Olive Rumvimbo Ruzvidzo, who lives in Rutland, is seeking asylum in the UK. She explains why today (April 18) is a day of mixed emptions...
Barely a month after bearing my soul to the world about my immigration case, in what felt like part therapeutic release and part embarrassing revelations, I find myself reaching out once again to my community.
This time it is to share the bitter-sweet emotions evoked by today's date: April 18.
This is a day that 43 years ago, in 1980, Zimbabwe attained Independence from Britain in a landslide victory won by the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (Zanu PF).
For most black Zimbabweans, this date stood for self-rule and freedom and was marked by countrywide celebrations as president Canaan Banana and prime minister Robert Mugabe were officially instated.
I was just under seven years old and all I understood was that something good had happened, which called for celebration.
I was in my first year of mainstream school as the history of Zimbabwe began to play out right in front of my eyes.
The years following saw my parents and me (being the only child at the time) move from the high-density area of Chitungwiza, then Seke, to the more affluent lower-density suburb of Marlborough.
The schools, geographical areas, and services that had previously not been accessible to people of colour became part of our lives and, as each year passed, April 18 was a day to celebrate and embrace these changes.
The exposure to the British syllabus and to English as the language of education equipped me for international communication and I attained my high school and tertiary qualifications with the confidence to break into the corporate world.
My social life was shaped by the multi-lingual and multi-cultural community I lived in.
As I began to manage my own earnings, it didn't take long for me to notice the decline in productivity in Zimbabwe due to varying economic and political decisions made by the government.
From the late 90s going into the early 2000s, Zimbabwe experienced a drop in food production. It was a country once known as the breadbasket of SADCC (Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference), an amalgamation of countries formed to advance the cause of national liberation in Southern Africa and reduction of western dependency.
Manufacturing also fell, while the unemployment rate and prices rose. This translated to the shrinking of my personal pocket and, year by year, things became worse.
The opposition parties began to speak more loudly as Zimbabwe regressed economically and Zanu PF held on to power, presumably to continue to control wealth.
The people of Zimbabwe, through opposition parties, attempted to resist the imbalance of wealth benefitting the few but Zanu PF became ruthless to anyone whose views were contrary to those of the government.
At the time, I secretly supported and voted for the opposition as I feared that coming out about it would attract government scrutiny.
Stories of people being harassed or tortured by individuals from Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) were quietly narrated amongst communities which instilled fear in members of the opposition.
Independence Day, April 18, no longer represented the same level of freedom as before and celebrations were not as thunderous as in 1980. Though I remained patriotic, I resented the values presented by Zanu PF, the ruling party.
During my time in the United Kingdom, April 18 has been a day I remember how Zimbabwe has been reduced to a poverty-stricken country with violence-filled elections and a government that seems to pursue personal gain rather than community development.
My heart breaks for the children who do not have access to proper facilities and resources for education who may never experience the balanced and safe education I received.
The day that previously celebrated independence now represents a broken justice system in which people are locked up in maximum prison before they are tried, a dried-up water reticulation system where taps once provided water into homes, a dark nation where electricity shortages are causing outages for more than 18 hours a day in some areas, and a community that fears to speak its mind.
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As I fight to remain in the UK, I feel chills down my spine as I imagine what would happen should I be sent back to Zimbabwe as a person who has already said 'too much' about the injustices back home. It is a clear depiction of being 'caught between a rock and a hard place'.
For me, April 18, 2023, will be spent demonstrating in the streets of London and outside the Zimbabwe Embassy with other Zimbabweans in the hope that the world will see that our 'Independence Day' is not free for all Zimbabweans. What Independence? Whose independence?
My protest (together with others) is a cry to my UK community to understand why my heart breaks when I think of Zimbabwe and for them to speak louder about the human rights abuses, corruption, injustice, maladministration, and abuse of office happening in Zimbabwe.
It is a call to those in authority to consider and act on the plight of Zimbabweans, whose country is run by a gold, diamond, chrome and lithium Mafia who carry on with their lives, while the innocent people are locked away.
