B r i t a i n Z i m b a b w e S o c i e t y
OF Report Section 5
Discussion Following Panel Two
Jeremy Dear , in the Chair, thanked the speakers for their very interesting presentations and invited contributions from the floor.
Lois Davis (WOZA Solidarity) – Thabitha Khumalo mentioned that the Unions are continuing their actions in Zimbabwe. One thing that we have done to support WOZA that has been successful, is telephoning Police Stations where we know people are being held and also the mobile phones of key people to badger for their release. We find this to be an active way of lending support and assistance from here and have a full list of relevant telephone numbers.
At this point the Chair, Jeremy Dear, requested that he be given the telephone number of the Minister of Justice so that he could fire off a text immediately. A number was supplied and he sent a text straight away.
From the Floor – The South African anti-apartheid movement is an example for us to follow as a model. A key element in the anti-apartheid struggle was the Church. So my question is to Rev Nicholas Mkaronda – how involved are the Churches and how willing are they to mobilize and organize in Zimbabwe.
Joe – I am a social justice activist temporarily in the Diaspora for some education, but I am going home in the next two weeks. In Zimbabwe, we talk of the Diaspora as not having a social life, a political life, or a future. If Tuku comes to UK, Zimbabweans don’t attend because they fear the Home Office will raid the concert. I am here to study and return to Zimbabwe at the end of my studies, but I am not so sure who/what the Diaspora is, whether it is permanent or not, especially as many just stay on. The problem is that a large percentage of the Diaspora are focused on a regime of accumulation and is not thinking about this thing of going home to do reconstruction. We need more introspection to think at what point will you go home? Do some people need to stay?
Wiz – I am from Zimbabwe Vigil, the group that demonstrates outside the Zimbabwean embassy every Saturday. In support of the previous speaker, when Roy Bennett the MDC MP (recently released from jail) came to the regular Zimbabwe Vigil, he was surprised by the small group in a country supposedly full of Zimbabweans. He remarked “Where is everybody?” Come and join us, have some fun, etc.
Thamsanga Mhlanga – Zimbabweans are sending money home each week. Everytime you send money, tell them I will only send you money if you have been active back home.
Itai Garande(TalkZimbabwe.com) – We are a new internet forum, have a look at us online. The ecumenical movement can have great impact on Zimbabwe. The Church goes beyond national boundaries, so this is one possible force for influence on Zimbabwe. I have been in the UK for more than 10 years. The attitude of people back home towards the Diaspora is not always valid. Most Zimbabweans here don’t want to be here. The enemy is ZANU-PF. The violence and all other problems can be traced back to ZANU-PF and is not for other reasons. In 1999 we tried to set up an organization in Luton to support Zimbabweans. Bright Matonga was part of that organization and so was Themba Mliswa; but now we see one of them is Dep Min of Information. So there are disruptive elements. It is not easy to organize and we need to be vigilant about who defeats our purpose. Most people want to return home, a few lucky people get to study, but most just struggle. Those in the Diaspora in the UK have issues and are affected by events in Zimbabwe. The Kurds consolidated their Diaspora very effectively, but it takes time to organize.
Mavhunga – I am a Canon Collins scholarship student. We should thank all those non-Zimbabweans who have come together with us here. As a post-graduate student I have a nicely laminated degree but I can work in McDonalds here and earn more than I earn as a human rights lawyer back home. So do I return to Zimbabwe to continue the struggle but am unable to contribute so much money to my family in the same way? Or do I stay, claim asylum or do further study? Or do I just disappear underground? The barrier to going back is economic and people end up staying in the UK. Pragmatic individuals make pragmatic decisions. Belief and hope in reconstruction is dissipating back home and with the disintegration of the opposition parties things just seem to get more discouraging. But we must remember that as we struggle today, we have hope for tomorrow.
