Yesterday I attended a presentation on Human Security by Farai Maguwu, a Zimbabwean human rights activist.

Over the years, many states have focused their security strategies on defending and protecting their nation through the use of the military. In Zimbabwe the defense Ministry has done exceedingly well in this regard, considering we have never been attacked by any state since independence. However, the blueprint surrounding the word security has since embraced a new aspect, which is human security. Human security expresses the basic needs of an individual in terms of secure systems of education, health, shelter and job structures.

Thus the ‘security’ that nations should provide for their citizens should go a long way beyond having safe borders to protect the nation at large to having individuals needs met within that secure environment. Human security in Zimbabwe is dilapidated. This is evident in the number of Zimbabweans living in the Diaspora who have failed to get a job in their own country, who have failed to get medical health care, who seek better education systems and whose freedom of expression has been violated. It is also evident from the number of street kids we having living in the streets, who have failed to secure a shelter over their head, a basic birth certificate (which is a right), education, and food to mention a few examples.

I personally fear that one day I might fall ill and fail to pay for my medical bills. Student at universities fear not getting a job after completing their studies. Pupils in schools,, both primary and secondary, fear that one day their parents will wake up to tell them there is no money in the house to pay for their fees or examination fees. The internally displaced communities and a majority of citizens have failed to put a roof over their heads. This, like the presenter put it, will lead to structural violence which he defined as the slow death of an individual through being deprived access to basic material needs.

What measures should we undertake as a nation to make Zimbabwe secure?

This entry was posted on January 13th, 2011 at 9:26 am by Elizabeth Nyamuda and is filed under Activism, Economy, Governance, Reflections. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.