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When there was no choice for her

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Chains of Freedom by Edmund O.Z Chipamaunga
Zimbabwe Publishing House (1998)
ISBN: 1-77901-150-4

JOINING the war to dislodge the ruthless Ian Smith regime was not an easy decision to make for women.
But was there a choice?
Certainly not, they too had to contribute to the attainment of independence.
They abhorred the Rhodesian system just as much as their male counterparts did.
In the book Chains of Freedom, the author, Edmund O.Z Chipamaunga, tells the story of Tapi; a female freedom fighter and Gono, her male counterpart.
The two met and fell in love during the struggle and married after the country attained independence.
Gono was the commander of the group of guerrillas joined by Tapi.
Throughout the book the writer takes the reader through the experiences of freedom fighters during the liberation struggle.
It is really commendable that Zimbabweans are taking time to write about their experiences of the liberation struggle.
Rhodesian writers have bombarded us with literature about the war that birthed Zimbabwe and these are biased.
The books dismiss falsehoods peddled by the Rhodesians that people who joined the liberation struggle in support of a free Zimbabwe were coerced and forced by the freedom fighters.
Chipamaunga dismisses this notion and goes on to highlight that people had been fed up by the injustices of the colonial regime and were no longer willing to be treated as second class citizens in their own country.
For Tapi, as the author writes, she ‘admired the boldness and sense of purpose’ that the 17 male guerrillas who had camped at a hill next to her home.
“Like many others, Tapi joined the liberation struggle for an intensely personal reason, even though her desire to destroy the myth that women were the weaker sex contributed significantly to her decision,” writes Chipamaunga.
The writer also shows how locals especially those working in farms were abused by white farm owners.
Tapi and her family stayed and worked at Boss Grey’s farm.
Boss Grey was abusive and provocative.
“Now and then he (Boss Grey) personally supervised hired labour on his farm, following behind labourers at work, in one hand retraining and pushing out the leash attached to his fierce red-eyed bulldog, in the other holding and menacingly twisting a horse whip.”
It was also the unfair treatment from Boss Grey that influenced Tapi’s decision to join the struggle.
Through Tapi, the author paints for the reader the courageous, strong type of woman who defied all odds and joined the struggle.
This kind of woman, as the author puts it, remained a mystery to many as they had ventured on what seemed a tall order even for some men who abandoned the struggle and came back home.
“Ever since her return to liberated Zimbabwe, she had attracted much attention varying from curiosity, enthusiasm and jealousy, to sheer disbelief about the role, as a woman, had played in the liberation struggle,” writes Chipamaunga.
Through the character of Tapi the writer demystifies the female freedom fighters.
After the liberation struggle Tapi and Gono returned home to raise a family.
Tapi had borne a son during the struggle that they named Hondo (war).
Upon their return, Tapi sought to uphold the promises she had made to her parents before she left for the war.
“The third promise that Tapi regarded as fully binding on her, as well as Gono and all other former combatants, had to do with party principles.”
“The party had pre-empted rampant greed among its leaders when the war came to an end: The guerrillas had to return to live among party supporters who had been mercilessly exploited by the previous political system.”
The writer brings out that the war made those who participated in it principled and focused on delivering their promises of a free country to the people who supported them.
True to the author’s sentiments, ZANU PF after the liberation struggle has continued to put in place programmes to benefit the masses and maintain a peaceful environment that promotes the economic growth for indigenes.
Programmes such as the Land Reform and Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment have benefitted locals.
After the struggle, Tapi continues to remind Gono to uphold the values and principles of the war that guided them.
“What! You honestly want me to forget the principles of the struggle?
“The principles that earned us victory?
“Never, Gono, never. I will remain a principled leader in this new struggle,” said Tapi.
Tapi’s warnings however, fall on deaf ears as Gono engages in corrupt activities and pays for it by serving time in jail after the long arm of the law caught up with him.
Just like Tapi, those who have remained guided by the principles of the liberation struggle have continued to serve Zimbabwe selflessly ensuring it will never be a colony again.

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