Author: alisaadams7

My people are Afraid 

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Hello everyone! It’s been almost four months since you’ve heard from me! I am sorry about that; things have been rather crazy for me. The reason I do not like to write posts when I am busy is that these posts take me a long time to think up and articulate. When I do not have the time to sort my thoughts, I can barely pick a topic to write on, let alone research it and present clear content to you all. Luckily, I have finished my master’s now so, I have a lot more time to dedicate to this blog. 

I am currently in Zimbabwe (yay!). I will be back in The Netherlands soon though to continue at my new job! I have been here for six days and I have already seen and heard so many things about what is happening in Zimbabwe that have left me utterly gobsmacked. You know when you look at a situation and think: well things surely cannot get any worse? Well, Zimbabwe is a constant reminder that things can always get worse. I said this exact sentence to myself last year and the year before around this time and even wrote a blog post about it. I looked at the situation in Zimbabwe and thought ‘well, this is it, things cannot possibly get worse…people are going to do something about how things currently are.’  And yet, I find myself looking at an even more desperate situation and even more desperate people.

I’d like to take you back to a post I wrote two years ago, on the 27th of July 2020. If you have the time, I implore you to reread it at: (https://unsungperspective.com/2020/07/27/july-31st/). If you do not have the time, that’s all right, I will give you a brief recap. In August 2018, with an equal mix of skepticism and jubilation, Zimbabwe swore in a new president. Unfortunately, four years later, we have seen the country fall faster than we ever thought possible. Already by 2020 (the time I wrote the post), people had seen that the government was running the country into the ground. People were starving, dying, and being driven to dangerous measures just to stay alive. All of this anger and frustration led to a buzz around July 31st (2020). It was believed that there would be a huge protest against the government in Harare on July 31st. I wrote with excitement and anticipation about what this protest would bring about. Sadly, two years later, I have to say that the July 31st protest did not even make a dent in Zimbabwean history.

Unfortunately, our inability to do anything two years ago ushered in this period of even worse circumstances. It is two years later, and things have only gotten worse. We are now experiencing a devastating economic crisis, with an inflation rate of around 600%. A loaf of bread in Zimbabwe is RTGS$600. I have no clue what the average salary is but it is definitely not keeping up with the inflation rate. I heard from one person that they are earning USD$30 per month and she seemed to believe that majority of Zimbabweans (lucky enough to have a job), are earning around the same amount. Healthcare has failed and education is failing. The youth of Zimbabwe are out of school, out of jobs, and out of options…

When I wrote in 2020, something despicable had also just happened which was leading people to saying enough is enough. Ironically, I am going to tell you guys about something eerily similar to what happened then. In 2020, female activists Joana Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri, and Netsai Marova had been abducted and tortured for speaking out against the government and highlighting the issues the country was facing. On the 24th of May 2022, Moreblessing Ali was gruesomely murdered for her activism against the current government. Moreblessing was a member of the Citizens of Coalition for Change (CCC) and after speaking out against the government just like Joana, Cecilia and Netsai, she was targeted and found to be a victim of extreme violence. The family of Moreblessing has spoken out about their devastation regarding the incident and CCC members and supporters have taken to the street to protest her murder. Unsurprisingly, the current governing party has denied all allegations of their involvement in this incident, just as they did with the 2020 one. They even further exacerbated the situation by arresting Moreblessing’s lawyer, Job Sikhala on the grounds of “inciting violence.” Which is their most famous go-to allegation when they want to arrest someone. There is always a systematic pattern of torture that occurs when the current party is under threat.  So, while this story is devastating, it came as no surprise to anyone in Zimbabwe. The CCC has come out though (at the beginning of this week) stating that they are tired, and they will fight back against the violence this time. With the 2023 elections quickly approaching, I would say, once again, Zimbabwe is a volcano on the verge of erupting. I once again find myself plagued with the same feelings I felt two years ago. Feelings of anxiety, excitement, dread, and anticipation. 

I was quite annoyed when I realized that there was not even a morsel of change the last time I felt these feelings about the future of my country. However, looking at the violence and intimidation that has already started a year ahead of the elections, I understand why. I was actually afraid to post this post while I am still in Zimbabwe because it is a scary place to be outspoken. In addition to this, while I am politically outspoken and despise the way Zimbabwe is currently being run, I actually have no political affiliation in Zimbabwe. I do not support any party, but I simply support the betterment of the country. I (like many Zimbabweans) distrust all political parties because none of them seem to really be rooting for the people of Zimbabwe. Therefore, while change seems to be looming, I am terrified of what that might even mean. All I know is that if things remain the way they currently are, more of us are going to die. Whether it is by the hands of those who want to stay in power or by starvation, Zimbabweans will continue to die if we do not seize the feeling in the country right now. Despite it all, for now, we still remain a happy and peaceful people and it is up to us to protect this and to look towards building a country that we can be proud of. 

So, I hope this upcoming year is the year that Zimbabweans are able to stand up for themselves. Politics aside, Zimbabweans standing up for themselves is now a matter of survival rather than political affiliation or gain. I want those who are standing up for themselves and their communities, like the brave women mentioned above, to know that I support you. We all support you in creating a better Zimbabwe, even if we are afraid to show it. There is light at the end of the tunnel for Zimbabwe.

On being African

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Happy Tuesday everyone! What a week this past week has been! It looks like as a generation, we can’t seem to catch a break – there is something tragic happening every couple of days. Regardless, I hope you are all doing ok and trying to see the positive in any given day. Each morning, my routine is to wake up, pray then check social media (because it’s the only thing that can slowly but surely wake me up), then get out of bed. When I woke up today, I was in a really good mood – I went to bed at a reasonable hour the night before and I do not have much to do today. So, I felt relaxed and calm. I prayed and after doing so, I felt very grateful for the day ahead of me. But, already at 7:30AM, my mood was ruined and instead of feeling grateful and relaxed, I started my day feeling extremely angry. When I went on Instagram, the first thing I was reminded of was how absolutely devastating it is to be an African person in this world.

