adminWhen Africans show the connections between our genuine resistance at home and abroad, the fighting spirit which ensures we will forever be connected to our bravest ancestors drives us to face any obstacles our former colonial and slave masters throw our way.This is in way suggesting that the African experience past and present cannot be defined or reduced to merely resisting US-EU imperialist exploits and endeavours.
The political momentum we gain from showing them we will not be deterred is undeniable.
Over 100 years before the incomparable spirit medium Mbuya Nehanda led a revolt against British/Rhodesian colonialists in Zimbabwe in 1896, a revolutionary voodoo priest named Dutty Boukman conducted a ceremony around 1791 in Haiti that led to the destruction of 1 800 slave plantations and 1 000 slave owners being killed.
This brave African warrior gained inspiration from another voodoo priest named Francois Mackandal, who in 1751 poisoned island herbs and encouraged slaves to add them to the meals of their plantation owners.
While the resolve and resiliency of Africans both in Zimbabwe and Haiti have inspired all of our mother continent’s children, who at the moment are living in 125 countries, it is of paramount importance that when showing the connections between the Haitian revolution from the time of Mackandal and Boukman to the popular uprisings in response to 29 years of neo-colonialist rule by the reactionary father and son combo of Jean Claude and Francois Duvalier, better known as Papa and Baby Doc, to the First, Second and Third Chimurenga, this is not done in isolation from revealing the environmental challenges and hardships that natural disasters present the people and governments of these nations.
The Republic of Haiti has been compromised by earthquakes in each of these numerical years 1564,1684,1691,1751,1842,1887,1904,1946,1952, 2010,and 2016.
It was also ravaged by hurricanes in 1935,1954,1963,1964,1966,1980,1981,2004,2004,2008 and floods in 1972,1984,1986,1984,1987,1988,1989, 2002,2007,2008.
According to a study conducted by the GAIA (Environmental Information System) entitled Zimbabwe Landuse in Dry Tropical Savannas, these are the numerical years droughts posed an environmental threat in 1800-1830, 1844-1844-49,1870-1890,1875-1910,1921-1930, 1930-1950, 1967-1973, 1974-1980, 1981-1982,1981-1983 1986-1987 and 1991-1992.
What this means is during this period Zimbabwe was confronted with large crop failures and food shortages.
A drop in water supply, famine in the most extreme cases, animals perishing from hunger and thirst and lastly trees along with grass wilting to death.
This should help even those with limited exposure to science and meteorology to understand El Nino, which is described as a component of the global weather phenomenon and the Southern Oscillation known as ENSO, which deals with Equatorial waters getting warmer, resulting in the normal airflow moving westward from the Pacific to Indian Ocean. The results are high rainfall in some parts of Latin America but low rainfall and even drought in Southern Africa.
The data in GAIA’s study was complemented by another compelling study on the impact of droughts in Zimbabwe conducted by SS Nangombe entitled “Drought Conditions and Management Strategies in Zimbabwe”, which focuses on droughts between 1950 and 2013, using the following categories: Extreme, severe and mild to define their short-term and long-term impact for readers.
The droughts in 1983 and 1992 were considered extreme; 1968, 1973,1982, 2004 were considered severe and finally 1951,1960,1964,1965,1970,1984,1987,1991,1987,1995,2002,2005, 2007,2008,2009,2010 considered mild.
Between the years of 1991-1992 approximately, one million cattle died in Zimbabwe.
This study also warns about the increase of forest fires and aggressively states for the international community that the agricultural sector is usually the first one effected due to soil and water dependency.
The farmers who have weathered the storm were those who used organic manure as fertiliser rather than relying on inorganic fertilisers which have negative implications for the production capacity of the soil. What was also discussed was alternative energy sources like jelly oil paraffin and solar.
A crucial aspect of this study were the following recommendations:
Conservation agriculture:
Climate change adaptation projects (Bee-keeping, livestock)
Production of small grain drought tolerant crops
Water harvesting techniques
Irrigation
It also recommended:
Upgrading and modernising the hydro-meterological observation network data management and forecasting system as well as sustainable organizational technical resources to maintain and operate them;
Training in drought vulnerability risk assessment;
Enhancing the cooperation and networking between hydro-agro meterological sectors and different stakeholders and users of this data service as early warning.
This study also reveals how rural district council have engaged local government concerning using Grain Marketing Board for grain stocks.
The Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate, Department of Agricultural Research and Extension Service, the Meteorological Services Department have shouldered the responsibility.
President Mugabe should be praised for establishing an early warning unit that works in conjunction with the Southern Africa regional climate outlook forum.
The African world must rally more than ever before to show the US-EU imperialist media and propaganda apparatus along with their governmental agencies.
These studies help us understand why they are so hell bent on preventing President Mugabe from addressing the UN Food and Agriculture Summit on two occasions, along with the genocidal measure by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control to strategically target Chemplex and ZFC when renewing US-EU sanctions on Zimbabwe this numerical year.
Because we are still vulnerable to a historical narrative shoved down our throat by US-EU imperialism, which plasters Haiti’s current environmental dilemma all over the mainstream morning and evening news, let us not overlook that the current El Nino drought in Southern Africa is the worst in 35 years.
This will help us focus on SADC’s appeal to the international community for assistance in the sum of $2,7 billion.
We have witnessed Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland declaring national drought emergencies, South Africa has declared national emergencies in eight of the nine provinces and Mozambique has declared red alerts in the southern and central areas of their country.
Due to the outright negligent racist and dishonest manner US-EU imperialism has portrayed Zimbabwe’s historic land reclamation programme, the only positive aspect of the regionwide drought will reveal is mother nature and not bad governance were the root of agricultural setbacks in Zimbabwe.
The struggle to lift US-EU sanctions on Zimbabwe and defeating neo-colonialism in Haiti go hand in hand.
Obi Egbuna Jr is the US correspondent to The Herald and external relations officer of ZICUFA (Zimbabwe-Cuba Friendship Association). His email is [email protected]
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