Consider Yourself at Home

"Consider yourself at home. Consider yourself one of the family... It's true we're going to get along." I sang these words in the musical Oliver! during my prestigious albeit brief acting career that spanned Grade Seven (for those of you familiar with the Von Ivany family, you can see that I wasn't exploited as a child like Rochelle and her siblings). For my role in Oliver!, I had to learn how to pick pockets... which is actually quite a handy skill as no one (to my knowledge) has managed to pick my pocket since. And I'm a world traveller.

Zimbabwe is a wonderful place to live, even with the occasional pickpocket. In our first five months we have been made to feel welcome by so many people. While we miss the familiarity of Canada, and especially our friends and family, we feel at home here and part of many families. Of course when we read the newspaper or have to interact with certain people, it's very clear that there is a small percentage of the population who thoroughly dislike us because of the colour of our skin. We apparently come from "Blair's White Tribe" whose primary mission in life is to destroy Zimbabwe, or so the newspaper tells us.

To be fair, over the years far too many white people have treated Zimbabweans horribly. Zimbabweans have good reason to be angry and distrustful of white people. But Zimbabwe has been independent for 26 years now, so I'm not sure how Bush and Blair can continue to be blamed for nearly everything that goes wrong. On an almost daily basis, the newspaper presents the image of Bush the Devil and his Western Allies working hard to frustrate the valiant efforts of Zimbabweans striving to move forward and rebuild their country. And while I'm sure the USA and the UK do muck around with things a bit (as they do with Canada and Mexico and nearly every other country in the world), I think it's sad to see them continually used as a scapegoat. Not because I care about Bush or Blair, but because Zimbabweans end up being incorrectly portrayed as sensational, gullible or extremist (such as with Venezuelan President calling Bush "the Devil" at the UN, which received favourable coverage here). And continually deflecting blame and promoting hatred and racism can't be good for the character building of future Zimbabweans.

The sad truth of the matter is that while Blair is very familiar with Zimbabwe, and I'm fairly certain that Bush can spell Zimbabwe, most Westerners haven't a clue about Zimbabwe and probably think that Africa is a country rather than a continent consisting of many countries. Most Americans don't even know the name of the Canadian President (which is actually a trick question as Canada has a Prime Minister) and they're neighbouring countries. I know I'm rambling, but the whole Western conspiracy angle gets very tiring.

I don't have these conversations in Zimbabwe. People talk to me about politics, and I listen, but I don't offer my opinion. They don't need to hear my opinion because they know the situation better than I do and I'm not sure that they want to hear it, as it's not very encouraging to have a foreigner reaffirm the obvious fact that the situation is not looking good.

In my first few weeks here, Zimbabweans would talk about how great their country is and casually mention that they were just facing a few economic challenges. They always wanted to know what I had heard about Zimbabwe before coming here, and did their best to reassure me that Zimbabwe is a safe and wonderful country. But in just a few short weeks, as they began to consider me part of their family, they began to open up about the significant challenges they face. It's a privilege to have them trust me and be honest about life here, but it's something I need to remember not to take for granted. As I watch and listen to other murungus (white people) interact publicly, I've learned an important lesson: Sometimes the best thing to say is nothing at all.

In Canadian culture (please correct me if I'm wrong), we often have one or two close friends that we share our personal struggles and challenges with. If a friend tells you that his father is an alcoholic and treats his family badly, it may be acceptable for you to discuss the issue together. However, if your friend's brother were to come into the same room, it may not be acceptable for you to make comments about the father. It's okay for family members to admit that there are problems, but not for outsiders to point them out. So, unless the brother also accepted you into his family circle you would know when it was appropriate to talk (ie with the close friend) and when to shut up (ie around other family members). And even if the brother and mother and family hamster accepted you into their close inner family circle, you certainly wouldn't make comments at a family event with their cousins or aunts or uncles.

In Zimbabwe, people know what's going on with their country and they frequently talk about the situation. They don't seem to hide too much from me (although since I don't understand much Shona I miss out on a lot), but I have the clear impression that they don't want to hear my comments or judgments. They are very open to my questions and requests for clarification, but they don't want to hear my opinion after. I've done pretty well at this, but I have had a couple of slip-ups (especially early on).

I believe that Zimbabweans need to chart their own future. Sadly, this may take time and much pain and anguish. As a Westerner, I look at the situation and I see many problems and challenges. But the West had its time in Africa and meddled and harmed many. When invited, it may still be appropriate for the West and Westerners to respond and assist accordingly. But we mustn't push our agendas onto an independent nation that is still working out its identity. Given its history, I think Zimbabweans need to fight and work for what they believe is right. They did that years ago, and perhaps they need to keep at it. But it needs to be their battle, not one engineered and crafted by the West. Does this mean that the West needs to sit back and watch? Well, yes in a way. And that seems harsh but I can't think of how else to see true independence happen. Zimbabweans need to own their country’s future.

The challenge is figuring out my role in Zimbabwe as a Christian with an acute sense of social justice. Is it wrong for me to remain quiet when people are suffering? When is it appropriate to speak out as a foreigner in an incredibly politicized nation? Especially given the past history of war and liberation from white rule.

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Salvationarmy.ca will be publishing a short reflection from me every two weeks. The first one popped up last Tuesday. For those that are interested the link is here: http://www.salvationarmy.ca/2006/10/11/three-orphans-and-gogo. The reflections will offer a slightly different flavour than my blog posts on this site.