By Rawlings Magede
After I finished reading Retired Colonel Tshinga Dube’s Book, Quiet flows the Zambezi several months ago I was left with nothing but respect and reverence for the former war veterans Minister. This is because Tshinga despite his fearless approach to share opinions on any subject, he is one among few surviving former liberation war heroes who seem to have appreciated the need to share the untold stories of the war and generate new knowledge for future generations. Over the years, such stories have been mainly the preserve for a few elites who in seeking cheap political mileage have sought to distort key historical narratives and supplant them with their own misleading ones. I am also happy that mkoma Miles Tendi has raised the bar even higher by tackling the untold story of Rex Nhongo in his book, The Army and Politics in Zimbabwe: Mujuru the Liberation fighter and Kingmaker. It is a book that chronicles the life of a fearless and principled guerrilla from his time he joined the liberation war up until his unfortunate death in 2011.
Ghosts of Vietnam War premiered on the BBC in March 2020.The documentary chronicles the life of a woman survivor from the US led massacres in Vietnam in 1968.The massacres were done with the aid of South Korean soldiers who committed heinous atrocities against unarmed civilians who include women and children. The massacres followed a protracted conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam and its allies in South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States of America. The war was part of a larger regional conflict and a manifestation of the Cold war between the US and the Soviet Union and their other allies. In essence, many critics view the war as an attempt to stop the spread of communism and stop the unification of the entire country under a single communist regime modeled after those of the Soviet Union and China. The documentary is interesting in the sense that it brings a veteran of the Vietnam War face to face with a survivor of the 1968 massacres. Overwhelmed by remorse and the need to make peace with the past, he apologised for taking part in the atrocities. Added to this, he has also partnered survivors of the Vietnam War to raise publicity and conduct campaigns to sensitize communities on the need to have inclusive discussions around the Vietnam War. However; one issue that stood out during the documentary was the need for trauma healing for both survivors. As I watched the documentary, I could not help but reflect on our own ware veterans back home who over the years continue to show signs of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).This chronic condition is a psychological response to the experience of intense traumatic events, particularly those that threaten life. Psychologists argue that the symptoms of this condition do not seem to resolve quickly, and in some cases may continue to cause problems for the rest of the person’s life.
We got it wrong at Independence
When Zimbabwe attained her independence, for the ordinary civilian, the much waited freedom had finally come. On the other extreme end, soldiers who had taken part in Zimbabwe’s protracted war of independence needed to go through a process that would reintegrate them into society. The war that brought the much waited independence had claimed a lot of casualties not only at the hands of the Rhodesian army but also among liberation war forces. From the Nhari group that was killed in cold blood by Josiah Tongogara and Robson Manyika to the assassination of Hebert Chitepo in 1975, all these incidences among other untold unfortunate events, only highlight how traumatic events of the war were. Soon after gaining independence, soldiers in need of trauma healing and psychosocial healing found themselves yet again entangled in power struggles of political parties such as ZANU PF and PF ZAPU.The creation of Assembly Points did little to help in the integration of ZIPRA and ZANLA on one hand and the Rhodesian on another. Deep seated problems of mistrust and betrayal among the three armies was nothing that was prioritized. The Lancaster House agreement that midwife the 1980 independence was not specific on integration and Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR).
DDR programs are one of the early attempts to initiate recovery services and contribute to security and stability in post conflict environments so that development can start. Such programs aim to deal with post-conflict security problem which arises as a result of ex-combatants not having livelihood or support networks, other than the one they have been accustomed to during the war.DDR has been touted as an effective mechanism that supports ex-combatants during the transition period to peace and development by helping them integrate socially and economically into society. It also lays the ground work for safeguarding and sustaining communities in which these individuals are reintegrated while they build the national capacity for long term peace, security and development. In our context, the famous speech by then Prime Minister, Robert Mugabe on the need to turn swords into ploughshares never provoked serious conversations on how the wielders of those swords can be reintegrated back into society and make positive contributions towards peace and development.
The elite concurrence at the Lancaster agreement skirted the specifities of DDR. This is why throughout Zimbabwe’s history, war veterans continue to hold the country at ransom by making demands that many have described as outrageous. The majority of them including a sizeable chunk serving in government still need to escape from the past and make peace with it. One of the ways through which this can be achieved is by undergoing post conflict trauma healing and counseling. There is no doubt that war veterans witnessed a lot of gruesome acts during the war. Even in post independence era, war veterans continued to suffer abuse at the hands of political gladiators. During the violent fast track land reform, war veterans were used as merchants of violence .This was also the case during elections particularly in 2000, 2005 and 2008.Today, veterans of our struggle are viewed as a violent lot, whose image is that of war and terror. The gratuities and monthly pensions that government continues to give them, are not an antidote that can help recover from PTSD.As a country, we cannot continue to prescribe the wrong medicine to our war veterans. While they need to be economically active just like any other citizens, at the top of their wish list is trauma healing and counseling.
War veterans as agents of peace
There is no doubt that peace building in Zimbabwe initiatives cannot evade war veterans. The various experiences that war veterans have gone through can be used as lessons on why as a country we must choose peace over violence. War veterans can become champions of peace in local communities and raise awareness on the benefits of peace. To achieve this, war veterans need to cut the umbilical cord from partisan participation in our national politics. There seems to be consensus among the generality of them, that they continue to be used for political gain by politicians. As a first step, war veterans must demand trauma healing and psychological support from government for some of their members who still suffer from PTSD.There is a cross section of society today, which still acknowledges the immense sacrifice by war veterans to liberate our country hence the need transform their lives and exploit their services in peace building. This process will also help war veterans to redefine their cause and the roles that they must now play to ensure that our country does not slide back into violence. In my humble view, war veterans remain an untapped constituency that can help in peace and healing reconciliation in Zimbabwe. Key commissions such as the National Peace and Reconciliation Process (NPRC) must ensure that as part of the constitutional mandate of ensuring post conflict justice, healing and reconciliation, they provide a trauma healing mechanism for veterans of the struggle.
In the final analysis, there is need for the country to change the way it perceives war veterans. In my view, they are not a greedy lot as highlighted in some quarters. They are a vital cog not only in our past but even in the future. To build peace for future generations, we must advocate for an end to abuse of our war veterans. In some incidences where they have been found on the wrong side of the fence, they have been victims just like those in the Vietnam War.
Rawlings Magede is a Communication for Development expert who writes here in his personal capacity. He is contactable via email vamagede@gmail.com
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