There are times when it is undeniable that Zimbabweans are a menace to themselves. Now those of us who reside in the Diaspora have got a bad reputation. Where once we were hard working, educated individuals capable of working anywhere in the world, we have quickly turned into global pariahs.

Zimbabweans are committing fraud in America and in the UK, evading taxes and even being jailed for knowingly and intentionally infecting people with HIV, all the while using Robert Mugabe as a scapegoat.

Take for instance the case of Gamuchirai Nhengu an 18-year-old Zimbabwean contestant on UK talent search reality show X-Factor. She made headlines a few months ago when she made it through several rounds of judging and even won praise from the mercurial Simon Cowell for her singing.

Gamu and her family now face deportation. She and her two brothers were allowed to stay in the UK as dependents of their mother while she studied nursing. But the visa ran out and the family’s application to remain in the UK was rejected. It turns out the deportation order was issued as a result of an investigation by the Home Office into £16,000 in benefits wrongly claimed by her mother, Nokuthula, reports The Sun. Nokuthula, received benefits and tax credits for her children, but her visa rules strictly forbade her from any state payouts.

This was followed by Gamu conducting a tearful interview with a Scottish newspaper in which she claimed that she and her family would face a firing squad if they returned to Zimbabwe.

“I’ve been in the public eye now and people there know I’ve fled [Robert] Mugabe’s regime. They will punish us if we go back. They’re going to know where we are; we’re going to be very unsafe. People have been approaching our family members; we think they could be working for Mugabe. And we know how brutal he can be. I would be in danger, it’s blatantly obvious. My family would be in danger.”

Gamu has even been quoted as saying she regrets being on the show as it drew attention to herself and her family.

Gamuchirai Nhengu is a child, whose sole claim to fame is mediocre success on a British reality show. What does she or for that matter her mother know about Roberty Mugabe’s brutality? They didn’t go to the UK as asylum seekers, they are economic migrants, hoping to take advantage of a generous welfare state.

She is a Zimbabwean child seeking to manipulate the image of Zimbabwe as a country in which total chaos exists and in which no one is safe, to justify her mother’s illegal actions. What is worse is the readiness of the British public and even Culture Minister Fiona Hyslop to believe her. It may be lazy thinking to accept her word without the slightest critical examination of her claims; but what else can one expect when Zimbabwe has been reduced to a single despotic individual who is demonised in the media. Their comprehension of the complexities of Zimbabwean politics is superficial and informed by racist thirty-second television spots selling ring tones that depict Mugabe as an incompetent bespectacled hairy, black baboon.

We cannot deny that political violence exists in our society. Even today two years after the 2008 elections, when there is a semblance of stability in the country, we still have incidents of political violence. This situation was and is painful for many people, not least those directly affected. Gamu’s claims diminish the struggle by all those working to make this country a better place, and they are a slap in the face for anyone against whom actual violence was perpetrated.

Mona Eltahawy writing for The Africa Report discusses the power of new media in an article called Facebook Against Faceless Authority. Here it is:

Khaled Said was not the first Egyptian to be brutally beaten by the police. What was unprecedented was the number of Egyptians who have protested police brutality since the 28-year-old businessman died on June 6 – up to 8,000 at one silent protest in his hometown of Alexandria alone. On July 27, the two policemen initially connected to his death stood trial on charges of illegal arrest and excessive use of force. If convicted, they face three to fifteen years in prison.

Social media – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogs – were central to organising those protests and to bringing together activists and many ordinary Egyptians who turned out to demand justice for Said. Around 3.4 million Egyptians use Facebook, meaning that Egypt has the largest subscriber base in the Arab world and 23rd-largest globally. One of the many Facebook groups launched in Said’s memory now has almost 250,000 fans.

Social media have connected Egyptians and amplified both the voices and the courage of those who want to protest against President Hosni Mubarak, who has been in power for 29 years.

Across the Arab world, these forums have given a voice to the voiceless, providing a platform for the most marginalised to challenge authority, be it political, social or religious.

Long ignored by the state-owned media, young people and women are using the Internet to reach those who had been most eager to ignore them.

In Saudi Arabia, which fuels most of the world’s cars but bars half of its population from driving, women’s rights activists have used Facebook and email to collect petitions against the driving ban. One of the activists, Wajeha al-Huwaider, posted a video on YouTube of herself driving as she narrated an open letter to the Saudi interior minister.

In Lebanon, Meem – a group of lesbian, bisexual and transgendered women – uses a website and Twitter to offer shelter and support.

The desire to take on both the current regime and the old guard of their own movement compels young Muslim Brotherhood members in Egypt to blog. One of them, Abdelmonem Hahmoud Ibrahim says that he started his blog Ana Ikhwan (I am a Muslim Brother) “so that I can show my true self”. The desire to express oneself and to circumvent censorship has created a thrilling equation in the Arab world: one person + the Internet = one very angry president.

