RE: An advice from graying Nestor to young Andrej

[Azwell Banda <azwell@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Nestor,

I have failed to resist the urge not to comment on your beautiful  posting
on Andrej, despite the distance both in time and place of the political
phenomena you write about.

You write:

>The actors may change faces, times and spaces may look different, but
>the plot is always the same.

This has become a reality too, here in this Southern African region.
Recently in Zambia (1991) and currently in Zimbanbwe.

>You take a heavy handed government that is under harassment by the
>Western powers. Then you have a lot of people inside the harassed
>country who resent the heavy handedness, many of them with honest and
>brave Leftist ideas. Best of all if you have a man and his woman
>ruling that country somehow or other. Then you have a dictator with
>his whore (or his crazy wife, more or less the same).

Zambia and Zimbabwe, under Kaunda and Mugabe respectively, both with wives
who enjoyed not too popular ratings among the "oppressed peoples" of their
countries!!! And both enjoyed a fair share of Western harassment.

>Due to some mysterious reason, most people in that country are
>stubborn and support that government. Our Leftists don't understand
>how can this be. In the meantime, the CIA or the bombs fall on the
>towns, and reaction lurks like sharks in the deep. Then, one day, the
>dam cracks. A fraction of the army turns democratic, or people, tired
>of harassment, decide to vote the tyrant out of office, and to
>revenge the honor of the country's women spitting over the repugnant
>wife.

Kaunda ruled Zambia for 27 years and Mugabe, 20 years latter is still in
office. And for all these years in both countries most people supported
these "dictators". While no imperialist bombs were dropped on these
countries - economic strangulation was used to punish and aid in the
ousting of these "dictators". Kaunda finally got booted out through the
ballot in 1991, Mugabe is under massive political and economic threat now.

>Then, an age of awe sets in, and those who from the Left supposed
>they would be heralding a new age of liberty discover that they have
>been used.

The Zambian "Left", such as exists, has since learnt this bitter lesson -
hence their extremely cautious approach to the unfolding political and
economic drama in Zimbabwe.

>They cannot but discover it, because even though they are
>bribed at first stroke (they are allowed with great largesse chairs
>at the Universities, fellowships, all kind of applause from abroad),
>they finally discover that the country they helped transform by
>ejecting the tyrant is asphyxiating them.

This is a very bitter reality in Zambia today. Many a young Left
progressive fought bravely for the ejection of Kaunda in 1991. Many are now
in the economic and political "wilderness". Some are suffering from severe
"post dictator ejection stress" as a result of the "traumatizing discovery"
of their new oppressors!!

>Then, some turn cynicists, others turn reactionaries, still others resort
to terrorism. The
>latter, with an Anarchist cast of mind, substitute personal heroism
>for mass action and politics, and thus end offering the reactionaries
>the pretext they need to give the final blow to what little remains
>of a free country.

Cynicism and downright reaction and co-optation have been the major
responses - apart from mental illnesses of course. The new regime in Zambia
has found some of its near fanatical servants and slaves among former left
elements. Poverty, pure personal poverty (material and philosophical), has
bred very strange forms of political consciousness among this lot. Some
have sunk back into tribal uteruses and are demanding cessation.

>In the meantime, the poor and the wretched of the country, the
>peasantry and the workers who had been voting for the tyrant and his
>whorish wife, are weeping the loss of their class power and their
>liberties, liberties that those better off could not see. Perhaps
>some honest writer will put in black on white his collections, years
>later, of maids crying silently in the kitchen while the
>"progressive" masters were cheering to the fall of the tyrant.

This is largely true for Zambia. It sure as hell is coming for Zimbabwe
too. It is the new forms of poverty now afflicting peasants and workers
which they moan. It is said that they were poor when Kaunda was in power.
But they never were as absolutely destitute as they are now - 10 years
after one of the most reckless privatization and impoverishment programmes
post colonial Africa has ever seen. They sure yearn for the old days of
subsidization.........and state enterprises. The potential replacements for
Mugabe are calling for complete privatization and a small state.

.>There are times in history when a man has to make a choice.

Believe me, Nester, we sure are faced with this predicament, down here.

>I am afraid that this time is approaching for you. I hope you choose
>well.

Seeing as this experience has such universal similarities, believe me
Nester, we here will welcome any help on how best to decide.......

Thank you very much for a lovely post.

Azwell.
South Africa.

.