Zimbabwean Email
I've been very lucky to travel. And in my travels I have met the most incredible people.
In Zanzibar, an island off the coast of Tanzania, I went to a music festival. The highlight was seeing a band from Zimbabwe who were incredible and the energy that they created was one of inspiration and absolute excitement. Excitement at the prospect of a new country, a new world for their people.
I got to meet two of the band members, Emmanuel and Sam, and I have kept in touch. They are both living in England at the moment. By the sounds of things, they were lucky to escape.
I want to share with you part of an email response from Emmanuel I received just before Christmas. I asked him about the safety of his family and how he is going with all the news from home.
"I dont know how to relate it to you because the very moment that I start talking or writing about the situation back in my country tears start to roll down my cheeks because of all the images that come flashing in my eyes, sometimes I have to close my eyes because I always get headaches from these flashback and I eventually get a blurred vision such that I can hardly see two meters ahead of me,remember I was there during the elections and left in May, well after the peak of the electoral violence, so I expirienced it all and I even lost my dreadlox forcefully not to mention the beatings and all that has transpired, let me stop there because its all too unpleasent and i just want to forget it all.'
I feel like sharing my stories is one of the best ways to humanise the devastated communities of Zambabwe. The violence is unbelievable, the Government corrupt and the people are killed, abused, ruined. No one deserves to live through this.
These men are fighting for their country through their music. They are doing all they can to make a change for the people. I can't believe how hard it would be to be away from all that I loved, in a foreign country, having experienced horrific violence not only to myself but to all around me. I don't know how I would handle it. I am so in awe of Sam and Emmanuel.
But this is just one story.
Find out more about Zimbabwe, learn what is happening, talk to people about it.
http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/
http://www.radiovop.com/
http://www.worldvision.com.au/emergency/zimbabwe.asp?isource=68
http://www.examiner.com/Topic-Zimbabwe.html
2 comments:
Becky thanks for this post. I have a big place in my heart for the people in Zimbabwe and the country I was able to see first hand how the country was going down hill just over a year ago and it was bad then and I am sure now far worse. I really pray things get better. Today I saw it was Mugabes birthday and he had a 250 000 dollar feast! Not cool!
In International relations at Uni we learn about sovereignty that states aka countries have over their own territory and people and we debate when it is neccessary for that sovereignty to be over ridden and who decides? The US decided in Iraq'a case but when reading/hearing about the devastation that people are faced with daily in other parts of the world I feel like screaming at the US and UN "It's time for you to take action here so that their people can start living! Screw their sovereignty because they're just abusing it!"
How bad does a political and social situation have to be before people in places of power and influence intervene?!?
Story sharing is so important and must be so many people even in Adelaide that have horrific stories just like Sam and Emmanuel's - maybe we should make an active effort to document them so that the wider Australian community can take poverty personally and strike back. ??? ideas?
Peace,
Ash xo
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