Regimes throughout the region intimidate and arrest bloggers, which begs the question: what do all those rulers, in power for so long, have to fear?

Back in Egypt, young people who have known no other ruler than Mubarak and who realise that any one of them could have been Khaled Said, seize the chance to challenge the state and its once-absolute ownership of the narrative.

The majority of the Arab world is younger than 25 years old. The power of answering back – that is now the power of social media.

Recently Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights published a report regarding access to HIV treatments and corrupt practices by healthcare professionals.

This is blatant exploitation of a minority group by people is positions of relative power. With the health system in such dire straights, we can hardly afford to let corrupt practices flourish in an environment where we are trying to rebuild, and encourage public faith in service delivery. With a bloated civil service, and thousands of nursing graduates seeking employment I am surprised that the government and in particular the Ministry of Health is not eager to appear to be efficient by firing the perpetrators and hiring new staff to replace them.

There’s an insightful article called “Toast Masters” by William Mervin Gumede published in Focus on Africa (October to December 2010).  It’s centred on how power, privilege and all things nice are entrenched amongst a minority elite.  This is something that I, and I believe many others, have always known, have experienced first-hand and have found quite depressing.

The last paragraph really got me thinking.  Apparently, in parts of deepest darkest Africa, there are pockets of democratic success that are enjoying the economic progress that comes with it.  “Bully for Africa” I thought.  How nice that we don’t have to look far across the ocean for examples of good governance.  (You know how the West likes to dictate to us).  I then thought that it would be even nicer if African leaders could be as jealous for their countries as they are for their positions, innumerable assets and vast network of family and friends.  Can you imagine?  One president reads how Botswana created room at the feeding trough for formally marginalised groups.  Irritated by the success of his neighbour, he decides to generously give the entire trough to the poor.  Or in another case, a certain prime minister might discover that his brother in Mauritius has given small businesses substantial access to finance.  Not to be outdone, the honourable one decides that entrepreneurs should not only get funding but they will receive free training, input subsidies and tax rebates. Wouldn’t that be marvellous! Gumede suggests that if the traditional elite adopted a more inclusive approach, it would result in widespread prosperity in society.  Maybe then the masses wouldn’t resent that their lives are controlled by a handful of people.

Following on from my Community gets involved in cleaning up Newlands Shopping Centre blog, I was pleasantly surprised to note that the following Friday morning of the 24th September 2010, the City of Harare was themselves painting the zebra crossings with a fresh coat of paint within the shopping area. I have no doubt that the communities work the previous week had got their attention and they felt they had to go out there and continue the good work that the surrounding businesses had already started. We now have a very fresh, clean looking shopping area in Newlands. Unfortunately this is not the case around the rest of the country and I am saddened every time I pass vacant areas of land and see copious amounts of plastic litter dumped right on the road. We need to do something about this continuing waste problem and get everyone to do their bit for their earth!

I recently found some interesting facts on the I Save Earth web site:

As we become more technologically advanced, we produce materials that can withstand extreme temperatures, are durable and easy to use. Plastic bags, synthetics, plastic bottles, tin cans, and computer hardware- these are some of the things that make life easy for us. But what we forget is that these advanced products do not break down naturally. Plastic bags are difficult and costly to recycle and most end up on landfill sites where they take around 300 years to photo degrade. They break down into tiny toxic particles that contaminate the soil and waterways and enter the food chain when animals accidentally ingest them. But the problems surrounding waste plastic bags starts long before they photo degrade.

When we dispose them in a garbage pile, the air, moisture, climate, or soil cannot break them down naturally to be dissolved with the surrounding land. Our planet is becoming increasingly contaminated by our unnecessary use of plastic carrying bags. Big black bin liners, plastic carrier bags carrying advertising logos, clear sandwich bags, vegetable bags and a variety of other forms used to carry our daily food items and other items are all polluting our environment. Just take a look around you. Plastic bags can be seen hanging from the branches of trees, flying in the air on windy days, settled amongst bushes and floating on rivers. They clog up gutters and drains causing water and sewage to overflow and become the breeding grounds of germs and bacteria that cause diseases.

We produce 6 billion tons of plastic a year. We use it for everything it seems. One reason why plastic was invented was to reduce ivory use. Plastic recycling is difficult, and not profitable, leading to only 3-5% of the plastic produced to be recycled.

Closer to home, social activist Peta Searle shared this information with Zimbabweans recently:

Over the years plastic has become the “clean, safe” and accepted method of packaging and carrying goods. The problem is that plastics are non-biodegradable. When they are carelessly thrown away, they collect around the city, choking drains, threatening small animals, damaging the soil and polluting our beautiful country. A study in Ghana showed that plastic wastes have virtually choked the drainage system in the urban centre’s of the country to such an extent that it takes only the slightest of rainfall to precipitate floods in major cities.

