Why would one assume that others are gossiping about him/her just because they happen to be speaking amongst themselves in a language he/she doesn’t understand?  I often get that when a group of us are speaking SiNdebele around non-speakers.  Forget that we simply derive pleasure from conversing in our own tongue.  The reason SiNdebele is spoken is to gossip about other people because we really have nothing better to talk about.  It’s very irritating!

I suppose there is something in all of us that makes us regard with suspicion people who are different from ourselves.  And the differentiator needn’t be on major grounds, like being of another tribe, race or religion.  These days even a girl who doesn’t wear weaves in her hair is an oddity to be questioned, “What is wrong with her?”

The problem is when one isn’t open to accepting people’s differences distrust often results.  We then keep away from the object of suspicion and unwittingly become fertile ground for perpetuating prejudices.  So because I have limited interaction with Ndebeles, albinos and women with cropped hair, I then see these groups as being violent, practising witch craft and being lesbian.  Sadly, no matter how far-fetched or ridiculous the notion, lack of knowledge makes it all true.

It gets worse.  Stereotyping leads to intolerance which in turn breeds fear and hate.  And we wonder why society is plagued by discrimination, oppression and hate-crimes. Most people feel insulted and angered when they are exposed to politicians attempts to manipulate them. “What do they take us for?!” we hiss at rhetoric and blatant falsifications of the truth.

Well, let it be known that given the right circumstances – our own existing ignorance and suspicion of anyone different – politicians can and do successfully get the populace to think and act exactly how they want.  All it takes is for us to have the right conditions within ourselves; distrust, fear, hatred and prejudice.  For as long as we are unwilling to embrace peoples’ differences then the history of mankind will continue to be coloured red with genocides because we cannot accept that people look, dress, talk, worship and live differently.

In our fertile soils, each one of us can passively stand by or actively participate in forced evictions, Xenophobic attacks, ethnic cleansing, world wars etc, etc … the possibilities are endless.

Zvinhu zvese zvafamba zvakanaka
Isn’t this lovely?
In less poetic language it translates as ‘all went well’
It was written on a feed-back form by one of our community facilitators after a capacity training workshop
I have been waiting to use it…

One Friday each month, the Tree of Life invites representatives from all their partners,
the communities and groups who have trained as facilitators and workshop organizers
and have begun their own circles where they live.
On Fridays we sit together and bring our stories, our successes and failures and plans for the future
we talk of exchanging facilitators between communities,
and
have tea and sandwiches
laugh

Friday Circle
29.4.11

In Motoko they rose before dawn
walked the cold dusty paths dressed in Sunday best
the sparkle of Venus dims in the rosy glow of sunrise
cold morning air
wood smoke
nearly winter

At the main road they catch the combi
joining the morning crush
in a helter-skelter, precarious, two and half hour drive
life in the hands of a speeding, hell-bent driver

… into Harare

bustling noisy smoky morning traffic
queue at the terminus in piles of litter,
street people
vendors
to catch another combi to Marlborough
walk the last 2 km
to the monthly Tree of Life Partners Circle

Today was special
it is the week of the Harare International Arts Festival
and today we were to be visited by a group of young poets/singers/musicians
who would perform for us

But first the circle
today was special

what is the question we need to ask with the talking stone
that would bring our energy together?

50 people on a green lawn surrounded by trees

‘What is it, that inspires you, in doing this work?’

‘this circle’
‘the ability we have to communicate with communities across the country’
‘that we can speak together of our troubles and our inspirations knowing that we will be witnessed’
‘the power of love that holds us together’
‘the opportunity we have to heal our country’
‘the power of this network’
‘the spirit of love’

one young woman from Mrewa said

‘in this circle, for the first time, I can speak as an equal’

I feel an emergent pattern
flowing alongside the chaos

And then the artists…
These are our children
they have grown alongside this chaos
the last 11 years of their young lives have been a witnessing of corruption and violence and abuse of power
- town and country,
their adolescence has been spent in fearful isolating times
the closure of schools,
the loss of possessions and homes
families and communities disrupted and broken
so many deaths

What is it these new children of our nation have to say?

with their dreadlocks and hip-hop?
-of the freedom train… that left the station in 1980 when they were born free
and of the economy class – who were crushed together to make way for the first class
of the old woman who got left behind without money for the ticket
and the young mother who lost her baby
- those abandoned by the freedom train

Of the joy of being free within their own spirits
of living in the present
of connecting with nature

with his guitar a young man sang old songs
to old spirits with the voice of the old grandmothers
for the abused children
for the spirits of the dumped babies.

