By Nick Mangwana; ZANU PF UK Chairman
As we all commemorate our Heroes Day we remember the gallant
children of Zimbabwe who were martyred.
Their brave spirits never knew no defeat even as the lay bleeding to
their death or as they smouldered under the ferocity of Rhodesian napalm
atrocity.
We should never take for granted that which they died for. The empowerment of
the then marginalised black people as well as equal treatment under the
law. Our peace and those rights we now
take for granted were purchased through the blood and self-sacrifice of those
brave hearts.
This day was set aside, lest we forget Mboroma, Nyadzonia,
Chimoio and all the unheralded places were
Zimbabwean blood was spilt in a the concerted effort to liberate the motherland.
We should never forget that both the living and the dead are
the authors of the peace that prevail in
the land of Zimbabwe.
Though this country faces economic challenges, though this
country come into the spotlight of the world and our economy is undermined in
devious ways, we should never forget what
it took for us to be called Zimbabweans.
There are those families who were never given the opportunity
to bury their loved ones. Those whose loved ones never returned. They waited
and waited and lit a candle to keep their hope burning. 1980 went, some thought
may be their loved ones were in East Germany for some specialised training.
1981 came and some of those returned. Those in Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and
Polandand the Soviet Union trickled in still some loved ones
were not among these. Still the candle was left to burn. Year after year
they never lost hope. For how could they? There was no one to tell them for
real what happened to their loved ones. The Berlin Wall even tumbled, still they
held on to hope. Now their heads are telling them it's over but their hearts
continue to hope. They pray to just hear what happened. They hope one day they
will know where the remains are
interred. These are families that will
never know closure. And these are families we should never forget.
Our fallen heroes had visions they wanted fulfilled in a New Zimbabwe. They had hopes and aspirations.
It is these hopes and aspirations so noble that they found it worthy to
sacrifice their lives for. It will be a
tragedy if in selfishness we dash those Liberation Struggle objectives; the
ones about an egalitarian society. It
will be a disaster if we rob the future
generations of the ideals that were espoused by those that have been buried at
the National Shrine but more importantly, it will be betrayal if we let down
those whose blood was shed in the wilderness. We cannot leave their spirits to continue to cry for the beloved country as
their blood did when life was gashing out of bodies.
Those who lie at the Heroes Acre only represent thousands of
our brothers and sister, aunts and uncles and in cases mothers and fathers who
lie in shallow graves. Including those
whose bones are now entangled in mass graves and mine shafts. Those who are not so esteemed because they are
only represented by the Unknown Soldier. Those whose names we have now
forgotten but whose families their name they will never forget.
As a nation we have a duty to build a Memoriam Wall at the
national shrine where every name of a verified Fallen Hero not buried thereat
is written. The humble and the esteemed. Those who died during the war and those
that did not survive the peace should be indelibly inscribed on that wall as a
lasting memoriam. We might bury them at
Provincial Heroes Acres or the District
Heroes Acres but their names should be on the same wall with all their
comrades. It is time to take note of our
unsung heroes. Those that have never gone out to seek plaudits and accolades. Those that never got a chance to be defiled
by impunity and entitlement. Those that died in battle and in a strange way
were spared the agony of disappointment.
The disappointment of seeing some of the liberated yearn for
Rhodesia. The disappointment of seeing some of their fellow liberators laying claim to every spoil
forgetting the masses. Those that also bore the brunt of the Rhodesian wrath
for providing succour to the freedom fighter. Those fallen comrades who never
envisioned that their parents who were in "Keeps" would ever have their role relegated to
inconsequential by a greedy minority
that has forgotten the treasured Yu Chi Chan Principles of Chairman Mao.
As we celebrate Heroes Day comrades, we should never turn
our backs on the very objectives for which our heroes died or sacrificed a
great deal for.
