Only unity and togetherness will make us grow

Arts Focus, Raisedon Baya
I AM not a big fan of Kalawa Homecoming Show. I have voiced my opinion about how they do business in this country – especially about bringing none performing staff like bouncers, cashiers and the like instead of employing locally.

However, I have been to all Kalawa shows and must say the crowds are crazy and they go to the shows for one thing. To have fun. The thousands of people that pay for the shows have no other agendas but to enjoy the night through dance and music – these don’t give a hoot about what happens behind the scenes, whether the cashier that served them was local or foreigner or what happens to the arts sector once the Kalawa show is over. It’s none of their business. The crowds don’t even want to hear about the politics before and after the show. All they want is to have fun.

It is only a few who go there, perhaps, with more than one motive. Perhaps, it is these few that go with more than one motive that made noise recently when the organisers of Kalawa Homecoming show announced this year’s line up that included Winky D and Jah Prayzah. The uproar that came after the announcement that the two Harare artistes will be part of the show this December should never be ignored or pushed under the carpet. It should never be taken lightly or at its face value. The negative sentiments against Jah Prayzah and Winky D were not about the type of music they play.

It was neither about the funny Egyptian clothes Winky D wears or the army uniform Jah Prayzah wears every time he walks on stage, but about something deeper, something more dangerous. We all know where the sentiments were coming from and what they were about and yet many of us are afraid to put a name to it. If truth be told the negative sentiments are a manifestation of something deep rooted. I could be very wrong but I believe the negative sentiments were all about where the two artistes come from.

In all honest these tribal sentiments will not go away unless effectively dealt with. We cannot keep pretending the sentiments are nothing. The greatest chances that we missed as a nation to address the deep rooted tribal feelings that many carry silently was during the Government of National Unity. I remember then we had that Organ of National Healing and Integration. If during that time we had, as a nation held open public discussions around unity, integration and multi-culturalism we could have dealt with a lot of demons which are still troubling many. Unless as a country we deal head-on with some of the issues that happened in the past we are not going anywhere and will continue to walk in the same place while nursing a big time bomb.

In all honest those that feel Jah Prayzah and Winky D should not be part of the Kalawa Show are not different from that believe that Shona players cannot and should not play for Highlanders. These are extremists whose views will continue to grow root if the issues of National Unity, Healing and Integration continue to be put aside and ignored. Currently many artistes from this region cry foul over airplay and exposure through various media platforms. What is being done about these cries and complaints? Are the cries and complaints genuine or not? Is anyone looking at these complaints?

Do artistes from Harare and other parts outside Matabeleland have an advantage? Somehow there is some truth in cries and complaints. The same goes for the cry to be seen and heard on National Television. How many cultures outside Shona culture get to be seen daily on national television? Unless and until these issues are corrected serious sentiments along tribal lines will not go away.

When people from this region say NO to Winky D and Jah Prayzah let’s not dismiss their sentiments quickly without trying to understand why they are saying NO. Let’s deal with the root cause not the symptoms.

Jah Prayzah and Winky D are local artistes. They are Zimbabwean and have every right to perform anywhere in this country.

The same goes for Bulawayo artistes like Jeys Marabini, Iyasa, Clement Magwaza and others. They are free to go and perform anywhere in this country. They have that right. Isn’t strange that we have people hating on Jah Prayzah and Winky D and playing a blind eye to the South African artistes that have made this part of the country their mini cultural colony.

This we need to deal with carefully. Unfortunately, it is not something we can easily wish away. Only when we come up with a national strategy to deal with the critical issues we keep pushing aside will we be able to deal with negative sentiments that see Harare artistes as foreigners and South African artistes as not.

Divisions, of whatever nature, will not take us anywhere except to the battlefields. Focusing on our differences will keep us apart, downtrodden and poor. We need each other to fight against poverty, against the closure of factories, against unemployment, and other things that are keeping us downtrodden. We need unity and togetherness, not only in the arts but the country as whole.