The heroes of our time: a Heroes Day message.

Our constant exposure to ZANU PF propaganda has made us to believe that a hero is a person who is dead and is buried at the National Heroes Acre. We have never heard them conferring such a treasured title to anyone alive. They all become heroes when they die. What is the point of waiting for death before we can appreciate the works of our people? I am going to break tradition or propaganda and appreciate the works of some of the people I believe are heroes of our time.

Strive Masiyiwa; we all know him as the rich owner of Econet but it is not the money that makes him a hero. It is the struggle that he endured for us to have free airwaves. I cannot imagine how Zimbabwe could have turned if ZANU PF had continued to have monopoly over the Telecommunications industry. Indeed he fought his own war to set up his own business but in that war he managed to unshackle some of the chains that Zimbabwe was bound with. We are aware of the Supreme Court challenge that he made against the Post and Telecommunications Act which at that time gave monopoly to PTC. The argument was that this act violated Section 20 of the Constitution which stated “Every Zimbabwean has a right to receive and impart information without hindrance.” He pioneered the struggle for Freedom of Expression in an unprecedented manner. He helped to unmask Mugabe at a time when most people were busy worshiping him. Today we build our struggle on his humble contributions full of the wisdom that no matter how small our contribution is, we are adding a vital brick to the House of Zimbabwe. For this he is a hero.

Margaret Dongo. In 1995 she broke ranks with ZANU PF and decided to stand independently for the Harare South after the politburo refused her application to run again on a ZANU PF ticket. They favored Vivian Mwashita who was viewed more as Mugabe’s blue-eyed girl. Margaret lost to Mwashita but she took the matter to the courts where it was realized that about 41% of the people on the voters’ role were inaccurate. The election was annulled and she won the resultant rerun. She is one of the very first women in our society who have openly disagreed and challenged Mugabe. She is one of the first people who opened our eyes to the electoral fraud that ZANU PF has come to be synonymous with. She is a hero of our time.

Morgan Tsvangirai. There is no man in Zimbabwe today who can claim that he has sacrificed more than this man for the country. He lost a wife, he lost his freedom and on a number of occasions came close to losing his life. From as far back as 1989 he has been in the struggle for the total emancipation of the people of Zimbabwe. It is always easy to criticize those seated on higher ground but when all is said and done his contribution to the well-being of our political fibre is unparalleled. He is a living hero.

Arthur Mutambara. More often than not people tend to forget the good that people have done as they wallow in the inertia of the status quo. This man is the pioneer of the post independence struggle for democracy in Zimbabwe. His exploits inspired many of us into activism. He still continues to inspire many more people even now as Deputy Prime Minister. He is a hero.

Geoff Nyarota. This man gets onto this list because of his exploits in 1988 when he, together with Davison Maruziva unearthed what was by then the biggest corruption scandal involving high-ranking government ministers. Zimbabwe was still basking in the euphoria of independence when people like Enos Nkala and Maurice Nyagumbo were busy embezzling public funds. Given the barbaric history of ZANU PF when dealing with people perceived to be enemies, it had to take men of courage to carry out such a risky investigative journalism.

Nkululeko Sibanda, Tinashe Chimedza, McDonald Lewanika. These make it to this list as representative of the generation of student leaders who graced our land in the early years of this decade. These people took the struggle for academic freedom to levels that had never been reached in Zimbabwe. They openly challenged the ZANU PF hegemony and constantly organized Zimbabweans to rebel against the despotic rule in Zimbabwe. We should appreciate that the system had by then metamorphosed into a ruthless creature that did not hesitate to kill and to have people who are willing to organize the nation against such powers is just a privilege. The Final Push remains the biggest confrontation between Mugabe and the people. Students led this event. They are heroes of our time.

We have many more people who have selflessly served the people of Zimbabwe but are living somewhere in this world probably oblivious of the difference that they have made in our lives. So, the onus is on us to proclaim the value that these people have added to our lives so that even when they continue they know that the world notices!

