Some Zimbabweans running scared

DEAR EDITOR—PLEASE let me express my disgust at those Zimbabweans who are self-serving and hoping that the divide between Morgan Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe remains so that they can secure their entry into Zimbabwe after Tsvangirai has taken over as President.

Many Zimbabweans in the Diaspora never thought they would see the day Tsvangirai and President Mugabe will shake hands and come to some political understanding and settlement. These individuals now live in fear of returning to Zimbabwe because of some of the very vile words they have used against certain individuals in the country. They have crossed that very important line that divides civility and ignorance and they are now worried and running scared.

I have always maintained that people needed to be treated with respect and those who use slander and profanity to mock and discredit others will live with those consequences. I know many so-called critics and many ‘editors’ of websites who have said words that will never be forgivable under any circumstances. Others have called for the death of their own countrymen and disrupted lives of kids of many of our politicians hoping that Morgan Tsvangirai would one day become President and Mugabe and his party will be out and they would return home. Their plan has failed as our politicians have decided to behave like brothers and sisters and resolve their differences amicably.

I just hope that the sincerity with which the MoU was signed on Monday will guide the rest of the talks and Zimbabwe can again become the great nation that it once was. We have the capacity to beat any African country at everything. We have done it before and we will do it again. We have had the added advantage that our people have lived, worked and become educated in the Diaspora and when they go back home they can help develop the country. They are more knowledgeable of the world out there and the bad influences on their country

Every Zimbabwean should remember that treating each other with respect is the first sign of our humanness. We are not animals that survive in the jungle and some of the words we have used in the past should remain there, in the past. We should also remember that building a house starts not with the foundation or the first brick, but with just the thought of building a house. In that light I would say, Morgan Tsvangirai and President Mugabe have already made huge strides in meeting face-to-face and talking. They have gone beyond the ‘thinking-about-it stage’ and have actually ‘done it’. Who would have ever thought they would be locked in the same room, or shake hands? Today we see beautiful pictures of the two together. Whether it is a fluke or not, it is a significant first step, nevertheless.

Greta Mutengani

gmutengani@yahoo.com

Spanish Town, Jamaica