Philip Chikwiramakomo (WeZimbabwe) - The problem is thatwe tend to set up organisations and then more organizations. The Diaspora is a fact for us but we need to think about what it means to be in the Diaspora and how best can we reach into it. How do we engage people in the Diaspora and then what exactly do we expect from them? For example, the WOZA solidarity strategy of telephoning to try to reduce or stem torture is very effective. There are already enough vehicles around for us to work through; we don’t need to keep forming new organisations. We need to co-ordinate our tasks between the organizations that already exist, like WeZimbabwe, the Vigil, Zimbabwe Futures etc.
Dr Rwambiwa – The true reason that we are all addressing each other in English is because we want to understand each other. But at the break, Shonas speak Shona and Ndebele speak Ndebele to each other. We don’t trust one other, yet we trust politicians. Here we are in a democracy, but there is no democracy at home. I taught at UZ for 20 years and published many papers on economics. But here we are despising ourselves and our own languages.
From the Floor – What is the situation for Zimbabweans who have failed in their applications for asylum? Is there any strategy in place for them?
From the Floor – I think that Zimbabwe Futures suggestion of a policy of temporary return is very realistic, because it accepts that there are some people in the country who are part of the NHS structure and we should be proud of that. Temporarily releasing staff from the NHS to go back home to work would be a good thing. In 1980 not everyone coming home got the jobs they wanted, and if everyone returned now there wouldn’t be enough jobs for all. Some people in the Diaspora must still keep working here so that they can contribute to home from here.
Wellington Chibangiza(FreeZimbabwe.com) – I’d like to i nform the Forum of plans to stage a demonstration at the South African Embassy to protest Pretoria’s policy towards Zimbabwe. People should attend that and should also come to the Vigil.
Mike Bennet – There is no danger that we will all go back at the same time, but if we use the internet and other resources flexibly then the movement of skills between countries will be much easier. We can make our skills here available to those at home. We are an educated workforce and need to build an infrastructure for that. The point is who will be the umbrella? We need an organization that can practically create a virtual Zimbabwe now. We should think about this now as a Diaspora community.
Gerald – I am disappointed that the discussions of the day have turned out to be political as opposed to about the skills and reconstruction that I had expected. If I had wanted politics I would have gone to an MDC rally taking place at the same time in Leeds. Mugabe and ZANU-PF are a problem, but groups like Vigil are misdirected and waste time demonstrating at the Zimbabwe Embassy where no-one in government notices. Instead, demonstrations should be at No 10 Downing Street to force Blair and the UK government to do more for Zimbabweans in the UK for example. We have too many organizations and associations because they want money they can get from grants.
Nick Clough (Uni of West of England/Zambuko) –We train teachers and aim to be practical in our efforts. In 1999 some subsistence farmers needed books so we helped them build Zambuko Library. Since the library is now built it has 5000-6000 books that get dispersed to 16 schools. There are community projects around for us to get engaged in. These are ways that we can engage constructively and be practical. So lets get together to give each other tasks to do. We need organization.
From the Floor - I am new in the village and am listening to the speaker and the word that keeps coming up is Unity. I am not a political and am going to cease to be a Christian. Different churches are competing and confusing people and prohibiting unity. Journalists are just talking of issues and problems and not putting a way forward. They must suggest things that we should do, not just report (eg the bulldozing).
Phiri(FreeZimbabwe.com) – The situation in Zimbabwe doesn’t need Blair but needs intervention from our African counterparts. G oing to demonstrate at No. 10 instead of the Vigil at the Zimbabwe Embassy is a wrong prescription. The target should be fellow African embassies and Zimbabwe House. We need an awareness campaign of what is happening in Zimbabwe. We also need to send a message to parents that they should encourage their children to attend meetings like this Open Forum. And as for there being too many organizations – democracy is about having lots of organizations, isn’t it?
Ways Forward - Principles and Action Points
Jeremy Dear (Chair) invited key speakers to make some concluding remarks in response to issues that had arisen during the discussion.