As I am sure you have all seen, racism is at it again and honestly, I cannot help but be angry with what is going on. When Russia invaded Ukraine last week, I was devastated for both Ukrainian and Russian citizens who were all innocent and had to deal with a war because their politicians decided that for them. I saw dozens of other Africans (most of my followers are African), posting about the crisis, sharing donation pages and attending marches. Nothing was strange about this – this is how we are, when there is injustice around the world, we speak out… for all oppressed people without any thought of if those people would speak out for us if the roles were reversed. Let me take you all the way back to the BLM when my mom asked me why I was so adamantly supporting the movement when black Americans would not bat an eyelash at African suffering. Even though I knew it was true, I still continued to do all that I could for the movement – along with many other Africans because wrong is wrong and we should support those who need our help right?

  • In November 2022, the Ethiopian government launched an attack on the country’s Tigray region. There has been genocide being committed in this region since then with an estimation of 2,408 – 2,978 deaths. You tell me if you have seen more than a day’s worth of media coverage on this tragedy? Or if you have seen your American or European (Eastern European included) friends post about the thousands of people dying in Ethiopia? In all fairness, African’s themselves have not been posting about it either but that is a conversation that needs a lot of explaining which hopefully I can do in a follow up post.
  • The Central African Republic (CAR) has been embroiled in an ongoing war from 2012. Ceasefires were signed in both 2014 and 2016 but violence continued to erupt after both. For 10 years, residents of the CAR have been running from conflict with no access to clean water, food, stable homes or healthcare. Since the beginning of the war it is estimated that over 1.1 million people have been displaced. I have not seen a single person post about this or start a ‘the world is tragic’ conversation about it.
  • In December 2013, a violent war broke out in South Sudan, where as many as 50,000 people have died. While many people believe that the violence in South Sudan has ended, a UN report in 2021 showed that there were still violent killings and displacements taking place on a daily basis. But with little to media coverage on this tragedy, I could barely find any recent data on what is happening in 2022 – but it is definitely not peace.
  • Mozambique ongoing war – 800,000 people displaced.
  • Democratic Republic of Congo ongoing violence – 629 people killed.
  • Cameroon
  • Somalia

That is not the end of the list but I think I have made my point. I had to deep-dive on the internet just to find this information because none of it has been important enough to be shown on mainstream media. Out of all of these conflicts, the only ones that I actually knew details about were Ethiopia and Mozambique because just like you, I gobble up Western media and forget that my own continent is struggling to stay afloat. Millions of Africans are dying and no one really cares… So yes, it hurts to see the death and it hurts even more to see us protest for the oppression and violence others face when our own is ignored. And yes, although it doesn’t come as a huge surprise, it hurts to see how African’s are being treated in the Ukrainian conflict right now. Denying someone safe passage simply because they have darker skin?! I will never understand racism so I will not even try and ask for the reasoning behind such inhumane treatment.

So researching all of this and writing it up for you did nothing to alleviate my anger (expectedly). But, I do know what can alleviate my anger – I do it all the time when I see/hear someone being prejudiced towards an African person. I think to myself, “Imagine not being African?”

Contrary to what other people may believe, the thought of not being African is more devastating than being African in this world actually. Yes, there is mass suffering and a lot wrong with our countries but I would never trade my Zimbabweaness in for anything. Regardless of what I have just told you, being Zimbabwean actually feels like one if my biggest blessings and I try to remember that when I look at the way the world treats us. Imagine not having the African-vibe – that we all know we have. I cannot imagine that nor do I want to. So while I know it is easy to get angry and disheartened with the way the world treats us, we need to remember who we are and why we are proud.

I understand that the Ukrainian conflict has the potential to have worldwide consequences but I believe that there is no death on this planet that holds more weight than another. So if we are going to protest and have outcry about this conflict then, so should we about those in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas. There is enough wrong with the world and layering hierarchy onto tragedy only makes us hypocritical in our cries for change. 

“My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.”

– Desmond Tutu

A Healthcare System in Disarray 

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Happy New Year everyone! (A little late, I know but I have been enjoying the desperately needed time off). I hope you all had a great holiday period and are ready to give 2022 your all! Having entered the new year quite differently to last year, I was reflecting on the place in my life I had been just a year ago. This brought me to the topic of today. 

https://mg.co.za/article/2017-04-06-00-how-to-fund-a-failing-health-system/

This time last year, unsurprisingly, I was in Zimbabwe. However, very surprisingly, I fighting to keep breathing. In January 2021, I tested positive for COVID-19 and for many reasons this alarmed me and those around me. For one, I am chronically asthmatic, but I also have always had quite an unreliable immune system. So, from the beginning of COVID, it was a running joke with my friends and family that out of everyone, I would be the least likely to survive COVID. Consequently, as you can imagine, my test result caused quite a bit of panic. Long story short, it was one of the worst experiences of my entire life and there were a few nights that I confidently thought that I would take my last breath. Luckily, I was surrounded by a lot of love and support and my body fought it’s hardest to heal and recover.

When I first got sick though, my personal circumstances were not even my main worry. My main worry was that I was in Zimbabwe. I thought to myself, at least if I had gotten it in The Netherlands, I would have a fighting chance… Imagine having this little faith in your country’s healthcare system. 

“In recent months we have seen a dramatic deterioration of our health-care system. Virtually everything to do with health is failing to perform at even the minimum expected standards”, said Douglas Gwatidzo, chairman of the Zimbabwe Doctors for Human Rights.

