It’s the first working day of the New Year and I’ve been checking out the emails that have come in over the holiday. One of them suggested various ways to work off all that Fruit Cake. I smiled because if you’re Zimbabwean you don’t have to do a lot of working off of any excess. Simply because there’s not a helluva lot to consume in the first place. Take my Christmas Eve dinner for example: bacon, eggs and Jack Daniels. I was lucky to inherit Jack from a friend who left the country recently.

But one of my favourite emails came from Lionel who says some useful stuff . .

It has been a hard year for all but I wish you all a very happy new year and a prosperous one at it too. Let us hope that all parties concerned really begin to think of all the people of our country and not just their petty power grabbing techniques. A new beginning means everyones participation, as we have all learned, a country does not run on politicians only. They need people to do the other very important tasks, like teaching, doctoring and sweeping the street. No job is menial and as Africans we must get out of the habit that only degrees count. There is a man there with a lot of degrees but what has he done? The rest is history. Now you all have a good day and we will catch up in the New Year.

South Africa is presently at an interesting political crossroads and one just feels the electricity (pardon the pun) this far side of the Limpopo and you cannot help but wish you were part of the excitement. When people claim to own the revolution – any revolution – there is always a danger of making themselves obsolete, and name-calling of those who decide to stand up to skewed definitions of democracy inevitably tend to only strengthen the resolve of those who decide to challenge and change the course of a country’s political course.

Tyranny and opposition to dissent have for years defined African politics, with popular reformists succumbing to the assasin’s bullet, and for anybody who stands up to give “owners of the revolution” a run for their money has got my support.

The COPE founders have been called opportunists and all sorts of names by the very same people with whom they took a stand against apartheid, but one thing for sure is that all threatened despots always exhibit that atavistic streak and will invoke history lessons as part of that bid to discredit breakaway formations.

But all along they forget that they are the same people who present themselves as champions of democracy, so then why not let the brave men who threw down the gauntlet be and let the people decide?

Too bad there have not been such bold moves in Zimbabwe where fear still dwells in the hearts of grown men that they wouldn’t dare cross the path of the founding fathers.

Amanda, one of my colleagues, has been keeping me amused with her telephone calls to the President’s Office. She’s been phoning them trying to get either a Fax number or an Email address. Apparently their fax is broken and they don’t have email. Pull the other one I say.

We would like your help though. Give the little guy a call on +263-4-707098 and make a noise about the recent abductions of civic and political activists in Zimbabwe.

November 25 to December 10 marks 16 Days of Activism Against Violence Against Women. Pamberi Trust held a musical and poetry extravaganza to bring home a strong message of saying no to violence. One performance in particular was all that and precisely what activist voices can embody. The poignant words of performance poet Xapa and hip hopper Misfit along with an affecting and we won’t stand down drum beat by Rumbi provided inspiration. The words and the drumming made the hair on my arms stand up. Made me want to change the world and hug every person I can find who personifies peace. The title of the performance was apt with respect to violence against women. And with respect to a great many other on-goings in Zimbabwe.

We should protest always

Always
The beating of the bongo like the beating of my heart
The beating of the bongo like my heart before you come
The pounding of the bongo like your fists upon my skin
The pounding of the bongo like the agony within

Violence in the garden
Violence in the house
Violence from the children
Violence from the spouse
The weeping and the wailing and the terror and the tears
The weeping and the wailing and the terror and the tears
The fat and the thin, the soul and the hurt and the fears
Violence from the sober
Violence when he’s drunk
Violence on the weaker
Violence on the young

The rhythm of the bongo like the rhythm of my soul
The rhythm of the bongo like the agony
The pounding of the bongo like his fists upon my skin
The pounding of the bongo like the agony within

Violence is coordinated, violence is control
Violence is from the place of the young of the soul
The fighting and the pressure and the struggles and the drone
The beating and the fighting and the immediate unfolds
Abuse of her body and abuse of her soul
Abuse of her feelings and abuse of her hopes

The throbbing of the drum is like the throbbing of my pain
The throbbing of the drum is like crying in my grave
The booming of the bongo there it is, let me go
The booming of the bongo, there’s victims no more

In response to my blog Civil society needs to re-strategize one of our subscribers sent in the following comment:

I do agree on peaceful demonstrations but fundamentally differ with the writer on the accountability of the organizer (s). I think the NCA, Woza, Zinasu and ZCTU have done enough as it is. Remember, it is illegal to have a group of more than four people or organising such. The organisers will be taking risks in organizing these demonstrations. My suggestion is for Zimbabweans to start getting involved in protests in a cunning way. No one should be given the task of organizing because then you need to coordinate and plan and put the whole project into a scheduled start-do-end scenario which has failed so far. In Thailand people have been protesting for 5 months. I don’t think there is a project manager for this, everyone feels responsible and they do not have an end date but an end objective and are actively dedicated. By cultivating bravery, Zimbabweans can change their destiny because those with power are a very small number compared to those who are suffering. Also those with power are actually frightened that is why they rely on guns, violence and intimidation. We are still at a stage where we value “going to work” even if that is now meaningless or “queuing at the bank” even though we may not get our money. We need the same determination to be cultivated in changing the lame duck mentality when it comes to demonstrating for social progress. The whole world is actually waiting for Zimbabweans themselves to actively and practically SHOW their disgust at what is happening in their countries before they can come and assist.

