Matebeleland and her patriotism to the nation state of Zimbabwe Written by Thembani Dube Thursday, 09 October 2014 19:52 font size Be the first to comment! In all the discussions and articles that have been explored regarding Matebeleland and her people and the politics that obtains in Zimbabwe, one concept that has escaped the attention of many writers, journalists and indeed a host of bloggers is the questioning of patriotism of Matebeleland and her people to the nation state called Zimbabwe today. Patriotism is a very important element of any citizen of any country. It is the cornerstone of the country’s existence and progress. The fundamental question that this piece seeks to explore is whether men and women from Matebeleland are indeed patriotic and allegiant to the nation state of Zimbabwe? If these unique peoples of Matebeleleland are indeed patriotic to the nation state of Zimbabwe, what makes them patriotic to the nation state of Zimbabwe? What fuels their patriotism to the nation state of Zimbabwe? In the case that their patriotism is not to the nation state of Zimbabwe, where then is their patriotism placed today and why? It is however important to explore the concept of patriotism in general before we enthusiastically question the patriotism and alliagiance of Matebeleland and her people to the nation state of Zimbabwe. Patriotism is generally simply understood as a demonstration of undying love for one’s country, one’s motherland and what his or her country stands for. One important factor about patriotism is the fact that it is meant to be voluntary and not coerced as asserted thus by Jesse Ventura in this quote below: “ I believe patriotism comes from the heart. Patriotism is voluntary. It is a feeling of loyalty and allegiance that is the result of knowledge and belief.” Stephen Nathanson however goes further to state that patriotism is not only about the voluntary demonstration of loyalty, special love and pride for one’s country, for one’s motherland but the voluntary demonstration of a great concern for its well-being and that of its people as well as a personal fanatical willingness to sacrifice everything in defence of the goodness and greatness of one’s country. Whenever love is mentioned in any situation or whenever there is consummation of love, then loyalty comes into the equation. Not only does loyalty come to the equation but fidelity too. Where there is demonstration of love, there is an active sharing, participation and giving from both parties. If one demonstrates one’s love for their country and indeed sacrifice for it, that country, that nation state must demonstrate its love and concern for the welfare and well-being for its citizen. The citizen shares her values to the nation state, shares her knowledge and skill to the nation state and the nation state encourages rather than hinders the citizen to share in the nation state thereby contributing immensely to the diversity and the richness of the nation state. As part of demonstrating one’s love for their country and doing their best for their country, conditions are created for the individual to participate in the development of her country by participating fully in sharing their knowledge and skill to develop their country. Together, the citizen and the nation state, walk hand in hand in the exercise of their patriotic duty to each other. Zimbabwe as a nation state was born in 1980, 34 years ago after defeating white minority settler rule founded and created by Rhodes and his racialist accomplices on the blood and sweat of the peoples of Matebeleland and the peoples of the rest of Zimbabwe. The people of Matebeleland and indeed the rest of the people of Zimbabwe sacrificed a lot for the uprooting of a white racialist and oppressive nation state of Rhodesia in order to build a new nation state of Zimbabwe. This piece posits that if ever there are people from Matebeleland who have a semblance of patriotism to the nation state that is Zimbabwe today, that little semblance of patriotism is built on the fact that they fought and shed blood for the liberation of the nation state of Zimbabwe. Their romantic patriotism to the nation state of Zimbabwe begins with the war they waged against the settler regime of Ian Smith and ends in 1980 with the “liberation” of the black peoples of that part of the country from white colonial domination. The winning of that war against the oppressive and racialist settler regime of Rhodes and his accomplices in 1980 was meant to be a panacea in the building and moulding of a patriotic Zimbabwean national who loved his country and was prepared to sacrifice for it. It would seem that the nation state of Zimbabwe went about building a sectarian and tribal nation state of Zimbabwe and with that a sectarian and tribal form of patriotism to the nation state of Zimbabwe. As the nation state of Zimbabwe put the foundations of its sectarian and tribal nation state and with it its sectarian and tribal form of patriotism among the rest of Zimbabweans, it went about destroying and