The above quote was from as far back at 2008 and things have only deteriorated since then. In 2010, there were 1.6 doctors for every 10,000 people in Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, Human Resources for Health information sheet, 2010). I am not sure of the statistics now, but I would bet that this ratio has gotten even pooper from 2010. In isolation, this statistic is already staggering, but just for comparison, The Netherlands has 39 doctors per 10,000 people (2022 statistic). Compounded on top of this is the fact that the doctors and nurses who are still Zimbabwe are barely paid. – That is the story behind the image above.  In June 2020 (amidst the COVID-19 pandemic), nurses went on strike in Zimbabwe because they were not being paid whilst they were risking their lives on a daily basis.

But that’s not all, compounded on top of this, there is the issue of lack of hospital infrastructure. Let’s even put COVID-19 aside and look back at 2019. Already then, the country did not have enough basic facilities to support people with life threatening illnesses. Nearly half of the people diagnosed with cancer in Zimbabwe die because of the lack of radiographers and chemotherapy treatments. When the pandemic hit, there was less than 20 (I have gone high because I don’t remember the exact number), ventilators in the entire country. Hospitals are unable to undertake basic operations because of a shortage of anaesthetics, sutures and so on… In the times of modern medicine, Zimbabwe still has an extremely worrying rate of women who die during child labor because of the state of hospitals. So really, any contact with the healthcare system is like a death sentence. What I don’t understand, is our government’s lack of regard for this crumbling infrastructure. If COVID taught us anything, it was that rich or poor, you are in danger. In a situation like this, money or political affiliation means very little if there are simply no means of help in the country. But still, the government is letting the healthcare sector fall further and further into disarray. Although yes, there is no ignoring that the huge economic gap in the country fuels the government’s indifference towards the decaying healthcare system. As is clear, I made it out alive but that was after spending hundreds of dollars on medications, inhouse doctors’ visits, hospital visits, new equipment to help me breathe etc. This was possible because I am lucky enough to have the means and still, the cost of my survival was exorbitant. Majority of people in the country cannot afford even a fraction of these costs. So, they watched loved ones slip away because they were powerless to a system that has failed us terribly.  

“The hospital advised us to take the patient to a private hospital nearby. But before we could find the money to pay the $25 appointment fee, he had already died.” (Anonymous) 

Healthcare is a basic Human Right, but majority of Zimbabweans do not have access to it. I am utterly terrified of any of my loved ones getting sick in Zimbabwe (even something mild) because looking at the state of things, it seems that the chances of survival in a Zimbabwean hospital are slim.

The Marred history of Land Reform

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Welcome back everyone! I would like to thank you for coming back to read even though my content has been very inconsistent. I really only like to write when I have the time to dedicate to writing a whole piece in one go – and yes, I have not had that much free time in the last 2 months! Regardless, you are here reading so, thank you. ❤️

Today I would like to do a historical piece on something that I said I did not want to talk about in the past but alas, here we are. When I had asked, on Instagram, what topics people would like to read about next, this one came up and my response was “I would not touch that topic with a ten-foot pole.” Nonetheless, I wrote it down and now I have decided that I will try and write about it as best I can. I did not want to talk about land reform for a number of reason. The first being that it is an extremely complicated historical event which cannot really be explained in one blog post. Secondly, I am not sure how I feel about land re-acquisition. On the one hand, I personally know white people who were violently ripped away from their homes as a result of the Land Reform Act. On the other hand, I understand why such an act may have been seen as necessary. Execution and corruption aside, giving the black majority an opportunity to own their own land again makes a lot of sense to me. Lastly, this is still a sensitive topic for many Zimbabweans so it needs to be spoken about with a certain amount out sensitivity.

Quick history lesson:

I am well aware that a large number of my readers are not from Zimbabwe so, I will give a quick history lesson on the Land Reform Programme. Under colonial rule, a 1930s land apportionment act was passed which made it illegal for all black Africans to own land, except for 22% of the least arable land in Zimbabwe. The rest of the arable land went to white settlers. In order for white people to settle on some of these lands, many black families were displaced and moved to less desirable locations. – This is the first injustice of the ping-pong game between the black and white communities in Zimbabwe. Being primarily agricultural people, giving black Africans only the least arable land was a huge injustice which began the cycle of poverty for generations of black Zimbabweans to come. Fortunately, there was an attempt for redress upon signing the Lancaster House Agreement and achieving independence. It was decided that there needed to be efforts to distribute land to native Zimbabweans from white settlers who were given land simply because they were white. However, Britain did not follow through to aid Zimbabwe in re-distributing the land (both economically and technically). The British promised to fund the program and compensate white farmers who would loose their land but along came Tony Blair and the rest was history. So, not much was done in the years following independence. Which angered a lot of Zimbabweans because what was the point of independence if they did not get their land and livelihoods back? So, the British left Zimbabwe in an incredibly tough position because after 90 years (from 1890) of colonialism the black majority deserved to have control over their own land. However, without the resources and knowhow of the new Zimbabwean government, what happens to white farmers?

Zimbabwe Independent (Dunn, 2020)

That brings us to the early 2000s when everything went wrong and an injustice was fixed with another. After many failed land reform programs during the 1990s, there was the decision to “fast-track” land reform which resulted in a chaotic and violent mess. Then president, Robert Mugabe, organised troops to march onto white owned farms and “reclaim” them. Many families had to leave immediately to avoid the violence and leave their belongings behind. Alone, this is problematic to say the last, but to make the situation even worse, the land that got re-claimed was used as an aid to political corruption rather than redress colonial wrongs. Therefore, white farmers were not forced off their land for the good of Zimbabwe but to line the pockets of Zimbabwe’s political elite. Land was “gifted” to various party members and their families who had no agricultural abilities. This entire program exacerbated the economic problems in Zimbabwe and left many people homeless and jobless. The economy was hit incredibly hard because not only was agriculture the largest part of the Zimbabwean economy but, it was also Zimbabwe’s main export. Thus, when the people gifted land took over the farms, they did not know how to run them and productivity dropped drastically.

