Tonight POLIS will be launching ‘Denied – this bit of truth’, the new documentary by LSE alumnus Shrenik Rao. In this guest blog, Shrenik Rao sets the scene:
“Once upon a time, in Africa, in a land called Rhodesia, there was a man. He was a humble teacher. He seemed to be full of ideas and ideals. He seemed to have dedicated to his life for a cause – a cause larger than his own – that of liberation, freedom and Independence from an oppressive regime which denied them their denied them their basic dignity, freedom and rights. And so, he was respected and revered by one and many as an able, honest leader who would liberate them from oppression, and restore their dignity and rights. The man was none other than Robert Gabriel Mugabe.
Twenty-seven years after independence, we hear a similar story. But, this time, the stories of oppression and humiliation are about the same person –Robert Mugabe. Perceptions had changed considerably. Robert Gabriel Mugabe, the President of Zimbabwe, was once the darling of the world is now being considered a despot. A man who was once called a ‘Liberator’ is now being called a ‘Dictator’. A man who is the ‘President’ of a country is being called a ‘Tyrant’. He who claims to be the ‘sovereign’ is being called a ‘surrogate’ and has emerged to be one of the most controversial African leaders in the world.
The enigmatic French philosopher Michel Foucault once famously articulated that ‘Power produces resistance to itself’. In Robert Mugabe’s case, has Power produced resistance to itself? I wondered.
As a filmmaker and an academic who spent time researching and teaching about ‘Information and Politics’, I was intrigued by the way in which power manifests itself. From what I had read and from what I had heard from the people I met – both good and bad, Zimbabwe seemed to me to be the right place to test Michel Foucault’s hypothesis. And so, I embarked on this long journey of seeking to know the real story.
This story has been said many a times earlier. But still, I wanted to say it again. And do I said it again – not like the way I saw it, but rather, the way I heard it from many who were apparently the ones who were at the helm of affairs. And so, this is a story, which attempts to present the multifaceted truth as it ‘Denied’ itself in its journey through time, especially in the realm of power and politics.
Don’t ask me what motivated me or what inspired me. That is a question, which haunts me with a menacing consistency and so, it is perhaps something that I cannot answer with coherent eloquence. And also what motivated me is of far less importance than what sustained my motivation. May be I draw my inspiration from the life and from people who carry on with life despite all odds. May be it’s the fascination with the way power manifested itself. May be it was just one of destiny’s decisions. May be! May be?
But here it is ‘DENIED-This Bit of Truth’, as it has denied itself in the realm of power and politics.”
Come and see the documentary for yourself this evening, 6.30pm, in U8, Tower 1, LSE. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion on media and human rights in Zimbabwe, with Sandra Nyaira and George Shire.
Since I am 11 000 km away from the UK (or thereabouts), my chances of the seeing the film are about as good as Mugabe making Tsvangirai his deputy. Thus, it would be appreciated if some form of downloadable script/avi/ or whatever could be made avilable ….. or a copy through the local embassy/High Commission.
How about it???
There will be a pod-cast available from the main POLIS website at:
lse.ac.uk/polis from tomorrow.
You can take this article and stick it where the sun don’t shine. Your article on Mugabe is just another ploy by the British government to overthrow the legitimate government of Zimbabwe supported by the majority of black Zimbabweans. What is hurting Zimbabwe is not Mugabe but the illegal sanctions imposed on the country by Britain and the European Union. Britain is angry because land was returned to natives and because they no longer call the shots or control the economy in Zimbabwe. You can criticize Mugabe all you want; however, the land will never be given back to the white farmers. The farmers knew that the land they cultivated was not theirs and they didn’t have a problem oppressing natives in their native land. Mugabe may have made mistakes but on the land reform program he is 100% right. If whites in Namibia and South Africa do not learn to share the land they currently possess (stolen from blacks at gun point) then they too will see a revolution that will be worse than what is going on in Zimbabwe. Thanks for listening. Black American in New Orleans.
What is more important is a solution to the economic crisis. Not a blame game. Can you come up with any coherent solutions Kidd?
