Battle Wounds
There is an old, deep wounding that runs through our land
the pain of the torn flesh of old hatreds, bloodletting, abuse of power, colonialism and wars for ownership of land
However, 33 years ago our country gained independence
and we covered the wounds in an ‘agreed forgetting’
with the hope that the new dreams had the space to come in
but beneath the scarred skin,
the festering pain of the unheard stories continued
a legacy inflicted on our youth
old wounds – belonging times before they were born
and we used our children to bleed them back into the world
no longer in a battle framed by tribe or colour or religious ideal
but in the simple pursuit of personal greed and partisan political power
5 years ago
a ‘failed’ election left us with the dictator in control of the army and police, sharing the government with the opposition party
together they were tasked with creating a new constitution and putting in place a set of agreed reforms
to make way for a new election.
5 years with the hierarchy involved in a struggle
for the Mercedes/house on the hill/women/control of business/diamonds/ownership of land
5 years in limbo
as the country continued to suffer the abandonment of roads/schools/water systems/electricity/refuse collection
our children on the streets
for the people no longer counted in the way of things
5 years in which growing circles in communities across the country
have come to realize – we are on our own
and the survival of our communities is our own business
that peace will only come from our hands
that old wounds/new wounds could no longer buried
they had to be spoken before they could heal
and that they would only heal from the inside out
5 years in which we have grown to understand
that we have no place in battles that are not of our making
that the time is passed to ‘fight against’
that the time has come to ‘stand for’ something we believe in
for peace and truth and stability in our lives
This week we will have an ‘unconstitutional’ election
(the president fast-tracked changes to electoral laws agreed on by all political parties in cabinet and used a presidential decree to bypass Parliament)
almost 2 million of people under 30 years of age have been from prevented from registering
on a flawed voters role that contains the names of nearly a million deceased or departed
(we surely have the largest population in the world of people between 100 and 120)
and 63 constituencies that have more voters than residents
We walk through a gateway of designed chaos
knowing that old men do not readily give up power
not knowing the next steps
other than that this time, we have something else to bring to our future
our own learning
tichaona – we shall see