The deliberate destruction of Matabeleland and it people

It is hard to believe that since 1980 a systematic destruction of the people of Matabeleland and that of the Midlands has been carried out dutifully without any kind of resistance from the people of these regions. If one would go back when the first stroke was delivered, before open killings, was the letter written about the closure of African Lumber immediately after independence. There were other things done, but I thought one would mention this one as a big pointer of what direction things were likely to move.
 
This turned slowly with the agreed planting of dissidents by the former Rhodesian secret services and ZANU-PF in coming government. It opened such murderous floodgates never experienced anywhere in the region. The former Rhodesians were eager to protect South Africa from the ANC threat while ZANU-PF had to fulfil their grand plan of 1979 to annihilate ZAPU and ZIPRA and kill everything that spoke Ndebele or aligned in any way to that people. Known torture chambers were put into more active use than ever before, new torture chambers were built. Law and order was only meant to be observed by one group, those from Matabeleland and the Midlands. The list of torture methods and chambers will soon be revealed as records are available.
 
Former ZIPRA combatants were targeted and had nowhere to hide. South Africa deported those that tried to escape to that country to extreme torture and most painful deaths.
 
Jobs started getting fewer and fewer in the region. For example  if say five people were wanted by a company for work, ten people would be brought in from Mashonaland for an interview, these are well qualified people, then another ten would be invited from Matabeleland with no qualifications at all. Then two would be employed from Mashonaland and three from the unqualified Matabele people. These unqualified would eventually fail due to lack of both qualifications and appropriate supervision and training. The replacement would only be by those other Mashonaland people initially brought in for the interview. The excuse was the failure to perform by those given a chance. Head offices in Bulawayo were moved to Harare leaving only small branches.
 
The damage was systematic, well thought out and well executed, hence the Maleme issue, the Conolly farm and a number of regional problems. People from other regions are today settled in Matabeleland against the will of the communities. Teachers, police and too many government employees who cannot speak the language have been pushed into the region. The problem with most of people in the region is refusal to be drawn into a tribal confrontation. All ZIPRA former combatants and ZAPU people have been loyal and sincere in refusing to be drawn to tribal confrontation, but ZANU-PF has pushed that agenda so sincerely and purposefully that it is hard to stand by and see the regional people suffer so much. Where is this leading to and how long will the lion be pushed into a tight space without retaliating? ZANU-PF has urinated on our heads, spate on our faces, while moving us out of our own homes, for how long, kozekubenini?
 
May be it is time for the people of Matabeleland to come together with the view of resistance. The colonial government did not commit so many atrocities for us to fight back and when we did, they felt the heat. People of Matabeleland wake up, what shall we leave behind for our children, poverty, history of "victorious" ZANU-PF and with not a single land to call ours. Shall we live all our lives being visitors in other countries with nothing to call our own. Wake up and stop giving excuses for not taking a stand to this slow eviction from our region and oppression by a government led by an old cruel serial killer. 

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 Tsolo Dube can be contacted at tsolodubs@aol.co.uk