Yesterday I was moved and encouraged by Bev Clark’s call to Act. Organize. Assemble. Oppose. Resist. And I thought I’d share a suggestion for Zimbos (as they call us out there) to stand unified toward a common cause for once.

What’s gotten me going is how the cell phone network providers continue to unapologetically rip us off! How do they justify tariff increases when I receive urgent messages one hour late, or spend the whole day without network (and the network provider does not find it necessary to apologize!)? Also, I make a 20 second call, and I get charged for a full minute! What sheer daylight robbery! WE WANT CALLS CHARGED BY THE SECOND. With inter-network calls on Net One now costing $345 per minute (up from $90), and intra-network calls from Net One to both Econet and Telecel costing $450 (up from $117), has anyone noticed improved service, or has anyone yet managed to make a call and have it go through first time rather than after at least eight attempts during ‘peak period’?

I especially liked Bev’s term: ‘non-compliance‘ rather than engaging in direct action or demonstrations. You will probably agree with me that Zimbabweans have an unparalleled complacency that borders on the irritating. I do not excuse myself from the lot. I figured that since we continue to suffer in silence, passively, we might as well adapt this as a strength: passive resistance. Let’s simply switch off our cell phones. Even if we do this for just an hour we can inflict major losses on the network providers. And at the same time remind them that they’re in business because of us – their customers.

The Lebanese did it, as did Nigeria. I came across an article about a Nigerian consumer boycott written by Jonathan Elendu. Part of it reads

On September 19, 2003, Nigerians were supposed to turn off their cell phones to protest high fees and other problems resulting from using mobile phone service in Africa’s largest and maybe, richest country. The strike was called by the National Association of Telecom Consumers (NATCOM) a consumer advocacy group formed by frustrated cell phone subscribers in Nigeria.

In Beirut, Lebanon, they did it on July 15 of the year 2004 I think. The nation’s consumer union asked everyone to keep their phones off for at least 24 hours to protest the astronomical prices charged by network providers. Lebanon, you see, is a nation of cell phone addicts, and Zimbabwe is slowly but surely becoming that. The people who joined the boycott not only left an indelible mark, but their action prompted the lowering of tariffs, for a short while at least. A sign that the boycott captured the attention of some Lebanese was illustrated by a joke that circulated Lebanese society, about Abou Abed and Abou Staif two men living in Beirut. The two decided to join the boycott, communicating by carrier pigeon all day. But when a pigeon arrived with a blank piece of paper Abou Abed was stumped and finally in frustration used his cell to call Abou Staif. “You Idiot,” Abou Staif says. “That’s a missed call.”

Ha ha ha! But our situation in Zimbabwe is not funny. Why don’t we Zimbabweans recognize the power of collective action and do the same? This would be our chance to show these swindlers who the boss is. A successful cell phone boycott would not only keep thousands of dollars in our pockets, but will also represent a first-of-its-kind attempt at broad civic action to put pressure on the network providers.

Another positive aspect of a boycott – we won’t be charged under POSA for a public demo. Neither will anyone hold us accountable for having switched our phones off! And even if they don’t lower tariffs; I’d still be proud of myself. Wouldn’t you?

Personally I don’t think that the Mugabe regime needs to have its partisan police force in permanent riot gear and on “high alert” to suppress the deluge of demonstrations that they imagine are about to engulf Zimbabwe. When we take a moment and actually look at, and analyse the number and type of demonstrations that take place in Zimbabwe, its clear that the Mugabe regime has very little to worry about.

The National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) rolls out their usual demonstrator crowd every two weeks. And similarly if you scratch the surface of any civic organization or pressure group in Zimbabwe you’ll find that they can’t mobilize their constituencies. For the last few years pro-democracy leaders have indulged in the very same behaviour that they condemn the Mugabe regime for. That is, they view the Zimbabwean people as an amorphous group to manoeuvre like chess pieces, with scant regard for consultation or any in-depth community based organizing.

The battle for freedom in Zimbabwe will not be won on the streets, unless all active civic organizations can actually publicly mobilize their constituencies. And only if actions like demonstrations are true representations of people’s discontent, and not stage-managed NGO activity. NCA-type demonstrations are relatively easy to pull-off, while working at grassroots level to explain to ordinary Zimbabweans why they need to swell numbers in the streets, is the hard part.

Let’s have a look at what has been most effective in the last month or so. It’s been the tactic of non-compliance (strikes) rather than direct action (demonstrations). Demonstrations could be more potent but only if pressure groups engage a strategy of rolling actions so that the regime’s police force and their resources are stretched to the limit.

It has also been interesting to note that Zimbabwe is consistently plagued by the politics of “special interests” rather than realizing that we are all inter-connected and that if we don’t somehow act in concert, then it’s simply a matter of time before we all collapse.