Hi
Did Mugabe do right in taking back Land from the White landlords?
Before I answer that question I would like you to be aquainted with a very similar thing that happened in Karnataka , a small state in South India, some 35 years back.
India was a colony of Britain much like Zimbabwe. Land was predominantly owned by Zamindars ( Feudal Lords ). They were basically collection agents of the British .They collected taxes on behalf of the STATE in the form of produce grown by the farmers. It need not be said that they kept a good part of the loot themselves!!!
Each Zamindar had a few thousand acres in the least and many had tens of villages in their control. These holdings were legitimised by the STATE- that is the British. Each Landlord had hundreds of bonded labour who worked his land and got food in return and nothing else. His children joined the work force as soon as they were grown up and it continued for generations.The word “bonded labour” was just an euphemism for “Slave” and nothing else.
And then India got freedom and the British were driven out.
And then there were elections and a government of the people.
Land to the Tiller – became the Mantra in the country side and the Government was ultimately forced to take back Land from the Zamindars and give it to the people who were tilling them for generations – that is to the Bonded Labour – That is to the Slaves!!! No man to this day in Karnataka is allowed to hold more than 40 acres per head. IT IS ILLEGAL TO OWN MORE THAN 40 ACRES!!!
Was there Opposition to this move of the government to take back land?
Yes. Severe opposition by the Feudals.
( I can say this with authenticity beacause I belong to a erstwhile land holding family myself and have seen these things first hand)
Was it wrong to take back Land in Karnataka ?
NO.
Was it wrong for Mugabe to take back Land from white land owners in Zimbabwe ?
NO.
The way it was done in Zimbabwe was wrong.
The givernment first should have imparted farming skills to the ordinary Zimbabwean who would be taking over land.
Government should have put in place an institutional mechanism to give easy credit to the new small farmer.
State should have subsidised Fertilizer.
There should have been seed banks in place before the land was given to natives.
And so on…….
ECONOMIC CRISIS IS DUE TO FAULTY IMPLEMENTATION OF LAND REFORMS.
IF A TRULY DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOVERNMENT TAKES THE DECISION THAT MUGABE HAS TAKEN THEN OPPOSITION WILL BE LIMITED AND CAN BE OVERCOME.
Well, friends if you go back a bit you will know all property is theft.
Regards
manjaontherocks.blogspot.com
Zimbabwe doesn’t have a legal government, winning the elections under intimidation and with the danger to be beaten up or worst, being killed is not a democracy. Second the white farmers bought their land, didn’t steal it. In 1890 there were only 400.000 Africans of 2 different tribes living in an area (it was not a country with borders) as big as Texas. You cannot talk about stealing land… Further these farms employed 400.000 workers and they lived there with their families so more then 2 million were living off the farms, whom supplied for schools and clinics. In 1981 the first thing Mugabe did was killing about 30.000 Ndebeles, the other tribe. So much for sharing the country. And he also target the 8000 African Commercial farmers whom were chased of their land. Nobody talks about that.
The hunger is man made and made by a madman Mugabe. What he is doing now, he has been during the war, terrorising people, beaten, cutting of lips and ears. He is so rich that his house looks like a palace. He stole that from foreign aid or given by the Chinese, whom are now raping Africa with cheap deals. Only the leaders will get rich and the population are getting poorer. Under Ian Smith, the average age was 74 which has now fallen to 34. Millions of orphans, hunger and despair. You can only blame this on one man and one party, Mugabe and Zanu PF. You can’t blame that on commericial farmers, whom used to feed the nation.
todd kidd should go back to school and read up on history. It has never been a British colony, just like Canada isn’t but Canada still has the Queen as head of government. The British never had economical power, it were the people of Rhodesia who had that.
todd kidd, the white Zimbabweans are just as much Zimbabweans as you are American. But because they are white and a minority in Africa, they can be discriminated against, while blacks in the USA or in Europe are also a minority but they are treated equal. Why don’t you stand up against discrimination against a minority or is it allowed because they are white? Are you a racist? Further if a nation has super farmers who can feed a nation and earn FX with export, why kill the golden eggs? Stupid or what?