Zimbabwe Youth Movement will soon provide the only genuine alternative for the people of Zimbabwe.

When MDC beat ZANU PF in the March 2008 elections, I said; there goes the power of money. When ZANU PF forced MDC out of the run-off election that followed, I said again; there goes the power of the gun. Today as I watch people celebrating the return of food onto the shelves I say to myself; behold the oppressed singing praise hymns to their slave masters!

The lesson we draw from the 2008 elections is that, given an option of food or hunger, human beings would choose food; but given the option of life or death people would rather choose life. Consequently economic pressure on a country ruled by the gun will never bring democratic change. Economic pressure can only bring change to countries whose leadership respects life. We have seen it in Iraq, North Korea, Burma, and Cuba; people died but the regimes continue to flourish.

The point I am trying to drive home is that, the strategy that MDC sought to apply in order to remove the Mugabe regime could have worked if the Zimbabwean political system was such that they (ZANU PF) respected the right to life. We all know they don’t. We have an unending list of people who lost their lives in the hands of ZANU PF and I am not fearful to label them as barbarians.

Before the 2008 March election I wrote an article published in The Zimbabwe Standard in which I warned Morgan that the Mugabe regime would celebrate popular vote only if it was the one winning. I warned him that even if he was to win, the ZANU PF maniacs would never allow him to rule because they believed in the superiority of the gun over the ballot. In the same article I advised him to beef up his claim to power through military coalitions especially with those who were sympathetic to Simba Makoni. I was labeled a Mavambo activist, and when reality began to unfold unto them; I could not help but feel dejected at the inability of my colleagues to read the signs.

A few years ago an argument on whether Zimbabwe was under blanket economic sanctions would have drawn a strong response from pro-MDC supporters but today given the public acknowledgement by Honorable Tendai Biti that the sanctions existed it has become common knowledge to every body. So ,with a bit of wisdom one can extrapolate that an MDC win in March was more about the stomach than an endorsement of MDC leadership. This dates back to that day in March 2002 when Morgan Tsvangirai came out in the open urging South Africa among other countries to institute blanket sanctions on Zimbabwe. The point here is that; MDC’s approach was as evil to the common man as was the barbaric butchering of people by ZANU PF because we also have evidence of people who died directly or indirectly from the effects of these sanctions.

Some may point to the fact that I was a strong MDC activist especially during my days at the University of Zimbabwe. My response is that, at that time MDC seemed to be on course to revolutionise the way business was done in Zimbabwe. It had always been my hope that it was going to realize its faults and mend them. Unfortunately along time these faults became cracks and allowed selfish elements to take control of the struggle albeit with undesirable consequences.

In an effort to give clarity to those who may be in doubt: The Worker and The Boss were housed together in MDC. It is common knowledge that the primary enemy of the worker is the boss. The food riots in 1998 were a demonstration against the poor working and living conditions of the worker in as much as it was a demonstration against the government. The Worker brought numbers while the Boss brought finances to the movement. The question was always going to be how MDC was going to manage this uncomfortable alliance to its advantage. The worker made all the dirty work, the Student made all the noise against privatization of education but on the policy document of MDC appeared anti-worker policies and pro-privatisation policies.

MDC failed to clearly state its position regarding the redistribution of land going only as far as saying it would not accept the pre-2000 situation nor the current situation. This was a testimony of its willingness to appease both the peasant and the former white farmer. Our expectation as landless peasants was that our party would advance clearly our interests unfortunately it seemed as if our importance would only be noticed when they come around looking for our votes.

We have seen however how the The Boss has used his financial muscle to wrestle power from the once vibrant Worker. It is the unwillingness of The Boss to partake in actions that may result in his loss that made the Mass Actions lose luster. It was the The Boss who betrayed the students when on 2 June 2003 instead of joining, rather chose to chicken out of the Final Push. It was The Boss who led to the split in the party, once upon a time when we had no cent we were one family. We never asked for money when duty called but slowly Mr Boss brought in the culture of mercenarism and loyalism. We began to live with warlords amongst ourselves whose word was final and any divergent view met with thorough bashing. Ask Peter Guhu who was almost thrown from the sixth floor of the Harvest House.