Take the doctors and teachers strike for example. Whilst their action can be viewed as a success, for how long will their pay rise keep inflation at bay? Doctors and teachers can put a bit more food on their table but what of the multitudes of others who can’t? The “I’m alright Jack” Zimbabwean condition and our lack of unified action are central to our oppression. Yip, not many of us want to go anywhere near acknowledging that we, as well as Mugabe, are part of the problem.

What do we need to do? We need each sector to engage in sustained non-compliance and withdraw their support in propping up the dictatorship. We need employers and workers to enter respectful contracts in the knowledge that mass non-compliance is essential to our long term survival knowing full well that in the short term, all of our difficulties will increase. We need the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) to unite and for their hierarchy to start moving from door to door, shopping centre to shopping centre and to organize as many rallies in defiance of banning orders as they can.

And for those of us sitting behind our computers, email, newspapers and in the comfort of our homes, as Tony Kushner said in his short essay, Despair is a lie we tell ourselves

“we have to do it by showing up places, our bodies in places, our bodies at meetings and demos and rallies and leafleting corners. Because this is a moment in history that needs us to begin, each of us every day at her or his own pace, slowly and surely rediscovering how to be politically active, how to organize our disparate energies into effective group action – and I choose to believe we will do what is required. Act. Organize. Assemble. Oppose. Resist. Find a place a cause a group a friend and start, today, now now now, continue continue continue.”

“Thousand; thousand kusvika Albion, thousand chete vabereki.” Gotten used to this daily chant by the ‘sliding door operators‘ a.k.a hwindis at Avondale Shopping Centre, I board the omnibus. I unfortunately get the last space available; you know that dreaded last corner of a seat just by the door, the one where the hwindi unceremoniously leans over you. Literally hunkers down on you. I brace myself. Predictably, the moment the door closes, a very strong whiff of stale sweat wafts through the air, and I find my face almost in his armpit – arrgh! This is 7 o’clock in the morning.

The instruction follows that passengers pay their fare, and another distinct smell – halitosis – joins its counterpart in the air around me. I mentally say to myself; there ought to be a law against this, whindis ought to maintain maximum personal health standards given the amount of interpersonal relation they have with passengers.

To make matters worse, I notice that as he busily collects his dues, his crotch is unashamedly settled on my left knee. There is an unusual amount of warmth there and I think to myself, does he honestly not feel that his privies are somewhere out of bounds? To avoid unnecessary talk, I look directly in his face, hoping he’d figure out he is harassing me. Instead, the young fellow in a thick voice commands me to give him my fare. And his foul breath hits me squarely in the face this time.

I obediently but silently take out my one thousand dollars, only to have it thrust back in my face. You may want to refer to my first sentence to understand. Apparently, the fare is now one thousand five hundred. Sound familiar? We never go for longer than three weeks with the same fare. And I think to myself, with a political and economic system gone to the rabid dogs, its no surprise that all checking systems collapse. The Ministry of Transport has no idea and probably doesn’t care about what is going on with passengers. No one seems to want to be responsible for handling and controlling transport operators.

As I am about to again silently and obediently take out another note, one lady in the back speaks out admonishing whindis in general for raising their fares willy-nilly and duping passengers. A debate ensues and tempers rise, and for a moment my five hundred is forgotten. Avondale residents are not troublesome folk I notice. I look around and see those who are not participating in this discussion. They are not bothered, all they want to do is to get to work, whatever it takes.

Completely forgotten, I jump off at Park Lane and say to myself, although none of this is gonna change in a very long time, at least today I saved five hundred.

I’ve just gotten an email from ZINASU – Zimbabwe’s national students union – calling for a national students’ stay away beginning March 5th. We’ve had so many strikes recently, I’m left wondering why there hasn’t been a convergence of all this discontent? Something like the mother of all strikes – a National People’s Strike. Also, what is and where is, the response from civil society to the Mugabe regime’s banning of public rallies and demonstrations?

Zimbabwe continues to experience the inability of civic leaders and political organizers to unify and bring greater pressure on the ruling party even when there is ripe opportunity to do so.

One of the best aspects of my job is getting to read correspondence from Zimbabweans from all walks of life. And often we get suggestions from members of the general public that are both creative and useful. For example, Impi wrote in recently saying

It may be of interest to start collecting/producing a mass of Zimbabwe flags to use in street and other protests. There can be nothing uglier than seeing a national police force or army acting/shooting upon people bearing the National Flag.

Then Lionel wrote to us on the same issue, this time suggesting

If we are to approach the oppressors in any way we should walk with a Bible in our hands, maybe the Koran too and see their reactions. If there is any retaliation of any kind then we truly know there is no hope of resolving our crisis peacefully which is what we are trying to do.

