ZIMBABWEANS today celebrate Heroes Day in remembrance of the gallant sons and daughters of the country who sacrificed for self-determination.
Many made the ultimate sacrifice by abandoning education to take up arms for Zimbabwe to gain independence which was attained in 1980 after a protracted war.
They did not live to see an independent Zimbabwe.
Some are lying in mass graves at Chimoio and Nyadzonya. Others are in unmarked graves across the country, in Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia.
And there are those whose remains are interred at the National Heroes Acre and provincial heroes acres across the country.
In the rural areas, villagers provided moral and logistical support to freedom fighters, becoming the proverbial water to the fish.
Their support must never be belittled like what is currently obtaining where they are being relegated to a footnote of history.
We are eternally grateful to the freedom fighters and the masses for the independence we enjoy today which did not come on a silver platter. It was a trail of tears, sweat and blood.
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Today’s holiday should never be a ritual. Rather it offers us an opportunity to pause and reflect on the ideals which formed the basis for many sons and daughters of this nation to take up arms against white settler rule whose hallmark was racial discrimination and unequal access to opportunities.
As we remember our heroes and heroines, we should ask ourselves the question: Are we still on the same path with what the freedom fighters took up arms for?
That we have ended racial discrimination is not in doubt. What we have failed to end is the widening gap between the haves and have-nots.
Our heroes and heroines did not sacrifice for a select few to enjoy the fruits of independence.
They did not go to war for few men and women to have title deeds to the country’s prime land and get the lion’s share of the national cake.
They fought the war for equal opportunities where positions are given on merit not on tribal basis or that one chants the slogan louder than others.
We have witnessed in the past months Zimbabwe gravitating towards democratic backsliding with a crackdown on pro-democracy activists. Over 100 activists are detained as civil society organisations warned that no one is safe.
The crackdown, which comes ahead of this week’s 44th Sadc summit, has attracted global condemnation.
The heroes and heroines fought for a new Zimbabwe that takes care of its future, that is, the youths who have been allowed to waste away due to drug and substance abuse because of the absence of employment opportunities.
As we celebrate the day, it is time for soul-searching, correcting the errors we have made and putting safeguards that ensure we will not stray again.
This is the best thank you we can give our heroes and heroines, both late and living. Their sacrifice should not be in vain.
Happy Heroes Day Zimbabwe.
