The Sunday Mail
Dr Tawanda Zinyama
The protests and demonstrations experienced in Zimbabwe since August 1 2018 to date, greatly affect the country’s stability and potential to develop.
I believe that dialogue is the solution, not protests and demonstrations.
Dialogue is the last link between people in conflict and the first step towards reconciliation and peace.
It is a vehicle for linking past, present and future in the affairs of humankind.
Thus, the fundamental principles of dialogue are as valuable and meaningful as ever.
They can, and must, be put to work through renewed, constructive approaches and must permeate our common political will. Dialogue promotes living together.
Peace is our most precious common possession.
I am convinced that dialogue is an indispensable condition for the genuine resolution of conflict and the establishment of lasting peace between people and communities divided by misunderstandings, animosities or even deep hatred.
Based on a willingness to listen to each other’s views, in understanding and mutual respect, such a dialogue becomes a profoundly political act.
Thus, dialogue is a way of dispelling hatred, ignorance and mutual distrust and helps build peace.
Dialogue is an action all Zimbabweans should pursue with determination.
Peace is what Zimbabwe needs, because since 2000, Zimbabwe has seen many conflicts, which have caused many casualties.
Zimbabwe needs peace to foster socio-economic-political development.
Zimbabwe, beyond the immense challenges that are laid before it, is a land of dialogue.
If there is a value that nourishes structures and gives direction to life in Zimbabwe, it is the permanent search for rapport with others and for solidarity.
In fact, it is an ethic of human relations borne out of a deep conviction that the relationship with others is not about his or her social status or fortune.
Over time, this gives life its sense and creates the conditions necessary for individual and collective happiness.
The depth and complexity of this relationship cannot be understood without a complete understanding of the place and role of dialogue in Zimbabwe.
In the final analysis, it is on the dialect of unity that true dialogue of political parties must be built.
Dialogue is a meeting point of giving and receiving, as was so precisely highlighted by one of Africa’s greatest sons, Leopold Sedar Senghor of Senegal.
The management of diversity, with the aim of becoming more inclusive, is thus a practical objective of dialogue.
A mindset of inclusion both by necessity and by choice should be fostered.
We either win together or we lose together.
Vision 2030 should be anchored in a society, where participation is uninhibited and once-remote voices are heard, where the door is open to new channels for that participation, and where new actors have a role.
It is a vision, where ideas are not feared, but are welcomed and discussed.
The new dispensation requires both institutions and individuals, who have roles and where neither overshadow the other.
For institutions do not think without individuals, they do not even exist without individuals and likewise individuals can hardly achieve much without the structures provided by institutions.
Dialogue between people is not only a necessity and obligation, but it is also one of the foundations of human history.
In fact, there is no person who does not dialogue with another person.
I believe that dialogue, in our times and in the future, must be developed and diversified, deepened and broadened in terms of thought, practice and purport.
It should also rise to the level we want it to attain, so that dialogue will lead to the prevention of crises, trouble and turmoil.
We, therefore, know that dialogue is a human necessity and exigency.
As dialogue is one of the foundations of human history and a requirement for mutual understanding and co-existence, as well as the defence of the values of justice and equality and the principles of peace and security, it is necessary that it be wide-ranging and inclusive. It should necessarily cover political, economic, cultural, intellectual, legal, legislative and social perspectives.
The political factor is the most powerful and influential element shaping the present and the future of all humankind.
Political issues that need to be addressed in order to reach human consensus are varied and copious.Anyone wishing to address the political aspects of dialogue among political parties, will inevitably be faced with a host of difficulties and a series of obstacles owing to multiple political impediments.
One major obstacle to serious and constructive dialogue among political parties could be the misunderstanding of the term politics, which is often equated with direct political action.
Indeed, politics is a science and an acquired expertise.
It requires a consciousness of the nature of society and the type of difficulties it faces.
Political action is a practice, a daily activity and an involvement in direct action through the legal channels, whereby one caters for the needs of society, helps to upgrade the standards of living and achieves the common objectives and goals of the society at large.