“You can’t imagine how many people come up to me and said, ‘We didn’t agree with you back then. We thought you were too rigid and inflexible. But now we see you were right. You were so right: they were not fit to govern.'”

– Ian Smith

The land grab of the 2000s plummeted Zimbabwe and made many white (ex-)colonisers turn around and make statements like the one above. It became proof that ‘the black majority is unfit to govern.’ Which of course is not true, but I have to admit that the way the land situation was handled does not bode well for anyone in Zimbabwe.

I spoke a lot about how I did not want to talk about this topic so you might be asking why I ended up doing so in the end? Well, I was doing some research unrelated to this topic and an article popped up from September 2020. Apparently in September 2020, the Zimbabwean government promised to give white farmers their land back. It has been a year since then and I am not sure if any of this has actually solidified – I tried to find some information but there is none up to date. Nevertheless, the thought sparked a lot of interest for me because is giving the land back to ex white farmers really the answer to right all of the wrongs that have been committed on both sides? Honestly, what happened (in the 2000s) was extremely cruel but I do not think returning land will make anything better, if anything I think it will lead to thicker resentment. So, for once, I actually have no idea what the best way to deal with this situation is. Educating farmers? But who educates them, who pays for it and eventually we still have to decide who the land goes to… I firmly believe that this long and complicated story was the anchor in Zimbabwe’s decline and because we have never tried to deal with any of the injustices committed, we are perpetually suffering for them. But, I would definitely love to hear from other people what they think about this topic. Seeing as I have no solution in mind, I would love to hear what everyone else thinks: where we went wrong and how we can (if we can), fix it?

P.S. I hate that I quoted Ian Smith – it was simply for illustrative purposes, I despise the man.

Corruption: The Common denominator 

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Happy Thursday everyone! I hope you have all been having a blessed week – especially my European counterparts who are experiencing a rare bout of good weather! Enjoy it while it lasts. 

When I did my thesis, even though it was on Zimbabwe, I read a lot of literature on other African countries and how they had developed (or not) – since the gaining of independence. I was really shocked because as much as we know Africa is a huge continent, I was struck by the number of similarities I was finding between countries. These similarities were dominantly in the political realm. Everyone who has been reading my blogs already knows how deeply dysfunctional Zimbabwe is, but I discovered that there are actually a large number of countries (or citizens rather), who are facing the same fate that Zimbabweans are. Aside from colonization (of course), the only other thing these countries had in common was gross and inhumane corruption. Now don’t get me wrong, each and every country in the world has corruption but in other parts of the world, like the Netherlands for example, the corruption that exists does not impede the functioning of the country or the people. Whereas in most of African countries, the beats of corruption and greed take away from the people in the country and leave everyone except an elite few in extremely vulnerable and devastating circumstances. 

I was reading a book on some other African country – I can’t really remember which it was, I think Zambia or Angola and the book explained the percentage of country resources that actually went back into the country. I don’t know why I was surprised to uncover that most of the money goes to the military and financing prestigious expenditures rather than improving healthcare, education or social welfare. But I was. Our leaders preach about escaping the shackles of white imperialism and the dark cloud of colonialism, yet they miss the very obvious solution(s) to advancing the state of all our countries. Yes, we were pillaged by other nations, stripped of our resources and dignity but you tell me, what is so different between what was happening then and what is happening now? Simply the perpetrators have changed. Truly, it hurts a little more now because our leaders are meant to protect us, advance us, and have the interests of each and every citizen in mind but instead they are taking food off citiznes’ tables to line their pockets. It hurts a little more because those nations that stole from us back then did not owe us anything – they saw us as beastly and nothing more. But our leaders…our leaders now fought for liberation so that they could make life better for all of us but have followed squarely in the footsteps of the people they fought and condemned. 

Let me even play devil’s advocate for a second and highlight the fact that our leaders are not even good at corruption. To me – with greed in mind, it would make more sense to invest a little into the country, grow the economy and increase the value of resources within the country because in this instance, you would ideally have more to loot. This seems logical to me, no? I am advocating for corruption but simply highlighting the fact that laying waste to the country is really counter-intuitive to the overall goal of getting rich. Because at some point, without investment or maintenance, things will run out and what happens then? 

“A man who has never gone to school may steal a freight car; but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad.” 

Theodore Roosevelt

Lastly, when I was reading all of this information on the relationship(s) African countries have towards their leaders, I came across a book about Namibia which eerily felt and sounded like Zimbabwe. People were describing potholes on the road, a failed medical system, load-shedding, failing and underfunded government schools, unemployment and so on… And just like in Zimbabwe, the cause of all of these problems could be pinpointed to the corrupt government that is doing a complete and utter incompetency of ruling. What surprised me at first, but no so much as I read on, was the nostalgia everyone had about the colonial regime. It disheartens me to consider this, but I also understand why people would prefer to turn back the hands of time because while we were second class citizens with little to no rights, people had food, healthcare and a modest salary. But now, we are still treated as second class citizens (unless you are part of the elite), with no food, no job prospects, no educational prospects etc. When I say we, I also need to re-iterate the fact that I do not mean myself, I am very much aware of my privilege and my place in society. Although, even though I have never gone hungry and have always had a roof over my head, I do see the struggles of fellow Zimbabweans as mine too. 

