Music is a big business and it has transformed people’s lives the world over.  In western countries by just producing one good album it can change one’s fortunes for the rest of his/her life. Media plays an important role in promoting artists music and with bad media publicity it can also destroy an artist’s career. Here in Zimbabwe our own local music artists, especially the urban grooves artists rely on the media to promote their music and some of them enjoy massive airplay on the state broadcasting stations. The rise in popularity for urban grooves was mainly spearheaded by the introduction of 75% local content on national radio stations by the then Minister of Information and Publicity Professor Jonathan Moyo a couple of years ago.  To some local artists it was a blessing to them since competition from foreign music was reduced. However to some artists after rising to stardom their names now appear in the history book for the wrong reasons.

The lyrics of the music composed by these urban grooves artists has attracted a huge following especially amongst the youth. The message in the music is usually associated with love, cash and the ghetto lifestyle. Instead of promoting their music through good publicity, recently it has become the opposite. After starting on a positive note most of these young artists have attracted bad publicity to their music by trying to live the life they sing about in their songs. Some may say the problem starts when these young artists try to merge our local culture with the western culture in their music thereby creating an identity crisis.  Zimbabwe has been blessed with many young talented musicians but most of them have gone quiet after failing to handle fame. The toll of a celebrity lifestyle has proved to be a heavy burden with many young artists falling by the wayside through drugs, prostitution, alcohol abuse and unprofessional contact.

Piracy is also taking its share of problems for these music artists resulting in many of them singing for peanuts. In trying to increase popularity in the hope of pushing music sales some local artists are now using media for the wrong reasons. A couple of a years ago a creative and promising young artist was sentenced to do community service after being found in possession of marijuana and as if this was not enough the same young man could not keep his microphone in his pants as he went around impregnating many girls. After singing so much about money and a high expensive lifestyle another local artist made headlines recently when his sex video was leaked to the press. With this kind of behavior and bad publicity it will take a very long time for our local artists to separate their private life from their public one.

In April of this year, the Mass Public Opinion Institute conducted 20 Focus Group Discussions in 10 of Zimbabwe’s administrative provinces. The aim of the discussions was to assess public opinion about Zimbabwe’s future. The qualitative data from these discussions was compiled into a report titled ‘Phobia of Elections: Deep fear and Anxiety about Zimbabwe’s future’. Among the key findings of the report were that election induced fear was deep and pervasive in the country and nearly all focus group participants felt that the country was not yet ready for elections in 2011 and felt that Zimbabwe should either wait another two years or wait until a new Constitution was adopted.

In general the study found that the public mood was positive about the social and economic conditions at the time and people were generally optimistic about the future. Most participants in the study felt that life in Zimbabwe had improved because of the increased availability of goods, better employment opportunities and the relative peace as compared to the situation prevailing in 2008.  One man from Midlands province is quoted in the report as saying:

“I think our lives have changed politically speaking though not economically in Zimbabwe at least we are living in peace.”

However, the majority of focus group participants relayed their misgivings with regard to elections. Many were reported to believe that elections would bring a resurgence of politically motivated violence. A woman from Mashonaland West said:

“I am shaken at the mentioning of any election. I think of the brutality against humanity that some experienced during the election campaign…”

Another man from Manicaland Central said: “We know every time we approach elections, some people will move around threatening war if they lose elections.”

Participants who said elections made them fearful were asked to describe how big the problem of fear was in their communities. Some intimated that the problem of fear was so pervasive that they would consider supporting a ban. Others felt that they had to resort such drastic measures as confining  themselves to their homes and stop supporting the political party of their choice to protect themselves.

“You don’t even trust the person that you will be walking with. You don’t have that freedom to discuss certain things that you want to talk about and most of the times you have to be cautious and remain quiet.”

Asked how this situation could be improved in the event of another election, many participants felt that international observers could help to ameliorate the situation. Further, many felt that a new constitution and assurances regarding the security of the general populace would help to restore public confidence.

The Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe (MMPZ) issued this statement today:

MMPZ advocacy officers Fadzai December and Molly Chimhanda have been detained by Zimbabwe Republic Police in Gwanda in connection with a civic education meeting they facilitated in the town two weeks ago on the 24th November 2011. Also detained in connection with the same case is the chairperson of MMPZ’S Public Information Rights Forum Committee for Gwanda Mr Gilbert Mabusa. They are being charged under POSA for failing to give notice of the meeting despite the fact that the meeting was convened by the membership of MMPZ’s Public Information Rights Forum Committee for Gwanda and was therefore not a public meeting as contemplated under POSA. They are also being charged in terms of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act for “participating in gathering with intent to promote public violence, breaches of the peace or bigotry”. The Gwanda police authorities allege that the MMPZ advocacy officers distributed illegal material in the form of a DVD MMPZ produced essentially calling upon the media to contribute to peaceful elections through fair, accurate and balanced coverage of election campaigns by Zimbabwean political parties.

While MMPZ respects the necessity of the due process of the law, it is MMPZ’s view that this case does not warrant the pre-trial detention of its advocacy officers and Mr Mabusa. They are not remotely a flight risk as MMPZ’s officers have fully cooperated with the police and returned to Gwanda from Harare yesterday to assist the police in their inquiries. The Zimbabwean Constitution protects the right to personal liberty. Depriving an individual of their personal liberty should be an action of last resort. It should not be employed as a first option especially in cases whose circumstances do not warrant pre-trial detention. MMPZ therefore calls upon the police to release Gilbert, Fadzai and Molly from custody forthwith as their attendance at court can be secured by way of summons.

The World AIDS Day umbrella theme until 2015 is “Getting to Zero – Zero New HIV Infections. Zero Discrimination and Zero AIDS Related Deaths”. UNAIDS has developed 10 strategy goals by 2015 in relation to the Getting to Zero campaign, and these are listed below:

1.Sexual transmission of HIV reduced by half, including among young people, men who have sex with men and transmission in the context of sex work
2.Vertical transmission of HIV eliminated, and AIDS-related maternal mortality reduced by half
3.All new HIV infections prevented among people who use drugs
4.Universal access to antiretroviral therapy for people living with HIV who are eligible for treatment
5.TB deaths among people living with HIV reduced by half
6.People living with HIV and households affected by HIV are addressed in all national social protection strategies and have access to essential care and support
7.Countries with punitive laws and practices around HIV transmission, sex work, drug use or homosexuality that block effective responses reduced by half
8.HIV-related restrictions on entry, stay and residence eliminated in half of the countries that have such restrictions
9.HIV-specific needs of women and girls are addressed in at least half of all national HIV responses
10.Zero tolerance for gender-based violence

(http://www.unaids.org/en/aboutunaids/unaidsstrategygoalsby2015/ )

This year’s World AIDS Day was barely over when I read an article about a South African journalist detained in, and deported from Qatar due to his HIV-positive status.

Naturally this news report brought up numerous questions. Even though I knew that some countries have visa restrictions for HIV/AIDS, I did not realise the extent of these restrictions, and the lengths to which and procedures some countries followed in order to enforce these rules.

Including Qatar, 47 countries worldwide have the HIV restrictions mentioned in UNAIDS strategy goals. Restricting the travel of people who are HIV positive is a measure these countries have taken to curb the spread of AIDS. Up until recently, the USA and China were among the countries that listed having HIV as a medical basis for inadmissibility and denial of visas.

I have tried to think of the reasons behind these prohibitions. It seems a logical move, I guess. Almost like the reverse of quarantine. The separation of infected people as an emergency response to prevent the spread of disease (especially those about which little is known) has been practiced throughout history, the world over, and in theory, should be quite effective in preventing the spread of HIV. But … I don’t think so!

We now know a whole lot more than we did in the 80s and 90s about the nature of HIV/AIDS and there is therefore no need for such draconian restrictions, which I feel do little more than fuel the fires of stigma and further marginalize people living with HIV in an age when openness about the disease is being encouraged and treatment is mostly readily available.

The world has become a global village and it is now not unheard of that nationals from one side of the globe, travel and even work on the other side of it. What has happened to this South African journalist is a harsh reminder of how bad the situation currently is and how much work still needs to be done on the issue. As UNAIDS continues in its call for the “global freedom of movement for people living with HIV”, I’m wondering how they might help this victim of discrimination and ill treatment due to HIV-positive status, and maybe use this issue as a platform to effect change and shed light on HIV discrimination and stigma?

No excuse – speed limit posted! This is a speed limit sign on Coronation Avenue in Greendale. For the record . . . police are trapping on this road.