“The ideal Zimbabwe is one where all human rights are honoured and respected”
AS an athlete, you need a delicate balance of economic, social, spiritual and physical incentives to keep pushing you towards a greater level to compete and excel. All those attributes are under the umbrella of politics.
Zimbabwean politics is extremely heartbreaking. Every attribute mentioned above has been segregated and is almost non-existent. If we were to step into the mind of a Zimbabwe-based athlete, they would ask these questions: “How do you expect me to give my best and compete on an international level with an empty stomach, without the physical structures to support my craft, in a culture of oppression, without reward for my hard work, and without the ability to express my opinion about who I am as an athlete, due to fear?”
These questions sound far-fetched but they are the reality of athletes in Zimbabwe. Perfecting a craft requires a lot of time spent in it. However, many are taken away from this process in search for economic means for their daily survival. Yet, they are expected to dedicate time to the craft so that they are at par with fellow athletes in other parts of the world that are better resourced.
What politics has done to sport (and the entirety) of Zimbabwe has made it look like you have put a malnutritioned, sick, skin-and-bone child on a basketball court to compete against a mature, well-built and healthy Team Angola. Visualising that would suggest a demoralised and defeated mood in the heart and soul of the average Zimbabwean athlete. Ask the questions: “how would they compete, and how would they live?”- these two questions are one and the same thing.
What Zimbabwe needs is what Africa needs! A complete shift in understanding that human welfare is this continent’s wealth. Not for a few that are considered elite, but the entire citizenry of Africa.
Once our esteemed leaders on this continent grasp that concept, only then can poverty, brutality and corruption at all levels be eradicated. It may sound too simple, but it is that simple. Simple is made complex by people who build a maze of loopholes so it benefits them alone.
The ideal Zimbabwe is one where all human rights are honoured and respected. A Zimbabwe where there is no little man. A Zimbabwe where equality is the prevailing anchor that drives the actions of people in positions of power and influence. A Zimbabwe where power is held by the people and those given the privilege of leading do so transparently and honestly.
My ideal Zimbabwe is one where every citizen has complete access to their basic human rights and where they can thrive, economically, socially, spiritually and physically.