I’ve just read Chenjerai Hove’s article, Inside the mind of a dictator, published in the Mail & Guardian. Among many other issues, he commented on Mugabe’s isolation

Mugabe’s loss of his grasp on reality is based on decades of seclusion from Zimbabwean life. From the enclosure of voluntary exile in Ghana, he returned and went into the enclosure of prison for ten years. On his release, he escaped to the seclusion of Mozambique before returning to another prison – a vast motorcade from which he sees only the citizens and the streets through tinted glass.

And in some ways I wonder whether the political opposition and civil society in Zimbabwe isn’t guilty of this as well. How often do our civic and political leaders genuinely (not cosmetically) poll their constituents for their opinions and their input on resolving our political crisis, or what tactics to use in confronting oppression? Too seldom for my liking.

I’ve just seen a notification of a public event being organized by the Mass Public Opinion Institute of Zimbabwe and I liked their reminder

Could it be that public opinion is “the missing link” in the democracy debate in Zimbabwe, and indeed, in Africa today?

Yesterday The Herald published a compilation of speeches made by Robert Mugabe during his extended stay in power. Mugabe’s address to the nation on the eve of Zimbabwe’s independence was included under the title “An enduring legacy of principled oratory”.

Karl Marx said “history repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce”. Are we still stuck in tragedy or have we moved into farce? What do you think?

Here is the full text of Mugabe’s 1980 speech which inspired so many . . .

Prime Minister Robert Mugabe’s Address To The Nation On Independence Eve 1980

Long live our Freedom!

The final countdown before the launching of the new State of Zimbabwe has now begun. Only a few hours from now, Zimbabwe will have become a free, independent and sovereign state, free to choose its own flight path and chart its own course to its chosen destiny.

Its people have made a democratic choice of those who as their legitimate Government, they wish to govern them and take policy decisions as to their future. This, indeed, is the meaning of the mandate my party secured through a free and fair election, conducted in the full glare of the world’s spotlight.

While my Government welcomes the mandate it has been freely given and is determined to honour it to the letter, it also accepts that the fulfillment of the tasks imposed by the mandate are only possible with the confidence, goodwill and co-operation of all of you, reinforced by the forthcoming support and encouragement of all our friends, allies, and well wishers in the international community.

The march to our national independence has been a long, arduous and hazardous one. On this march, countless lives have been lost and many sacrifices made. Death and suffering have been the prize we have been called upon to pay for the final priceless reward of freedom and national independence. May I thank all of you who have had to suffer and sacrifice for the reward we are now getting.

Tomorrow we shall be celebrating the historic event, which our people have striven for nearly a century to achieve. Our people, young and old, men and women, black and white, living and dead, are, on this occasion, being brought together in a new form of national unity that makes them all Zimbabweans.

Independence will bestow on us a new personality, a new sovereignty, a new future and perspective, and indeed a new history and a new past. Tomorrow we are being born again; born again not as individuals but collectively as a people, nay, as a viable nation of Zimbabweans. Tomorrow is thus our birthday, the birth of a great Zimbabwe, and the birth of its nation.

Tomorrow we shall cease to be men and women of the past and become men and women of the future. It’s tomorrow then, not yesterday, which bears our destiny.

As we become a new people we are called to be constructive, progressive and forever forward looking, for we cannot afford to be men of yesterday, backward-looking, retrogressive and destructive. Our new nation requires of every one of us to be a new man, with a new mind, a new heart and a new spirit.

Our new mind must have a new vision and our new hearts a new love that spurns hate, and a new spirit that must unite and not divide. This to me is the human essence that must form the core of our political change and national independence.

Henceforth, you and I must strive to adapt ourselves, intellectually and spiritually to the reality of our political change and relate to each other as brothers bound one to another by a bond of national comradeship.

If yesterday I fought as an enemy, today you have become a friend and ally with the same national interest, loyalty, rights and duties as myself. If yesterday you hated me, today you cannot avoid the love that binds you to me and me to you.

Is it not folly, therefore, that in these circumstances anybody should seek to revive the wounds and grievances of the past? The wrongs of the past must now stand forgiven and forgotten.

If ever we look to the past, let us do so for the lesson the past has taught us, namely that oppression and racism are inequities that must never again find scope in our political and social system. It could never be a correct justification that because whites oppressed us yesterday when they had power, the blacks must oppress them today because they have power. An evil remains an evil whether practiced by white against black or by black against white.

Our majority rule could easily turn into inhuman rule if we oppressed, persecuted or harassed those who do not look or think like the majority of us.

Democracy is never mob-rule. It is and should remain disciplined rule requiring compliance with the law and social rules. Our independence must thus not be construed as an instrument vesting individuals or groups with the right to harass and intimidate others into acting against their will.

It is not the right to negate the freedom of others to think and act, as they desire. I, therefore, wish to appeal to all of you to respect each other and act in promotion of national unity rather than negation of that unity.