When he was asked what moved him to sing this song he explained
‘Once I was privileged – I had a job
and with the job came a newspaper
and it was in there – on pages 3 and 4
hidden away in lost corners
I read these stories
And I felt they were stories that everyone should know
So I sing’

A beautiful 18 year old
spoke with the voice of the young deaf and mute girl she was working with
a poem filled with vivid understanding
of the frustrated angry vacuum of this young life

She goes to this orphanage voluntarily, to hug the children!

A young man spoke with the voice of 3 different women
whose lives had been changed forever
by the burning and breaking down of outhouses and shack dwellings and posessions
in operation Murambatsvina

another young woman spoke
spoke from inside the skin
from inside the wall of prison
from inside the humiliated beaten body
from inside the mind
of one of our women human rights activists who was arrested last year

and powerful woman who was visiting Zimbabwe
called for the time of the return of the Goddess
the challenge of sharing the throne
of the balance of masculine and feminine

When asked how well she was received by our more conservative Christian population
she replied

‘I am not here to be approved of
I am here to make you think
about the coming of the inevitable’

A young boy not more than 11 years or so played traditional drums
he said he had been drumming since he was born
a young man sang
and we danced

what is this emergent pattern
flowing alongside the chaos

Zvinhu zvese zvafamba zvakanaka

When I was going through some articles on the latest advancements in cellphone technology, I came across an article on textually.com about how farmers in Kenya are using SMS every morning to find the best prices on the market for their produce.

On a visit to Mbare Musika in Harare you will hear lots of complaints from farmers about low prices on the market for their produce. When you compare these prices at Mbare Musika with other market places you will find a big difference in pricing and one wonders how best these farmers can get such useful information before their produce to the market.

I imagine a farmer in Mutoko avoiding the hassle and pain of selling her tomatoes at a give-away price by just sending an SMS to different market places in Harare and getting instant feedback on where to sell at a better price. This will also help vendors to know where to buy at low prices.

Kenyan farmers use SMS to beat climate-driven price uncertainty

MERU, Kenya (AlertNet) – William Muriuki and his wife are inspecting their vegetable farm in the tiny village of Karimagachiije, some 15 km outside Meru town in central Kenya. Cabbages, onions and Irish potatoes are ready to go to market. But the question is where?

Identifying the best market never used to be a problem, explains the 73-year-old farmer. “It was easy to tell what vegetables were in season in a particular area, so we knew the most appropriate places to sell our farm produce.”

But changing climatic conditions have disrupted market patterns. “It is no longer as predictable as it was,” he says. “We have to physically identify places with high demand.”

Even fairly recently, local farmers could be sure the rains would come around March 25 each year. So by the end of April, most vegetables would be in season, meaning low demand at nearby markets. In much of Eastern Province though, the rains would be delayed or not arrive at all, so farmers from the central region knew they could get a good price for their produce there.

But that’s no longer the case. “In the past few years, I have seen rains come much earlier than expected, or very late,” says Muriuki. “At times, it rains in Eastern Province much earlier or at the same time as it does here, or it fails to rain in both areas.”

In these challenging conditions, Muriuki and his farming colleagues have turned to technology to help them find the right market. Read the full article on here

HIFA is made as magnificent as it is because of the assistance of a wide variety of people from artists, to caters, to people to guard cars. Here is a Kubatana inside out interview with Richard, who guards cars every year at HIFA.

Take a bow Richard.

Richard Chimunda – Postcard & Bag artist

Describe yourself in five words?
Freeman, social, Touring Game Parks.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
I mustn’t be boring and I must dress nice. Life is too short to blend in.

What’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever done?
Having sex with chicks.

What is your most treasured possession?
Talent for football.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Poverty.

Do you have any strange hobbies?
Going out with my friends and reading novels in the park, Romeo & Juliet because its about love.

What do you dislike most about your appearance?
Being discriminated against because I’m a Dreadman.

What is your greatest extravagance?
Watching movies in town. They’re $5.

What have you got in your fridge?
I don’t have a fridge.

What is your greatest fear?
Being in water; I cannot swim.

What have you got in your pockets right now?
My wallet and my ID card.

What is your favourite journey?
It is still to come. To Europe to see my arts.

Who are your heroes in real life?
My grandfather, because he is the father of my father.

