Thinking about Zimbabwe

Near the end of the 19th century, an imporant & defining event in the course of world history would take place at the Berlin Conference, which was mentioned in an earlier blog of mine. The dynamic duo of France & Britain grabbed all the turf they could find in Africa but managed to leave Portugal & Germany with some land of their own. And all this was done through grabbing the signatures of African chiefs who must have felt, "Well, we're doing these guys a favor; we'll sign on the dotted line & hope all will be well between us & the Europeans." Unfortunately, they also signed away their rights to territories which they held for time immemorial. And no, all would not go well between the whites & Africans from that moment forward.

In Southern Africa, the Rudd Concession was one of the more infamous ruses for the British (of all the Western powers with a mission in mind) to snatch up more land & completely disintegrate peaceable relations between the natives and the white minority. Somewhere, somehow in 1890, the formation of a colony, Rhodesia, came into fruition & with the white minority now in power, things went from bad to worse as far as relationships between the indigenous groups & whites were concerned & would only continue to do so for the next several decades as long as Ian Smith ran the show.

It would take persistent civil war to drive the point for independence from the British home but in 1980, Zimbabwe broke off all ties with its former namesake, Rhodesia (named after British entrepreneur almighty Cecil Rhodes). In the process, it broke off the yoke of the white minority rule which kept the indigenous tribes in their place for an eternity & with it the specter of British colonialism which next-door neighbors Zambia & Malawi broke free from about 15 years before.
If this wasn't enough good news for the African majority, they would also receive a brighter ray of hope: Robert Mugabe would be the first black ruler of Zimbabwe. And to this day, he still is Zimbabwe's president.

Initially, Mugabe was living up to the promises that he made; the economy was on the up & up & the future definitely looked rosy. But over time, the whole nation went on a downward spiral which it still has not recovered from. To say that Zimbabwe has hit rock bottom in every category you could think of is an understatement, considering the current state of the nation: horrific inflation (up to 1700%), shortage of basic necessities (& even the more fortunate Zimbabweans are finding the little things hard to come by), & one of the shortest life expectancies worldwide!! Economically & politically, Zimbabwe has been completely run into the ground; to even question unseating Mugabe from the post he's held for 27 years running is asking for trouble as so many Zimbabweans have discovered. If there are any African leaders whose names are anathema along the lines of Mobutu, Taylor, & Idi Amin, Mugabe ranks right up there with all three. Yes, he's that horrible as a ruler.

It's not too late to bring Mugabe to heel for all the damage he has caused the nation which he was supposed to guide into a better future. The question is, when will he finally face the music? For Shona & Ndebele alike, that time is now. For the white minority who somehow is staying on in Zimbabwe, that time is now. For the rest of the world, that time is now.

Our thoughts & prayers need to go to the suffering nation of Zimbabwe without a doubt.