The ManicaPost
On Monday, Zimbabwe celebrates Heroes Day. This is the occasion when Zimbabweans pay tribute to the sacrifices made by thousands of cadres who took up arms against white colonial rule.
This is a very important day for the country which must be celebrated by all regardless of political affiliation, age, tribe, skin colour or regional background. It is a moment for us all.
Tens of thousands of Zimbabweans took up arms with the commitment to rid their land of foreign settlers, who had put in place a systematic segregation of blacks in basically every facet of life — in education, on the job market, in business opportunities, in land ownership, political representation and involvement among others.
Lest we forget, blacks attended the most inferior schools and their syllabi were meant to perpetuate their servant status. Schools were divided between Group A, which was for whites and Group B for the blacks. Whites had access to better education facilities and the quality of their education was superior.
Blacks got poor jobs and the most successful ones settled for professions such as teachers, clerks, drivers and nurses, while whites were the lawyers, medical doctors, engineers and accountants.
On the business front, blacks were limited to businesses such as bottle stores and transport, running fleets of buses and trucks, while whites owned manufacturing and services concerns.
Blacks were forcibly removed from fertile land they had occupied for centuries and dumped on rocky badlands where they barely grew anything. Whites took their place on the fertile soils in high-rainfall areas where agriculture was always viable. In fact, blacks lived in so-called tribal trust lands where they were allowed to rear only a prescribed number of animals. Unjust laws were unleashed on blacks for the injustices to perpetuate “legally”.
Regarding political representation, blacks did not have the right to vote and never had a chance to be voted for. Whites, who constituted the privileged class, voted and could be voted into political office.
The net effect of such systematic marginalisation was that blacks were reduced to the level of second class citizens in their own land of birth, only useful when they served white interests. Hence, it was revolting for any self-respecting black person to live under such conditions.
The Second Chimurenga was launched in 1966. Zanu and Zapu, the most dominant pro-people political parties at that time, had fully fledged and equipped military wings, Zanla and Zipra respectively. Its cadres were formally trained in many countries including Zambia, Angola, Tanzania, China, former Yugoslavia, former Soviet Union and Mozambique. These countries also helped with military hardware.
The likes of President Robert Mugabe, the late Vice-President Joshua Nkomo, Joseph Msika, Simon Muzenda, Josiah Tongogara, Jason Moyo, Rex Nhongo, Alfred Nikita Mangena and Lookout Masuku led that war. With the level of organisation that the popular movement had acquired, and the modern weapons as well as better tactics, the settlers were on the back foot.
The settlers had to agree to talks at a number of venues but it was the Lancaster House Conference of 1979 that ended the war. The first democratic elections were held early 1980, and Independence came on 18 April 1980.
On Monday, we come together for our revered national annual custom of commemorating and paying tribute to the fallen and living heroes of our liberation struggle, whose blood and suffering brought the cherished one-man-one-vote, the land and independence we call ours today.
We are a proud, independent and sovereign nation, thanks to these gallant sons and daughters of the soil. As we remember their immense sacrifices, we celebrate their selfless courage and bravery in confronting the settler colonial enemy.
The main struggle today continues on the path of socio-economic transformation, as the country strives to improve the standard of living of the people.
It is this heroic, protracted struggle that claimed thousands of lives and injured many that Zimbabweans will mark on Monday. We look forward to a big commemoration, as thousands of people congregate at various centres countrywide.
