19 February 2009

TANONOKA JOSEPH WHANDE

I do not know what to do about the Government of National Unity.
I do not know what to say about Robert Mugabe.
I do not think the Movement for Democratic change knows what to do with the situation slowly unfolding before their eyes.
And yet we had closed our eyes and swallowed the bitter pill with the hope that, pungent as the medication might have been, the cure would come.
We had pushed fear, mistrust and doubt aside and installed hope into our hearts believing that evil, having been given so much time to play itself out, would now die away and release the suffering souls in Zimbabwe.

The MDC in general and Mr Tsvangirai, in particular, weathered a barrage of criticism for having accepted a faulty arrangement as basis for reviving the nation.
Tsvangirai had won the elections but, in the end, allowed himself to accept only a small potion of what he should have received in an effort to get the foot in the door and work to somehow correct the situation from within or from a more intimate position than was the case before.

There was never any intention, on the part of either Robert Mugabe or his ZANU-PF party, to work towards the healing of the nation.
The crimes they have committed, even were they to be forgiven or simply not being taken into consideration, scare those who committed them to the extent that they know and believe that they can never really be forgiven.
Now they decide to keep running towards the abyss rather than stop and look for better, assured alternatives.
And they are taking a nation of innocents down with them.

What is the international community to say now?
What has SADC to say now that they forced the people of Zimbabwe to put their hope in the hands of the same man who, apparently, had assured SADC of his honest intentions when accepting this deal?
Does SADC not want to keep an eye on the situation since it was them who played midwife to a deformed idea?
SADC cannot melt into the background in silence; they could help the situation by coming out in the open and urging or criticizing the man they worked so hard to protect at the expense of the Zimbabwean people.
Now Mugabe is betraying not only the Zimbabwean people but is betraying SADC, South Africa and all those who, against common sense but driven by a true desire to bring sanity and life back to Zimbabwe, believed that Mugabe and his goons, if assured of security, might just let justice, peace and well being be restored in Zimbabwe.

But the demons of ZANU-PF feel more comfortable with an unchartered tomorrow than with yesterday, a time that is full of evidence of their crimes against humanity.

I am one of those who believed that the MDC was ill advised to enter into this arrangement because I said I was afraid of the consequences. Mugabe and ZANU-PF never took a break but just continued with their evil ways, displaying malicious attitudes towards the recovery of our nation.
I am one of those who wrote passionately against the GNU and urged for a transitional government instead.
But somewhere deep inside me, I had a tiny flame of hope. I dared nurse that tiny flame believing, in all honesty, that ZANU-PF would accept this gesture from the people of Zimbabwe and use it to somehow show that even though mistakes were made in the past, we can forge ahead and reclaim our nationhood that we had lost to ourselves.

Now here we are, betrayed, once again, by the very same people we set out to forgive and whom the nation was grudgingly preparing to give another chance.
The arrests continue. Farms continue to be invaded and the police do not appear to know or accept the new dispensation.
Indeed, on the very day that was signal a new beginning as ministers from parties concerned were sworn in, all with Bibles in hand, Mugabe himself was childish enough to want to sneak into government more ministers than agreed.
Our missing remains unaccounted for although some are known to be alive but are being held somewhere.
While the MDC hungrily sets out to revive the nation, ZANU-PF continues to snap at its heels and pulling down those who are supposed to be spearheading the charge towards national revival.
Clearly, ZANU-PF has never comfortably lived and survived under law and order or under circumstances that spell peace and prosperity. ZANU-PF cannot survive in the absence of chaos, murder, rape and starvation.
Like any other tokoloshe fetish, ZANU-PF can only survive, not in water but in the blood of those closest to it.
ZANU-PF needs to be cleansed in every sense of the word and it needs to be cleansed before anyone may shake its hand.
How can a group of people, who qualify to be called a party on a national scale, be so comfortable with their imposition of the worst forms of life in people? How can they strive so hard to bring so much misery not only to their nation but across their borders?
How can ZANU-PF find strength in the death of its homeland yet people and the country gave it so much support and nursed it when it was wounded and under attack?
What kind of souls pervade ZANU-PF?

With all good intentions gone badly, SADC has an opportunity to redeem itself in the eyes of the world and all they need to do is to chastisize Mugabe while urging him to accept the letter and spirit of the agreement.
SADC must show some spine and tell Mugabe to accept this honestly or dump him.
We have 90 percent unemployment; out of 12 million people, 5 million are in exile; cholera is killing thousands among those living in one of the world’s countries with the lowest life expectancy of 35 years while more than five million out of the seven million in Zimbabwe need food aid.
SADC must not, for goodness’ sake, let someone called Mummar Gaddaffi anywhere near the Zimbabwean issue but SADC must be heard and not take retrogressive comfort in the discredited ‘quiet diplomacy”.

Yes, the MDC rushed into this without giving it sufficient thought. Yes, it was ill advised to trust Mugabe and ZANU-PF but all that is water under the bridge.
What do we do now? The MDC is slowly strengthening ZANU-PF while ZANU-PF’s assault on the MDC and its supporters have never been diminished. ZANU-PF wants to destroy the MDC
Pretend as we may want, there is no common ground between the two groups. One wants to revive a nation while the other wants to destroy it.
Will support for this GNU make it succeed when ZANU-PF knows it cannot survive in a normal peaceful atmosphere?
The heart of the matter is that the battle is not over yet and I am glad that, at least, Mr Tsvangirai also knows that it is not going to be easy.
As a matter of fact, it is very dangerous. And the signs are beginning to show.
They need support but we should never lose sight of a snake in house. I am not happy with this.

And, as someone wrote to me, behind every silver lining a huge black thundercloud lurks. And its name is Bob.
What do you think, write to me at tano@swradioafrica.com
I am Tanonoka Joseph Whande and that, my friends, is the way it is today, Thursday, February 19, 2009.