Sunday 19 November 2017

Freedom March: November 18, 2017

18/11/2017 - picture credit: Glenn Morgan


What happened yesterday was historic. Hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans, at home and abroad, stood together to say that WE WANT CHANGE. 

Yes, how we each envision that change may be different. Yes, there are still many, many obstacles to overcome before we are truly 'free'. But for the first time in decades, there was an overwhelming sense that Zimbabwe has a chance to start over. For the first time, people gathered in their thousands with no fear of violence or retribution: no 'button sticks', no water cannons. There was no party regalia to be seen. Every single person on those streets yesterday knew that for that day, we were all the same: Zimbabweans who love their country and want better. Strangers hugged and took selfies together, shared flags, sang songs, danced.

We cheered together as the armoured vehicles rolled through the streets and got goose-bumps as a soldier fist-pumped from a low-flying helicopter: not because we want military rule or because we naively believe the army is our saviour from tyranny, but because extreme measures were taken in extreme circumstances and we have an opportunity now to make this about us, the people.
Of course these remain uncertain times. But the will of the people is clear: the time has come. Change must come. Opposition and civil society MUST NOT waste this opportunity to direct the change we are desperate for. The leadership vacuum in opposition must be plugged and the discourse unified, otherwise ZANU-PF WILL emerge stronger than ever.
Hope flows through the country today and it must be channeled for transformation.
I am reminded of a certain school's anthem based on Romans 12, and it is my prayer for all Zimbabweans:

"...Let joy keep you hopeful, 
in trouble stand firm.
Persist in prayer,
Have equal regard for one another.
Do not let evil conquer you
But use good to defeat evil."

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