country into a truly independent state.

The gains in the social services sectors, infrastructure development, housing — you name it — are phenomenal.

Yes, there are those who point gleefully at the prevailing socio-economic hardships as a sign of failure, but who can really point at a country that has never experienced periods of decline and economic crises?

What we are experiencing are the pangs of transformation and the transformation cannot occur overnight, neither can it be rosy.

So much emphasis is unfairly being placed on the pain that this period has caused and not on the gains.

Yet, we all know that there is no gain without pain.

The gains being made right now will probably only be seen with hindsight, many years to come.

These are the growing pains associated with the transition from the political independence won in 1980 to the economic independence whose battle started in 2000 with the Land Reform Programme.

Hopefully, we will not do so with regret, having taken decisions that would have reversed the gains of the struggle or diminished them.

It is not, however, to be expected that in times of adversity, people would see things differently.

A nation is the sum total of individuals, families, and communities as well as ethnic and racial groups with different interests, perceptions and viewpoints.

Political differences are unavoidable but what keeps a nation at peace and on the path to prosperity is the ability to manage this diversity, without compromising the core values and principles that inform what we are as a people.

A nation that succeeds in achieving unity in diversity has greater chances of succeeding than the one that polarises people on political, religious, tribal or any other lines.

And it is with this in mind that the recent altercations at the Anglican Church should be scorned given the fact that Zimbabwe is largely a Christian nation.

Polarity should be discarded with the scorn it deserves because it pits countrymen against countrymen.

The role of the Church is to advocate for unity and it is there to settle any differences within the nation.

That is what we expect to see from the Church. That is what we expect to see from all social, corporate, political and civic institutions.

There are few countries on the continent that can speak of the kind of gains made over the years to ensure that diversity does not polarise the nation.

Many countries have experienced ethnic-based strife.

Zimbabwe has been a shining beacon in this regard and we should use this level of maturity to end the political polarity that has characterised the nation over the past 10 years.

Zimbabwe has itself suffered from political violence, something that the leaders of the main political parties have publicly condemned as intolerable.

The events of the past few years were in direct contradiction of the wise words of the late reggae star, Robert Marley, who on the eve of Zimbabwe’s independence sang about this Great House of Stone:

"Every man has a right to decide his own destiny

"And in his judgment there is no partiality

"So arm in arm with arms/ We fight our little struggle

"Coz that’s the only way we can overcome our little trouble."

The power struggles we have witnessed have only been to the detriment of the people for whom scores of our liberators died.

As the inclusive Government starts to gain momentum, the leaders of all political parties should take cognisance of the road we have travelled and not betray this great nation that has entrusted them with the role of taking us forward.

When the country raised its national flag on April 18, 1980, the mood was eclectic and the scores of independence-hungry Zimbabweans who were there still have lingering memories as they looked forward to see through the aspirations of a young nation.

It took men, women and even children of immense courage to sacrifice their lives in order to free Zimbabwe and it is painful to see how many people are forgetting the sacrifices made by the gallant sons and daughters of Zimbabwe to attain independence.

President Mugabe has always said — and we should never forget it —- that independence did not come on a silver platter and it is only right that we acknowledge this heroic act by uniting as a nation.

Labels: INDEPENDENCE, ZIMBABWE

posted by MrK @ 4:08 PM