The political dimension of dialogue consists of promoting the political action to the level where interlocutors could serve common human interests and address any subject relating, implicitly or explicitly, to politics, provided they stick to noble human values and adopt the appropriate, positive means and approaches.
Thus, dialogue is a communication with the other and a process of exchange built on the recognition of our oneness.
Dialogue is a must, moral and human duty. It is a prerequisite for initiating a positive and fruitful cooperation and establishing a peaceful co-existence among Zimbabweans. Dialogue contributes largely to bringing people together and removing the barriers arising from mutual misunderstanding and unfounded stereotypes.
All Zimbabweans, therefore, are responsible for supporting all efforts that lead to dialogue, not only to meet the existing challenges, but also to create a new national order based on respect and acceptance of others.
This leads to diminishing confrontation and sustaining the value of tolerance.
We need dialogue that restrains hatred and conflict.
In so doing, we can build together a nation of tranquillity and peaceful co-existence.
Either, we dialogue with one another or we die together.
That is the promise and the peril.
Dialogue has great potential to help prevent conflicts by reducing misunderstandings and mistrust, and by laying the foundation for non-violent resolutions to conflict.
It does so by helping us understand what unites us across socio-economic-political groups, through a joint exploration of the deeper and better mutual understanding of the values that underlie present-day thinking and action.
At its best, dialogue can result in a collective sense of shared goals, enabling us to address the most important questions of all: What kind of future Zimbabwe do we want to live in?
How can we work together to solve the problems facing the nation today, and to begin creating that future?
This does not necessarily imply a common approach to every issue, but without such a constructive dialogue, the future is less likely to be one that we would want.
Dialogue is fundamentally different from debate or from negotiations in that, its goal is not to make one’s opinion or viewpoint prevail over that of another, or even to always reach a consensus.
Rather, dialogue aims at better mutual understanding of the values, norms, historical experiences and political reality underlying the words and actions of others.
This difference is crucial, and we should always bear it in mind.
To attain the ambitious but necessary goal of establishing true and sincere dialogue, a positive attitude towards sustainable peace has to be nourished at all levels of society.
At the core of such a positive attitude are the following:
Respect: In order to enter into meaningful dialogue aimed at better mutual understanding, every individual has to be prepared to exercise tolerance towards other ways of thinking and towards people whose daily lives are based on values and experiences other than their own. But tolerance alone is not enough. Equally important is the notion of respect for others as well as for oneself. While tolerance implies not interfering with other people’s ways of living or thinking, respect attaches a positive value to what one is or does. Respect, thus, goes beyond mere tolerance.
Search for unity in diversity: A pluralistic view of human identity helps illustrate how universality and particularity co-exist at all times. Every person or social group, in fact, reflects a multiplicity of beliefs. For this reason, all individuals differ in some respects, but in other respects, have much in common. Herein lies the basis for dialogue and at the same time its goal: to discover what one has in common with members of other social or political groups, thereby fostering increased awareness of the common ethical principles underlying value systems belonging to different social groups and providing a basis for the development of feelings of joint responsibility among the people.
Inclusiveness: Dialogue refers to the act of listening to and learning to understand the beliefs, judgments and concerns of people with different political convictions, social positions and levels of economic power. The process of dialogue should be open and inclusive, carefully restraining attempts at nationalising the specific value systems of those currently in power, politically or economically. Any social group should be able to join the dialogue and contribute to the process of defining the national ethos. Dialogue, therefore, might benefit from a development into trialogues or multilogues.
Readiness to transform: Dialogue is an ongoing process in which the participants show not only a willingness to exchange information by sharing their own thoughts and listening to others, but also are open to the possibility of transforming their own world views by integrating other perspectives into their own ways of thinking. The recognition of differences alone does not lead to mutual understanding. It is only through a genuine receptivity to other viewpoints that mutual appreciation occurs.
Dr Tawanda Zinyama holds a PHD in Public Administration and lectures at the University of Zimbabwe