Plastic poisons and pollutes

Plastic is made from oil and coal, materials that are both unsustainable and non-renewable. Mining, transport, energy production and petrochemical processes all damage the environment. In this way, plastic production contributes to problems such as oil spills, toxic emissions, and global warming through the release of greenhouse gases. If you decide to burn plastic to try to get rid of it, there are also problems. Dioxins (any of several toxic hydrocarbons that occur as impurities in petroleum-derived herbicides, disinfectants, and other products) and furans (a colourless flammable toxic liquid heterocyclic compound, used in the manufacture of cotton textiles and in the synthesis of nylon) are two highly toxic chemicals created unintentionally during plastic incineration.

Plastic wastes choke seas across the globe. This form of pollution is one of the biggest environmental problems we face, and it’s only getting worse as plastic production continues to grow.

What can we do about the plastic problem?

Reduce, re-use, and recycle!

Plastic bags are everywhere and they don’t disappear when we throw them away and where is away. God gave us an earth to line on and every little speck of it is our responsibility, so I ask you again, when you throw it away where is away? Away is out of sight, out of mind, but global warming is all of our responsibility and it is time you played your part. So make the effort, only good can come of it. Reduce, reduce, reduce the use of plastic bags. Have a box in your car and load the groceries from the trolley into the boot. Carry a green bag to load up the groceries. Don’t put all the vegetables in to plastic when you have it weighed, bring your own big bag and weigh the vegetables separately and put them all in one packet. The more people who bring their own re-useable non-plastic bags to the shops, the less plastic bags are needed. If you already have plastic bags, you could re-use them several times yourself. Thick plastic bags are easier to re-use, and they are also easier and more profitable to recycle.

Campaign!

Campaigns to change the law about plastic bags have been very effective in many African countries. Botswana launched a plastics petition campaign, asking that shops only stock plastic bags thicker than 60 micron. Stronger, thicker plastic bags are re-useable and easier to recycle than thin bags. Shoppers should pay for the stronger bags, so that they would be more likely to re-use them than throw them away and manufacturers should make sure that plastic bags are made of materials that can be recycle more easily. The result is that several large shop chains now sell thicker re-useable plastic carrier bays.

The Eritrean government has also taken a firm line on plastic bags. Since January 2005, those who import, produce, distribute or sell plastic bags are fined, and Kenya may soon follow suite.

If you have to dispose of your plastic, throw it in a hole and bury it don’t burn it. Dioxin a gas released from the burning of plastic is highly carcinogenic and will affect an unborn baby. Appeal to your councilors to dig a deep hole in your neighbourhood where plastic can be disposed of and most importantly reduce and reuse.

Meanwhile we need to lobby to our governments to take strong action against toxic plastic products. I encourage anyone in local groups or organisations involved in this issue to join the expanding coalition – making strong connections in Zimbabwe is the next step. So get involved! It is our world that we have to keep clean and beautiful for ourselves, our children, our grandchildren and generations to follow.

Let’s make Zimbabwe beautiful.

Some of the feedback we’ve received from members of the Kubatana community:

I’m very much worried about the so called ZESA load shedding especially in the area I live, Hatfield. Usually the cutoff is at 5.30pm and will be back at around 10pm and will also be off as early as 4.30am. We hardly use electricity. To my surprise the bills are just too much as we hardly use electricity. One wonders why such load shedding is like that in this area which is along the airport road. This road is usually used by government officials, diplomats, tourists, and investors. How can we have tourists and investors to this country when they are driving in the dark from the airport? This will obviously turn most of our potential investors and tourists away. Their first sight to the country of hope is just darkness and they will feel they will be throwing their money in the dark. My suggestion to this load shedding is that, cut offs should be done during the day, lets say from 9am to 4pm. Lets market our country for potential investors in light. I feel ZESA authorities should look into this matter with broad minds which are full of sales and marketing ideas. Lets market Zimbabwe to rebuild our economy.

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I am getting very agitated with the way Ruwa Local Board is managing the service delivery in the otherwise very quiet and potentially well managed surburb. For starters the board has simply resigned on the water provision aspect, they sit back and relax while the residents go for months on end without water. Awhile ago they used to provide water from a couple of boreholes located on the USAID side but those days are way behind us. Residents resorted to sink wells in their yards but due to the poor rainfall last season the watertable is now miserably low and all you get from the well is mud . . . is this not precipitating a cholera outbreak!!!! To add insult the board has the audacity to dispatch water meter readers for the drops that drip out of the taps once in a blue moon. The drips are so brown from the rusted pipes that you do not even dare use them for flushing the toilet because you will stain it forever. The refuse collection side is even more disappointing. They have a known schedule that the residents know and early in the morning on the particular day all households bring out the refuse outside their yards to be picked up . . . this is a mirage, the refuse is never collected for weeks on end. I just wish the Board could use their municipal police to announce in advance that they will not be picking up the refuse anytime soon and it stays hidden in the yards. I am so fed up of officials who sit in the office and do nothing except grow big tummies from the rates that we fork out every month.