July 7, 2003
Last Sunday morning (June 29, 2003) we set out from Marondera at 5:45 a.m. to a nearby communal farming area to visit an old widowed Ambuya (Grandmother) friend of ours who cares for her 11 orphaned grandchildren. Under normal circumstances, Ambuya has always grown crops to feed her large family and sell in town. She can no longer afford the inputs, the grandchildren have had to drop out of school, and she is unable to feed and clothe them. We had with us some clothing, blankets, and food to tide her over the next month.
When we arrived in the freezing cold drizzle of the early morning, Ambuya walked towards us barefoot, her face deeply etched with worry, but her arms outstretched for that big hug that I have come to cherish over the past few years of turmoil in all our lives. All she asked for was help to start an income- generating project, so that she did not have to rely on us and could once again be self-sufficient. That will be the sentiment of millions of proud Zimbabweans from all walks of life today, disadvantaged and dispossessed by the Zanu (PF) regime.
En route back to Marondera, we drove through our now unutilized and derelict farm. 54 years of development destroyed in 12 months. As we crossed the boundary fence, Iain said "that Msasa tree is missing"--it was at least 80 years old--felled. Later that day when I told David, our eldest son, he said, "Mum I know exactly which tree you are talking about". The lands lie fallow, only remnants of scrappy subsistence maize plots, more trees being cut down, a few more huts being built, no evidence of any land preparation. Where the few plots of tobacco were grown, the stalks stand proud in the fields, a month after the regulated stalk destruction date! Anguish tightens my chest; no it's not a heart attack, just a broken heart. For the next 50 kilometers there were two small crops of wheat, one of which was 50 per cent weeds, (the other was "Air Vice Marshal," Perence Shiri's crop on his acquired Eirene Farm) and nothing other than hundreds of little bus stops, and roadside patches of tomatoes and rape. Is this going to feed the nation? Is this progress? The Land redistribution programme is complete, says President Mugabe, with smug satisfaction from his opulent surroundings? We, the true patriotic Zimbabweans of all ethnic origins, beg to differ. The Land Destruction, People Displacement, Violence, Torture, and Retribution Programs have been carried out with certain success. It is not over! The wheels of state-sponsored violence and destruction are moving in relentless motion towards their goal of absolute power and dominance at all costs.
Nelson Mandela said, "What challenges us is to ensure that none should enjoy lesser rights; and none tormented because they are born different, hold contrary political views, or pray to God in a different manner."
Kerry Kay
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