Chronicle Editor
Lumbidzani Dima, Chronicle Reporter
GOGO Esnath Maisiri (80) lives opposite Barbourfields Stadium where the country’s 42nd birthday will be hosted on Monday.
She has lived in Barbourfields suburb since 1956.
Gogo Maisiri said she is happy about Independence Day celebrations being held just in front of her gate.
She said she is eagerly waiting for the day as she can already get feel of from the rehearsals.
Barbourfields Stadium has become the centre of attraction.
For the first time in the history of the country, this year’s national Independence Day celebrations will be held outside Harare, at Barbourfields, in line with the Second Republic’s thrust of devolution and decentralisation policy.
Gogo Maisiri said before independence, blacks were treated like animals.
“The treatment we got from whites was not good at all, they never considered us as people they regarded us as some sort of animal breed.
“The salaries that they gave us were not fair.
Personally, I was working for whites in the suburbs and they never treated me well.
They would just dismiss me for no reason; when they decided not to pay, they did so,” she said.
Gogo Maisiri saluted the late former President Robert Mugabe and Government for the life that came after Independence Day.
“Independence came, all the sorrows were left behind.
We started walking on the streets freely, entering any premises freely, choosing schools for our children freely, buying from the shops of our choice.
Things might be changing here and there, but we are living good lives, there is nothing that gives peace of mind like freedom,” she said.
When a Chronicle news crew visited Barbourfields suburb yesterday, scores of people were on the streets while children were inside the stadium watching the smartly dressed uniformed forces rehearsing for the big day.
The passing Air Force of Zimbabwe jets and planes dropping airmen with parachutes was a spectacle.
Senior citizens in the suburb said hosting the celebrations is a very significant event for the Bulawayo community which shall definitely leave a mark.
Mr Edward Songo (83) said hosting national celebrations for the first time is a great achievement for the city of Bulawayo.
He said he cannot wait to watch it live, but not on television like always, but from the stadium.
“It’s a good thing to bring the celebrations here so that we do not feel abandoned, it gives us a guarantee that the President is for the whole country including us as Bulawayo, not just the president of those in the capital city. We appreciate this effort.
Even if it took time, this was very necessary,” he said.
“Since 1980, we have been watching the main Independence Day celebrations from the televisions, but this time around it excites us that the celebrations will be held in our very own city, our very own suburb.”
Reflecting on the times under the Ian Smith regime, Mr Songo said before the country got its independence nothing was good.
He said Independence brought peace and freedom to the black majority.
“I used to work in Lupane, but I remember a day when I came here in Bulawayo during the war.
I was put on top of a vehicle that had no bonnet, it was shot at and one of the bullets left me with an unfading scar on the thigh.
When someone speaks of war, I feel emotions building up. I just don’t want to hear about the war and the Smith regime.
I bought a house in Barbourfields in 1962, and the whites never did us well,” said Mr Songo.
Gogo Mavis Ndlovu said Independence brought joy.
“The whites never gave us chances, blacks would not hold senior positions in any work places, they were just general workers despite the big brains and great ideas they had.
“We are grateful that Bulawayo shall host the main celebrations, it means a lot to us because for 41 good years, Harare citizens have always got the feel of the event.
It’s our turn now,” she said.
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