So, I guess I am saying two things in this post, the first being that in our contemporary times, corruption, greed and nepotism are our primary problems and we need to address these if things are ever going to improve. The second is that our leaders ought to be ashamed of the mockery they are making of all of us and the states they lead. One of the major justifications of colonialism was that non-white people were not fit to rule which I am sure everyone agrees is a totally absurd and stupid thing to say/assume. But with the way our leaders are doing things right now, it is easy for the hateful to now say, “we told you so.” 

The Tired Activist

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Hello everyone! Sorry that it has been so long. The activist inside me has been feeling quite uninspired lately and I haven’t really had the urge to write anything. I am tired I guess… not in the physical sense but in the mental and emotional sense. I just got back from a trip home and while I was there I tried to refrain from having any ‘woke’ conversations with anyone on politics, gender, sexuality, race etc. And let me tell you, it was the most peaceful trip home I have ever had.

Mind you, I do feel guilty for purposely not brining up these topic which I usually preach about. I heard people say sexist, racist and homophobic things (without realising it) and as opposed to how I usually respond, I did not say anything back. Although people tried to broach conversations with me that they know I get passionate about, I was unintentionally disengaged. I kept asking myself why… why do I seem to care a little less about the social issues I was so passionately fighting about. But I realised that it is not that I care any less, it is simply that I am tired. I am tired of always being the person in the room getting intensely invested in a conversation and trying to convince people of the reality that they do not see – the reality that I also did not see not too long ago. This goes with all of these topics; I also had (and in some cases still have) narrow minded views but I am making it a point to look beyond my own life and really look at the world. Even though I have educated myself on certain topics, it exhausting to engage in a conversation where it may seem like I have the moral high ground – because I do not. So these conversations were taking a lot out of me because I was constantly defending positions that I was too emotional about.

“It’s the action, not the fruit of the action, that’s important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there’ll be any fruit. But that doesn’t mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.” 

Mahatma Gandhi

Because I care about these topics so deeply, a conversation for me never really is just a conversation. When I hear very bigoted opinions on gender, race, sexuality and money and see that people really believe what they are saying, I am left perplexed and emotional. It then really makes sense to me why the world is the way it is. I am usually left in quite a sombre state after these coversations, so that is why I decided to take a political/activist sabbatical. Aside from getting emotionally invested in these topics, sometimes it is hard to have them because I simply do not know the answer. I have been wanting to talk about this for a while actually, – when you are from a minority group, you are suddenly supposed to know every single thing about your group and its’s history when conversations like this come up. For example, I am a mixed-race, Zimbabwean woman and it baffles me that people expect me to know everything about being a woman…or being mixed-race… or being Zimbabwean. Suddenly, I have to justify and explain my lived experiences with facts that simply would be impossible for me to accumulate.

With this, I actually want to address you all in understanding this point. Just because your friend is black, does not mean that they know everything about being black or slavery or colonialism and just because your friend is not heterosexual does not mean they know everything about the LGBTQ+ community. And they do not have to. Google exists. What people fail to understand is that while in most cases we want to discuss our lived experiences, we do not have to. We do not owe anyone a history lesson on slavery, the diaspora, being a woman… or anything else. In instances where you may think you are asking investigative questions (in order to understand a situation), you need to stop and consider whether or not you are encroaching on a very personal part of someone’s life. They do not have to talk to you about any of this so if they do, appreciate it, listen wholeheartedly and respect the boundaries of the conversation. And to the ones who are constantly defending the minority position: you can take a break every now and again, it is exhausting, I know.

(www.vice.com)

Social justice burnout or activism fatigue are terms coined to describe “a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by long term involvement in situations that are emotionally demanding.” When I started to experience it, I felt nothing but guilt. As a self proclaimed activist for not one but three causes, am I allowed to get tired? Am I allowed to be silent in derogatory conversations? Am I allowed to have no opinion at all? The answer to all of these is actually no. Looking at the picture above, what I am saying might sound extremely contradictory. But by saying you cannot give up the flight, I am not saying that you should not take care of yourself. Take breaks in between all the fights you are fighting, enjoy other parts of yourself and the world but never forget the reasons you began to speak up in the first place. You will 100% go back to speaking up naturally when you have to continue to live in a world that is not changing. It is up to us to fight the good flight and continue to try our best to build a world that we can be more proud of.

“Get up, stand up, Stand up for your rights. Get up, stand up, Don’t give up the fight.” 

Bob Marley

The Moral dilemma of the Capitalist Trap

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Good morning everyone! I hope you have all had a great start to the week. I engaged in a great deal of stimulating conversations from the last post on the United Nations. People seemed to have a lot to say on the topic (both negative and positive) and I loved having these discussions and debates with all of you. Hopefully the topic for today can also inspire some discussion. I will admit that since I have graduated, I have barely been keeping up with current affairs, so I have decided to visit a quite personal topic. Although while the topic may be personal, I am sure that a lot of people in my generation will recognize themselves in what I have to say.

(www.fee.org)

“Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, a price system, private property and the recognition of property rights, voluntary exchange and wage labor.”

While this is straightforward, unbiased definition of capitalism, I do not think I need to enlighten anyone on the evils of the capital system. It is all around us and although we are largely turning a blind eye to the perils of capitalism, everyone knows that the have-nots are suffering at the hands of the system. I am well aware of how my consumption patterns effect both the environment and the poorer members of society but still, I consume like a model capitalistic citizen. This brings me to the conflicting relationship I have with the capitalist system.

