The Sunday Mail
Editor’s Brief
Victoria Ruzvidzo
“I offer neither pay, nor quarters, nor food; I offer only hunger, thirst, forced marches, battles, and death. Let him who loves his country with his heart, and not merely his lips, follow me.” These were the words of Italian general and revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi known largely for helping unify Italy in 1860.
Such words and line of thought could have inspired the gallant sons and daughters of this country to go to war in their quest to hand over a free Zimbabwe to us. They were aware of the clear and present dangers of their decision, but they plunged in nonetheless.
It is not every day that we say hats off to the gallant sons and daughters who fought in the liberation struggle that brought us the independence we enjoy since 1980.
It is not every day that we take time to ponder about who we would be, would have become or if we would be here at all under present circumstances were it not for their supreme sacrifices.
We often attribute our successes to our efforts, our intelligence and our wisdom and yet some lost their lives for us to have what we have today.
We remember the heroes interred at the National Heroes Acre, provincial and district shrines and many others in the forests and in neighbouring countries.
Thousands more are alive today, their bodies and emotions scarred by experiences during the war of liberation. We salute you all.
Tomorrow Zimbabwe celebrates the heroes and heroines that took part in the liberation struggle. As a young girl I did not quite appreciate the importance of this day. It was just another holiday to enjoy and play, but as I grew up I began to understand its importance and significance.
Every week this paper carries accounts of the war by individuals, illustrating the journeys they endured, the battles they fought and the misses and near-misses of the war, but they never gave up. Their life was always on the edge as they confronted and were in some instances ambushed by the enemy.
To many it all sounds like a script of a horror movie script, but this is the life that these men and women endured. It was unscripted, but they were all aware of the dangers that they had put themselves into, but the desire to bring freedom and all its benefits gave them the impetus to forge ahead.
At a tender age of 15, when many girls that age would be playing nhodo, pada and playing mother with hand-made dolls strapped on their backs, one young girl, now Senator Monica Mutsvangwa, the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services and other boys and girls left all that child’s play and decided to join the real war that would usher freedom to the people of Zimbabwe.
They could only be real mothers and fathers, real professionals, business executive and the lot in a free Zimbabwe. And their young minds told them they would have to participate and make that possible.
This is one classic example of the kind of sacrifices made by those that joined the war, many straight from school while others made such life and death decisions as they herded cattle and would just leave without warning.
How would we walk in Harare’s First street, visit the stock exchange and other investment dens to grow our money, see the Reserve bank of deposit funds in banks up town if these had remained no go areas for natives.
How would we even own businesses in the most lucrative parts, do farming on fertile land or export our produce if these had remained foreign to us because of the colour of our skin.
Such stories of sacrifice are quite humbling and if they do not poke our minds today then what will.
They fought the war so we cannot sulk or kick our feet when we all need to show up and rebuild our country brick by brick. The gallant heroes gave us a lesson of selflessness and total sacrifice. They gave us freedom not just our own but future generations.
Today we have to fight our own wars of corruption, drugs, disease, inflation, currency volatility, climate change and many others that we should confront so we become gallant sons and daughters of our time. We ought to play our part to consolidate the gains brought about by independence.
We have enemies seeking to undo achievements so far and its about time we roll up our sleeves and do our utmost to ensure they do not win. If they survived snakes, lions and all in the thick forests they operated on, we are in better stead and cannot be defeated. In fact that is a word that we should erase from our vocabulary. We have the wherewithal to conquer it all.
We cannot give in or resign to fate and in worst case scenarios be the ones stroking these challenges. We ought to exhibit the determination and vigour with which our heroes and heroines confronted the war.
Their great resolve should inspire us to achieve.
The commemoration slated for tomorrow should thus offer an opportunity for self introspection. Are we doing enough to conquer the wars we face today.
Are we being the sell-outs that cost the lives of thousands of people at Nyadzonya and other battle spots or we are digging in to face our challenges head on.
Posterity will judge us if we do not bequeath to them the Zimbabwe they want and the Zimbabwe they aspire for.
So the commemorations day should nudge us into action where there was none. We cannot laugh, make fun or bad-mouth our country but we must rebuild it together brick by brick.
So much is happening under the Second Republic in terms of restoring the economy but we cannot be by-standers or sit on the terraces just watching the field of play. But we all need to be in the arena doing our bit. We owe it to the great men and women that waged the liberation struggle, we owe it to ourselves and we owe it to posterity.
President Mnangagwa said it all last week at the burial of Brigadier General Benjamin Mabenge (Retired).
“While yesteryear the war was fought on the battle-front, the Second Republic is well aware of the machinations of our detractors who are fighting us on the economic front. Today the are waging asymmetrical warfare to make our economy scream and our people suffer.
“Under my watch they will never succeed and we will never surrender our economy. Against all odds, we will win the economic battle and attain a prosperous future for our people” he said.
This is quite instructive. This is the spirit we must adopt if we are to successfully carry the button-stick forward to the next generation.
In God I Trust!
Twitter handle: @VictoriaRuzvid2; Email: [email protected]; [email protected]; WhatsApp number: 0772 129 972.