indeed uprooting any form of emerging patriotism to the new built nation state of Zimbabwe from the people of Matebeleland. The first strike at destroying any form of patriotism to the nation state of Zimbabwe from the Matebele people was in the form of the massacre of unarmed, God-fearing and defenceless citizens in Matebeleland in their thousands in a pogrom dubbed Gukurahundi (the rain that washes away the chuff) instituted against Matebeleland in 1980 . The Gukurahundi pogrom remains the biggest sectarian dagger that destroyed Matebeleland’s patriotism to the nation state of Zimbabwe we know today. While the patriotism of the people of Matebeleland to the nation state of Zimbabwe was being destroyed via the Gukurahundi Genocide pogrom, a sectarian and tribal Shona-based form of patriotism to the nation state of Zimbabwe was being cultivated and watered in the rest of the country. It would not be strange to discover that northerners in Zimbabwe are patriotic to the nation state of Zimbabwe than the people who hail from Matebeleland. The Zanu PF government under the leadership of Robert Gabriel Mugabe deliberately made this so and have for a long time been rewarded for it at the ballot box in Zimbabwe since 1980 by its followers. The Gukurahundi Genocide pogrom from the sectarian and tribal nation state of Zimbabwe was not seen as enough in terms of completely annihilating the then emerging patriotism of the people of Matebeleland to the nation state of Zimbabwe. The pogrom had to be followed with all other forms of genocide that included the deployment of sectarian and tribal human resources to all the arms of the nation state of Zimbabwe including the education sector, where an open cultural genocide program is actively being implemented and pursued today with much pomp, enthusiasm and energy never seen before in the history of the nation state of Zimbabwe. There are many other factors that are at play that puts to question the patriotism of the people of Matebeleland to the nation state of Zimbabwe that can be listed to fortify the argument of this piece but only for space and time. The most important question that needs addressing today is that of the patriotism of the Matebele people since Zimbabwe destroyed it from the very start. Where is the patriotism of Matebeleland placed today? Are the Matebele genuinely patriotic citizens of Zimbabwe? Do people from Matebeleland demonstrate their love for the nation state we call Zimbabwe today and does the nation state of Zimbabwe demonstrate its love for the people of Matebeleland and their welfare and well-being? Are the people from Matebeleland ready to sacrifice everything for the nation state of Zimbabwe that shows no concern for their well-being and welfare? Do the people of Matebeleland really identify themselves as Zimbabweans and proudly declare themselves as Zimbos? Having looked at what patriotism is and what it involves, how Zimbabwe as a nation state has treated the people of Matebeleland since 1980 and the way it continues to treat the people of Matebeleland today, it is safe to conclude that the people of Matebeleland are not patriotic to the nation state of Zimbabwe and neither is the sectarian and tribal state of Zimbabwe patriotic to them. I would love to meet a Matebele person who is fanatical and willing to sacrifice everything in defence of the goodness and greatness of Zimbabwe as her country. If ever the people of Matebeleland are patriotic to the nation state of Zimbabwe, that form of patriotism is founded on desperation and as a survival tool for themselves. It is hardly any form of patriotism that is fortified in their minds and hearts. If there are any who genuinely have any form of patriotism to the nation state of Zimbabwe, that form of patriotism can best be described as the weakest form of patriotism ever expressed by the peoples of the world to their “country”. For a great number in Matebeleland, their patriotism to the nation state of Zimbabwe is obtained and extracted via brutal and coercive means by the sectarian arms of the nation state of Zimbabwe. The patriotism they have for Zimbabwe does not come from their minds and hearts voluntarily. If the truth can be told without fear or favour, men and women from Matebeleland are patriotic to Matebeleland first but they hardly can express this patriotism to its fullest as they are wary of the coercive arms of the nation state of Zimbabwe that are ruthless towards them. The long and short of it is that the people of Matebeleland are not free yet to express their patriotism to the nation state of their choice. Their “patriotism” to the nation state of Zimbabwe is not voluntary. It is enforced by ruthless means. It remains to be seen how the people of Matebeleland are going to overcome the ruthlessness of the nation state of Zimbabwe to be able to demonstrate fully their patriotism towards Matebeleland. visit:umthwakazireview
Posted on: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 07:23:53 +0000
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