Masi, Jamu and I
wave our hands to the President.
The windows of his limo
are tinted
and are always closed.
The motorcade travels fast
but Masi and Jamu say
the President waves back.

We wave our hands
every time the motorcade passes
in the hope it will stop
to drop a coin.

But we hear
the chauffeur does not know
the ‘Give-way’ sign
nor the ‘Stop’ sign.

~ Julius Chingono, Zimbabwean poet, 1996

Robert Mugabe spent 11 years in jail for his role as one of several leaders fighting for independence. The playing field was distinctly uneven and brutal. Yet the nationalists persevered in their quest for freedom. Today, Morgan Tsvangirai has, on moral grounds, pulled out of a watershed election for the same country.

The first point is, while participating in any civic struggle for justice is a personal choice, its abandonment, by those you follow, days before the final hurdle represents a betrayal of those who have suffered and continue to suffer at the hands of the regime one is seeking to replace. We have seen in television clip after television clip, interviews of people lying in extreme pain on their hospital beds vowing that they will still vote for the MDC regardless of what has happened to them. Who will provide them with closure now that their suffering has been rendered “meaningless” by the withdrawal by a leader who used to love “consulting” with the people before taking on any major decision?

The second point is Morgan Tsvangirai has made a moral decision because the people are being battered. I think that Morgan has been battered in to submission and he did not have the courage of his convictions to see this through. Why would he be prepared to negotiate a deal with someone he considers a monster? What deal will they come up with? How will Morgan justify sitting in a government of national unity after this? Could he not have participated in this election under protest?

So while it is understandable, the cold fact is he has handed Robert Mugabe victory on a “technicality” and that, from a legal point of view, still counts as a victory. This means his decision is not excusable. The fight for freedom has always been, at the very bottom of bottom lines, a “give me liberty or death” battle and Morgan and his advisors have failed the nation on this count. I know it is easier to say from behind a keyboard but Morgan’s role is that of a leader and mine is that of a commentator who actually pitched up for the final push on two successive days, ready to die for the country. Do not get me wrong, what has been going on is reprehensible but is the road to freedom, the world over, not littered with corpses and broken limbs?

Even the silent ants
Trampled upon by giant elephants
Do sing a silent song
They shall surely know
How to shoot
The great foot
Weighing heavily on them

~ Albert Nyathi

It seemed as if the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) had given up on the notion that regional leaders and the international community would, or could, help Zimbabwe out of the current crisis. In fact Tendai Biti stated recently that the international community could not be looked to for support.

Then this weekend the MDC pulled out of the election citing a very good reason: the unfair electoral environment, which includes very high levels of state orchestrated violence. But worryingly, the MDC believes that their withdrawal from the election will encourage SADC and regional leaders to put pressure on Mugabe to either step down or negotiate a settlement to end the crisis in Zimbabwe.

Mugabe, however, does not negotiate.

And while the MDC’s withdrawal from the election appears to be supported by much of the electorate, any suggestion of a Government of National Unity (GNU) is met with rejection.

The MDC needs to immediately set down some demands to test the political will of our neighbours and international supporters. Let’s start by asking South Africa to impose full sanctions, both economic and travel, on Zimbabwe sending Mugabe a very clear message that enough is enough.

I believe that our neighbours will continue to lead Tsvangirai by the nose, placating him with suggestions that progress will be made through peace talks.

Peace talks with a dictator whose election posters proclaim that this is the “final battle for total control?”

I received an email about an interactive discussion under the theme Feminist Currents. I quite like the concept of currents. That individuals tap into ideas, debate, and formulate expressions around various issues. In these spaces individual and collective thought processes foster intellectual growth and abilities to envision and act on long-term strategies for the redress of injustices. In Zimbabwe there are currents which desire political change – and in my mind, they are feminist currents.

The interactive discussion proposed to examine feminist currents through posing questions, including: Was Elizabeth Edwards right when she claimed her husband (democratic candidate John Edwards) was more of a feminist than Hillary Clinton? Who should Black women support: Obama or Clinton? These two questions got me thinking about what feminism is all about and why it’s often a taboo word in Zimbabwe. Seems to me the taboo-ness is a result of narrowly equating feminism to a singular (Western) line of thought only concerning (white) women. More accurately, feminisms concern men, women, and children regardless of the colour of their skin. They seek to represent a range of voices which outline affinities and differences while also attending to the sundry mixture of divergences and paradoxes to build more pliable understandings of and solutions to complex issues within the human condition. Simply put, feminisms are lines of thinking. They are expansive, inclusive, attentive to diversity, and vibrant currents aiming to advance positive change. A poem by Betty Makoni of the Girl Child Network serves as a useful reminder of what is meant by feminist currents and the ways they are visionary. The poem was published by Pambazuka and is entitled Promises, Choices, Spaces: Voices for Women. The opening stanza is as follows:

Ever seen a four every word punctuated title?
Question mark? comma, full stop. exclamation mark ! in one
Women lives full of thus
Patriarchy domineering , feminism under backlash
Women have negotiated, still negotiate, will ever negotiate
Promises promised, never premised
Spaces shrunk, voices thwarted
Seems this men’s world, makes and breaks laws
Makes and breaks promises
Women lives punctuated, back and forth

Yes, Makoni’s poem focuses on women. However, the stanza above and the piece overall articulates feminist currents which are about change as well as the ideas, hopes, dreams, and intellect pertaining to peace and equality. I made a few word changes in the poem to further emphasis the relevance feminist currents hold in Zimbabwe and the world over.

Promises, Choices, Spaces: Voices for Zimbabweans

Ever seen a four every word punctuated title?
Question mark? comma, full stop. exclamation mark! in one
Zimbabwean lives full of thus
Patronage domineering, equality under backlash
Citizens have negotiated, still negotiate, will ever negotiate
Promises promised, never premised
Spaces shrunk, voices thwarted
Seems this government’s world, makes and breaks laws
Makes and breaks promises
Too many lives punctuated, back and forth