Tariro Makamba recalled clearly how the nightmare started
when Kudzai her husband sat her in the car and announced he had a surprise.
He then drove one-and-a-half hours from their apartment in
Norton to Chikwaka Hills. Sheep, goats and picturesque thatched huts;
Chikwaka’s golden valley was a bucolic vision. Kudzai stopped the car at the
top of a drive.
This, he stated, was Great Mavaza Village. At the end of
the drive stood a large residence. The sun gilded its charming – slightly
run-down façade.
“It’s beautiful!” Tariro enchanted. “I was hoping you would
say that,” he replied with a twinkle in his eye. “I’ve just bought it.”
I felt a cold chill running down my spine. He really had.
He is – among other things – an antiques dealer, a hotelier and a distiller,
and he enthused about the great deal he had struck and the vision he had.
We would renovate the house and stay there. We would move
to the countryside to enjoy a quieter, more meaningful and healthier life.
However, I, the city girl who had lived in England for 20
years would find true happiness in Highlands or back in London.
Two years on, he has realised his dream but I have noticed
that living in the country is very nice in theory but not in practice. The
countryside is a theme park without opt-out clauses.
Our children refused to join us and they remained in
England. They said Zimbabwe was a naughty corner and they had not misbehaved in
any way as to be flown to Zimbabwe.
I was surrounded by sheep, cows and chickens, but for human
contact I had to learn the culture to chat to the folks. I had been away for
too long and even when I was in Zimbabwe, I was a town girl. The village was
viewed as a punishment corner and the cinema was 70 km away.
When I sought a bit of culture, a neighbour suggested going
to the grinding mill on Monday and to
the cattle dip tank on Wednesdays. The notable exception was of course
Christmas Day which came once a year.
The first year was bearable. The renovation of the house
took up a great deal of time and building the round hut was immensely
rewarding. We started taking guests and were inundated with all kinds of
requests.
I realised that I had never been in a rural setting even
though we had a rural home. I missed my children so much but they all refused
to come home to settle. They called it “your home”.
I realised the fatal error we committed. We always used
going to Zimbabwe as a punishment and a disciplinary measure. Little did we
know how we had alienated our children from their home.
As we were growing up, my father would always remind us
that if we misbehaved, we would be sent to the rural areas as a punishment.
This made us fear the rural areas. They became places where you were banished
to as a punishment.
Towards every holiday, you would be praying that you were
not going to be punished by being sent “home”. This is the treatment we
introduced our children to. No wonder why they call Zimbabwe, “your land” and
our relatives “your relatives”. We made our own thorn beds and we had to sleep
on them.
Zimbabwe became a serious punishment and as a result, it
defined our children’s future. Our friends were rewarded by being taken to town
during holidays.
The attitude of our parents made village life to be that
bad. This is the same attitude Diaspora
parents exhibit.
Looking at the scenario now, our generation; the generation
40 downwards, have a serious phobia for village life.
This fear was inherited from our parents. We now have
passed it on to our children in foreign lands.
This idea of making the Zimbabwe a Siberia of some sort
detaches children from their roots.
Most parents still warn their children that if they
misbehave they will be sent home.
Children now make it clear that their home is not Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is
a place where parents take you for discipline and punishment.
The pride and self identification is removed by the parents
who use Zimbabwe as a punishment.
Many parents have nothing good to say about their country.
They bad mouth the only country they call theirs in front of children and the children
have no love for their country.
We have made our kids hate our country and we will relocate
to Zimbabwe on our own without our children. Herald
0 comments:
Post a Comment