First off, to say civil society has done enough as it is akin to saying HIV and AIDS workers must just stop because now it is up to people to abstain, be faithful and condomize. The civil society organizations the author mentioned as examples are among the many others that pledged to stand up for the rights of others. It is their core business and what donors give them funds for. So to say they have done enough gives the impression that all their goals and objectives have been achieved, and that the human rights situation in Zimbabwe has improved to such an extent that they can now stop. Alternatively it gives the impression that their efforts have failed and its now up to Zimbabweans to sort this mess out themselves.

Secondly the fact that POSA criminalizes mass mobilizations is a matter of public knowledge. But despite that knowledge, WOZA, Zinasu, the NCA among others still go out to protest in large numbers because action like this is fundamental to civil disobedience. The quest to be heard calls for the need to do something that attracts attention. Mass protest achieves that goal.

Third, it is unfortunate that the author does not suggest means and ways Zimbabweans can “start getting involved in protests in a “cunning way, ” neither does he say how Zimbabweans can start “cultivating bravery” in order to change their destiny. I must point out that we are talking about a highly traumatized people that are scared out of their wits of the invisible government. A people that is trying to recover from witnessing their wives, mothers and sisters being raped senseless in their presence. How simple is it then for people to just jump up and protest one day without any form of leadership? Steve Biko so rightly put it that the most important weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed. Zimbabweans have more than one enemy; they still have to get over the fear in their minds to be able to move forward.

That civil society has dared to protest is what gives us hope and is the very reason why we ought to harness that strength. Why should they not be encouraged to incorporate more practical means of protest that everyone else will feel compelled to join? Indeed Zimbabweans need to cultivate bravery but right now the pressing matter is that we’ve got a dictator in our midst, and the actions of civil society are what will give the ordinary citizens the clout to engage in protest. Cholera has failed to galvanize people, so have hyperinflation, poverty and food shortages. Only people can move people now.

The small protest activities that civil society has organized so far have required a lot of planning and have been dangerous to implement. Why shouldn’t they be encouraged to do the same thing at a more coordinated level so that we see some real change? Do they not owe it to the people whose rights they represent to form more practical, effective mobilizations that will include those same people in change processes?

Yes, it is true that the world is waiting for Zimbabweans themselves to do something about this situation, but remember, the rest of the world does not live here, like you and I do, and we happen to have first-hand knowledge of the exact situation on the ground.

Life under a dictatorship in Zimbabwe has seen all systems collapse, including the work of civil society organizations and human rights defenders. If its not the so-called war veterans stifling progress, it is the invisible government dictating obstructive policies like the recent food ban that saw a majority of needy Zimbabweans starve. The same government is slowly but systematically taking the country to hell by committing crimes against its own people, the most recent being the unexplained disappearance of the Global Fund money to fight TB and AIDS and the state indifference to the endemic cholera outbreak.

As to be expected some members of society and civil society have made efforts to protest. A risky occupation in the face of a brutal and unrelenting police force that is always ready to descend on peaceful protesters with baton sticks and tear gas. Marching, as we have seen in the last few years, has been rendered basically useless. So have picketing and other peaceful forms of civil disobedience. A number of civil society groups – notably WOZA, the ZCTU and ZINASU among others have been outstanding in staging protests in Zimbabwe. But none of their endeavors have achieved much. It is high time they all sat down and re-strategized to effect the mother of all protests in Zimbabwe.

The one obvious weakness that has been inherent in the previous protests staged by Zimbabwean civil society has been ‘individualism,’. How often do we hear that today WOZA is staging a demonstration, tomorrow it is the NCA, then ZINASU, and then ZADHR? Each time their separate protests hardly last 30 minutes or achieve the desired goals before the leadership is nabbed and the groups disperse. It is always the same pattern: go out in the street – police appear promptly – protest leaders are nabbed – the rest of the group disperses.

Instead of these individual groups staging their protests separately, it would be more strategic for them to come together as one unit driven by a single passion. The struggle for justice is not about populism or fame, it is about sacrifices and the sooner Zimbabwean civil society organizations realize this the better for everyone. Civil society should be willing to work with other member organizations because they are fighting the same cause – a rogue regime that is trampling its people.

Civil society needs to go beyond their differences and form a highly organized unit that will mobilize in such a way that will ‘confuse’ the police who are used to nabbing the one leader, rendering the protest over. A unified civil society must find tactics that will work. They must abandon ineffective mobilizations. The current type of demonstrations may make participants feel they have done something huge, or garner donor appreciation, but they will not end the crisis in Zimbabwe.

Organizing protests is also about logistics: where people meet; how and where they march to for instance. WOZA has been proficient in timely convergence with the help of synchronized watches and marching in silence for a distance while the crowd gathers. The same tactic  – if adopted by a unified movement of civil society groups has the potential to see the largest march since the 90s. The law of large numbers has historically proved to be the best crowd puller. The more people who march, the more infectious the spirit of solidarity and the higher the possibility of ordinary citizens joining in the protest – which is the desired effect, surely?

And, no matter how many they are, the police do not outnumber the ordinary citizens. The law of large numbers is critical in keeping the rogue police force at bay. Outside the CFX bank in Bulawayo, irritated customers retaliated and pounced on a policeman who was overpowered by the angry mob. Civil society needs must take advantage of the situation – the angry crowds and the fact that the police hardly have the fuel or the water to mobilize their water cannons!