The only time I wish I was in Zimbabwe

The only time I wish I was in Zimbabwe

• Tribal hang-ups must cease

• A nation locked in negativism

• Zimbabwe's scattered marriages

• Now recruiting: traditional healers and prophets

• The double life of exiled Zimbabweans

By Norah Spie

I WAS chatting to people in Harare and they were complaining about how hot it was and I looked outside my window in my Birmingham hide-out and it was grey, cold and raining. Winter is upon us.

This is the time when you wish you could switch homes and find yourself back in Watsomba or Mutorashanga. People might be facing hardships in Zimbabwe, but at least they have one thing to be cheerful about -- the sunshine.

You never realise how important it is until you live in a grey place. I remember going on a sunset cruise on Lake Kariba and not fully appreciating the beauty and the joy the sun brings.
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Are we not slowly erasing our identity by having children who do not consider themselves as Zimbabwean, simply because when they were born their mothers or fathers were not living permanently in Zimbabwe?

I once asked a 12-year-old boy who had the name 'Banda' where he was from because a name like that could be from Zambia, Malawi or Zimbabwe. He told me his parents were from Zimbabwe.

My next question, obviously, was to ask where he was was from. I got the cool response: “I'm from Stopsley”.

Stopsley is a residential area of Luton.

In his case, he was not even born in the U.K. The issue of identity is a tricky subject and parents have to handle it with care. Sometimes kids are too young to understand these things but as long as they get the right education at home about it, then we will all be fine.

Some may argue that it is easier for them to integrate in the society if they regard themselves as locals because in most cases, the present society is all they know. Fair enough. What about Zimbabwe?

If this trend continues, our land will one day be seriously under-populated with HIV/AIDS already taking its toll. Zimbabwe needs all its people. If not in human form, at least virtually!

We lost one talented sportsman this week to Namibia. Former cricket captain, Tatenda Taibu, is officially Namibian. One hopes he never forgets where he came from.

Just a thought, have you ever thought what all these countries would do if Zimbabwe suddenly recalled its people?
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Is anyone out there so sick of politics like I am? There was a time I once ate, slept, dreamt and breathed politics, but I have just had enough of the yo-yo games.

Every part of our modern lives revolves around political matters -- that is the way it is, but I am tired of waiting for change.

Someone wake me up when it actually happens!

While I am at the end of my tether with politics, and its players, I do hope others will not give up on the country. I have a lot of respect for the activists who are working tirelessly to bring about democracy.

Just as well we were created with individual minds because giving up is the last thing our country needs.

I'm just letting you all know, especially those who expect me to join the political wagon that I am so sick of it.
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As a virtual citizen of Zimbabwe, I enjoy reading real life stories and my people never disappoint me because there is always something in our papers so shocking it can wake the dead!

Then there are other stories which you just read and get a sense of hopelessness.

I came across a piece in one of the Zimbabwean papers about someone who lost a mobile phone at the Westgate Shopping Centre in Harare. They were making an appeal to anyone who might have picked it up to hand it back.

My initial thoughts were that this was a call for a miracle.

We were further told that the phone was of sentimental value as it contained family photos, videos and valuable information. A reward was offered.

There is nothing more irritating as losing irreplaceable things like photos.

But with the poverty in Zimbabwe, we all know this search looks doomed.
I hope for the sake of humanity that someone will actually return it. I mean it’s not like it was lost at Ximex Mall or Machipisa!
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I feel it’s my duty to warn my dear readers that there is now a video craze gripping the internet.

All party lovers should think twice about people capturing crowds at parties on mobile phone cameras which soon turn up on a new broadcast-it-yourself website called YouTube. Don't say you were not warned!

Norah Spie's new weekly column appears here every Wednesday. You can e-mail her at n_spie@hotmail.com. Her new book, Parallel Lines, is available at many good bookshops and you can also order it online from AMAZON

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