adminFOR ages, Zimbabweans have been known to be a friendly and loving people.
Maintaining high levels of hospitality, and upholding the spirit of Ubuntu, have been a key part of our tradition.
This has made Zimbabwe a hit for both regional and international visitors.
Hate speech, and xenophobia, have never been a part of us.
No matter how poor, or rich we are, as Zimbabweans, we have never been known for being divisive and rude.
All that we learnt, over the years, was to embrace each other and live in harmony.
Growing up, we are taught to embrace strangers by making them feel at home.
This is imparted by our elders to ensure that we uphold good standards of true hospitality.
At national level, tourism chiefs should be saluted for making Zimbabwe a hit with international tourists.
We have many tourist attractions, chief among them Victoria Falls, one of the seven wonders of the world.
Besides our tourist attractions, we also boast of several retreats, which meet international standards.
Our flexible laws have seen many foreign nationals visiting our shores.
Some of these visitors have either settled here while others have overstayed.
In yesterday’s issue, we carried a sad but yet intriguing court case, about a US national, who was fined and deported for overstaying in Zimbabwe.
In mitigation, the American begged for leniency but insisted that Zimbabwe was a place where he has had his best fun.
He told the presiding magistrate he was unaware that overstaying was an offence in Zimbabwe.
He also told the magistrate Zimbabwe was a beautiful country and he can’t be blamed for overstaying in this country.
Despite being fined and deported, he also told the court that he will be back.
This was a huge endorsement of the country’s hospitality by the American visitor.
Although many now view him as a convict, the American endorsed Zimbabwe for its hospitality.
These standards need to be maintained, at all costs, to ensure that we continue to attract more international visitors.
The American convict’s case should be a lesson to some Zimbabweans, who are resident overseas, who despise their country, while foreigners enjoy its hospitality.
Despising your own country is very foolish. It is high time that we stop demonising our country which is being endorsed as a safe tourist destination by foreigners.
No matter the challenges we might be facing, we should never lose our senses to the point of despising our country.
This case should also come as a challenge to immigration officers to enlighten visitors on the laws of the land.
Immigration officials should also keep track of the visitors while in the country.
Our international visitors should also not overlook immigration laws.
By overlooking immigration laws, this will make life difficult for themselves. While such offences do happen, we have to make sure that we take care of our visitors.
Let’s maintain our high levels of hospitality as a nation.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter