The End of an Era (and not a very good one)- Desi Tsamadias

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September 6, 2019- Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister of Zimbabwe dies at age 95. Surrounding his death seems to be, somewhat, a false sense of admiration for the late Prime Minister by the people of Zimbabwe and the rest of the world. In order to understand his legacy, you need to understand the history of the African nation, Zimbabwe.

During the 1980s, Zimbabwe suffered a Cold War following the Rhodesian Bush War, which liberated Rhodesia (the former name of Zim.) from foreign, white rule of the nation. This Cold War was between two groups groping for the power of the liberated country: ZANU, led by Robert Mugabe and ZAPU, led by Joshua Nkomo. Eventually, Mugabe's "regime" won the war which made him Prime Minister of Zimbabwe.

During this time when Mugabe came to power was the start of a period called "Gukurahundi". This was a series of massacres of the Ndebele people, carried out by Mugabe's regime, which resulted in over 20,000 deaths- classifying as a genocide. The horrors committed by the Zimbabwe National Army were devastating to the people of Zimbabwe and still have implications today.

Robert Mugabe was at the center of this genocide, giving orders for anyone thought to be against his ideas or rule to be executed. During this time, if anyone expressed ideas that were different from his governments', they would be brutally murdered and tortured. On many different occasions, the ZANU army was directed to march and execute large groups of people at a time. Targets for the military were dissidents, ZAPU supporters or members and ordinary civilians. Another brutal method for killing was burning down the huts fo entire villages at a time, of which the consequences were devastating. When foreign news organizations attempted to call Mugabe and ZANU out for the injustices being done, Mugabe denied every accusation and accused the "hostile" press of "fabricating stories". At the center of this genocide was Robert Mugabe, giving orders for dissidents to be shot and killed and "cleansing" of the nation.

Mugabe has been called a President or a Prime Minister, but all evidence points to the fact that he was a brutal, tyrannical ruler who was not for the good or welfare of his own people. His hunger and thirst for power and complete domination led him to believe that it was right to take the lives of those who rejected his ideas and innocent humans for a political cause. These injustices and troubles he caused throughout his lifetime are still impacting victims and their families today. In many areas of Zimbabwe, extreme poverty, poor health, legal problems and a deep-rooted suspicion of the government still remains. There has not been- nor has there ever been- any closure for victims of this genocide and their families, or significant attempts to mend the nation's broken past. In Shona, there is a saying "wafa wakana" (speak no ill of the dead) but, as many Zimbabweans can agree, there simply must be an exception for Mugabe who left scars too deep and crimes too brutal to not shed light on.

Today, as citizens of the world, and a free country, we should be the ones to stand up against injustices against massive groups of people targeted by selfish and apathetic leaders. I believe that, as a world community, people need to make sure that no one person has so much power to discern the ending of human life- as Robert Mugabe did.

Image result for zimbabweImage result for mugabe giving a speech




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gukurahundi
https://www.npr.org/2019/09/14/760800002/mugabes-state-funeral-proceeds-but-his-burial-plan-has-been-mired-in-controversy
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/09/06/before-robert-mugabe-was-hated-he-was-loved/








Comments

  1. DanielleNovember 4, 2019 at 8:42 AM

    It's awful when ruler uses his power in such a negative way.

    ReplyDelete

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