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‘Would that it were so!’ says Father David Harold Barry,
operations Director at Silveira House, Zimbabwe. ‘The recent decision of the MDC
to go into the government was greeted with enthusiasm by some and with
considerable reserve by others. Yet in such a drawn out crisis where people are
at the end of their wits as to how to survive, the decision of the leader of the
MDC has generally brought widespread hope. People are saying; ‘it is worth a
try.’ And one word keeps popping up; it is not a solution but a ‘process.’ As
the MDC people begin to work with the ZANU PF people they will both begin to
discover the common ground – something they could never do when one was outside
and the other in.
So the hope is that as the two rub shoulders they will
discover their need for each other in the short term and in the long term a
solution will only come if there is this opportunity for give and take in the
transition period. The old man is said to be tired and wanting a way out of the
dilemma. So it is a time for magnanimity, large heartedness and reconciliation.
Zimbabwe may yet be an example of peacemaking among rivals that inspires Africa.
But what we can all agree on is that the next weeks and
months are going to be difficult. People who loathe each other are going to have
to learn to work together. In their hearts they want revenge but in their minds
they know this is only stirring up more hatred and bloodshed. It is going to be
very hard to swallow the things that have happened these past nine years and
move on but this is what will be needed. To swallow does not mean to forget. We
will need some exercise like the South African Truth and Reconciliation
Commission at some point. The TRC, as you remember, worked - not through
forgetting all the cruel events of the apartheid years – but by bringing them to
light and then moving towards reconciliation.’ To swallow means to put to one
side bitter feelings for the moment and become engaged in the urgent tasks of
rebuilding. Then at a later stage when there is some calm and security to bring
into the open the pain of the past so that it may be healed and the nation may
fully recover. This exercise will, as so many people say, have to cover not only
the recent events of the new century but it will have to reach back to the 1980s
if it is to be effective.
Finally it is worth recalling that it is not only a
country that grows through a process. Our understanding of reconciliation itself
grows. There are passages in the bible full of the desire for violent revenge –
Psalm 109  , for example. But we are not stuck in these thoughts. By the time we
reach the New Testament the message is reconciliation, forgiveness 70 x 7 and
loving your enemies.
The last 4 weeks have been rather depressing with the death
of another two artists: Nicodemus Mamvura and Mike Nyakuromba. I emailed photos
of funeral scenes to those in the congregation with PC’s. Graveyards look like
war zones as deaths from the cholera epidemic top 4000. The artists’ morale is
low as virtually every week, they lose yet another close mutual friend or
relation. I am not spared any detail as quite graphic photos are frequently
emailed by the artists to keep me aware of the situation at first hand. However,
a good friend has recently delivered the final tranche of money comprising
donations and sculpture sales revenue from successful end year URC church sales
plus cameras, torches, clothing and medicine which has cheered them up. I met
him on his return at Heathrow a few days ago bringing 2 heavy rucksacks of items
to sell plus photos of the artists who are all now very thin, so much so, that I
struggled to recognise a few. He said they are all immensely grateful for the
support from the URC which keeps them alive. I also received some greetings via
mini video clips in their new office. Coster and Lizeni could be seen engrossed
reading ‘Reform’ magazines which I send to DHB as they often feature articles on
Artpeace. They were unaware their plight is read by so many people in the UK and
abroad.
A Jesuit from Wimbledon also back from a recent trip said the
situation struck home as he saw many old people being taken to the few hospitals
still open in wheelbarrows having been pushed many miles. A week ago DHB emailed
asking whether we could offer help to a young man called Fortune who had the
courage to speak out against injustice. Result? His home was destroyed and both
his legs were smashed leaving him on crutches permanently disabled. He is the
breadwinner for his 2 children and an extended family as unemployment has
reached 94%. I managed to get some of our donations over quickly to Fortune plus
the mobile recently provided by Hilary Netherwood. He was beside himself with
joy and could not find the words to thank us. Funds were also sent to Sekai, the
widow of Nicodemus who has not only lost her husband but also her sole source of
income. The courier returned with 2 dozen samples of Fortune’s exquisite
copper/silver handmade jewellery which will be on sale at the Henry Olanga
concert advertised elsewhere in this newsletter – so far 16 from St Andrew’s
will attend. It promises to be a good evening! DHB sent lots of exquisite batiks
made by the L’Arche community plus unusual necklaces from Viola and Edina from
SH craft dept. Senzeni, a young lady confined to a wheel chair following a
terrible road accident also sent attractive necklaces to her own design which
delighted a few ladies in the congregation this morning; our network of help is
reaching far and wide. Needless to say ‘The Shed is full again!
I was cheered but more often saddened by lots of drawings and
stories on scraps of paper sent by children from many of the families we support
describing the situation from their perspective, probably more revealing than
any leading newspaper article.
Johnston Simpson
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