I want the life I was promised as a child.
I do not want to go to another country,
to live like a foreigner,
a second class citizen
who doesn’t speak the lingo,
understand the subtle nuances of
that culture, that language,
THOSE people.
I want to celebrate MY Heroes Holiday,
not just go through the motions,
because really, its a public holiday and what else is there to do?
I want to feel safe when I walk the streets,
of MY country,
and not live in fear
of harrasment because I’m a woman;
of violence because of my political, religious or social beliefs;
of hunger when I work like a slave;
or poverty because no matter what I do, its never enough.
I want to see an end in sight,
a reason to stay and fight,
other than this is the land of my birth.
Its not enough anymore.

The first sign I got that I was back home was the torturous customs queue at Harare International Airport.

“Queuing already and we haven’t even gotten out of the airport,” remarked the frustrated man in front of me.

I couldn’t have agreed with him more.

Unlike other countries where returning nationals form their own separate line at customs, returning Zimbabweans tend to be lumped along with everyone else, although there is a separate counter which is meant specifically for us. None of the airport staff, however, usually bother to tend it.

Having been away for two months, I had sincerely hoped that things were slowly beginning to change for the better in Zimbabwe.

But the dejection of the customs officials – enough even for them to not bother with a warm hello before putting the obligatory stamp into our passports – was evidence enough for me that my fellow countrymen were still as oppressed and depressed as I had left them.

It was during my time away that Prime Minister Tsvangirai had toured Europe and the United States seeking to breathe some warm air over frosty relations between Zimbabwe and the West. Though he returned to Zimbabwe with a very small purse of funds, the signs of integration of our pariah nation into international politics had sparked hope within me.

But it was also during my time away that the constitutional reform process – the hallmark of the new government of national unity – had collapsed. And it was again during this time that I learnt that civil servants’ salaries had been raised, but only to a paltry range of between USD 150 and 200 per month.

Soon, I realised that only my physical presence within Zimbabwe would give me a real feel of whether anything had changed.

And the drive from the airport deepened my appreciation of the situation.

The kaleidoscope colours of garbage strewn all over caught my eyes as I watched snaking queues of people standing street-side hoping desperately for transport.

My heart began to tumble down my chest in despair.

“Let’s hope there’s electricity when we get home,” my mother interjected, pausing my heart’s descent, only to make it fall even faster.

That was another thing to start worrying about again; so far removed from the comparatively ‘breezy’ life I had enjoyed in Berlin, Germany, where I never had to give care to the most basic of necessities.

But the worst was still yet to come.

As we continued to drive, the potholes in the roads, some the size of basins, were causing vehicles to swerve precariously into neighbouring lanes and onto the curb in a bid to avoid becoming stuck in the craters, or damaging shock absorbers.

What kind of a country pays no attention to the maintenance and repair of roads, of rights, of what is right for its citizens?

“Those potholes are a reflection of the holes in our own hearts,” rued my friend as we swerved past yet another one.

If things continue like this, I wonder if we will still have hearts, or maybe just gaping holes in our souls.

For now, what is left of mine continues to bleed for my country.

Yesterday I posted a piece on punishment in schools, inviting opinions on whether, when, and how beating children in schools is acceptable, and how to deal with the question of discipline in schools.

Here are a few more comments on this issue:

My own daughter is in form 3 at a school in Chinhoyi. I paid $410 full fees for the previous term. The fees were paid right at the beginning of the term. Half way in the term the school authorities ordered the pupils to pay an extra $30 per pupil for extra lessons with the same teachers and after full fees were paid in good time. My daughter and many others about half of each class failed to pay the $30 and did not attend the extra lessons. The exams were set bringing in mostly material covered in the extra lessons. My daughter and the other pupils obviously failed most of the subjects. All those who failed were severely beaten up by the school authorities. I am in the same predicament, how can I complain without making my daughter vulnerable?
- TM, Chinhoyi

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I hope you can view the subject scripturally as well.  See Hint 12 from The Duties of Parents by J. C. Ryle (first printed in 1888).  “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”   [Proverbs 22:6]
- MG

What do you think? Leave your comment here or email info [at] kubatana [dot] net.

Kubatana recently received an email from a subscriber describing an incident in which a young girl was badly beaten by school authorities. Our subscriber wanted to encourage debate and discussion on this issue:

1. Do schools have the right to ‘beat’ and I mean beat children?
2. Do they have the right to do so without the sanction of their parents (if indeed this makes it right at all)?
3. Does beating ever solve anything or will it only ensure that the child becomes an adult who beats?
4. Is authority best wielded through the stick?
5. Does the Ministry of Education approve of beating?
6. What sanction do parents have against their child being beaten?
7. What action can they take if the child is beaten and the parents disapprove?
8. How can one complain without making the child’s position even more vulnerable?

We asked our email subscribers for their feedback today, and some of their feedback includes:

I personally think it depends to what extent is the teacher beating the student. There should be some kind of a limit and areas to beat if it is discipline the student. If  you are to see most of these big educated guys they went through all these kinds of treatment and most of them ended up doing well and worked within a disciplined order guided by code of  good social behaiour.

If students are not to be beaten they are more chances of them misbehaving and the teacher will end up being reluctant to monitor the general behaviour of the students because he or she would not want to waste time on someone he or she has no control over.

