Just like any other country the Covid 19 virus has negative lasting impacts. Many people are living in fear, panic and uncertainty. Globally, information about the virus is not crystal clear therefore feeding into uncertainty. As of this writing, Zimbabwe has 9 confirmed cases and 1 death. The World Health Organization recommended lock-down is a necessary evil for the safety of everyone including our global friends. Unfortunately a “lock-down” in many developing countries ends up becoming a “shutdown”. Zimbabwe is a country battling with US, UK and EU imposed trade and economic sanctions, unemployment and gross poverty. 90% of the population depends on “hand to mouth” economic activities. Hence this lock-down is a threat to people’s livelihoods. People here have always been dying from hunger related illnesses and COVID-19 is not much of a death threat as compared to other daily threats. So it frustrates people how COVID-19 seems “overemphasized”.
In this lockdown there is a dilemma between going out to hassle and risk others or staying indoors and die of hunger. This is the sad reality.
What’s frustrating is the arrogant attitude of the West towards Africa. These lock-downs are recommendations from the heavily affected global West. Africa is simply doing a “copy-paste” attitude. It’s even more worrisome to see many pessimistic Western predictors predicting that Africa will be wiped out. Some pessimists are even going as far as saying African countries aren’t providing correct statistics. Many are still waiting to see an African disaster of biblical proportions.
Lock-downs without paying close attention to people’s daily lives are equal to torture. This whole story goes back to the struggle between the global powerful and the global powerless. I am not hearing much of the African voices and/or solutions been taken seriously in the global mitigation of COVID-19. In fact there are reports that Africans need to be used as lab rats to test a new vaccine. Sad, we take in everything. For example, I don’t see the positive impact of lockdowns when we do not have the capacity of testing masses. The whole world isn’t able to test masses anyway. So far our country has tested less than 400 people.
Through these lockdown people are now crowded in community water points and the few shops which are running out of products. Social distancing does not work here when the majority live in crowded townships which echo decades of colonialism. The general attitude here is, “Death is death!”. People have been dying many times and COVID-19 is one of those everyday deaths people face. No worries! Consequently, I see this lockdown as a tool to save Western institutions. It means that if COVID-19 hits us hard with our poor infrastructure it will be a global threat. We are merely doing it to save our “Masters” otherwise we could have come with better home-grown solutions. All this is like locking up a person who has already been locked up with decades of poverty.
Consequently the solution lies in building local movements which take peace-building work to another level. I have always argued that African leaders must have a vision that manifests in massive economic empowerment. Africa is still the world’s baby–begging, crying! Africa has been historically disenfranchised like many other developing regions, so to catch up it must stop over-concentrating on “chicken and goats projects” but build massive economic ventures that get its people out of poverty. COVID-19 in Africa is showing signs of how Africa has poverty of leadership. Few African countries have more than 100 ventilators for example. It’s time for Africa to see our God as the Lord who does exceedingly, abundantly more than we can think or ask through Christ who give us strength. Our faith need to give us great inspiration and imagination to free ourselves. It is my responsibility to see a better Zimbabwe and stop crying. It is my duty to contribute to a better world. God gave us the mind and spirit to do this. It’s time for Africa to contribute and give Godly-inspired solutions to this world.
Lance Muteyo is a Zimbabwean Christian peace warrior and writes in his own capacity. For more about Lance Muteyo: Click here.
Leave a Reply