Short Writings from Bulawayo II Edited by Jane Morris Published by ’amabooks (2005) ISBN 0-7974-2896-8

PITTING tribes against each other is one common strategy used by the West in its endeavours to destabilise Africa. Tracing back the continent’s history in Tanzania, the British pitted the Arusha tribe against the Masai tribe. The infamous Rwanda genocide was a result of the long standing tribal war between the Hutu and Tutsi which was orchestrated by the Belgians. Other countries that have had tribes being turned against each other include, Namibia; the Herero and Namaqua by Germany and Kenya; the Kikuyu and Kalanjini by the British. And yes that strategy has also been used in Zimbabwe. Efforts continue to be made to pit the Ndebele against the Shona by the West. Through books such as Short Writings from Bulawayo II edited by Jane Morris, the agenda is glaring. The stories are meant to stir up anger in the people living in Bulawayo and Matabeleland as all the stories have an underlying message that they are being neglected by the Government. In the story The Anthill by Gertrude Nyakutse, the writer subtly plays the racial card an agenda which has been propagated by the West. In the story, the narrator in 2003 revisits her childhood village she left in 1958. “The gravel road had not been graded since Matabeleland’s nationalist hero, Joshua Nkomo died,” writes Nyakutse. “Perhaps there was no need to go that way anymore. “The road must die too.” Was the late Vice-President Dr Nkomo Matabeleland’s hero alone or his efforts liberated the whole of Zimbabwe? By suggesting that after the death of Dr Nkomo Government then abandoned the people of Matabeleland, she is playing right into the hands of the whites. It is the whites pitting the Ndebele against the Shona and would want to make the Ndebele believe that the Government was not concerned about them. A lot has since changed with the area being run down, reckons the narrator, seemingly suggesting that it was better off in 1958 than it was in 2003. Surely how can a black person believe that life was better during the colonial era when the black person was a nonentity than in independent Zimbabwe, a time of self rule and governance? It is not surprising that Nyakutse takes a swipe on the African culture. “There is much that is good about our African traditions, but I also wonder how much damage has been done to people’s lives by the culture that denies one his or her rights in the interest of the group,” she writes. The divide and rule tactic is also a strategy that is being used by the continent’s detractors to create a breed of Africans that despise their culture. By destroying the African culture, its people will not have a sense of belonging and will not be compelled to safeguarding the continent from plunderers. In the story The Coming by Godfrey Sibanda, the writer paints a picture of what transpires before a political rally by the ruling party. As expected events are exaggerated of how people are forced to attend with some being told to postpone even funerals to attend. By so doing, the writer is siding with the white paymaster who wants the world to believe there is no democracy and rule of law in Zimbabwe. However, just like in the days of the liberation struggle when the masses supported the freedom fighters freely, people attend political rallies without anyone forcing them to. The poem Past State House by Tawanda Chipato is one that paints a hopeless situation for the ordinary Zimbabwean. It is only the few rich that are enjoying life in the country, says Chipato. “In sharp contrast “To my battered, borrowed attire “The lovely, imposing Mount Pleasant mansions…… “King House at last! “My sanctuary, my house of hunger, my hell! “Home at last!” Chipato portrays a picture that would please the West that Zimbabweans are suffering and the Government is not doing anything to support them. Maybe it is time Chipato and his handlers take a visit to any one of the tobacco auction floors and see the black small-scale farmer smiling all the way to the bank. The smile is a result of the Government’s Land Reform Programme that empowered the ordinary black person with Land. In another poem that paints a sorrowful state of the ordinary Zimbabwean is My Dustbin by John Eppel. The poet talks of how his dustbin has brought relief and had come to the rescue for the hungry Zimbabweans. “These children have acquired the patience of queueing; “Children of the neighbourhood; suburban; “Queuing at my bin for a lucky dip.” As much as the West wants to distort facts about what is happening in the country, people remain grateful for the various development, empowerment and indigenisation programmes that continue to be rolled out by the Government.