[Marxism] Zimbabwe

[Patrick Bond]

Steffie Brooks wrote:
> I highly recommend Horace Campbell's 2003 book, "Reclaiming Zimbabwe:
> The Exhaustion of the Patriarchal Model of Liberation," 
>   
Hear hear!

> But I'm mostly posting to alert folks to a fascinating bulletin board
>   

Below, more encouraging new material from the cultural front. We had 
Farai ('Cde Fatso') and also Horace (author of a great book on Rasta) at 
our centre in Durban this year. Very inspiring, both...

http://www.zimonline.co.za/Article.aspx?ArticleId=2358

FEATURE: Young Zimbabwe rebel artists take on Mugabe
by Tafirei Shumba

HARARE – The rugged youths sporting dreadlocks under tight bandannas 
looked like any other Harare teen-boppers as they walked casually into 
Book Café, a restaurant in the city's Avenues area.

But within minutes electric instrumentals of heavy rock 'n' roll, ragga 
and hip-hop music exploded literally tearing apart the small cultural 
venue. The ragamuffins had arrived.

A closer attention to the hard-hitting lyrics and satirical poetry 
accompanying the rhythms revealed the young artists were not Harare's 
usual teen-boppers who hang around town lazily humming tunes.

The lyrics, own compositions by the youthful artists, which Harare's 
paranoid government would certainly not wish too many people to hear 
boomed: "The revolution is right here . . . the revolution is right now. 
The revolution is right now . . . the revolution is right here."

The next 90 minutes of music, poetry and dance were to introduce a new 
breed of brazenly courageous young artists adapting artistic metaphor to 
infer a particular political line tackling head-on the excesses of 
President Robert Mugabe's controversial rule.

Mugabe, 83, who has ruled Zimbabwe since its 1980 independence from 
Britain is blamed for plunging the southern African country into 
unprecedented economic meltdown, marked by the hyperinflation, deepening 
poverty and food shortages.

"Government is manipulating the arts and culture for propaganda to 
brainwash the nation and we are coming in to challenge that and liberate 
our people's mental perceptions of reality," the tough-talking youthful 
poet and rapper Sam Farai Monro, one of the pioneers of the rebel music 
and poetry genre, told ZimOnline.

The musical and poetry performances, ineffable in every artistic sense, 
would probably sound unconvincing to the uninitiated for the complex and 
rare way the productions are arranged to blend with Western rhythms.

But it is the militant lyrics calling for justice, human freedom, 
democracy and good governance that clearly hit too close to Mugabe's 
bone and will likely cause some consternation at State House – the 
official presidential palace.

The rebel performers are taking their music and poetry to the townships 
not merely for entertainment but also to engage the masses in the arts 
and culture "as a tool for liberation".

Launched at the weekend, the rebel arts initiative is using music and 
poetry plus theatre as alternative artistic expression in light of the 
aggressive state propaganda that has now been sharpened ahead of next 
year's joint presidential and legislative elections.

Already musical jingles, prating over government benevolence to new 
farmers by doling out farm machinery and equipment, have been released 
to state radio where they are playing with nauseating frequency.

Mugabe's ruling ZANU PF is campaigning on the strength of the free farm 
machinery and equipment that have been received mainly by government 
supporters in a season touted by Harare "the mother of all farming 
seasons".

Said Monro: "Our performances are acknowledging that there is a struggle 
that has to be fought in Zimbabwe. We are fighting a pro-freedom and 
pro-democracy battle because we are not free."

The artists, most of them unemployed school leavers from poor working 
class townships, are an outstanding breed of "born frees" – those born 
after Zimbabwe's independence from Britain in April 1980 but who have 
refused to be coerced into Mugabe's pet project, the 21st February 
Movement.

The movement that is named after Mugabe's birthday, he was born on 21 
February 1924, is used to feed youths one-sided nationalist propaganda 
that does not encourage free debate and generally idolises Mugabe as 
ultimate defender of black freedom.

Monroe admits the risks of refusing to conform but says the fear of a 
possible government backlash is never a major preoccupation of the young 
rebels.

"Yes, the thought of fear comes sometimes but we certainly don't work 
with fear in our minds," he said, adding: "We are championing this cause 
because we are the youths and the future . . . we are courageous and 
strong."

Courage and strength are qualities the youths will certainly need in 
larger dosages especially as Mugabe steps up a crackdown against 
Zimbabwe's small but bold protest art industry and other voices of 
dissension ahead of key presidential and parliamentary elections next year.

Mugabe, one of the few remaining of Africa's old style Big-Man rulers, 
has often warned that anyone who dared involve themselves in politics 
should expect to be treated accordingly as a politician – meaning they 
should be prepared for the same violence and harassment meted out to 
opposition activists everyday.

For example, Mugabe has in recent months dispatched his Gestapo-style 
Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) - which reports directly to his 
office – to crush student activism and dissent at state universities.

And critical arts and culture remain threatened with dozens of 
theatrical performances having been harassed over the past three months 
while music by militant artists like Leonard Zhakata and Thomas Mapfumo 
remains banned from state television and radio. On the other hand, 
government praise singers enjoy unlimited airplay.

Harare-based cultural activist and author Obert Muronda said: 
"Politicians don't like to be criticised and Mugabe is no exception. He 
(Mugabe) will treat diverging views and opinion with a heavy hand to 
protect his position.

"And Mugabe having himself led an armed political revolution, knows the 
game of silencing dissent extremely well." – ZimOnline