I have walked along the edge of the River Thames many times over the past few years, and am fascinated always by the turmoil on the surface of the water around the pillars of the bridges when the tides change. The rise and fall can be as much as 24 feet, and take hours of struggle between ebb and flow.
As Zimbabwe confronts the results of its latest election I think of the great currents ripping beneath that country’s surface, and know that only those there can properly feel or appreciate them. I hope that in this time of flux all that is good and true in Zimbabwe will stand firm in the great swirl of its political life.
It’s hard to describe the conflicted feelings that must sit in the being of every Zimbabwean faced with the decision of whether or not to go to vote tomorrow, especially if they have the courage to even consider voting for the opposition.
“Why?” you might ask peering in from the outside. “Things don’t look so smooth there. How long have these chaps been in charge?”
“Over 40 years.”
“40 years!!!”
Looks obvious, seems obvious … but when wall-to-wall propaganda smothers any perceived cracks in its narrative, things get difficult. And they are difficult. Yet, amazingly, the political arena still holds, and the opposition candidates keep coming, upright despite being surrounded by the debris from previous elections. They are brave and persistent, and they have their plan, despite the odds.
I have no idea how this election will turn out, but I so hope Zimbabweans will be able to cast their votes in peace, and that they will want to do so. Taking part is not just for them but for their children, and their children’s children, and for the right to say they did their bit.
Back to Michelle Obama – we were scrolling through Netflix the other night, and came across ‘Becoming’ which follows the book tour she did after her years as First Lady. Her charisma is so evident, as is the personal effort she dedicated to her life on show in the White House. At the end of the documentary, in a car heading somewhere, she says:
“After all that work, they just couldn’t be bothered to vote at all. That’s my trauma.”
The Phraser 