Out of Shadows (31 page)

I say “was” good purely in relation to my time there. At the time of writing these words, the gates remain open and the school continues to flourish, despite the numerous obstacles that have endeavored to block its path. Other schools have not been so fortunate in the face of a government whose intent has been to erode the education of an entire generation as a means of clinging to power.

The government in that country has been guilty of a great many crimes against its people. This, in my opinion, is one of the worst.

There are rumors that things in Zimbabwe are changing slowly for the better. For the nation's sake, I sincerely hope they are, though—like countless others—I've yet to be convinced.

—
Jason Wallace

The Republic of Zimbabwe is bordered by Mozambique, Zambia, Botswana, and South Africa. Its history is rich and complex, marked by tensions arising from colonial rule by Great Britain and conflict between black ethnic groups. The Portuguese were the first to attempt to rule the native people—who lived in the kingdom of Mutapa—in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. While they succeeded in undermining the Mutapa empire, they were eventually ousted by the Rozvi, another state.

In 1840, King Mzilikazi Khumalo arrived in southern Zimbabwe, having moved northward from present-day South Africa. With his arrival came the demise of the Rozvi state. King Mzilikazi brought many separate tribes under his control to form the nation of uMthwakazi, which was primarily made up of Ndebele and Shona peoples.

uMthwakazi soon fell victim to Britain's strategy of securing African territory for industrial enterprise and expansion. In 1890, Cecil John Rhodes, the gold-hunting leader of the British South Africa Company (BSAC), occupied northern Zimbabwe accompanied by a private army. When very little gold materialized and the sale of land and agriculture proved unprofitable, Rhodes invaded western Zimbabwe. He defeated the Ndebele, then ruled by King Lobengula Khumalo, in the Anglo-Ndebele war of 1893. The BSAC claimed that it had authority over all of Zimbabwe; and in 1895, the territory was named Rhodesia, after Cecil John Rhodes.

The Ndebele and the Shona united in an uprising against the BSAC rule that lasted from 1896 to 1897. Although the uprising was crushed, it demonstrated a resistance and common
struggle by Zimbabweans against British colonization of the country. The Ndebele leaders continued to protest British colonization and to campaign for a separate homeland.

In 1923, the BSAC turned over control of Rhodesia to Great Britain, and the country was renamed the British Colony of Southern Rhodesia. After 1923, the colonial government concentrated on consolidating power in the hands of the state and expanding capitalism through large corporations engaged in mining, agriculture, and limited manufacturing. In 1930, the colonial government passed a land act reserving the best farming land for whites and ensuring through coercion that black Africans became the crucial labor force for the accumulation of capital.

In 1953, Rhodesia joined the Central African Federation with Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland in an effort to create a larger economic entity. A rise in African nationalism led to Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland becoming the independent states of Zambia and Malawi respectively in 1964, and the white population in Southern Rhodesia demanded independence from Great Britain soon after. On November 11, 1965, after lengthy and unsuccessful negotiations with the British government, Southern Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Douglas Smith issued a Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom and renamed the country the Republic of Rhodesia.

Smith's declaration gave impetus to the second uprising of black Africans, led by the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) and later joined by the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), a breakaway group later led by Robert Mugabe. Both ZAPU and ZANU began campaigns of guerrilla warfare around 1966, which led to Rhodesia's independence from Britain and the election of the first majority black government in 1980 under President Robert Mugabe. The country was renamed Zimbabwe.

Mugabe's election brought with it hope for peace in the aftermath of white colonial rule and civil war. In reality, his tenure as president has resulted in a brutal suppression of his opponents, sharp economic decline, deepening poverty, an unprecedented exodus of more than a million people, and Zimbabwe's international isolation. Mugabe sought to bring the provinces of the Midlands and Matabeleland under his control and ultimately to unify Zimbabwe under one party. He believed that exterminating ZAPU was his only path to accomplishing this goal. To this end, between 1982 and 1987 Mugabe's Fifth Brigade murdered more than twenty thousand people in the Midlands and Matabeleland.

Mugabe remains in power today. Recently his land redistribution program has been harshly criticized by domestic and international opponents. The purpose of the program is to return land to the hands of black farmers. However, this has been without compensation to the white owners, has often employed brutal tactics, and in many cases has not redistributed the land to black farmers at all but rather to select members and supporters of Mugabe's government. In addition to being controversial, the land redistribution has resulted in major economic decline and a huge fall in agricultural production.

babbelas:
Hangover (Afrikaans)

biltong:
A kind of cured meat that originated in South Africa, similar to beef jerky though made from different types of meat ranging from beef and game to ostrich (Afrikaans)

boet:
Brother (Afrikaans)

bog roll:
Roll of toilet paper (origin uncertain)

flog:
Sell (origin uncertain)

gudds:
Underpants, underwear (origin uncertain)

guti:
Fog, mist, light drizzle (origin uncertain)

gwaai:
Cigarette, tobacco (Afrikaans)

ja:
Yes (Afrikaans)

jislaaik:
An expression of surprise or outrage (Afrikaans)

Kaffir:
An offensive term formerly used in South Africa in reference to black people (origin uncertain)

kanjani:
A form of greeting (Shona)

kife:
Steal (origin uncertain)

kopje:
Small isolated hill, rocky outcrop (Afrikaans)

kudu:
A species of antelope found throughout eastern and southern Africa (origin uncertain)

laaitie:
Child (Afrikaans)

lekker:
Nice, good, cool, great, tasty (Afrikaans)

lorse:
“Back off!” or “Leave it!” (origin uncertain)

machendes:
Testicles (Shona)

mambara:
Thief, hood (Shona)

masikati:
Afternoon, “Good afternoon” (Shona)

msasa:
A scrubby tree found throughout eastern and southern Africa (literally “rough plant” in Swahili)

murungu:
A white man (Shona)

muti:
Medicine (from the Zulu
umuthi
, meaning “tree,” “plant,” “medicine”)

penga:
Crazy, mad (Shona)

piccanin:
A black toddler, small child (offensive; from
pickaninny
; origin is from West Indies patois, from Spanish
pequeño
, meaning “little,” “small”)

Pom
or
Pommie:
A derogatory term more commonly used by Australians, New Zealanders, and Southern Africans when referring to a British person (origin uncertain)

poof:
A male homosexual (offensive; origin uncertain)

ring-piece:
Anus (origin uncertain)

Sanatorium
or
the San:
The school's health center

shamwari:
Friend (Shona)

sterek:
Very, very much (origin uncertain)

stoep:
Porch, stoop (Afrikaans)

tsotsi:
Thug, thief (Shona)

tuck box:
A box for storing food, usually candy and other provisions, especially at boarding schools (British English)

tuck shop:
A candy store, typically one selling food and other goods in schools (term principally used in Britain, South Africa, and Australia)

veldskoens:
Sturdy leather shoes of untanned hide (Afrikaans)

vlei:
Pond, marsh, seasonal lake (Afrikaans)

voetsek:
“Get lost!” (Afrikaans)

ZX Spectrum:
Name of an early personal computer