Thabitha Khumalo – We must remember that we are not baking cakes here, but we are making the future of our kids tomorrow. We have the same proliferation of organizations in Zimbabwe as you are complaining of here, but the key thing is that when there is a crisis, we come together and work together. You have to come together as a coalition, and you have to give roles to some people to lead you in that. At home we have Zero breakfast, Zero lunch and half dinner, but the struggle continues and we fight on. We need to coalesce and come together to fight our common enemy. And that enemy is in Zimbabwe, not elsewhere. It is a very bad idea to demonstrate outside South Africa house as this disrupts the pressure that COSATU is able to put on the South African Government – as you know ZCTU works closely with COSATU and COSATU is in a long-term affair with the ANC. Similarly Tony Blair has no power to influence the outcome in Zimbabwe. We must focus on coming together to deal with our own house which is the one on fire.
Stephen Munjanja – The biggest Zimbabwean Diaspora is in South Africa, though it is also very large here in UK. We need synergies between the Diaspora in different countries and the people back home to have an effective impact.
Shane Lunga – Philip Chikwiramakomo raised an important question asking “What are we to do? What are the real tasks?” We hope to come up with practical tasks so that all can contribute, which we will feature on our website. Mike Bennet’s suggestion about developing a Virtual community is a good example of a practical task. Its good for people to update their skills and we love to collect diplomas and certificates, but we have to put our skills to practical use.
Forward Maisokwadzo – I’d just like to reply to something someone said about journalists. Journalists have done much to put Zimbabwe on the map. It is not the job of a journalist to create the agenda, but they can highlight the issues effectively.
Sarah Harland (Zimbabwe Association) – In reply to the question about how failed asylum seekers should proceed, there are a number of options now in place. Many Zimbabweans are now in detention, and many are at the end of the asylum process. Some people might like to think about the voluntary return programme. The best thing is to get your papers organized, or if necessary leave your papers with a friend who can contact us, so that we can help. If you need help, then have a look at our website and contact us. You must have a good lawyer, and we can help with that. Please get in touch with us and look at our website if you need help.
Nicholas Mkaronda – There are a number of actions we can take and things for us to consider. The action of calling police stations or sending lots of emails to jam the inbox and disrupt the work of key people is good as it reminds them that their actions are unacceptable.
The churches in Zimbabwe haven’t done enough to this point, but through the Christian Alliance the Churches may be able to take on a more important role in the future. Remember during the anti-apartheid campaign Tutu only ever had the support of 20% of the clergy.
As for the Diaspora, the problem of infiltration is one that always faces us whether here or there, it is a problem at meetings and when people break into offices, or sow division between groupings on the basis of ethnicity. But the key thing is that we must not be afraid of our differences. We must talk of our differences in a peaceful way. We should recognise that unity does not exist because we all say the same thing (as is the case in ZANU). Rather, unity exists because we are able to explore diversity and identify common areas, strategies, goals.
We cannot pin our hopes on politicians but we need everyone to participate. For example, ZANU’s unity came about through oppression, and an MDC/ZANU settlement is not the answer, for the crisis in Zimbabwe is for everyone. We are free if we are able to participate in the political process.
Campaigns at embassies and the vigil are good and need to be continued. We need to shame the government of Zimbabwe and let the world know what is happening there. Don’t be ashamed of being in the Diaspora. Continue with your actions – we may want to talk about skills, but it is difficult to do so when the situation doesn’t allow it.
Jeremy Dear (Chair) – In conclusion, I’d like to summarise what I see as a few key points that have come out of the discussion this afternoon:
First, there needs to be more networking through different sectors to build more skills-based networks to work through.
Second, there are practical actions we can take, such as telephoning the police to make sure they are aware that their actions are being monitored.
Finally, there are a number of different organizations that exist; we need to use a variety of organizations to step up activities in a diversity of ways, and come together in alliance to work for a new and reconstructed Zimbabwe.
I’d like to thank all the speakers on the panel and from the floor for their participation this afternoon.
Diana Jeater (Chair, BZS) – I’d like to thank Margaret Ling for organizing this event. It serves as an illustration of the key role that the BZS can play as an umbrella organization where Zimbabweans can come together to talk and listen to one another in a productive way.
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