The Sunday Mail
VIOLENCE in its many forms has proven to be a difficult phenomenon to stem out in various spheres of society and in some instances, victims have been left scarred both physically and psychologically.
A number of Zimbabwean authors who include Tsitsi Dangarembwa, Ignatius Mabasa, Yandani Mlilo, Elizabeth Muchemwa, Charmaine Mujeri and Karen Mukwashi, came together to address the issue of violence in an anthology of short stories titled “A Family Portrait”.
The book is part of the “Breaking the Silence Project”, which is an initiative of the Institute of Creative Arts for Progress in Africa (ICAPA) that seeks to give space to survivors of any form of violence and for whatever reason to speak out through different forms of art.
Despite that these are works of fiction; the book was inspired by true stories, memories, testaments and confessions gathered from numerous letters that were collected from around Zimbabwe.
This book indeed “breaks the silence”, by giving a voice to victims of violence who never had the opportunity to share their traumatic experiences with the rest of the world.
The authors put their talent to work as they created various gruesome and violent incidents that challenged my perception of the society we live in.
Having come across similar incidents in news reports as well as hearsay, this book gave me a new perspective about individuals who use force or abuse their power to bring harm to the weaker and disadvantaged members of the community.
This anthology tackles several forms of violence which include rape, domestic, political, gender based as well as acts of revenge.
In the first story, “Goats”, Ignatius Mabasa stitched together a really sad story about an old woman who is beaten up and verbally abused in the presence of her grandchildren by a male neighbour after her goats escape and destroy his maize crop.
In the first few lines of the story, the old woman’s frailty is highlighted, “These days all my muscles are in the habit of getting stiff and I don’t sleep well. My body protests at being laid down.”
Before delving deeper into the plot, I could already feel pity for this woman as she ignored her pain and discomfort while she cooked supper for her two grandchildren.
The antagonist is introduced in such a way that his anger can be felt reverberating on the page, with his attitude, actions and appearance being reinforced by the author’s choice of descriptive diction.
“There was fire in his eyes. He snarled and discharged a gob of mucus and hatred which landed on my face with a dull splat,” narrates the protagonist during the first moments of the attack.
Mabasa also drew attention to the fact that most victims will still be afraid of their tormentors long after the attack and in some cases they might not even report the incident to the police for various reasons.
Causes of domestic violence differ, and some of these as well as the after effects were also addressed in Yandani Mlilo’s “Family Portrait”.
The greater part of the story is a flashback in which an abused mother of three takes us back to several encounters where she is violated by her ex-husband and how the violent behaviour developed.
The violent scenes have become engraved in the protagonist’s memories and they are instantly triggered by just looking at her ex-husband’s photograph.
“Her ex-husband wielded too much power over her. Even though his photograph lay face down on the floor, she could almost hear his voice.
“She vigorously shook her head in an attempt to rid herself of the images, but the memories clawed at her mind, inflicting more pain and digging deeper,” goes the narrator, graphically illustrating psychological effects of abuse.
The most touching twist in the story is the turning point in the antagonist’s behaviour, from being a caring and loving husband to becoming a family torturing monster after he loses his job and fails to stomach the fact that his wife is now the bread winner.
With a swift hand, the author uses phrases like “fortified by the drink” and “clumsily, he lifts the bottle to his mouth again, as if searching for reassurance”, to elaborate that without alcohol the perpetrator does not have the courage to carry out his actions.
From tortured prisoners during the colonial era to politically motivated violence, these authors showcased the best of their abilities to excavate and create an interesting piece of literature addressing the issue of violence.
With the authors’ varying backgrounds and life experiences, the stories differ in many ways with each writer bringing in his or her own signature elements and these were fused to create this eye-opener.
However, there may have been some exaggerations in some stories where the perpetrators of political violence were heavily armed, which is not usually the case in Zimbabwean political clashes.
Of late, a number of cases in which men have been the victims of domestic violence as well as rape have been on the rise, but this book neglected to address the issue, opting to concentrate more on female victims.
The book is a great effort though loaded with informative scenarios that are described so vividly.
BOOK REVIEW BY Andrew Moyo
