News / National
Mutsvangwa narrates the vagaries of war in parliament
02 Nov 2015 at 10:18hrs | Views
THE MINISTER of Welfare Services for War Meterans, War Collaboration, Former detainees and Restrictees, Christopher Mutsvangwa, has narrated the vagaries of the liberation war that were experienced by the war veterans indicating that they still need counseling.
Mutsvangwa made the remarks in parliament said the concerns about the problems faced by war veterans were genuine and must be attended to considering their horrific experiences during the war of Zimbabwe's liberation.
"For instance, the victimization that arises out of the peculiar circumstances of violent conflict like the one which the country underwent, particularly from the 1960s until victory in 1979," he said. "It is common knowledge that war is a terrible thing because it causes loss of life and damages the body. In our instance, for those survivors, some of them were victims of experimental biological warfare by the Rhodesian Army where people were victims of napalm. I escaped cyanide poisoning whilst about 8 members of my colleagues perished after wearing jeans which were laced with cyanide. On sweating, these comrades all died. I missed that group because I was elsewhere, I could have worn those jeans."
Mutsvangwa said chemical warfare was rife on the part of the Rhodesians because they wanted to make up for their inferior numbers to those of the liberation war fighters who were in bigger numbers.
"However, beyond that, there were issues to do with napalm bombing from the Rhodesian army in an encounter with the Rhodesian Air force. There was also biological warfare on the part of the Rhodesians. There are the infamous cases of the South Africans like ‘Dr. Death', who were part of the Rhodesian network of chemical warfare," he said.
"Obviously, all these things do affect the body, even in the aftermath of the war. There is also the mere trauma of being involved in combat and surviving where you witness the death of so many people dying. Therefore, it is true that we do have these cases."
He said with the way our independence was won, the efforts at post independence, consolidation of our national sovereignty, a lot of these issues were not adequately addressed from the onset.
"We were an experimental demobilization state and things which have been done for other countries in post-conflict were not done in Zimbabwe," he said. "I am happy to say that we now have a Ministry which is addressing these issues. The President has seen it fit to have a dedicated Ministry because he is very alive to these issues which arose from these circumstances. The issues which arise are the expense and the expectations of what the Ministry can deliver, vis-à-vis, the resources which are available. Everybody knows that our economy has not been doing well. We have been a victim of sanctions and many other ailments by our traditional economic cooperating partners."
"However, the good thing is that we are now having an engagement and hopefully the fortunes of this economy will start to improve. It is then that we will begin to have adequate resources. Meanwhile, I keep canvassing the Minister of Finance and Economic Development to do what he can. Beyond that, we are now working with some of the embassies of those countries which were inimical to working with the war veterans, they are coming on board. Some of these countries have a lot of experience because they have been involved in many wars since the First World War," he added.
Mutsvangwa said they were hoping that they can tap into their expertise to deal with the disorders which are being referred to.
"The response which we are getting, even from the western embassies, is good. I hope that in due course, the European Union may for the first time consider including the issues of the war veterans in its indicative programmes. These issues of welfare and post war trauma nature can be addressed. I am also working on war veterans memorial hospitals, the Cabinet has approved it. I am happy to say, just yesterday, His Excellency, the President, was with our Indian partners in New Dehli," he said.
"We are very grateful that one of the largest Indian companies if not the largest civil contracting company is keen to be associated with war memorial hospitals for the war veterans. His Excellency is avidly following this matter and the Minister of Finance and Economic Development is also coming on board. Once we have those hospitals, which will be open to everyone, we may also have a section dedicated to the issues which have been raised."
He said on that note, he would like to say, they are very live to what you have raised.
"I am confident to say that it is better late than never. These issues have not been properly addressed, 35 years into independence but now we are rising to the occasion. I hope that in the fullness of time and the shortest possible time, we should be having something satisfactory coming to the House," he said.
Mutsvangwa made the remarks in parliament said the concerns about the problems faced by war veterans were genuine and must be attended to considering their horrific experiences during the war of Zimbabwe's liberation.
"For instance, the victimization that arises out of the peculiar circumstances of violent conflict like the one which the country underwent, particularly from the 1960s until victory in 1979," he said. "It is common knowledge that war is a terrible thing because it causes loss of life and damages the body. In our instance, for those survivors, some of them were victims of experimental biological warfare by the Rhodesian Army where people were victims of napalm. I escaped cyanide poisoning whilst about 8 members of my colleagues perished after wearing jeans which were laced with cyanide. On sweating, these comrades all died. I missed that group because I was elsewhere, I could have worn those jeans."
Mutsvangwa said chemical warfare was rife on the part of the Rhodesians because they wanted to make up for their inferior numbers to those of the liberation war fighters who were in bigger numbers.
"However, beyond that, there were issues to do with napalm bombing from the Rhodesian army in an encounter with the Rhodesian Air force. There was also biological warfare on the part of the Rhodesians. There are the infamous cases of the South Africans like ‘Dr. Death', who were part of the Rhodesian network of chemical warfare," he said.
"Obviously, all these things do affect the body, even in the aftermath of the war. There is also the mere trauma of being involved in combat and surviving where you witness the death of so many people dying. Therefore, it is true that we do have these cases."
He said with the way our independence was won, the efforts at post independence, consolidation of our national sovereignty, a lot of these issues were not adequately addressed from the onset.
"We were an experimental demobilization state and things which have been done for other countries in post-conflict were not done in Zimbabwe," he said. "I am happy to say that we now have a Ministry which is addressing these issues. The President has seen it fit to have a dedicated Ministry because he is very alive to these issues which arose from these circumstances. The issues which arise are the expense and the expectations of what the Ministry can deliver, vis-à-vis, the resources which are available. Everybody knows that our economy has not been doing well. We have been a victim of sanctions and many other ailments by our traditional economic cooperating partners."
"However, the good thing is that we are now having an engagement and hopefully the fortunes of this economy will start to improve. It is then that we will begin to have adequate resources. Meanwhile, I keep canvassing the Minister of Finance and Economic Development to do what he can. Beyond that, we are now working with some of the embassies of those countries which were inimical to working with the war veterans, they are coming on board. Some of these countries have a lot of experience because they have been involved in many wars since the First World War," he added.
Mutsvangwa said they were hoping that they can tap into their expertise to deal with the disorders which are being referred to.
"The response which we are getting, even from the western embassies, is good. I hope that in due course, the European Union may for the first time consider including the issues of the war veterans in its indicative programmes. These issues of welfare and post war trauma nature can be addressed. I am also working on war veterans memorial hospitals, the Cabinet has approved it. I am happy to say, just yesterday, His Excellency, the President, was with our Indian partners in New Dehli," he said.
"We are very grateful that one of the largest Indian companies if not the largest civil contracting company is keen to be associated with war memorial hospitals for the war veterans. His Excellency is avidly following this matter and the Minister of Finance and Economic Development is also coming on board. Once we have those hospitals, which will be open to everyone, we may also have a section dedicated to the issues which have been raised."
He said on that note, he would like to say, they are very live to what you have raised.
"I am confident to say that it is better late than never. These issues have not been properly addressed, 35 years into independence but now we are rising to the occasion. I hope that in the fullness of time and the shortest possible time, we should be having something satisfactory coming to the House," he said.
Source - Byo24News
