Open Letter to Zimbabwe Unity Government

Dear Zimbabwe Unity Government,

A few months ago you took the time to urge Zimbabweans in the Diaspora (sidebar: I hate that word) to pack up and come back home to rebuild our ailing nation.

You urged the over four million Zimbabweans who have left home to return in droves and help “reconstruct and develop the country so that it could once again be the breadbasket of Africa rather than the "basket case". You said the Unity Government which was "stabilizing" was doing everything it could to provide a positive and welcoming environment for those returning to Zimbabwe, and that it was up to individuals to make use of the new opportunities being created.

At first I thought, this makes sense. The country is in need of building up and surely it’s our generation who has that responsibility to build it up. We are the ones next in line to lead this little pain-in-the-ass country, so surely it stands to reason we must take responsibility for it and make the changes it so desperately needs.

But then time (and boredom and possibly a bit of wine) had me thinking. Hang on, this guy is asking me to walk away from the life, friends and contacts I have built for myself the past 11 years? And for what? A promise of “new opportunities being created?” What does that even mean? I can’t see anything happening except more land grabs and the constant bitching and bickering in the Unity Government, that you dared fix your mouth to say was stabilizing.

I am irritated that you even felt you had a right to ask me to come back. For the past decade you have had no interest in my wellbeing. The most formative years of my life you were not interested in mentoring me or developing me to take over from you. You made it impossible for me to stay. You left me to fend for myself as an immigrant in foreign countries that showed more interest in my development than you ever did. We, the people you swore to serve and protect, have sunk to lows you wouldn’t imagine to survive, in some instances resorting to begging and prostitution just to make ends meet. We are the laughing stock of Africa (and Highveld Stereo) simply because you were too greedy and selfish to stop and think about the future, to think about me.

Now you want to use the information and experience you never bothered to invest in me to fix the royal mess that you made. I don’t think so. The way I see it you need me more than I need you so you better be bringing something a bit more appealing to the table, a bit more tangible than promises of “new opportunities being created” for me to even think about it.

P.S. And don’t even think of using the “patriotism” argument either. That died when you nearly arrested me for taking pictures last Christmas.

Yours-Not-Yet-Booking-A-One-Way-Ticket-Home
Bren