I grew up in a country where I was faced with the negative aspects of capitalism on a daily basis. This was both on an international scale and on an individual level. On an international level, I saw how my country suffered from being the ones taken advantage of within the capitalist system. Along with resource exploitation and manpower exploitation, the history of my country meant that they have never been able to successfully join the global capitalist system, leaving them visibly stuck in the ‘poor’ bracket. On an individual level, every Zimbabwean knows that the country is extremely economically stratified. So, while within my own socio-economic group, I mainly see positive aspects of capitalism, as soon as I venture out of this group, I become aware of the abuse and disregard for moral standards that capitalism re-produces. From these clear realities, I had resolved that I was anti-capitalism from a very young age. I think the entire system is corrupt, greedy, and simply unfair.

However, if you know me and you have read this far, I am sure you are a little confused by this ideology and my actual life. I say that I am anti-the system, yet I take at least four flights a year, I have enough clothes to not wash any of them for three months and still have clean clothes, I eat out at least once a week and I own products from the most notorious capitalistic companies e.g., Apple. 

(www.visualcapitalist.com)

As I am sure you do, I consume/ have consumed from more than half of the companies above. So, I guess I am a huge hypocrite for always opposing capitalism when white Europeans talk about the state of the world when I know full well which group my actions put me in. See the thing is, for people like me, it is a little more complicated than good and bad or moral and immoral. If we first start with the premise that everyone in the world has been brainwashed by the capitalist system, then it will make what I have to explain much easier to understand. – I believe this to be true by the way. We all strive for capitalist success (i.e., economic) in some way because we have been indoctrinated into believing that is the only way to measure the success of someone’s life. So, with that in mind, while I want to oppose the system and give all my earthly possessions to people who need them much more than I do, my mother has worked hard her entire life in order to give me a good life. To put it crassly, a return on this investment is expected, parents expect their children to do better than them and if money is the way we (as a society) measure success then you see my dilemma.

Additionally, I am a mixed race, female. As mentioned above, money and consumption have somehow become synonymous with independence and success. As a mixed-race person, I feel that I need to show my ability to succeed through capital accumulation and as a female, I feel that I need to show my ability to succeed through my climbing of the capitalist ranks. Therefore, evidently, I am stuck in the capitalist system. When I think about it from a realist’s perspective, I really wonder what the alternative would be though. If I had to follow my heart and morals and completely remove myself from this system, what would my life look like? Better yet, is this even possible?

I think a lot of people who grew up in either poorer countries or poorer homes have this internal dilemma like I do. Because even though we know over consumption is wrong on so many levels, in some way, we also feel like we are entitled to this lifestyle because of how history has unfolded. This mentality is even used on an international level, where we see ‘developing’ countries finding it unfair that they cannot use the same developmental processes as their predecessors because of environmental concerns. Coming from these countries also makes us feel like we are entitled to ‘develop’ our generational line. However, we also have to be aware of the unjust cost that our capitalistic decisions are having on the rest of the world. 

The United Nations

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Hello everyone! I am so happy to be doing something recreational on my laptop again after what has felt like the busiest two weeks of my life! It’s graduation season and before I get into the topic for today, I would like to send a huge Congratulations to everyone who is about to or has already graduated! This is an enormous achievement and I hope you savour the moment and bask in your own glory for a while.

Moving on to the topic of discussion today: The United Nations. When I was in high school, we learnt about all the great things that the United Nations has achieved and aims to achieve. We were taught naturally, to look up to the organisation and all that it does for ‘poor’ countries like us. We were reminded of its dedicated peacekeeping missions and selfless donations. It was just the absolute dream of (mine) to work for such a successful organisation such as this one and aid them in helping the peoples of the world.

I look back at my naivety now and find it somewhat hilarious how I had put the entire organisation on a pedestal for being the leaders in peacekeeping and aid. My scepticism for the entire organisation actually started in high school though. I thought back to all the years of torment Zimbabwe had endured and, granted, a lot of our problems are small compared to other countries – we have never had a civil war in my time. But regardless of that, we have people in the country starving at numbers close to what you would see in a civil war. Masses of people have been killed over the years (just not at the same time), by our government. So, I thought back on all of these instances, times where there were serious Human Right’s violations going on in the country and I wondered, why didn’t the United Nations care? I rationalised it by saying our problems were not that big. But our problems have been that big, there have been countless reports made by the UNICEF, WHO and the UN on the disheartening things happening in the country, but reports are really as far as it goes. Still, I thought I was just feeling this way because it was my own country and I desperately wanted all of the abuse to stop but it was not necessarily failure the UN itself.

(https://theconversation.com/why-is-the-united-nations-still-so-misunderstood-59284)

However, I continued to observe the problems/conflicts that the UN gave more attention to and the ones that it seemed to ignore and unsurprisingly, a pattern developed. The conflicts in which the UN took a more involved role tended to be those in which the most dominant members of the UN had a vested interest in. The countries which have nothing to offer seem to get the “advice treatment.” Granted, it is a bit of a dangerous game to play to demand/expect the UN to get actively involved in conflicts around the world. Coming from a formerly colonised country, this idea is extremely contentious. Nonetheless, my problem here stems from the fact that they actually do get actively involved in some conflicts and the premises which they decided to get involved on seem to be extremely corrupt. Looking at how they view themselves, UN says they are:

“the one place on Earth where all the world’s nations can gather together, discuss common problems, and find shared solutions that benefit all of humanity.”

Without getting into the technicalities of misrepresentation of certain regions in the world in the UN, it is safe to say that this statement is grossly misleading. Still, if we take this slogan into account, that their main goal is to provide dialogue on problem solving, still the preferential treatment problem persists. The problems which make it to the main discussion, are those that are regarded as strategically important by an ‘important’ country in the UN. My suspicions continued to get re-affirmed incident after incident. Because even in the conflicts that the UN seemed to care about, the action taken was clearly very biased to people who have full knowledge on the problem at hand. It has been witnessed in Syria, in the refugee crises and in Palestine. Nonetheless, I must add that I do recognise that the UN has made great positive changes throughout the world: they have fed many mouths; facilitated peace negotiations; provided safe drinking water; provided medical treatment etc. But none of these changes negate the fact that the UN works on a preferential basis and sadly for the places in the world that strategically or economically have nothing to offer, we are not a significant topic on the agenda.

