The sins of the past are forgotten
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN: A letter from the diaspora
By Pauline Henson
There was a report that there are signs of re-engagement with Zimbabwe by the US, the EU and various other nations.
First reaction: well, that’s great! It means the world has moved on, no longer are the nations of the world riven by the ideological divisions of the past; there’s no longer the ‘great divide’ between east and west, we are all one great big happy community of nations.
The sins of the past are forgotten: Robert Mugabe, once regarded as a cruel despot responsible for the deaths of thousands in the Gukuruhundi, the horrors of Murambatsvina and countless other examples of civil rights abuse, has been ‘renewed’ as the leader of a modern democratic nation.
No longer is Zimbabwe regarded as a ‘no-go’ area for tourists. Now, it’s a top destination for travellers anxious to see for themselves the wonders of the Victoria Falls, Great Zimbabwe and the magnificent animals in the country’s game reserves.
There is now no reason for tourists to avoid Zimbabwe, it is a country at peace with itself, where its citizens enjoy all the freedoms of a democratic state. Is that the true state of affairs, is that the reality for ordinary Zimbabwean citizens– or is it just plain wishful thinking on the part of the rest of the world?
This change of attitude on the part of the EU, the US and the other nations towards Zimbabwe can perhaps be best explained by some of the statements made by certain high-powered American visitors who have recently been granted interviews with President Robert Mugabe.
First it was the former UN Ambassador Andrew Young who was dispatched by President Obama to let Mugabe know that the US was ‘interested in repairing strained relations’. Then it was the Civil Rights leader Jesse Jackson who said, “When there’s growth and investment, everybody wins. And we want to be part of helping remove… barriers that stand between our two countries.”
As proof of good will, in March the EU lifted sanctions against 81 Zimbabwean officials excluding Robert Mugabe and 10 of his top officials. Next it was the turn of the US who lifted sanctions against the Agricultural Development Bank and this week the EU availed Zimbabwe education of $17 million.
Was all this generosity and good will on the part of the US and the EU anything to do with the fact that Zimbabwe is about to ‘indigenise’ its very substantial mineral resources and they want a part of the action -or was it an attempt to outflank the Chinese whose vice president is getting VIP treatment on his current visit to Zimbabwe.
Whatever the explanation, the bottom line is profit. With the discovery of vast platinum and other mineral resources, including Chiadzwa’s diamonds, Zimbabwe becomes a very attractive target for foreign investors – or that’s what you would think.
Enter Obert Mpofu, Zimbabwe’s Minister of Mines. “If there is anyone who thinks they own land, please prepare yourselves for the shocks that will actually befall you,” he said this week. “No one owns the land – especially mining land. It is owned by the state.”
And everything else it seems! From now on everyone will have to apply for a licence to own a shop and NO foreign owned company will be granted a licence we are told. This action is apparently targeted at Chinese, Congolese and Nigerian shop owners and street traders.
Of course, it’s no coincidence that all this is happening in the run-up to elections, now further delayed by the shambles of the voter registration exercise.
No doubt all those outsiders who are now courting Zimbabwe have drawn a veil over the horrors of the past and concentrated instead on the positive fact that the new constitution has become law. Perhaps that is as it should be: that all the ills of the past are forgiven – but justice demands the victims must never be forgotten.
Yours in the (continuing) struggle, Pauline Henson.
