What the World is really watching, as the violent drama continues to unfold in Zimbabwe, is the falling apart of another Predominately Black country which tied too much of its trust, hopes, and aspirations to one man. We leave the rhetoric of foreign relations to those authorized to address matters on that level. But what cannot be ignored by the ordinary, on the level that makes us all human is that Zimbabwe as it is today did not happen over night.
The World may have awakened one morning to the sad dilemma of a Country once gleaming with potential and prosperity, turned to seeming mayhem and ruin, all coming to head over a closely contested General Election. But the truth is that this 2008 Zimbabwe has been crumbling for years. And such is the potential fate of all other developing predominately Black countries – indeed, even The Bahamas.
No doubt, the genesis of its fall perhaps began with the venomous firing of a few civil servants, laughed off yet reinforced by strict followers of a bitter man drunk with the power of leadership. And with that set the tone of a kind of politics which only leads to the demise of the whole. It is that kind of political culture which puts in practice, the thuggish philosophies of tribalism, which on the surface makes sense to so many. Simply, that the supporters of those in power benefit over and above the supporters of those in opposition, while the financial backers who secured the victory enjoy the real spoils.
And so one day the people of Zimbabwe became separate and unequal. They were no longer human first, or all children of God, nor were they equal citizens of their Country which holds such a rich and inspiring past. No - slowly they became either supporters of Robert Mugabe or the enemy. And with that they sacrificed the whole.
It seems inevitably, that so many of us are choosing to be FNM or PLP over and above being Bahamian, as well. No one is demonstrating this more than the leadership of the Governing Free National Movement. It was the first act of a newly elected Hubert Ingraham in May of last year who made it clear that you were either for him or against him and therefore, punishable.
And it is not just those instances where we can show supporters of the Free National Movement benefiting from contracts, jobs, and favors while supporters of the Progressive Liberal Party are being victimized, threatened and fired. But the greatest indication of perilous risk emanates from policies designed to benefit the financial backers of the FNM’s 2007 victory at the expense of the cultural sanctity and economic viability of the ordinary majority. Does it sound familiar?
To be fair, there are a great many PLP supporters and a few of its leaders who, just as the majority of FNM’s, accept this style of politics as good politics and view any attempt at changing this as weakness. This after all, they suggest, was the down-fall of Perry Christie who sought to reverse this negative trend and bring restoration to our political culture by being a Prime Minister for all Bahamians. “He should have taken care of more PLP’s and fired those FNM’s” is the cry of even some of those hoping to one day lead. Although this tactic may win elections it is wrong, and in the long run, destructive. We all eventually lose! Zimbabwe’s turbulent state is living proof.
It should be our hope that the World wakes up one day bombarded by the news that The Bahamas defied the odds and emerged among the first predominately Black countries to be labeled, “Developed!” This should be the shocking wave of reports throughout the global media houses for weeks with at least one writer noting that this achievement did not happen overnight. Yea, but that inspired by the call of a focused PLP, the historic champions of the Bahamian people, we made a collective decision to denounce the divisive agenda of an FNM Government held hostage by special interests, that we put aside our partisan tribalism for the greater good, and chose to be Bahamians “united in love and service!”
The time to choose between the two realities is NOW!
The World may have awakened one morning to the sad dilemma of a Country once gleaming with potential and prosperity, turned to seeming mayhem and ruin, all coming to head over a closely contested General Election. But the truth is that this 2008 Zimbabwe has been crumbling for years. And such is the potential fate of all other developing predominately Black countries – indeed, even The Bahamas.
No doubt, the genesis of its fall perhaps began with the venomous firing of a few civil servants, laughed off yet reinforced by strict followers of a bitter man drunk with the power of leadership. And with that set the tone of a kind of politics which only leads to the demise of the whole. It is that kind of political culture which puts in practice, the thuggish philosophies of tribalism, which on the surface makes sense to so many. Simply, that the supporters of those in power benefit over and above the supporters of those in opposition, while the financial backers who secured the victory enjoy the real spoils.
And so one day the people of Zimbabwe became separate and unequal. They were no longer human first, or all children of God, nor were they equal citizens of their Country which holds such a rich and inspiring past. No - slowly they became either supporters of Robert Mugabe or the enemy. And with that they sacrificed the whole.
It seems inevitably, that so many of us are choosing to be FNM or PLP over and above being Bahamian, as well. No one is demonstrating this more than the leadership of the Governing Free National Movement. It was the first act of a newly elected Hubert Ingraham in May of last year who made it clear that you were either for him or against him and therefore, punishable.
And it is not just those instances where we can show supporters of the Free National Movement benefiting from contracts, jobs, and favors while supporters of the Progressive Liberal Party are being victimized, threatened and fired. But the greatest indication of perilous risk emanates from policies designed to benefit the financial backers of the FNM’s 2007 victory at the expense of the cultural sanctity and economic viability of the ordinary majority. Does it sound familiar?
To be fair, there are a great many PLP supporters and a few of its leaders who, just as the majority of FNM’s, accept this style of politics as good politics and view any attempt at changing this as weakness. This after all, they suggest, was the down-fall of Perry Christie who sought to reverse this negative trend and bring restoration to our political culture by being a Prime Minister for all Bahamians. “He should have taken care of more PLP’s and fired those FNM’s” is the cry of even some of those hoping to one day lead. Although this tactic may win elections it is wrong, and in the long run, destructive. We all eventually lose! Zimbabwe’s turbulent state is living proof.
It should be our hope that the World wakes up one day bombarded by the news that The Bahamas defied the odds and emerged among the first predominately Black countries to be labeled, “Developed!” This should be the shocking wave of reports throughout the global media houses for weeks with at least one writer noting that this achievement did not happen overnight. Yea, but that inspired by the call of a focused PLP, the historic champions of the Bahamian people, we made a collective decision to denounce the divisive agenda of an FNM Government held hostage by special interests, that we put aside our partisan tribalism for the greater good, and chose to be Bahamians “united in love and service!”
The time to choose between the two realities is NOW!