When and where were you happiest?
When I’m playing soccer.

What’s your biggest vice?
Making bags and postcards.

What were you like at school?
My classmates liked me. I was better in English than they were.

What are you doing next?
I don’t know.

‘The Engagement Party’ is this year’s (2011) HIFA theme. The HIVOS Spoken Word Programme on Wednesday 27, April took time to engage Zimbabweans celebrating African expression as they listened to poems being recited by poets from Zimbabwe, Botswana, Malawi and Ghana. The theme for the day was, “Diversity in our Voices”. The occasion wouldn’t have been a success without the colourful and wonderful audience. Not only was expression done in poetry, but in song too, as witnessed by the performance by Zimbabwe’s beautiful jazz singer Claire Nyakujara.

Mbizo Chirasha, The Black Poet, was the first poet to perform. The themes of his poetry consist of children’s rights, politics, social lives, gender issues, praise and protest, culture and African pride. He took us on an expedition of the African names from the King Jaja of Opobo to Chaminuka with his poem was titled, ‘African Names’. Another local poet who performed was, Bhekumusa Moyo. He has several of his poems published in the Sunday News Poetry Corner and other publications. On this day he took to the stage two of his poems titled, ‘A poetic crusade’ and ‘This hand’.

Power to the sisters hey! T J Dema from Botswana was the only female poet who performed on this day. I must say her poems are truly engaging as she tackles life issues with her African voice. She performed ‘Neon poem’ and ‘First born Lullaby’. An extract from ‘Neon poem’ reads:

Poems are bullshit unless they teach
They serve absolutely no purpose unless they reach
The audience they are written, the ears they are meant for

Q. Malewezi from Malawi well known as Q, delivered his poem in heartfelt verbal bursts interlaced with humorous suggestions. He managed to invite the audience on an artistic journey in his alphabetic poem, ‘Journey to Q’. One would think it’s a journey of his life but no, he dwelled on all the issues in Africa in alphabetical order (A-Q of course) in an artstic manner, which was just superb. The other poem he performed was ‘Recycling Politicians’.

Quaye Kojo known as Sir Black from Ghana delivered the last poem. He tackles poetry more on a thought provoking note. During his performance he got inquisitive as he threw questions here and there to engagea  the audience.  Below is a quote from one of his poems:

If vegetarians eat vegetables
What should humanitarians eat?
~ Humanity in diversity~

To end the programme singer Claire Nyakujara showed her diversity by performing three songs one in Shona, Ndebele and English.

To listen to more of the poetic engagement do make a date with The HIVOS Spoken Word at the HIVOS Poetry Café.

Saturday (Coca-Cola Day) – 3-4pm
Sunday (Alliance Insurance Day) – 12-1pm

HIFA entered day three yesterday and the fun still goes on and on. The HIVOS Poetry Café keeps getting bigger by the day as the number of audiences increases. I’m sharing a puesic performance (when poetry and music come together) by Kenyan Ngwatilo Mawiyoo yesterday at The HIVOS Poetry Café titled ‘Lesson on Heritage’.

Vision of land         aaaka
Vision of Mulata Ivia kula Nzaui        akaa
Vision of ugali and sukuma wiki    sesesesese
Goat meat goat meat goat meat!

Persistent sunlight over the savannah        aa
dry desolate dust dancing over distance     a
woman’s woman sighing she swallowing
“coulda-done” – she’s moving on
I want Goat meat Goat meat Goat meat!!

And in Nairobi the sidewalks ache
there’s too many people walking crushing cement
maybe roots beneath    mmm  not enough sweepers,
dust rises coating stone buildings brown  Aii
So much struggle, toil, soul moaning Asi!!
Want Goat meat Goat meat Goat Meat!!!

Our foot stamps, prints rock beyond Nzaui,
in South Africa New York Tennessee
England Germany California Texas Ghana India
Tanzania Toronto Bangladesh Trinidad, Canada, Panama,
- everywhere we go, meet you, where you go after
seeking GOAT meat GOAT Meat GOAT MEAT -

So you too can endure
little rain and lengthy travels
and smile     dance
believe.

To see Ngwatilo Mawiyoo and other local and regional poets perform and feel the vibe of the spoken take part in the HIVOS Spoken Word programme. Be part of HIFA through engagement in poetry and music. Ngwatilo Mawiyoo’s first publication, ‘Blue mothertounge’ is on sale.