This book is dedicated to the many Africans who have perished in all forms of political violence in their own countries or as a result of xenophobic attacks in foreign lands. It also remembers those that have perished as they attempt the hazardous journeys that they feel compelled to take as they escape from this vast continent that is blessed with so much; yet is cursed with poor leadership, an indifferent populace and abject poverty.
Gukurahundi” is a word that generally evokes strong emotions in Zimbabwe, for it describes a dark period in the country’s relatively young history. This novel tries to understand that part of Zimbabwe’s unsavoury past through the eyes of a young man, Sipho Dube.
Ten years ago, at the age of sixteen, He left his home in rural Maramani, Matabeleland South partly to seek his fortune in South Africa, but mainly to get away from “Gukurahundi”, the Zimbabwe army’s operation against dissidents, but seen by many in the area as a campaign against the minority Ndebeles. Separated from his travelling companions due to a flash flood as they try to cross the Limpopo, Sipho finds himself alone, in a foreign land, with nothing. This starts him on a journey of self-discovery which culminates with him meeting and falling in love with Rumbidzai, an ethnic Shona, whose people are seen as the perpetrators of the operation rresponsible for his escape from his homeland.
After ten years of living and working illegally in South Africa, Sipho travels back to his native land to find a completely different country where the people he meets have lost all hope; the promise and excitement of independence all but a distant memory. In conversations with the people back home, and later with other Zimbabweans in South Africa, Sipho begins to understand some of the history of the people of Southern Africa and how similar their cultures and Languages are.
The story of Sipho and Rumbidzai forms the backdrop of a story that questions not only the prevailing attitudes on ethnicity in Southern Africa (and Africa in general) but also tries to understand the role of colonisation on those attitudes. It tries to understand why so many Africans are running away from the freedoms that they fought so hard for.
Colonisation, which was designed to serve the purposes of the colonisers, has changed Southern Africa’s narrative to this day. He begins to understand that “Gukurahundi”, election violence in Zimbabwe (and many other African countries), xenophobia in South Africa and elsewhere, can all be seen as the continuation of a narrative that started with a conference in Berlin, where all of the developed countries in Europe with an interest in Africa, met to carve up the continent without any input from the indigenous people of the said continent.
The borders they created keep Africa divided and in competition with itself to this day, keeping the people of Africa poor, while they compete to give away their wealth of natural resources in exchange for the ‘hard’ currencies of their former colonisers and their allies.Throughout the book, the romance between Sipho and Rumbidzai is the constant thread that knits the story together, demonstrating the conflicts and contradictions that are necessarily present in Zimbabwe’s ethnicity debate and the oft forgotten truth that all of humanity is the same.
Benjamin Sibangani Sibanda
@EscFromFreedom | https://benjaminsibanda.net | fb.com/benjaminsibandatheauthor
Well done Ben . I’m looking to forward to reading your latest work . Having read the other two ,I know the books are packed with well researched and real information that helps to spread understand among readers from different sides of the table .
I see your books as a positive contribution to forming a more harmonic future Zimbabwe , something all of us who call this our home . Should strive towards .
Thank you Mass. Neighbour and fellow farmer. I hope you took advantage of the free download of Chapter 1. What do you think!?
Well done 💯👌. I like the plot. The creativity. Keep up the great work
Just finished reading your book, (for the umpteenth time.). I liked how the character of Sipho developed and how Aneka was a representation of how our story will continue to be told from the white perspective because of our lack of knowledge or disinterest in our history. Although Aneka feels African because she is by birth but our story remains ours though we don’t know how to tell it. The book brings out a lot of themes and brings to light questions that I have been battling with about my own personal identity. What am I going to tell my children about where I come from, family history, tribe, tradition and the like. I see you also finished the story to where Zimbabwe is now. And you have managed to capture the feeling of most Zimbabweans outside the country.
Very very interesting story and thought provoking.
Sipho develops to become the voice of reason but he is overpowered by his counterparts. He reminds me of myself I have found myself thinking a lot about how Africa can be fixed if only we can come home. But a lot of people have no hope for Africa.
Sipho is the ideal African like his name he is indeed a gift to Africa. He starts from the bottom of the food chain, gradually develops himself and ultimately takes over Van Burger.. And Van Bakery(his brainchild) with the right mindset and having a good understanding of world affairs past and present;he is able to make informed decisions for his business and ultimately himself.
It is also interesting to note that sifo means disease. A disease being something that eats away at its carrier. Lol and the white characters pronouncing sipho thus could also lead to the indication on how they view us unless like Sipho we prove them wrong.
Just finished reading your book, (for the umpteenth time.). I liked how the character of Sipho developed and how Aneka was a representation of how our story will continue to be told from the white perspective because of our lack of knowledge or disinterest in our history. Although Aneka feels African because she is by birth but our story remains ours though we don’t know how to tell it. The book brings out a lot of themes and brings to light questions that I have been battling with about my own personal identity. What am I going to tell my children about where I come from, family history, tribe, tradition and the like. I see you also finished the story to where Zimbabwe is now. And you have managed to capture the feeling of most Zimbabweans outside the country.
Very very interesting story and thought provoking.
Sipho develops to become the voice of reason but he is overpowered by his counterparts. He reminds me of myself I have found myself thinking a lot about how Africa can be fixed if only we can come home. But a lot of people have no hope for Africa.
Sipho is the ideal African like his name he is indeed a gift to Africa. He starts from the bottom of the food chain, gradually develops himself and ultimately takes over Van Burger.. And Van Bakery(his brainchild) with the right mindset and having a good understanding of world affairs past and present;he is able to make informed decisions for his business and ultimately himself.
It is also interesting to note that sifo means disease. A disease being something that eats away at its carrier. Lol and the white characters pronouncing sipho thus could also lead to the indication on how they view us unless like Sipho we prove them wrong.
Congratulations on publication of another masterpiece, Ben.
Thank you Mike. I hope it is a masterpiece. Have you downloaded chapter 1? What do you think.
.”The pen is mightier than the sword” You sure have a way with words that brings out the reality of the country’s plight.
👏👏👏👏
A born story teller you are Ben. The most natural relationship between man and woman heralds the new book – I am hooked and cannot wait to devour into the whole book.
Thank you Mr Dube. I hope the rest of the book is up to your expectations. We hope to oaunch on October 1st.
The present circumstances of my socio-economic life are depressing. The past was exhilarating and depressing. Reading my past cicumstances may add to my already depressed state, but then again,History is important. Going forward, make me read the book in measured doses
Escape from freedom, not fiction , I relate, just first chapter, made me tear, I will get the book, thank you my father.
Once again Ben Sibanda had us totally absorbed in another of his masterpieces. We enjoyed the history, the romance and the insights into the tribal dynamics that are a reality in Zimbabwe – often misguided and based on assumptions. Ben handles the issue of Gukuranhundi with the utmost sensitivity and leaves one with the hope that we can put this sad part of history behind us and be a united front as a people. Definitely a collectors item.
боксерские клубы москвы https://boks-v-moskve.ru/.
r4plju