In a recent blog Dewa Mavinga challenged Zimbabweans to become active citizens rather than passive subjects. Kubatana sent out an email asking our subscribers to comment, and here are the responses:

I totally agree with Dewa Mavinga. As Zimbabweans, we need to be progressive thinkers. Let us act holistically and put our nation at heart. All Zimbabweans need to promote this country as a Land of Forgiveness, rewrite its history and embrace the new dispensation. Yes, as opined by Martin Luther King, ‘Our lives begin to end the minute we become silent about things that matter’, let us be proactive and act as citizens of this resource-endowed country. We should also shoulder the blame for the problems bestowing the country. We have been silent for too long, waiting for others to build and/or destroy this country. As Zimbabweans, I think this is totally unacceptable. Lets work together and promote the Zimbabwe We Want and ‘Proudly Zimbabwean’ brand. – Lazarus

I read Dewa Mavinga’s piece with interest.  In discussions with friends I have always expressed the same sentiments. From the household, school, community, church, workplace to the political level, we are all expected to obey authority.  Hanzi ingozi, kutuka mai wavabata vane chikomba, one is just supposed to observe and keep one’s mouth shut.  The tragedy is even in civil society structures, the very institutions supposed to champion democracy, the same situation prevails.  We have seen NGOs being run like family businesses and challenging certain practices is taboo.  One can get a label for that. I concur that regardless of how many political parties we may elect into government, our situation would not improve if we do not change our mindset at individual level.  There is so much individualism and self-preservation at the detriment of the public good.  Yes it might be a demonstration of resentment at the status quo, but what would drive a sane person to steal power cables for making trinkets, or for a powerful politician to steal the same cables for export? I don’t believe Zimbabweans are cowards, but this individualism that appears to be ingrained into our thinking is the root cause of our problems.  Take a situation like this: A commuter from Chitungwiza wants to get into Harare, they know the bus fare is R5.  They have R10 to cater for a return journey and some other money to buy one or two things in the city.  They get into a bus with a capacity for 75 passengers.  The bus gets full, and when the bus departs the conductor informs the passengers the fare to town is now R10.  There is universal outcry in the bus and the conductor orders the driver to stop the bus and yells to the passengers “Asingade ngaabude”.  One enlightened person starts arguing with the conductor and the rest of the passengers join saying “hatibude”.  On seeing that the conductor is not budging, you will always find someone who is willing to pay.  When one person pays the rest follow suit.  You will hear some people bragging that if you don’t have money “enda kumusha, kana kugara kumba kwako”, as if they themselves have the money.  They definitely don’t because if you are in Zimbabwe and you have money then you are unlikely to be in a commuter omnibus. My argument here is how can 75 grown up men and women be intimidated by three men armed with nothing but an intimidating voice and scruffy cloths.  Honestly those Hwindis and conductors are not made of iron.  The scenario I describe above happens every day from Tsholotsho to Mutare, but a Zimbo can say is “Zvakawona” and pays. When workers call for a strike, you will always find some who try whatever means possible to come to work.  I know a guy who walked from Chitungwiza to Harare and back for two days because he didn’t want to be associated with fellow striking workers for mere selfish reasons. As Dewa said, we will not go anywhere if we don’t change our mindset, no matter how many elections we have. – Joshua

Participation of all citizens then allows for a robust and energetic society who now will realise their full potential and challenge those who they may see as opposing their scheme of things. Those opposing will also see the other group as healthy opponents or competition and as such opposing views can be discussed in a good natured manner. This is because everyone now is civil enough to understand there is a problem and as such how can we deal with it. Our active participation in any event has created a democratic situation because sides have been taken and people are now critically looking at events around them and taking the necessary action to change it without violence but through active participation. We have now transformed ourselves from ‘Subjects’ to  ‘Active Citizens’ in any capacity. – Lionel

I agree with Dewa that we are part and parcel of the regime that has brought down democratic systems in our country. But this is largely because every generation has a value attached to its existence. The pre-independence generation had a revolutionary (nationalist) approach to life, no wonder they went to war and fought to the end. The current crop is more inclined towards individualism, where even during the toughest of times in Zimbabwe, each family would work towards its own survival, without bothering about the person next door. Note that today in Zimbabwe, a multitude can be made to run for dear life by just a handful of militant Zanu (PF) youths (obviously paid to perform). Upon attaining independence, Zanu (PF) engaged in compulsive politics. Those who did not want to participate were regarded as traitors and were severely dealt with, just like in war time, and this was applied consistently and in a systematic way. The result was the isolation of Zimbabweans into individuals who cannot cooperate to fight back. That even explains why we have the largest number of political refugees in Southern Africa. People cannot fight back, so they escape. It is this culture of isolation that needs to be broken. In my view this will not happen over night because, right now Zimbabweans are even scared of their own shadows. They cannot trust the next person in case he/she is Zanu (PF) and they are considered enemies of the state. By the way if you are against Zanu (PF) or its people, you are an enemy of the state. A new political platform, far-fetched from the WAR politics pursued by Zanu (PF), can be the only answer to reviving the democratic spirit of Zimbabweans. We need to break the perception that this country belongs to Zanu (PF) and all those who went to war. – Farai

Not everyone is passive, unfortunately the guys with the big bucks (heavy duty logistics) only seem to want to support MDC. But we will keep trying. – Comrade Kundayi

This entry was posted on September 10th, 2009 at 12:20 pm by Bev Clark and is filed under Activism, Governance, Reflections, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.