Out of ignorance, most people assume that they overcome their adversaries by hating them. But, in reality, by hating those adversaries, they become affected by them as victims. To some people, sanctions are the cause of our troubles. But the more those people hate such sanctions the more they are subjugated by them. By becoming victims of those sanctions, they become defeated.
Some people hate ZANU PF. But the more they hate ZANU PF the more ZANU PF rules over them. Most of the Gukurahundi victims find it impossible to forgive ZANU PF. The Mthwakazi Republican Party feels alienated from the rest of the country. But the more they remain in that condition, the more they sink in the effects of the wrongs committed more than forty years ago.
A human being is a peculiar species. If the sanctions were truly the cause of misery for the Zimbabwean people, that would have been a blessing in disguise. The Zimbabwean people would have become inward-looking. Necessity is the mother of invention. The Zimbabweans boast of being highly educated in the region.
Educated as they are, nothing could have stopped them from being highly innovative to come up with ideas, to address the economy. However, the focus became that of mourning about sanctions, rather than doing something under the circumstances. Currently, Zimbabwe is languishing under the embarrassment, when failing where Rhodesians survived under the stiffest sanctions imposed by the United Nations.
All failures in the world have one thing in common. They are never bereft of good excuses for failure. Zimbabwe has failed, economically, and the reason for its failure is said to be the imposed sanctions. There will always be a reason for any failure, in this world. But in reality, there is nothing that can cause failure to achieve what is intended.
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you” (Luke 17:5-6 NIV).
The faith that Jesus was talking about is inherent in humanity. Nothing is impossible to humanity, as different from other creatures of this world. The Wright brothers who invented the airplane were not even educated at all.
The two brothers simply believed in their innovative ideas, before becoming the first to invent the airplane. Jesus was not suggesting religiosity, for one to exercise faith. He was talking about the reality of what humanity was made of.
With faith, as little as a mustard seed, anyone can achieve anything. The Wright brothers should not be viewed as if they were more special than any other human being. The difference, according to Jesus, lies in lacking faith. This implies not being intimidated by anything in this world, when having faith.
The Zimbabwean government attempted to gain sympathy from other African countries, on the matter of sanctions. This was unnecessary, except showing helplessness as a victim, granting their former oppressors with superiority. In other words, Zimbabwe declares to be still under colonialism, while at the same time claiming to be a sovereign state.
Those supporting such behavior are as oblivious, as to expose their stupidity. Why was fighting for freedom necessary if unable to be self-governing? Through the sanctions outcry, Zimbabwe is displaying leadership deficiency. If feeling victimized by Western sanctions, Zimbabwe is yet to attain independence.
Another school of thought is that the sanctions mantra is used, only as a scapegoat, to cover up stealing from government coffers? Whether true or not, this remains to be what may be unraveled in the future. We have to uphold the standing position that sanctions are the cause of the Zimbabwean failures.
The Zimbabwean government needs faith, as little as a mustard seed to address its failings. This requires no consideration of the effect of sanctions if any? There is no need to hate those who imposed sanctions, whether justified or not.
There is no doubt that if the Zimbabwean government came to its rightful senses, Zimbabwe could rise as a great country. This could lead the country to become envied by the same enforcers of sanctions. Independence means becoming the master of one’s destiny.
The Israelite’s failures, after having been liberated from Egypt were centered on the failure to understand the principle of faith. Their excuse was being intimidated by the Canaanites, thereby invalidating their liberty. Their punishment by God was to remain in slavery for forty years.
Caleb and Joshua made a difference, as the two understood the principle of faith. The rest of the Israelites got intimidated, as to feel incapacitated, unable to confront their destiny. They could not appreciate the fact that they were no longer under Egyptian slavery.
The imposers of sanctions did not do anything to stifle the innovative minds of the Zimbabwean people. If truly independent, Zimbabweans could produce admirable commodities, for other nations to buy on Zimbabwean terms. This is said in consideration that the land acquisition would have been based on principle.
Of course, this rule does not apply where the land acquisition was designed to attract sympathy from other nations. This is just as it is true that a person with a clean heart can never be hurt by anything. Most of those people claiming to be victims are ordinarily guilty of some offense.
The majority of women, going to courts of law, viewed as victims, seeking justice, are ordinarily guilty of some offense. They invite sympathy, using falsehoods, mixed with truths. However, when truly committed to integrity, they would normally have their cases handled, easily, even without involving the courts.
When truly committed to integrity, humans are free, even when facing the apparent daunting challenges. The sanctions challenge affects the entire nation, even though said to have targeted a few individuals. This is due to lacking faith among the populace, in general.
Ordinary people surrender everything to the leader, rather than remaining committed to their integrity. The idea of idolatry, inherent in humanity, complicates everything. President Mugabe could not have achieved his sinister objectives if the populace had remained committed to their integrity.