Today people celebrate the Government of National Unity as if it is a creation meant to serve them. What they fail to see is that, both MDC and ZANU PF are simply two evils in search of one another in the midst of darkness. ZANU PF is still the same machinery that killed thousands in Matebeleland, it is the same machinery whose hands are dripping with raw blood of our gallant comrades whose only wish was to be people amongst other people- Lookout Masuku, Solo Maimbodei, Zororo Duri, Talent Mabika, Batanai Hadzizi, Learnmore Jongwe and many more whose names are engraved in our virtual roll of honour. MDC is no longer the party that we cherished in the early years of this decade, it has become a party where the fundraiser is more important than the one in the trenches. A party whose leadership claims to care about us but does the opposite in return.

The GNU was formed to divert the attention of the people from the core of their problems. It was formed because both MDC and ZANU PF realized that people were beginning to question the authenticity of their claims that they cared about them. We all know that these two slave-masters have been fighting for supremacy whose measure could only be from the number of people they have managed to hoodwink. And here they were risking rejection from the same people. My prayers go to Morgan Tsvangirai, he could be genuine but Mr Boss has his leashes on him.

Wait and see the contents of the Constitution!

Some of us pushed for the two to form a GNU simply because we felt they both needed to take responsibility of rebuilding what they had both helped to destroy. I am happy that they are discovering how hard it is to rebuild Zimbabwe. Next time they will act responsibly.

I have tried to explain why MDC faltered. There is no way that it can still be revamped because Mr Boss has all the strings tied to his pockets. The only alternative is to build another movement that has clearer terms of interaction between conflicting entities. Mr Boss cannot be allowed to dictate nor lead a movement whose goal is seek the emancipation of the Worker. The Feudal Lord cannot lead a movement whose intention is to seek the empowerment of the Peasant. They are not us. They do not know what we have gone through. They do not identify with our tribulations. Our problems are but comfort under their beds. We need a movement that maintains its independence even in the face of financial temptations.

Mr Boss can help on his own will but knowing fully well that his help is not a passport to having his ideas getting priority. If Mr Boss has his own struggles, he should know that we are not prepared to fight on his behalf. If we are fighting the same enemy that does not necessarily make us friends but alliances can be built specifically to tackle a specific problem. In the process of forming alliances however Mr Boss should know that we would however not compromise our ultimate goal – to emancipate ourselves. Where we feel that he is an impediment to our progress, we will then not hesitate to confront him too, head-on. The choice is his.

Building such a movement is not an easy task but it is possible. The most important part of such an exercise is building an understanding of what Freedom is. In this regard Education becomes the pillar of our struggle. People should be able to understand that our struggle goes beyond the right to vote, is a struggle for our lives. Fortunately, the many brilliant heads in our movement have been working on how best to educate each other. The result has been the crafting of the Zimist Manifesto which clearly articulates our ideas.

Since its formation in January 2007, Zimbabwe Youth Movement has managed to show the world that a movement of genuinely committed people does not necessarily need donor aid to be effective. We have managed to build the movement into a genuinely independent platform where the youths of Zimbabwe can openly interact and explore their political beliefs without fear of reprisals.

We are where we are today due to commitment and selflessness. There are many comrades in our movement who sacrificed their stomachs simply to be able to board a bus to Chitungwiza to organize the movement there. We have many who have been arrested for volunteering to assist the movement as far as Shurugwi. This is the fabric that builds a true movement. It will be a great disappointment if the future leadership of ZYM shall choose to ignore such selfless comrades in our struggle.

At this point in time, given the overwhelming response that we have gotten from our membership in and outside the country, it will not be an overstatement if I conclude that one day- not so faraway from today- Zimbabwe shall wake up to a new generation of people that is willing to confront the devil head-on. They say the most dangerous man is one with an IDEA and a CONVICTION!

Freeman Forward Chari
Secretary General
Zimbabwe Youth Movement