By Patson Dzamara
I went to the bank this afternoon. When I got into the banking hall I joined the queue. While I was busy on my phone, an elderly lady in police uniform who stood in front of me greeted me. I greeted her back.
She then sought to know why it is that youths like me no longer greet their elders nowadays. I apologized and told her it’s because of stress since life is unbearable for most of us. I told her that we are always preoccupied, thinking about bills or even the next meal.
An interesting conversation ensued. She said she doesn’t understand my generation. “Young people of today you are always eager to complain but you are not prepared to do what it takes…don’t you know what you must do”, she asked me.
I was gobsmacked by her sentiments. I just couldn’t come to terms with the fact that a police officer was suggesting the obvious to me. She was essentially telling me that as the youths we must disrupt the status quo in order to bring about the change we want to see.
She went on to narrate how at the age of 10 she did her part to contribute towards the liberation of our country. According to her, she would carry food to feed the liberation fighters in the bush on a daily basis.
Emphatically, she kept on reiterating that if she could do that at 10 what is stopping the youths of today from taking a stand. “What is stopping you from bringing about meaningful change, do you want to die complaining while your future is being messed up”, she asked.
Bar the fact that her views are in congruity with mine, hearing such progressive sentiments from an elderly woman who is in the police force inspired hope in me. The majority of Zimbabweans loathe the police force for it’s deplorable role as an instrument of oppression in the past 37 years. The Zimbabwe Republic Police is one of the instruments ZANU-PF has relied on to entrench it’s firm grip on power.
For an individual like me who has experienced police brutality first hand, my default posture towards them is one premised on suspicion and detest. I suffered what is likely going to be a permanent injury on my left wrist as a result of the torture I went through at the hands of the police.
Notwithstanding that hatred and revenge are not a part of my DNA, I have never viewed those people as my friends. I am sure most of you share the same sentiment.
When she was done with her business, she she pat me at the back while walking towards the exit and said, “Do not let us down, we are counting on you, our sons and daughters, to liberate this nation from the jaws of oppression and failure.
Those sentiments the police officer shared with me are a breath of fresh air from where most of us young people can siphon inspiration and hope. If the elderly and in this case people who have sustained the system responsible for our oppression and failure can dream and believe that we have what it takes to turn things around, that should inspire us to do more.
Ours is not a lost cause. There is a remnant and there is hope for Zimbabwe. Even individuals within the oppressive system believe in the cause for change.
I am hopeful that a new Zimbabwe is possible in our lifetime. It can, will and must be done.
Patson Dzamara is a leadership coach, author and politician based in Zimbabwe.
