Self-hating lunatic fringe attacks Wode Maya
Nevanji Munyaradzi Chiondegwa
John Joseph Powell in The Secret of Staying in Love wrote, “It is an absolute human certainty that no one can know his own beauty or perceive a sense of his own worth until it has been reflected back to him in the mirror of another loving, caring human being.”
“Tinoda kurutsiswa,” said the late Dr Vimbai Gukwe Chivaura on the programme Zvevanhu which used to air on ZTV a couple of years back.
I was reminded of this statement recently when I saw the social media bashing of a young man from Ghana whose only crime was visiting Zimbabwe and showcasing beautiful places in the country.
His major crime, in the eyes of his social media bashers was his open admiration of the beautiful places and scenery which je described as ‘beautiful’.
The young man from Ghana will go down in African history as one of a few men to be criticised and vilified by the inhabitants of a certain southern African country for saying that their country is beautiful. His name is Wode Maya, a Pan-Africanist to the core.
However he was supposed to describe the beautiful sights and views he saw, besides calling them beautiful, is a mystery that lies only on the mind of his critics who’s worldview is dictated by their narrow political beliefs. Why they chose to attack a person for calling beauty by it’s name remains a mystery for most reasonable people.
But the lunatic fringe of course feels justified, merely because they call any praise for Zimbabwe an endorsement of the rule of President ED Mnangagwa and ZANU PF. While people are allowed to hold different political views, this should not translate to self hatred.
Apart of course from a raging inferiority complex that exists in them and self-hate, the only acceptable reason is that they hate the government and the ruling political party. I say self hate because Paris Hilton, a white woman, came and praised Zimbabwe, she was not bashed and trolled by anyone. Then came Itchy Boots, a white female blogger and she was not bashed again.
Yet two beautiful persons of colour, one Kenyan female and the other one being a male Ghanaian, came, experienced Zimbabwean beauty, spoke highly of the country just as the two earlier mentioned white persons, plus Ellen DeGeneres did, and they are still being trolled and harassed on social media. They have been called names, from regime enablers to paid activists among other derogatory titles.
What is clear is that most of these Zimbabweans who reside in the lunatic fringe cannot differentiate between politics and thee love for one’s country, Zimbabwe. Wode Maya is talking about what he is seeing but they want a negative image of their country, merely for political mileage – what a joke!
Zimbabwe, was the 25th country to be visited by Wode Maya on his mission “to change the negative narrative on Africa and promote Diaspora visits to Africa, tourism, investment and demystify the negative stereotypes on Africa in the World”.
Before he left for Zambia, he said that among the 25 countries he has visited, Zimbabwe is the most beautiful of all! He said this not only by word of mouth but he provided photographic and video evidence of places he visited to demonstrate to the world how beautiful Zimbabwe is.
For that, on various social media platforms especially Twitter, Zimbabwean opposition has declared a war on Wode for his observations! Insulting a fellow African brother for merely saying that their country is beautiful.
Such self-hatred by Zimbabweans has tremendously contributed to the hatred and xenophobic treatment currently being directed at Zimbabwean nationals in foreign lands especially in South Africa.
How have we sunk so low to the point of hating those who appreciate us? How do you expect to be loved and appreciated if you don’t appreciate who you are as a people?
Is this toxicity displayed daily by opposition brothers and sisters what we really want in our beloved nation? To oppose, alienate and insult anyone who holds different from yours, anyone who appreciates the good and hospitality of our people? Is that what we truly stand for as a people?
Diversity is an aspect of human existence that cannot be eradicated by terrorism or war or self-consuming hatred. It can only be conquered by recognizing and claiming the wealth of values it represents for all.
May we learn!
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