Looking at the conflicts they have heavily gotten involved in, there was some sort of political or economic interest at stake. Take Congo for example. The Congolese civil war is an extremely complicated one that I do not even understand myself but it is no secret that the UN (and other international involvement) have all been called out for only getting involved in Congo for the economic gain the country offered. The same can be said for the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts, which the UN increasingly got involved in because of the political and economic implications of the regions. There are countless examples of where this has happened time and time again and examples on the other side where millions have died (in less important or more politically complicated regions), where the UN has decided to keep their aid at a distance.

(http://www.e-International relations.com)

Looking at the evidence, it is clear that preferential treatment is used when the UN decides on how they will act in a crisis. Looking now, at the devastation in Palestine, which ironically, is a problem that stems back to the UN’s decisions and actions. The UN again is dealing which an extremely troubling conflict by providing ‘advice.’ Advice that peace should be reached soon. The reason that the UN will not go any further than this (regardless of the millions of people dying) is because the Palestinian genocide is loaded with a lot of political implications. And while the entire purpose of the UN is to be a non-political peace keeping body, the truth of the matter is that they are political in all of the action they take or do not take. Now, this post is not just about highlighting the corruption within the UN and the problems certain regions of the world face because if it, it is also to address the people who see such international organisations as saviours. As I did in the past. When we have crises in Zimbabwe, when people are being killed, our internet is being turned off etc., I see people tagging or #UN on all the posts. And every time I see it, I wonder why are people even bothering to do that? If the UN was concerned about the problems Zimbabweans were facing, something would have been done about the genocide that took place in the 1990s, the thousands killed from 2002-2008 and the millions starving. My point is that we should open our eyes to the fact that they -the outside- simply do not care. While as Zimbabweans, we feel like we are out of choices and in that way are looking to the outside for help, we need to face the sad reality that they do not care. It is time for us to look within for change and help. We are also the same ones who would find in very problematic if outsiders came into our country and stared politically ‘fixing’ things so why do we call to them for ‘help’ in times of need? It truly does confuse me. Moreover, looking at instances such as the Rwandan genocide, outside interference seemed to just make the problem much worse, which could most likely be the case in a lot of instances.

Although I do realise the complexity of what I am saying, for me it seems very clear that these Western organisations we turn to for help have already written us off as a lost cause. However, I know many people will have different perspectives to me and I would love to hear these. Be it in on the UN itself or on the idea of seeking international aid, I would appreciate hearing what people think on this topic as it is quite a contentious one.

Cultural differences and dating

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Happy Saturday everyone! I hope you are all having a great weekend. My post today is a little different from the topics I usually write about. This topic is a lot more personal but still discusses important cultural and racial considerations. When I was growing up, it was encouraged that a good move would be to marry a foreigner. This is mainly due to a lot of colonial perceptions of importance which I have discussed in previous posts. Foreigners, white foreigners to be specific are portrayed as superior, in intellect and class and generally every facet you can think of. So it was indoctrinated in what seems to be my entire generation that marrying a (Western) foreigner meant you made a good choice in life.

So here I was, staring my first year of uni, expecting to get along with foreigners like a house on fire and potentially meeting my future husband. Now see, a huge naivety I had, (along with many other Zimbabweans) was undermining the significance of cultural differences. I have dated two people from this part of the world in my time at university, both of which I got along with really well. However, when I thought of taking them back home, I was filled with bucketloads of anxiety about how they would be received by my family and friends and what my partner would think about my family and friends. Being in the middle and considering both, I knew that each side would find the other somewhat weird.

However, this is is normal in all relationships; meeting someone’s family opens you up to an entirely different side of the person you are dating. But see, when you then come from entirely different cultures, these differences are exacerbated enormously.

The moment I realised this issue is a little bigger than I thought might seem like a very trivial moment but it was significant to me and my friend (who actually has always said she is marrying a Zimbabwean for these exact reasons). We were reminiscing on the last time we had been to a Zimbabwean wedding and through the nostalgia we ended up curating a wedding playlist. If you are Zimbabwean, or coloured, rather, you will recognise these songs as being the necessity of all good weddings. But if you are not, these songs will have zero significance to you and they may actually sound like quite bad songs to play at a wedding. This is when I started to realise that I would be deeply upset if my significant other did not understand the importance of these songs to my community. I mean sure, I could teach them and force feed them African music but what about the food and the colloquial language and the style and socialisation and the cultural norms? Truthfully, I know I do not have the patience to teach someone all of these things.

While I have an extremely loving and supportive family who would most likely embrace whoever I was dating, it is likely that they would feel the same barrier that I do. I imagine this person sitting at gathering surrounded by my somewhat loud family or friends who speak more-or-less English albeit with some unintelligible words such as “oan,” “it’s chando,” “Mensa” “Jorl,” “let’s go cabin,” “we’re cutting/landing.” In all of this, I would either have to be explaining each word as it came up or leaving this person to try and make sense of what was being said around them. Moreover, behaviour in general would make me feel very nervous. My partner would not understand the crass jokes being made. Nor would my family understand a lot of my partners culturally influenced behaviours like “going Dutch.”

Clearly the themes of culture and race in Zimbabwe are interwoven with themes of cultural significance, historical considerations and economic security. Our countries and people in them have struggled with economic stability for years and looking on countries where it seems like people are doing better in this aspect, it is assumed that life with a foreign partner would be more stable. Additionally, as I have explained in a previous post “get your passport out of here,” because Zimbabweans (and other ex-colonial countries) have been taught to see themselves as less and that everything in the West seems better; including the people. However, when I reflected on how much my culture is ingrained in me, I realised that I would never want to water it down. It is extraordinarily unique and I question why I ever looked down on it.

