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Roots and Wings
I was watching a programme on television the other evening and a man
said
that people had to choose between roots and wings. He was talking about
those who stayed behind in places like Alabama and those from the South
who
went to the great commercial and banking cities of New York,
Washington,
Chicago and Los Angeles.
His remark struck me immediately and has been sitting at the back of my
mind
for the past few days. Very good friends of ours have just told us that
in
April they would be leaving Zimbabwe, the country of their birth, to go
to
New Zealand. No matter how often it happens, it hurts - because every
family
leaving creates a hole that is more and more difficult to fill.
They have chosen to fly. Many from our farming communities did not
choose to
leave they were uprooted and tossed aside by this ruthless, barbaric
regime.
As a result the holes created by their uprooting is very visible -
farms and
farmhouses desolate, burned and empty. Those who choose to take wings
and
fly away do not leave a visible hole that can be seen by the casual
observer, but their leaving makes holes all right - in this latest
case we
lose a great family.
I guess we all have the right to choose to fly but we need to remember
that
only those with roots can keep a nation and a people alive and growing.
Somehow people without roots simply cannot make a lasting contribution.
Sure, those who take flight will land somewhere else and we are
constantly
hearing of individuals who have done so well in their new environment.
But
to make a contribution where they go, they must first put down roots,
become
deeply embedded in their community and play a role in all its
activities and
aspects.
Part of having roots is family. I am just reading a book by Lee Iaccoa
-
former CEO of Chrysler and in it he talks about his home in
Pennsylvania. He
worked most of his life in Detroit, spent a lot of time in Washington
and
New York, but home was Penn State. No matter where he was, he always
went
home - where his mother stayed in his parents original home and where
their
local Church was located. It was there that his two daughters were
married
and where I guess he will eventually be buried. He is an Italian
migrant
with deep roots in America. Had he remained an Italian and an alien, he
could never have achieved what he did in his lifetime.
People with roots plant trees and grow flowers, they trim the grass
outside
their homes and they watch out for their neighbor's interests. They
make
communities out of collections of unrelated people. At the heart of
this
process is the family and when I hear of the statistics for divorce and
broken homes I shudder and worry about the next generation. We play
with
these building blocks at our peril.
When people decide to fly away - out of a relationship, a community,
a
country or a continent, it has an immediate impact on their attitude to
what
is there and the problems and opportunities. They need to justify their
action because they know full well they are hurting the interests of
those
they leave behind. No one can say to me that a divorce does not impact
on
the kids - it can have life long effects, just visit our jails and
ask any
group of cons if they came from a single parent family!
This week we saw an example of roots in the form of Ben Freeth - a
commercial farmer who has survived the past pogrom and is still on his
farm.
A large grower of fruit in the midlands of the country. When a Zanu PF
minister, Nathan Shamuyarira (a Princeton PhD) decided to try and take
the
farm, Ben simply said to the mob, if you want me off this farm, you
will
have to kill me.
Others have been killed (some 20 commercial farmers have died on their
farms
during this pogrom) many have been physically evicted with extreme
violence.
The human suffering and the trauma is terrible - I have many friends
who are
a mere shadow of what they were when they were on their farms and being
very
successful with their families all around them. Today many are just
like
uprooted trees - dismal shells of what they were. Their beautiful
farms
simply stark holes in the ground.
Inflation here reached 1600 per cent (official) and in my own
commercial
operations we went over 3400 percent growth in 12 months. Take your
pick as
to which rate you use. As a consequence we are now in hyperinflation
territory and can expect prices to change daily. Just this week we saw
the
GMB price of maize increased to 58 000 dollars a tonne from Z$600 - 9
000
percent. The price of wheat to millers has risen three times since
December
and the price of bread is expected to go to Z$2 400 a loaf - up from
an
official price of just Z$250 per loaf in December.
Panic has set in at official levels and a full price and wage freeze is
being threatened. Nothing could be more futile as the driving force
behind
the inflation spiral is monetary - simply too much money being
printed and
the rapid fall of the local currency on the open market. The US dollar
is
trading at nearly 5 000 to 1, while the Pound is over 10 000 to 1 and
the
Rand 750 to 1.
When you appreciate that the monetary authorities have just dropped
three
naughts off the local dollar and 5 000 is actually 5 million of our old
currency, then you know how far down we have gone and how fast it has
been.
Predictably Zanu PF held onto the seat in Chiredzi South at the weekend
- 10
000 votes in their favor as against 3300 for the MDC. No other outcome
was
possible in an election where for three months the Police, the Army and
the
traditional leaders subjected the entire constituency to a barrage of
threats. The threat to cut off food supplies if they voted for the MDC
is a
real one. In fact it is amazing that so many still voted for the MDC.
In the towns the situation is hotting up - every day there are
actions by
different groups. This Sunday was no exception - the MDC was
scheduled to
hold a rally at the Zimbabwe grounds - an historic site that has been
at the
centre of politics in this country for 50 years. The Police banned the
rally, then a High Court Judge granted our appeal and said we could go
ahead. Nothing would move the Police - they stuck to their decision
and
prevented anyone going to the venue. We have many people injured - I
have
seen pictures of injuries that could only have come from buckshot -
in the
back. But make no mistake - if I was a Zanu PF heavy, I would be
looking
for wings!
Eddie Cross
Bulawayo, 19th February 2007.
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