Zimbabwe: Beware the Ides of March

Zimbabwe’s curse is that of passivity and gullibility; the frustrated sit and wait for salvation while those who bolster the regime seem hoodwinked and content with following blindly. My good African American friend Martin Boston, while reflecting one evening, said it best “It vexes me that our community can articulate our frustration with the oppressive machine that plows over us in our daily lives from, the criminal justice system, media, capitalism and so on, but cant do the same when critiquing the many ways in which we are the fuel and operators that keep this machine up and running.”

As Zimbabwe’s 2008 elections get closer however, one gets the feeling that this passivity will soon come to an end due to the fact that Zimbabwe and its sons and daughters have come to the crossroad; a point in time in which despair turns into anger and inaction into action. For Zimbabwe, violence is not an option but it may soon become its reality but before then, Zimbabwe will see the rise of heroes and heroines; the social, political and economic stage has been set and as critics and political analysts try predict the plotlines and cast, it becomes an undeniable fact that Zimbabwe’s salvation, much like its emancipation from colonial rule will come out of its own people and this last stand will be of monumental consequence, not only for the country, but region.

Many Zimbabweans fear failure and the uncertainty of tomorrow and so in essence we find ourselves defeated. However, the moment one chooses to become at peace with the possibility of failure the closer we are to moving the mountains that obstruct our liberties; the fear of failure does nothing but resign our hopes and aspirations to day dreams and inconsequential “what ifs”.  As a people, we should not be too concerned with the outcome and end result but rather, invest our time and energy in what we value as doing the right thing regardless of how it will turn out.

The condescending swagger of the western world at times has always lead me into questioning their sincerity and at times feel like Zimbabwe has begun to get depicted by the global community as a festering boil, a hot spot of poor political and socio-economic hygiene within southern Africa, it has become a bacterial infection that if not treated, will continue to swell and eventually burst, releasing puss that will decay the very fabric of social justice and prosperity that has bound this nation together.

When I look to my fellow Zimbabwean’s I hear the cries of a people who are sick & tired of being the collateral damage of political skirmishes and ego; a people sick & tired of the blind leading the partially sighted; sick & tired of our leaders being more divisive than they are unifying; sick & tired of being exploited and victimized by their own brethren; I speak for a people who are sick & tired of being bound the chains of false hope, hatred, misery and strife; I speak for a people who are sick & tired of being sick & tired.

Beware the Ides of March 2008!