| |
Back to Index
Still
drained
Albert
Gumbo
July 25, 2005
But getting
there nevertheless. The last time I wrote even my eyes ached from
lack of sleep. That reality has not really changed but as always
I find hope in reading the biographies of great people or the histories
of great groups of people. I read about Lance Armstrong, Muhammad
Ali and the Jewish people and I wonder how it is possible not to
have hope.
I unashamedly admit
to watching Desperate Housewives and I quote freely from Gabrielle,
one of the characters who in an episode two weeks ago told her husband:
"I have been broke before, but I have never been poor."
He responds: "In other words, we are not broke, but temporarily
short of funds." The cynics among you will call it the escapism
of the few who are lucky enough to watch satellite TV, far from the
reality of the man in the street. My retort is to remind you of that
famous French slogan of the seventies when it was feared there would
be a global petrol shortage following the Arab-Israeli wars: "On
France on n’a pas de petrol mais on a des idées. Figure it
out. Arrogant!
Is that not
what we perhaps need? A little bit of attitude? There is this popular
power point email that circulates freely in cyber space about how
the less developed countries are where they are because their citizenry
in their vast majority lack attitude. The Muhammad Ali and Lance
Armstrong type, that is. I am inclined to agree. It is time to stop
being fatalistic and dependent on God’s will. (Oh boy, now I have
done it!) The Jewish philosopher Maimonides once said: "Free
will is given to all men. If they chose to do evil the power to
do so is in them. If they chose to do good, the power is in them
to do so." I am not talking good versus evil. I am writing
about taking responsibility for shaping your destiny. The bombers
of London and Sharm El Sheik were not doing God’s will. They could
have chosen to run for parliament in Leicester and taken on Blair
in the house of commons.
I am still convinced
that Zimbabwe can and will be the greatest place to live in Africa,
all things told and I am convinced that we need to chose to stay
here and help move the country forward. You see, when you chose,
you propel yourself forward and when you are resigned to your fate,
you are well…resigned to your fate! I am a parent in a school, for
instance, where the majority of the parents chose to fund raise
tirelessly throughout the year and come back for more the following
year. I live in a country where the concept of NHIMBE/ UBUNTU among
the ordinary folk is still evident at harvests, funerals and weddings.
Ask your Shona and Ndebele neighbour what those two words mean.
I hear words
like rock bottom. My word, at the risk of being labeled an apologist,
we are nowhere near that description! I would still rather be in
Harare than Lusaka, Jo-burg, Nairobi, Freetown, Abidjan or Dar-Es-Salaam.
Does it mean we do not have a crisis right here at home? Of course
not! Does it mean that third world means third rate? Don’t be silly!
Remember my friends, it is not what prison did to Mandela, it is
what Mandela did with what prison did to him. When life gives you
lemons, make lemonade! I am not saying that glibly and with gross
insensitivity. According to the South African press, South Africa
has churned out plus or minus twelve thousand dollar millionaires
over the last three years! You know which dollar I am referring
to. How many of those were prisoners "without hope" just
over ten years ago? How many of them were "stuck" in the
townships with a seemingly impossible future ahead?
As I heard Bernice
King passionately say once: "Never accept less than your destiny."
That has to be one of the best lines I have heard in my life. Muhammad
Ali, Lance Armstrong, Maria Mutola and Maria Sharapova all chose
not to accept less than their individual destinies. Read their stories
for yourself! The Jews refused to do the same. Who am I or you to
blow against the wind?
This is not
a rehearsal, you only have one shot at life and like Oprah, I suggest
you live your best life. "It is called lighting a candle, instead
of cursing the darkness." The sticker on my car still reads:
Zimbabwe, my country, my commitment, my future." If I leave,
I’d better have a damn good explanation…to my conscience. As for
you, it is all about choice isn’t it? No condemnation. "You
may not agree with me but I will defend your right to disagree with
me."
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
TOP
|