On Independence Day, our integrated security forces will, in spite of their having only recently fought each other, be marching in step together to herald the new era of national unity and togetherness. Let this be an example of us all to follow. Indeed, let this enjoin the whole of our nation to march in perfect unison from year to year and decade to decade towards its destiny.

We have abundant mineral, agricultural and human resources to exploit and develop for which we need perfect peace. Given such peace, our endeavours to transform our society and raise our standard of living are bound to succeed.

The mineral resources lying beneath the surface of our country have hardly been scratched, nor have our agricultural and industrial resources yet fully harnessed. Now that we have peace, we must go fully out to exploit them.

We already have a sophisticated infrastructure. Our expertise is bound to increase as more and more educational and technical institutions are established to transform our skilled manpower.

The whole world is looking on us this day. Indeed, many countries in the international community are amazed at how we have so quickly and unexpectedly moved from war to peace. We have certainly won the goodwill of many countries and can confidently expect to benefit from the economic and technical aid they are able and willing to provide for us.

May I assure you that my Government is determined to bring about meaningful change to the lives of the majority of the people in the country. But I must ask you to be patient and allow my Government time to organize programmes that will effectively yield that change.

There are people without land who need land, people without jobs who need jobs, children without schools who need schools and patients without hospitals who need them.
We are also fully aware of the need for increased wages in all sectors of employment. My Government will certainly do its best to meet the existing needs in these areas. But you have to assist us by being patient and peaceful.

I now finally wish to appeal to you, wherever you are, to participate fully today and Saturday in the Independence celebrations that have been organized throughout the country.

There are, of course, those of you who have the duty to maintain essential services. These services must indeed be maintained so that the celebrations are facilitated. Maintaining such essential services during the celebrations is a significant contribution of their success.

I wish to thank Her Majesty the Queen for having sent His Royal Highness, Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales to represent her and officiate at our Independence ceremony, where he will perform the symbolic act of severing our colonial ties with Britain.

As you are aware, this historic ceremony will be witnessed by Heads of State and Government and representatives of nearly 100 countries plus representatives of several international, political and voluntary organizations. The ceremony will be also be reported and relayed to millions of people in the world by the mass media.

May I enjoin you all to regard this solemn occasion with honour and dignity, and participate in the celebrations that follow it with jubilation. Let us rejoice over our independence and recognize in it the need to dedicate ourselves to national unity, peace and progress.

I now wish to pay tribute to Lord Soames, our Governor, for the most important role he has played in successfully guiding this country to elections and independence. He was from the very onset given a difficult and most unenviable task. And yet he performed it with remarkable ability and overwhelming dignity.

I must admit that I was one of those who originally never trusted him, and yet I have now ended up not only implicitly trusting but fondly loving him as well.

He is indeed a great man through whom it has been possible within a short period I have been Prime Minister, to organize substantial financial and technical aid from Britain and other countries.

I am personally indebted to him for the advice he has constantly given me on the art of managing the affairs of Government. I shall certainly be missing a good friend and counselor, and so will our independent Zimbabwe and all its people.

I also wish to thank all our distinguished quests for the honour they have given us by coming to attend our Independence celebrations on behalf of their countries or organizations.

Their presence in our country signifies a bond of solidarity and friendship between their countries or organizations and our country.

Without the support they have given us towards our liberation, this day would never have come about. Thanks, therefore, for all the material, political, diplomatic and moral support they have given us.

Sons and daughters of Zimbabwe, I urge you to participate fully and jubilantly in our Independence celebrations and to ensure that all our visitors are well entertained and treated with utmost hospitality.

I shall be one in spirit and love, in loyalty and commitment with you all. Forward with the Year of the People’s Power!

Long live our Freedom!
Long live our Sovereignty!
Long live our Independence!

Last night it was either watch a tv series about a well meaning serial killer called Dexter, or Mugabe’s birthday interview. Go figure. No guesses which I chose. Dexter is a lot of fun. I can really get into a good guy going around killing all the bad guys. After I’d had my fill of Dexter I listened to a bit of Mugabe’s birthday interview on ZTV:

” . . . all those 90 years of settler rule with repressive, suppressive, oppressive laws, saw our people being reduced in status to near slaves. Saw their property going, their very humanity undermined, and we had no rights in our country and so in a situation in which we were denied democracy completely. Denied the application of human rights completely.”

Clearly change is skin deep: our oppressive white rulers have been replaced by a bunch of black ones.

And I’m reminded of a beautiful poem called Propaganda by the wonderful Zimbabwean poet, Julius Chingono who warned us about how fleeting freedom can be.

We, the povo,
have been taught
the crack of a gun
shall not be dreaded:
its echo
is freedom
but
we are not told
an echo is a distant sound
that dies out soon
afterwards