It isn’t new news that dating inter-culturally is difficult, without even considering long-term issues such as how each of you would want to raise your children. But my question is, why it is so encouraged to date outside of the community for superficial reasons or the the illusion of obtaining a better life with someone who was born in a ‘rich’ country. My point of all of this is that the reasons we have for forsaking each other as good matches really don’t make sense when you think about it. This is not to say that dating inter-culturally is impossible or that we (or I) shouldn’t do it, it is simply to highlight the fact that you already have a solid ground of understanding with the person you grew up next to and venturing out to search for “greener grass” is not always the best thing to do.

What the people want

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Happy Sunday everyone! My favourite day of the week! I hope you all had exciting or restful weekends and feel energised enough to take on the week ahead. I hope I can entertain you this lovely Saturday afternoon, or at least give you something to think/ talk about. On that note, I’d like to throw a special shoutout to all the people who have casually been discussing Zimbabwean politics with me. I have noticed that ever since I started this blog, politics seems to the go to topic when people see me which I am loving. All of these conversations are inspiring me even more and getting me to think about a lot of things I haven’t actually been considering.

Which brings me to the topic of the day, I have noticed, while speaking to people about politics that really, most people want the same things. It’s not exceptionally outrageous things or things that are difficult to achieve but for some unknown reason, politics and politicians make things harder than they need to be. Like most people, I am a Hegelian, I am a realist and I believe that people need a leader. Not only that they need one but I also believe that it is human nature to gravitate towards a leader, we are much more comfortable being told what to do (so long as it makes some sort of sense and does not go against our intrinsic morals). Back to the need, I am not saying that humans are incapable of being completely autonomous beings in charge of their own destinies, but let’s be honest, it would be a disaster if everyone could do whatever they wanted. Also, the need for leaders comes from the fact that we are community creatures, if there’s one thing that I am certain about, it is that human’s cannot survive alone. But see, our communities only function if there is someone looking out for them; someone who will have the best interest of the general group rather than each individual looking out for themselves. However, these are my personal philosophical beliefs so there are people who will disagree with what I am saying. Regardless, I fundamentally believe that humans need to be led. Where the issue seems to lie is who should be doing the leading? How do we choose that? And all the other questions that centre around the larger question of what makes a good leader.

“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.”

– Ronald Reagan

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I am currently writing my final thesis on certain political ideologies within Zimbabwe. In order to give myself a true representation of how Zimbabweans view the things I am looking at, I have been conducting interviews with many people, asking them what they think about certain things. I have been shocked to my core about some of the responses I have been getting (in a good way). My Western trained mind expected very cliché answers like ‘we want democracy’ and ‘we want equality.’ But these were not the insights I gained speaking to everyday Zimbabweans. As a disclaimer; this is not to mean that all Zimbabweans want the things I am about to describe but the ones I interviewed did and I tried to make my interviewees as diverse as possible in terms of race, gender, social class, geographical location and age.

Zimbabweans do not want democracy. Well, more accurately they do not want direct or deliberative democracy. I do not know if it is because Zimbabweans have become so accustomed to the style of government we have now (whatever style that might be), but they want a single, strong leader to lead the country. I was really shocked that the idea of democratic representation meant very little to many Zimbabweans. They wanted democracy in the sense of choosing the next leader; on he grounds of her/his expertise, character, background etc., but after that most people did not seem to care. They did not care about how long this person would stay in power for or what form of political organisation they would undertake. They simply wanted the option to choose what they saw as a good leader and after that, the leader is expected to lead. As one of interviewees neatly put it, Zimbabweans are longing for a ‘good dictator.’

Honestly, none of this sat well with me. But the logic does make sense, I might be a little jaded because as I have mentioned, I have very little faith in humans in general. I believe that no matter how ‘good’ our dictator starts out, they could always become prey to corruption and duplicity. However, as I went along into the questions, I began to see that Zimbabweans have such bizarre political goals because of the current system they are embroiled in. I asked people what they thought would make a good leader and again, I already had expected answers in my mind like ‘educated’ and ‘honest.’ But what seemed to make a good leader is someone who does not let their people starve, someone who educates and provides healthcare >infrastructure< etc. None of these were initially really in my mind because I thought they were a given.

“Zimbabwean doctors and nurses demonstrate in Harare on November 18, 2008. Truckloads of riot police were deployed outside Harare’s main hospital to prevent scores of doctors and nurses from marching in protest at the state of Zimbabwe’s collapsing health system. At least 50 people are believed to have died of cholera this month, according to health officials, due to the rapid break down in sanitation in many parts of the capital.” AFP PHOTO / DESMOND KWANDE

Now see, my preconceived idea of a good leader had a lot to do with corruption. I would think that a good leader is one that is not corrupt but to my surprise, most Zimbabweans didn’t care about that (well not in the way I expected). People seem to believe that as long as the country is functioning and basic necessities are made available to the people then they could not care less if excess funds were being stolen from the country. To some extent I have always believed this was the case because lets be honest, political corruption takes place in all countries but in the ones where the people are taken care of, a little corruption is swept under the rug.

In short, Zimbabwean’s political goals are modest and so easily achievable. This is not to say that once/if things get better people will not expect more but it is to highlight the fact that right now, in this moment, people are suffering to the extent that they would be happy with the bare minimum of good leadership. The things people are asking for right now from the current leadership are things that are naturally expected in other parts of the world, but yet, it seems as though Zimbabweans are asking for a lot. When yet all they are asking for is a means for survival.