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Opinion Bernard Bwoni
ZIMBABWE has a unique and complex history; apartheid and segregation; displacement and theft; a bitter armed liberation struggle; heroism and greatness of the pioneers of the liberation movement and that priceless day on April 18, 1980. This is a unique country, founded on the principles of freedom and emancipation on the backdrop of a lethal liberation war against a system that deliberately and ruthlessly segregated and mutilated on racial grounds.

Independence is that exquisite feeling that has given all citizens and Zimbabwe options to make decisions and to define destiny as a sovereign country.

It is regrettable that many are now associating hard won freedom with the economic problems currently bedeviling the country.

That the gallant spirit and selfless sacrifices of those sons and daughters of Zimbabwe who went into that unforgiving bush with that bona fide raison d’être to truly liberate the country is lumped together in the same small corner as the indiscretions of some self-serving individuals without an ounce of the patriotic marrow in their bones is disheartening to say the least.

There are many heroes who just fly beneath the radar, fought gallantly in the bitter liberation struggle and to this day, largely go unnoticed as they get on silently with their lives and in some instances, encounter ridicule from the very same people they helped liberate from draconian laws and a racist regime.

They are not celebrities, they are not on the conference main stage yet they give and have given of themselves for the greater good of Zimbabwe. Their lives inspired and continue to uplift, their spirits transformed political landscape and yet we deliberately forget to acknowledge their totally altruistic forfeiture for the liberation of the majority.

These are men and women who put their lives on hold to fully commit themselves to liberating the country from the darkest depth of colonialism and racist apartheid system to the revered pedestal of the liberties and freedoms we enjoy and take for granted today.

These are the men and women who have been through the mud and mire, enduring unimaginable distress and privation for the love of Zimbabwe.

There are many such men and women in Zimbabwe and they all deserve our respect, recognition and reverence, precisely because they did not ask for it, they earned in ways we can only imagine.

Nowadays you often hear statements like “Ian Smith and Rhodesia was better” or “take us back to when we were under colonial rule”.

This is from people who now have that right to vote, that freedom to walk, freedom to exist and freedom to be human beings.

This is not playing the “colonial card” but hard facts that things were never ever breezy, cheery and rosy under that Ian Smith and his racist henchmen.

Rhodesia was a beautiful country for Rhodesians and not the descendants of Changamire Dombo and Lobhengula. That is precisely the reason why arms were taken up against that regime. Rhodesia had some of the most repressive and discriminatory laws which reduced the black Zimbabweans to end bottom of the heap with impunity.

The Rhodesians, some of them still among us because of the reconciliatory hand of President Mugabe, mercilessly maimed and mutilated innocent blacks and today they don the sheep’s clothes as champions of democracy and human rights in independent Zimbabwe.

These are the very same people who poisoned wells and sanctioned the indiscriminate massacres at Chimoio, Tembwe, Nyadzonya and many others.

Zimbabwe’s independence is sacred as blood flowed continuously through the beautiful landscape for us to enjoy the freedoms we take casually today. Thanks to President Mugabe we have forgiven the Rhodesian atrocities but will never forget, must never forget.

The liberation struggle was initiated by men and women who said enough was enough of the unrepentant regime and they focused on putting emphasis on cascading real power down to the people, advocating for policies that focus on self-sustenance and self-reliance and deconstructing the mind from that neo-colonial structure that continues to render Africans perennially indebted to those who have subdued, subjugated and exploited the African continent for centuries.

Hushed heads are an embodiment of real power focusing on action instead of words, and have the ability to encourage ownership and develop loyalty in unique ways. The big idea is earning the respect and our heroes earned that.

Men and women believed in a cause, fought for that cause displaying conviction minus the complacency. A great many were maimed, massacred by the brazen regime’s callous forces.

Many a young men and women got arrested for the cause but never faltered and saw the liberation struggle to its unimaginable bitterness and victorious conclusion. Silence is golden and certainly easier for those that already have the analytical and introverted behaviours already in place. These are the men and women who were brought up on the values of the liberation of this country and confident, but not over-confident with that ability to think laterally.

As Zimbabweans, we should define our heroes and relate to them, imagine what drove them to put their lives on hold to get out there and liberate this country. I am deeply indebted to all the heroes who have the country-defining values as part of their deoxyribonucleic acid and the values still ineradicably etched.

Any nation not built on any values has no foundation and is no nation at all. For you to believe in yourself you have to have some values to subscribe to.

A country with no values has no vision and with no vision there basically is no future or growth. Any ideology that focuses on improving the lives of African people inherently threatens the irreversibly colonial and neo-colonial establishment and as such forever ridiculed and suffocated. Discrediting April 18, 1980, and demeaning the liberation struggle is morally defunct.

April 18, 1980 has no price-tag and is free for all present and future generations to cherish.

The liberation war heroes of Zimbabwe already put the price on their tab for all present and future generations to enjoy without limits.

bernardbwoni.blogspot.com