WE celebrate more than three decades of unity.
But we have to ask if we really appreciate the meaning of the day or it has just become another holiday; a day we take a break from the grind and mark the end of the year.
It has been more than 40 years since we broke the yoke of colonialism and more than 30 years when we sat and agreed that no Zimbabwean will ever fight a fellow Zimbabwean, and these periods are, to our younger generations, a distant past.
Having grown up in a free Zimbabwe, which has been peaceful due to the efforts of all our leaders, some of us do not understand why people lost limb and life in the bushes.
July 4 is a day that Americans hold dear.
It has been more than 200 years since the Americans attained their independence and they have not stopped drumming into the heads of their young the sacrifices made by the founding fathers.
As we celebrate Unity Day, let us not forget the history of our liberation struggle and the heroes and heroines who fought for us to have a free and peaceful Zimbabwe.
A country is its history and its heroes.
Characters like Mbuya Nehanda, King Lobengula, Joshua Nkomo and Robert Mugabe are part of the DNA of this country.
As we celebrate Unity Day, it is heartening to note that we have attained what we fought for and continue to fight to defend our gains.
Unity Day is not a day that just marks the beginning of the end of year holidays.
It is a day that defines the kind of people that we are.
A determined people, who do not brook any nonsense and will not lie down and succumb to oppression and will not be hoodwinked.
We continue to draw inspiration from those who have gone ahead of us in the battle for total economic emancipation.
We are aware of the machinations taking place in European and American citadels.
The efforts to divide us will not work.
We are one people, united and working for the glory of the motherland.
The Union Jack was lowered, the Eternal Flame was lit and our very own flag raised.
It symbolised the beginning of a new era of empowerment of the indigenes.
And there is no going back.
For us, it meant that we were free to control our natural resources, to own land and be masters of our own destiny.
We celebrate success stories of the Land Reform Programme brought about by our hard-won independence.
We continue to call for unity and peace and continued resolve to protect what is ours.
We hold dear our memories and our lives.
We shall continue to protect and fight for our heritage.
We are proud to be Zimbabweans and do not aspire to be anything else.
And we will forever remain united.