Bernard Bwoni
Zimbabweans inhale and
exhale politics, and at every gathering and at every opportunity any
conversation always stray into politics and in some cases shouting matches.
Zimbabweans of all political divides are passionate about their impact on
national politics and that is refreshing. However, what is disconcerting is how
some Zimbabweans portray their own country in discussions with people from
other nations. Zimbabweans, especially those in the diaspora incessantly whine
about the country and present it with constant pessimism and negativity. Many
Zimbabweans do it and seem to derive some satisfaction from portraying their
own country with catastrophism, doom and gloom. You have someone frothing and
fuming to paint Zimbabwe as the worst place on planet on earth in some twisted
quest to enlist the acceptance of circles from other countries. There are
people who have reached the summit of their abilities with nothing else to look
forward to, in particular in the diaspora, who devote the majority of their
time demonizing and trash-talking Zimbabwe. For some it is a preoccupation and
they get a buzz from depicting Zimbabwe negatively and painting a picture of
obsolete ruination when telling people from other nations of how bad things are
in Zimbabwe. Interestingly you rarely hear people from Ghana, South Africa,
Zambia, Kenya or many other nations tearing into their own countries at every
opportunity they are given an audience and it is not as if things are all rosy
in those countries. Those Zimbabweans who denigrate Zimbabwe confuse party
politics with the country.
Zimbabwean people who
publicly and persistently discredit Zimbabwe clearly have no awareness of the
social, political and economic implications of the negative speculation they
constantly present to the world. Any negative statement and scaremongering
about the country has far-reaching and damaging effects on the country as a
whole. There are some of our own people with deep-rooted self-loathing traits,
which often translate into national defamation.
There is this extreme dislike or hatred of Zimbabwe triggered by what
some perceive to be the shortcomings of the ruling party in the country. It is
manifests in a ‘culture cringe’, an embedded and internalized inferiority
complex that causes our own people to have low national esteem, national worth
and their acceptance that others and not their own are intrinsically more
worthy.
Zimbabwe has both victors
and victims of the trauma triggered by colonialism, segregation and the
after-effects of imperialism. The same can be said of many if not all African
countries. There are those who have managed to deal with the physical trauma
and shackles of colonialism and there are those who have failed to do so. In
Zimbabwe there are those who took up arms against the unyielding colonial
establishment and dismantled the hurdles the system created. They physically
and psychologically deconstructed the colonial construct and enabled all
Zimbabweans to be counted as first class citizens in their own country. However
many among us have struggled with pulling down the veil and the psychological
scars inflicted by the trauma of colonization and imperialism. These are the
victims who still express sympathy and empathy with the Rhodesian system, have
publicly expressed positive feelings towards the architects of the system to
the point of defending it and identifying with it while putting down the system
that liberated them. There are many Zimbabweans, especially in the diaspora who
present with such negative traits. Some victims have called for the ‘escalation
of the economic crisis in Zimbabwe’ to further that very system that subjugated
Zimbabwe and many other African countries.
It is defeatist and
unpatriotic to consistently put your own country down. Every citizen has a duty
to defend their own country, their own nationhood and their pride as a people
instead of devoting energies to trampling on the name of Zimbabwe and its
people. If one cannot respect his or her own country how would they expect anyone
else to respect the country and its people for you. Why is it that other
nationalities do not always air their dirty laundry in the public and always
present their country in a negative light? There are many countries worldwide
who have it much worse than Zimbabwe but you rarely hear them parading it to
the world that their country is the definition of disaster. There is no denying
that things could be better in Zimbabwe but perennially naysaying your own
country is not going to make things any better. However when you hear some
people from Zimbabwe portray the country
bernardbwoni.blogspot.com
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