By Tanonoka Joseph Whande
The world over, flags are reminders and symbols of their nations’ importance and uniqueness. Flags, with National Anthems, accompany their Heads of State both at home and abroad.
Whenever the national anthem of a country is played, one is bound to see the national flag of that particular country flapping nearby, with civilians saluting both by placing their open palms of their right hands over their hearts.
The lyrics of a national anthem usually converge with the meaning of the colours that compose the national flag.
Like flowers that add positivity to both sad funerals and to joyful wedding celebrations, the flag finds itself playing the same role in national disasters and national celebrations. Flags are a sign of personal pride and patriotism.
As a result, you see proud citizens around the world with their country’s flag pinned on the lapels of their coats, or wearing bandanas composed of national colours or miniature flags dangling on the rear view mirror of their cars.
Sadly, Zimbabweans, who, because of persistent decades-old, self-inflicted economic and political misery, never thought much of their flag.
It is sickening to see the Zimbabwe flag flapping in the winds with Mugabe’s face super-imposed while a very unpopular national anthem plays. Many times a day, we endured this with utter revulsion and hate until Mugabe decreed that it is a crime to criticize the president, the national anthem and the flag – an unholy trinity that reminded people of their misery and stoked intense dislike of their president.
The Zimbabwe flag is multi-coloured and has, in addition, the Zimbabwe Bird superimposed on the Communists’ five-point Red Star.
The Zimbabwe Bird, ridiculously painted yellow on the flag, is said to represent the “rich culture and long history of Zimbabwe”.
The colour white supposedly represents “peace and progress”, while the green symbolises “the agriculture of Zimbabwe”.
Zimbabwe’s mineral wealth is represented by the colour yellow, while the red “symbolises the blood shed” in liberating the country.
Finally, as expected, the colour black “represents native Africans who form the ethnic majority of Zimbabwe”.
All the flag’s colours misfired because none of what they stand for was realized or supported. Even the black colour misfired because Zimbabwe is home to more than one race.
On April 18th, 1980, we in Zimbabwe accepted and adopted our flag with pomp and ceremony but, in the years that followed, we never really felt any pride in ourselves when our flag flapped around above us. It was and still remains a symbol of our oppression by our own leader.
I have seen in many free countries how flags are revered and where the national flag is more important than the president.
The US National Anthem is named the “The Star Spangled Banner” and “Old Glory” is the nickname of the US flag, while the British call theirs ‘The Union Jack’.
The point here is the significance attached to the national flag, which is why even in a country where a government and its leader are most hated, the flag remains as the common denominator, the neutral arbiter in the nation.
Yet, except for buying Warriors T-shirts, Zimbabweans have never really shown any love for our flag, national anthem or president. This unholy trinity has always been symbolic of our misery and worse.
A few weeks ago, Evan Mawarire, a hardly known pastor’s Facebook posting of himself wrapped in the flag of Zimbabwe, reciting the meaning of each colour and symbol on it, ignited a passion in the Zimbabwean people to coalesce against the government of Robert Mugabe.
As a form of protest, thousands of people walked around wrapped in Zimbabwe flags or had the flag or its colours prominently displayed on their person, car, bike, wheelbarrow or whatever else.
His efforts caused a complete shutdown of the government in a very successful work boycott to jolt the government into addressing Zimbabwe’s worsening economic and political situation.
What is striking about it is that it was all done outside mainstream opposition parties and the people, for once, rallied behind an iconic symbol regardless of their political, tribal or religious affiliation in an emphatic demonstration against the government.
It was a simple thing: mobilise the people around Mugabe’s favorite toy – the national flag – in protest against the government and it worked.
For years, on both radio and television, the national anthem and the flag were audio-visual reminders of our oppression where Mugabe was also always seen in mortified attention swathed in ridiculous chains and a gold/green sash.
In a classic case of ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’, the people seized on the flag as a rallying point against Mugabe.
The people not only found the flag to be a source of strength but discovered some pride in the flag that they had paid little attention to in decades of “independence”.
Like a husband jealous of his own wife’s wig, Mugabe, now just a toxic lump of decomposing political sludge, now seeks superiority over the national flag as his subalterns are furiously crafting a law “that would make it illegal for individual citizens to own or be found in possession of the country’s flag”.
We won’t be waving those miniature Zim flags at the National Sports Stadium anymore because the flags now scare the hell out of Mugabe.
Mugabe now sees evil when Zimbabweans cuddle the flag that he created for himself.
This is the man who is jealous of soccer teams because they attract more crowds than he does, causing him to bulldoze his way into stadiums to grab or share the limelight.
This is the man who is jealous of congregations because God attracts more crowds than himself, causing him to send his youth to disrupt church services.
This is the man who rewards people who compare him to Christ.
I am advertising for an exorcist for Mugabe and will, of course, send the bill to his guardian, Lucifer.
But even if the devils congesting his chest are exorcised out of him, Mugabe will still remain a contaminant that our country should never allow to ever see again in whatever form of reincarnation. It should be in the Constitution.
God need not have mercy!
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