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Zimbabwe. Reality tells us that these spirits know not of the independence we enjoy today. Even though the massacre happened 36 years ago, many survivors of the cowardly and horrific act still recall vividly one of the darkest moments in the liberation struggle when the colonial regime committed acts of genocide.
Born way after independence in 1991 the liberation struggle did not mean much to us. It was one of those action movies like Bruce Willis’ where people were just fighting in a fantasy.
My grandmother used to tell me liberation tales to which I paid little attention. I would say yes they died so what? Everyone is death’s victim, one way or the other we are all going to find ourselves at death’s doorstep but our recent experience to Chimoio actually peeled our eyes as we came face to face with reality.
Our visit, organised by the Zimbabwe Congress of Students Union to Chimoio, one of the many shrines dotted around Mozambique, took us to another level of understanding the liberation struggle.
As we boarded the bus which was to take us to the home of gallant sons and daughter who fell victim to the wrath of the white man anxiety gripped us conjuring up thoughts of what we were to experience.
The journey from the capital Harare to the eastern border city of Mutare was filled with excitement as the students broke into Chimurenga songs like “Kune Nzira Dzemasoja”, “PaChimoio”, “Vanamukoma”, among others.
As we endured the long journey to Chimoio, we were already drowned with the feeling of reaching the “Zimbabwe in Mozambique” as the Chimoio shrine is affectionately known by surviving war veterans.
Going through Manica, Cruzamento, Tete and finally Chimoio town, a vivid picture of areas where the guerrillas operated was slowly forming in our mind. On turning into the dust road which leads to the sacred shrine happiness gripped us on the thought of being part of the enlightening expedition.
However, the state of the road did not measure up to the sacrifices made by these gallant heroes. The road was in dire need of renovation.
The musical atmosphere that filled the bus was unexpectedly drained as the shrine shone through tree leaves sending chills down our spines. Students’ eyes immediately rested on five huge mass graves which housed thousands of fallen heroes among them children and women of this beautiful nation, Zimbabwe.
Our visit to the shrines was not void but also came with a number of breathtaking testimonies and experiences. First, it was the caretakers giving their own testimonies of what happens at the shrines and one of them, Martipuho Augusto, recalled the events of November 23, 1977 and described it as one of the darkest days of the struggle visited the camp.
“The attack took place in the morning and continued to next day with non-stop bombing after Morrison Nyathi and guerrilla infiltrator Selous Scouts had betrayed the masses. About 3 000 people perished while an estimated 5 000 were wounded. Students need to be taught the consequences of sellout and the importance of safeguarding and defending their national pride.”
The shrine is associated with mysterious stories that will sent chills down the spine with one of it being of fresh blood gushing out of the Takawira shrine if there is political instability.
Cde Augusto related another mysterious story in which a young man who had visited the sacred shrine was stung to death by bees after saying that the shrines were void.
Although critics will say the visit was a propaganda trip designed to brainwash youths to us it was very informative as it helped us to see the brutality of the colonialists. The war was real and should not be taken lightly by the youths and others who take Zimbabwe’s independence for granted.
It is therefore crucial that we remember such gallantry and sacrifice by the sons and daughters of the soil, without whose ultimate sacrifice Zimbabwe would not be independent today.
It is very unfortunate that we youths having born into a free Zimbabwe where we can now enjoy Whatsapp tiri kurokesheni listening to Bigman or Gochi Gochi and spending every dollar on Chicken Inn and ice cream we tend to forget were this nation we are now enjoying its fruits came from.
Let us reflect on the plight of the guerrilla war fighters who perished – and some remain, albeit with physical and mental scars of the heinous experiences they had to go through – just for the cause of Zimbabwe.
The practical orientation gave us a better understanding of the most important event in the history of my country. It aroused in us feelings of patriotism and the need to jealously guard the sovereignty of our country Zimbabwe. The massacre not only reflects the cruelty of the Ian Smith regime but it speaks volumes of how meaningless it saw the black man’s life.
Online Reporter