The Sunday Mail
Shelton Malenga, Lower Six Vainona High School
WHEN l step on to the streets, l see struggling vendors. When l look behind, l see unsatisfied civil servants. When l look around, l see scores of unemployed graduates. We seem to be moving but we are only breathing and like the hour hand we spend most of our time on the very same position. A lot of people would want to argue and say we are moving but if this is
what you call moving then we are moving in the wrong direction and the worst part is it seems as if nothing is going to change.
What is this? When did it start? Where is it going? Who is responsible? How possibly can it come to an end? My questions are not rhetoric but l can’t get the answers why? These are the questions every Zimbabwean ask.Although there are no answers we keep on asking for we grew up being told that one thing about life is never to stop asking because curiosity has got its own reasons of existence.
As a junior parliamentarian lm going to give my hypothesis of these questions on behalf of my constituency (Mount Plaesant) and Zimbabwe as a whole. Im one person who acknowledges that the most inquisitive mind is the most exquisite and that fact led me into coming up with this article.
Ok let’s break it down. What is this? This is an enormous amount of pollution continuously being emitted in our beloved country.
Allow me to deviate from the literal meaning of the word pollution for in this case l do not only mean the contamination of the physical environment but l mean the undesirable state of a place socially, physically, spiritually and traditionally being contaminated with harmful substances as a consequence of human actions.
Who is responsible? For clarity’s sake we can say almost everyone in this country is responsible because this pollution is coming from all walks of life and all angles of society, from a student who smokes marijuana at school to a conductor who overcharges passengers, from a civilian who throws litter everywhere to university admission officers who accept bribery and admits students with only a point,
from a vendor who sells tomatoes in prohibited areas of the city centre to a nurse who lets patients die in wards without giving them attention and from a headmaster who uses students school fees for personal desires to a politician who promises people heaven on earth when campaigning but fulfills their promise to their relatives only when they get in office. So as we can see everyone is accountable for what’s going on.
Moving on when did it start? Well from my own understanding this started when this certain selfish and egocentric ideology developed and grew in our minds.
Nowadays everyone is only concerned about themselves, each person would do anything to make sure they benefit even if it’s at the expense of another person. It’s now a dog eat dog world were people only want gains regardless of where they are from.
Let me give you a typical example, you are looking for a job and l happen to be the human resources manager at a company you’ve just submitted your CV’s to, if you really want that job you will have to give me a cut otherwise l will just throw your CV in the trash can and wait for more serious people. I won’t care about your situation or how you will get that money all l want is money. That’s how it is out there.
Now let’s get to the most intriguing part, where is this going? Should things remain like this l foresee a Zimbabwe with a very low life expectancy.
I see a country without even an atom of production taking place in it. I see infrastructure being dilapidated to a point that no renovation can bring it back to shape.
I see a country poorer and more morally decadent than any concentration camp that ever existed. I see very low pass rates. I see a country that frustrates every hero who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of this nation. We have to stop this pollution before things get out of hand.
How can it come to an end? Well the answer is simple: love. Yes love is going to get rid of this pollution. Love is the mother of unity, peace, joy, happiness and opportunities. If you had love for the people who clean the streets would you make their lives harder by throwing litter everywhere? If managers loved job seekers would they let them suffer just because they don’t have money to bribe them? If those who sell drugs had love for school children would they sell drugs to them? If teacher’s loved students wouldn’t they teach them like their own kid’s? If nurse’s loved patients would they let them die in pain? If government officials loved people would they take funds for their personal use?
Love is the bridge between success and failure.
So if Zimbabwe would let love lead we would see a stoppage to this pollution and have hope for a brighter future. I know you may doubt your impact as an individual over the 13 million people in Zimbabwe but remember that one man can change the world and one million starts from just one. It starts with you, it starts with me then it becomes us.
So l urge you to have love for the next man and for your country.
In conclusion l say have as much love as the world can carry and never despise the small impact you will inflict because everything that starts small will eventually grow big.
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