I first learned about politics from my two eldest brothers Rhoderick and Alexander when I was a little tiny girl growing up in my village in Rhodesia. They would tell us about the unfairness of the world late into the night or as we looked for those wild fruits that supplemented our diet. We got these fruits from the white man's farm. We would gather hute, mazhanje, matamba, maroro, nhunguru, tsvanzva, tsvoritsvoto, matohwe, hacha and all kinds of wild fruits of which I forget their names. While we did that my brothers would explain how the white men had left their own land to come and occupy our land and on top of that they occupied the best, most fertile, and biggest chunk of our country, Rhodesia then.
I did not even know the world was as big as it is, because I was limited to my environment back then. I thought it was as big as my naked eye could see. However, through the magic of the radio I learned about Mozambique, South Africa, Tanganyika, Botswana which was Bechuanaland, and many other African countries. I did not even know the western world existed. Where was the west and what was the west? My brothers would tell us about the war of Hitler and I had no idea and could not even imagine who Hitler was. As time progressed my world expanded my knowledge increased. I would question about the oppression of women by men, the girl child compared to the boy child, the black oppressed by the white, Christians against Moslems, and Jews and all never made sense to me because I always liked and loved to live to live in a free and fair world. Oh the innocence of the young. Through education, through economic depravation, through poor health provisions, I noticed the social injustices of my world.
I realized mostly the injustices were ingrained in us as we grew. However, my transition to the western world was in the 2000 was an eye opener. It was right in the middle of the 2000 election season. I had very little time to pay attention to the election process but I was knowledgeable enough. Deep down I wanted Al Gore to win. I was disappointed by his loss but I learned about the policies of the different parties and what they represented in the world that had suddenly become my home. America would have been better for me with Al Gore as the president that much I acknowledged to myself, but I could not speak publicly as I quickly realized that I was working for and with Republicans. .
By 2004 I was now seriously following the politics of America. Even when the then Illinois Senator Barack Obama give the DNC keynote speaker address in Colorado, I felt as though he was speaking to me only and for me. I searched for his book "Dreams From My Father" and was determined to find out more about this rock star politician and how his political journey would grow. He gave me hope that even though my brother had fought for our independence and was killed during the process I was hopeful Barack Obama would represent the new era of white and black playing on an equal turf. He not only represented hope for the black in America but for all who had been oppressed by whites world wide and especially for me growing up in Rhodesia.
During his campaign in 2007/8 I was fearful he would be assassinated. He ran a clean campaign even though he refused to be drawn into things that divide us he was forced to address issues of race in Philadelphia. His address once again reminded me that he was way above the fray. However, racial connotations dogged the election season but he was elected into power. The leader of the first nation in the world, was a black man. had something mystique happened during the elections? Was he destined to fulfill a destination for all blacks. I was overjoyed by his winning while he mourned the passing of his grandmother and my heart ached for him. I could not have been more proud of being black than when Obama was elected to the office of the first black president of the US.
I even attended his inauguration in DC with my daughter, Tatiana, in the middle of January with snow covering most parts of the city people shivering yet still I had never seen so many happy faces. Everyone I met that day was just smiling and later it was reported that not even a single incident of crime petty or otherwise took place on that day. Fast forward to today. I realize the more things change, they more they remain the same. We have not moved from those years of slavery and oppression of the black by white. They (whites) still feel the black should not be as privileged as they are. They refer to us as the other, they speak in codes at they try to influence whites to vote against Obama. he fights tooth and nail to change the policies but whites hide behind their fingers and say he is ineffective and they forget they are the ones who are rendering him ineffective. The republicans do not want to see him succeed because he is bringing changes they never thought possible.
My heart aches, this world is never going to accept us for who we are, what we are, and we are capable of . We have to be double smart to play on equal turf with them. We have to conquer each and every little nobody because in the eyes of the white supremacist they are somebody and I am nobody. My heart aches for my children because they feel they will never be subjected to racism. In a way I feel sorry for them and hope they will never be made to feel like I feel. Why do they not see what I see even with my eyes tightly closed? Well maybe it's a changing world.
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