Kubatana.net ~ an online community of Zimbabwean activists

Song of the militia

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A leaflet fell out of a magazine I was reading the other day. The picture on the front showed a woman standing in a sandy patch of nothing with a container of water on her head. The setting? Darfur. The stark message that accompanied the pictured said: when this woman goes to collect water she will be raped; if she doesn’t go, her children will die.

Rape is a constant threat in many women’s lives, even more so in situations of conflict. Zimbabwe is no exception. Poet John Eppel recently shared this poem with Kubatana:

SONG OF THE MILITIA
“Let sell-outs expire”

You are a traitor
burn, burn, burn
sovereignty hater
burn, burn, burn.

We strip you naked
we beat you with sticks
melt plastic on you
and feed you our pricks…

CHENESA!

You are a puppet
burn, burn, burn
a piece of dog shit
burn, burn, burn.

We use our gun butts
to make your brains spill
we use our barrels
to give you a thrill…

CHENESA!

You MDC witch
burn, burn, burn
you Tsvangirai’s bitch
burn, burn, burn.

We drag you crying
to your cooking fire
gocha your body
let sell-outs expire…

CHENESA!

Let sell-outs expire
sell-outs expire

expire…

CHENESA!

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