Hello everyone. I hope you have all had a good start to your week and I would like to thank you again for coming back to read and for sharing my posts with your friends and family. It has been extremely interesting and exciting to have people message me on follow-ups on what I have been writing about. I never intended this blog to be a sort of investigative journalism space but I feel like it is unintentionally turning into that and I am ok with that so long as everyone remembers that I don’t really know anything. What I mean by that is that I am not intentionally eliciting any sort of action from anyone, my posts are intended to be thought-provoking and I am glad that they are getting people thinking. A handful of people messaged me after reading the last post asking what the solution to the problem would be and what they should be doing to protect the future of Zimbabwe. At that point, I realised what I had been unintentionally but subconsciously intentionally doing; getting people to react to what what was going on around them. But I truthfully do not know what we should be doing. A part of me, the pessimistic part, realises that the only cry that will be heard is that of violence but the other side of me would never dream of a Zimbabwe which was at war with itself or anyone for that matter. We have always been known as being peaceful, no matter the circumstances and I honestly would never want that to change.

So this leaves us where exactly? Zimbabweans are exhausted and there seems to be no light at the end of this tunnel. A few weeks ago, I had decided that I would remove my name from my blog; or at least change it because I was scared. People had suggested it to me but from the beginning of this blog, political expression was always a fear of mine. ZANU-PF: I know there are a lot of non-Zimbabweans that read this blog that won’t know this terminology as much as Zimbabweans would but I will try and elaborate in instances where I can. ZANU-PF is the current and only ruling political party Zimbabwe has ever had and they have made it crystal clear that freedom of expression, freedom of assembly or freedom of conscience are not freedoms any Zimbabwean’s possess. Joana Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri, Netsai Marova and Hopewell Chin’ono are present day examples of the violence and corruption ZANU-PF uses to illicit fear in anyone who considers speaking up about their incompetence and lack of empathy in governing the country.

Joana Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova are three brave and inspirational women who were protesting against mistreatment of Zimbabwean citizens during lockdown measures. They went missing after the peaceful protest for around 36 hours and when they were eventually found, it was discovered they had been abducted by police officers whose goal was to punish them and teach them a lesson about opposing the government. They were badly beaten, sexually assaulted and traumatised from the experience. They spent 2 weeks in hospital during which time they were ‘officially’ arrested for falsely claiming that they had been abducted by government officials. So, yes, after everything they had been through, they got arrested so that the lesson was not only taught to them but to everyone else who may have had the courage to stand up to the government. Hopewell Chin’ono is a Harvard educated Zimbabwe journalist who, despite the danger, reported on the corruption and looting of the current and previous governments. Chin’ono’s home was invaded and he was arrested by police officer for “eliciting public violence” through his plea’s for Zimbabweans to do something about the misery they are living in. Hopewell is currently still in prison and has been denied bail on no legal grounds. Both of these hopeless situations happened in the last two months. So, yes, I am terrified. But I realised that it would be quite hypocritical of me to hide behind a pseudonym or no name at all as I am writing for the purpose of change; mainly in the way people think, but change nonetheless. How can I preach that we need to do better for future generations and the future of our country and our world when I am afraid to show my face for causes that matter the most to me.

I have seen extraordinary things come out of Zimbabwe this year. People are actually speaking up regardless of the consequences it may have for them; I firmly believe that it is because at this point, many Zimbabweans have nothing to loose; they are fighting for their lives. People are making noise. There still isn’t as much noise as their should be but I am proud of my people who are petrified of going missing, being tortured and being killed. I understand the fear, I truly do but I have always said this and I will continue to say it until people understand: there is strength in numbers. The reason ZANU-PF has been able to continue these acts of tyranny is because these brave individuals usually speak up alone with little-to-no support, thus making them easy targets. If all of us say ‘Zvakwana’ at exactly the same time, what can they do other than listen to us? Zimbabweans have forgotten that the government serves us, that we hold the power and the longer we accept abuse, the further they will take it. That brings me to July 31st.

I haven’t been in Zimbabwe for a little over a month now so I will be honest and say that I do not fully know what is going on. Due to a countless amount of Whatsapp messages and social media posts regarding July 31st, it hard to know what exactly is going to be happening. Additionally, we know that president Mnangagwa has re-issued a lockdown and a 6pm-6am curfew for all Zimbabwean residents under the false pretences of covid-19. The reason for the lockdown is actually to stop people from gathering and demonstrating. There have been demonstrations by Zimbabwean nurses over the last few weeks, who refuse to work because of lack of pay and ill-treatment by the government. The president and the entire political party know that Zimbabweans have had enough and they know that if we stand together, they are finished. So they are preventing this at all costs. July 31st is supposed to be a day of demonstration by all Zimbabweans. It is supposed to be a day that we peacefully take to the streets to show the government that have had enough of their corruption, looting, violence and incompetence. I know many people are reluctant to take place for a number of reasons;

• Our last march is not a positive example to look at because it gave us this government. We marched peacefully to end the Mugabe reign and it brought us an even worse ruler. In many ways, Mugabe had a soft spot in the heart of the Zimbabwean people and that awarded him 37 long years before we protested against him but the Mnangagwa government could not last 2 years with the most understanding and gracious of citizens so a change is definitely not something we should be afraid of.
• Nothing will come of it. Well then we have nothing to lose.
• Fear of covid. Wear masks and don’t touch each other. There are people all over Zimbabwe having house parties and going out so I think the covid excuse is being misused in instances that benefit people.
• Fear of violence from the government. Obviously this is the most tricky one because this is a real and legitimate fear but I want to remind everyone reading this post that you are privileged. You have a computer or phone and internet access which means you have clothes on your body, a roof over your head and your belly is full. There are millions of Zimbabweans who are living hand to mouth, who do not know where they will sleep tonight or where their next meal will come from and that is because of the simple fact that our government is not taking care of its people. I am not asking you to die for these people but I am asking you to consider the fact that we are not them as a result of sheer luck, we were simply dealt a better hand and our children and children’s children could be living a life like that if we continue to ideally sit by as people are being mistreated all the way to their deaths.

I know for many people, it will be irritating to read this from someone who isn’t even in the country, someone who cannot stand on the street herself on July 31st but it is not a lie when I say that my heart aches not to be there. Regardless of the outcome of our last demonstration where upwards of 60% of the country took place, it was one of the best experiences of my life. I felt so powerful with masses of people chanting the same things as me and longing for the same things as me. Diaspora Zimbabweans forget that what happens at home effects them too even though they may not have to deal with it on a daily basis. Just because we aren’t there physically, it does not mean we cannot do anything, we can make noise, raise awareness and be there for those who are acting on our behalf. We are all in this together and I am certain that the course Zimbabwean history will be changed sooner than we think.