Supporting the president of a country can be acceptable as appearing noble. But the wrong thing would be to surrender one’s integrity, to adopt wrong conduct by the state president. Each human is a keeper of the other fellow humans, which requires remaining committed to integrity. An erring president could have been corrected by a vigilant populace, on matters of integrity.
Refusing to submit to wrong-doing should not be interpreted as disloyalty. Maintaining good conduct is what projects loyalty so that the State President is supported and directed from following wrong tangents. On a sea voyage, the rest of the crew could perish, if the captain falls insane.
The guiding principles are always available to direct those faced with such conditions towards safety. The right thing would always be to take precedence over everything, according to the delineated guidelines. For a country, the most important thing is to abide by the constitution. If the captain violates written codes, the rest of the crew cannot be expected to just watch, while being led astray.
Similarly, if a State President violates the constitution, the rest of the populace cannot just watch, pretending to be exercising loyalty. The president, as human as all of us, needs helpful support. He might later be the one to thank the populace for helping him steer the country out of problems, during that moment of madness.
In this world, each person should be another’s keeper, rather than just watching where another goes astray. There is no room for hating those considered to be behaving unacceptably. Hate creates the reverse of what is intended. It multiplies the unacceptable behavior of the one hated. The only reversal of what is unacceptable is by applying the opposite of what would be unacceptable.
This highlights the stable datum taught by Jesus, which can be scientifically evaluated to be confirmed as true. Humans are the slaves of the things they hate most. But humans are masters of the things they love most. This is why freedom includes the ability to experience anything, including what gives pain. The strength of an individual lies in his ability to love even what is considered unlovable.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43-48 NIV).
The above Scripture confirms that there is only one single datum towards eliminating the emotive Gukurahundi wounds, which happens to be true Love. Conversely, the reversal of that datum confirms the only way of evoking the emotive Gukurahundi fiasco, which suggests hating the perpetrators. The Mthwakazi Republican Party is known for advancing the idea of secession, where Shona-speaking people would be regarded as aliens.
Even without putting the MRP viewpoint to the test, one can visualize the recycling of Gukurahundi madness. This implies that all those having settled in areas assumed to belong to Mthwakazi would be expected to agree with that philosophy. Secession does not even consider the complications involving intermarriages between the Shona and Ndebele speakers.
The idea of secession may have worked in some parts of the world. But I suppose it cannot work in a country, bearing complications of the unresolved Gukurahundi madness. Secession serves only to trigger emotions, possibly making the number of deaths in the early nineteen-eighties insignificant.
Hatred can’t breed love. Hatred breeds hatred, just as love also breeds love. Understandably, the traumatic conditions that the people of Matabeleland went through could not be downplayed. But that is a historical epoch whose justice can never be effectively addressed.
Some people suggest that billions of dollars should be set aside to compensate the Gukurahundi victims. But that does not bring back the dead, who were dearly loved. Loving the perpetrators also does not bring back the deceased. But loving the perpetrators carries the only hope of restoring normalcy in that part of the country.
The negative effects of the Gukurahundi incident are currently assumed to be borne by the perpetrators. This could be reversed by addressing the calls of issuing an apology and DNA handling, regarding the children of the rape victims. This settles the wicked spirits, negatively haunting their descendants, down the generations.
The victims are not affected at all, as long as adopting the idea of forgiving those perpetrators and moving on with their lives. This is an evil world that can only be corrected by love. The relatives of the deceased would be doing a disservice to the deceased if they ignite another Gukurahundi debacle. However, they make that part of the country an oasis of hope, when the past is not repeated.
The people of Matabeleland suffered unjustly. There is a reward for suffering unjustly. The one, who created them, carries the reward for those falsely accusing them of the things they did not do. That promise is as sure as the certainty of the rising sun tomorrow. There is nothing said by Jesus that can be said to be untrue.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for, in the same way, they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:10-12).
Jesus came to grant freedom to humanity. But that freedom is spiritual, more than it can be viewed as to do with the flesh’s desires. It should also be noted that the perpetrators of Gukurahundi similarly face life’s challenges, just like everyone else. They may have received material rewards for their nefarious activities. But that does not translate to the peace of mind, requiring correcting the evils of the past.
Societies carry people that are regarded as great in this world. But no greatness surpasses the ability to love, even with good reason to hate. This is a principle that addresses all evil effects which might be burdensome to all of us.
Andrew Masuku is the author of Dimensions of a New Civilization, laying down standards for uplifting Zimbabwe from the current state of economic depression into a model for other nations worldwide. A decaying tree provides an opportunity for a blossoming sprout. Written from a Christian perspective, the book is a product of inspiration, bringing relief to those having witnessed the strings of unworkable solutions––leading to the current economic and social decay. In a simple conversational tone, most Zimbabweans should find the book as a long-awaited providential oasis of hope.
The Print copy is now available at Amazon.com for $13.99
Also available as an e-copy at Lulu.com for $6.99
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