IT is very difficult to separate Heroes Day from Independence Day because of the high level of emotion attached to both days.
The bitter-sweet memories of the blood that was shed during the liberation war come to the fore on both days.
Bitter because we physically lost our loved ones and sweet because the intransigent enemy with all its superior weaponry was vanquished.
Without the supreme sacrifice by these gallant fighters, these two sacred days wouldn’t be on our calendar in their present format.
And Heroes’ Day sees us the victors celebrating the lives of our sons and daughters whose remains lie scattered all over the country and region.
On Monday August 11 as people flock to the main Heroes’ Acre in Harare and various other shrines throughout the country, let’s give a thought to our heroes, some of who are buried in mass graves and still to be identified.
The brutality of the war led to situations where the taboo of burying women and men in the same grave was common.
We salute the Fallen Heroes Trust for their sterling work in identifying remains of fallen heroes sacrilegiously scattered wherever and giving them a decent burial.
That is the greatest respect we can now give to our heroes.
But it is not enough just to mourn over the fate of our departed ones, no matter how they were buried, on Monday.
What is more important today is to reflect on what our heroes died for.
Why did they so courageously face the enemy’s bullets and bombs without retreating?
It was not in pursuit of sheer martyrdom.
But a genuine desire to free our country from racist rule by Ian Smith and his colonialists.
We celebrate Heroes’ Day on Monday aware that we are now a sovereign state fully in charge of our own resources, be they above or below the ground.
We should never doubt this reality.
True, imperialists do not have the word ‘defeat’ in their dictionaries.
They will pull out all the stops in a desperate bid to reverse the gains of our independence.
This includes the creation of political parties like the now disjointed MDC formations to mislead the Zimbabwean electorate.
The proliferation of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), all with the aim of effecting regime change and bring about a Western controlled government is part of the game plan.
This and more.
But our armour will always be the memory of the bloodshed by our sons and daughters to free our country.
As we celebrate our Heroes’ Day on Monday, July 31 2013 should remind us that we have not forgotten what our children died for.
The overwhelming victory of ZANU PF was a clear testimony that the Zimbabwean electorate still identifies itself with the liberation struggle.
That same spirit that made our late sons and daughters defeat colonialists should see us surmount all our problems as we endeavour to see the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-ASSET) succeed.
As we travel to various parts of the country to commemorate the lives of our departed heroes with relatives and friends let’s not add more blood to the soil through avoidable accidents.
Let’s drive within the required speed limit in sound vehicles, preferably during day time.
No overloading please.
The advice, “Don’t drink and drive,” should not be dismissed as a mere cliche.
We wish all Zimbabweans a thought-provoking Heroes’ Day.