If punishment of students in schools is to be approved and made known to the students, I believe the behavior of them will substantially improve and possibly yield better people for tomorrow.
- ML

——

If anyone considers unfair and unreasonable treatment of children it should be in consideration of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

These instruments recognize that all human beings should be free, have freedom from fear and want, and are endowed with equal and inalienable rights. Accordingly, human rights are acknowledged as being universal, that is they apply everywhere, and inalienable, which means that they cannot be taken away from the person even with his or her agreement. In your brief there appears to be contravention of the following principle: -

The school should have respect for due process and the right to a fair hearing before taking any disciplinary measures. Any disciplinary measures should be proportionate and not involve physical punishment or inhuman or degrading treatment.

Environments characterized by activities that can affect or involve children may provide particular difficulties and high risk situations of violating or being complicit in human rights abuses. Schools may be faced with the need to make difficult and complex judgments on whether and how to conduct themselves.

The UDHR itself states that “every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance.’’

An organization may be regarded as complicit if it in some way authorizes, tolerates or knowingly ignores abuses committed by the school.  While case law is developing that is clarifying the legal liability of private organizations for complicity in international crimes, most of what society, business and human rights advocates understand as complicity goes beyond its present legal definition and application.  The school and staff in their personal capacities may find they become isolated as international organizations (e.g. international finance or looking for another job) become risk averse if their complicity in turn may in any way entail liability under international law.
- TL

What do you think? Is there an “acceptable” level of beating? Or does all corporal punishment on students a violation of their rights? Email us your thoughts and opinions on info [at] kubatana [dot] net or leave us your comment here.

Last time I wrote I was talking about Transitional Justice, it’s benefits and so on and so on. I got thinking: for Transitional Justice to be implemented, we need a Transitional Government right? But the question is, are we seeing any transitional happenings? I for one have seen tangible change. I believe in transition you see, in moving on with the little things in life. I try to picture Zimbabwe two years back; it was a mess and I remember the days when I would go to sleep on an empty stomach. Zimbabwe has changed. It is slowly moving on and I think it’s our duty as Zimbos to see transition in our day-to-day life. I am queuing at Chicken Inn waiting my turn coz, yes, they now have potatoes to make the hot chips which they did not have towards end of year 2008.  And at that moment I forget those sleepless nights of hunger. My point is if you have moments when you forget what happened to you during those horrid times you are slowly moving on and forgetting and hopefully forgiving. Like with Chicken Inn – I had vowed I would never eat there ever again. But two days ago I was there queuing at the end of a long queue all forgiven and totally forgotten. So maybe don’t answer my question. If you and I move on and start to forget the Zimbabwe we lived in a couple of years ago, maybe we don’t need to look to the government for transition.

We have just had 3 days dedicated to peace, healing and reconciliation; an initiative driven by the 3 political parties, ZANU PF, MDC-M and MDC-T’s joint Organ for National Healing.

In his speech on the 24th July, the Prime Minister made impressive remarks on national healing, reconciliation and integration. He noted at the outset that the dedication marked the beginning of what can only be “a long but essential journey to heal our nation”. He also made the very important point that there can be “no short cuts on this journey and no easy way to deal wit the pain and suffering that has been experienced by so many of our people”. The process must be “open, genuine and frank”. That is all very good. In terms of the theory, the PM hit all the right notes touching on issues of transitional justice, help for victims to begin to build their lives, truth and acceptance of responsibility for wrongs done.  He had most people nodding their heads in agreement as he went through his speech.

The PM’s speech however was woefully inadequate when it came to concrete action. There were no definitive pronouncements from him regarding the actions his government was going to take to make sure that all these wonderful ideals were realised. Listening to his speech l kept saying to myself at different points in his speech; “so what are you going to do about that,” until it became a never ending refrain until suddenly the speech was over.

The PM could have and should have taken this opportunity to announce the plans his government has put in place to begin to address the issues. What plans for justice for the Gukurahundi massacres? Even though he extolled the virtues of justice, the PM should be reminded that justice delayed is justice denied. This process cannot be unduly long. Does his government have a time frame for gathering the views of the victims of those and other atrocities? From his speech, it would appear that the Organ for National Healing has only been charged with undertaking “grassroots consultation” to define the form and content of the healing programme.

I am worried that the PM can acknowledge that “the State media continues to propagate hate speech and political divisions through publishing of blatant lies and deliberate distortions” but he does not propose any action to remedy this. What does that signify? Is he powerless to put a stop to it? If a crime is being committed by the State media, why doesn’t he charge the police to investigate and the Attorney General to prosecute the culprits?  Who is the PM asking whether the next election will be held in an atmosphere of tolerance and respect? Who is he asking whether government institutions will act with impartiality, openness and accountability? Who should hold the answers to these questions if not the government of which he is a significant part? If as he says the cooperation and communication at top of the political spectrum is not cascading down the party structures, what is he going to do about it, seeing as he occupies the highest seat in his party’s structure? What has he done with his counterparts in the other party formations?

We have been asking these questions of our elected leaders. We demand answers to those questions. If the people who disrupted the Constitutional Reform consultative process were identified, why did the PM not insist on their being arrested? If the State media continues to propagate hate speech, is that not a crime? If these crimes then are prosecuted would that not send a message to anyone else so inclined that we are under a new political dispensation and any behaviour that undermines the rule of law will not be tolerated. If no consequences follow their actions, isn’t that how impunity happens Mr PM?

A last word for the PM and his team in the Organ for National Healing;

Peace is not the product of terror or fear.
Peace is not the silence of cemeteries.
Peace is not the silent result of violent repression.
Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all.
Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity.
It is right and it is duty.
- Oscar Romero