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Obi Egbuna Jnr Simunye

During the month of September the US, British and Canadian embassies arrived at the bizarre conclusion that it was in their best interests to warn their citizens about the dangers of traveling to Zimbabwe in the near future. While the objective of diplomacy is to foster and maintain positive bilateral relations, this latest manoeuvre is much more calculating than the naked eye could possibly detect.

While the verbiage used by all three embassies in question was rather unnecessary to say the least, it helps the average global citizen understand there is a clear distinction between a travel advisory, which informs nationals of a particular nation that a country is completely off limits, and travel warnings that suggest a particular country is dangerous due to political instability and violence that could possibly spiral out of control.

This dynamic provides Africans in general and Zimbabweans in particular with a framework when attempting to understand the motives and intentions of the US-EU alliance, for portraying current day Zimbabwe in such a manner that creates an increasing level of doubt and panic among their citizens who were planning to visit Zimbabwe for a multitude of reasons.

The Canadian embassy on their website made the following statement: “There is no nationwide advisory in effect for Zimbabwe however you should exercise a high degree of caution due to the unpredictable security situation.” The British weighed in stating: “There have been demonstrations in cities and towns in recent months some of which have been violent. If a demonstration is taking place leave quickly, don’t attempt to watch or photograph it.”

It is entertaining watching political pundits and academics in the West engage in some rather spirited intellectual discourse concerning when exactly the US assumed the mantle of Western imperialism’s most treacherous superpower, who enjoy fighting the numerous battles initiated by their kith and kin all over the world even when they no longer have the ammunition or will to finish what they started?

Concerning travel to Zimbabwe from citizens of Western nations, all evidence at the disposal of today’s global citizens clearly illustrates that the US Embassy is the conductor of the orchestra, and the British and Canadians are completely comfortable in the role of second and third fiddle.

The statement concerning this matter on the US Embassy in Harare from their public affairs section is as follows: “Contrary to recent media reports the US is not warning citizens against travel to Zimbabwe. The US Embassy issues messages as needed to US citizens in Zimbabwe to help them make well informed decisions. But these messages are not a warning travel to Zimbabwe.”

Because we are living in the information era, which has resulted in the court of public opinion emerging as an instrument that perhaps serves a greater purpose than courts of law, all daughters and sons of Africa at home and abroad must be encouraged to challenge the US Ambassador to Zimbabwe Harry Thomas Jnr pertaining to the mixed messages the US Embassy in Harare is sending to the international community about the Obama administration’s position on Zimbabwe.

The emergency services section of the US Embassy in Harare website issues the following statement: “The safety and security situation in Zimbabwe is rather unpredictable and subject to sudden change. The country suffers from a crumbling infrastructure that makes roads travel hazardous, communication unreliable and emergency medical care, telephone, cell and electrical outages are common.”

Another troubling statement focuses on what Ambassador Thomas and his dutiful staff define as political sensitivities which states: “President Mugabe and Sr Government officials travel around Harare with large and aggressive motorcades that have been known to push motorists off the road. Security personnel occasionally beat and harass drivers who fail to pull out of the way quickly.”

Ambassador Thomas and staff also take the liberty of informing the world that US Embassy staff are prohibited from using kombis, which appears to be a politically motivated precaution based on fear that Zimbabweans will not hesitate to take them to task, not only on illegal racist sanctions on Zimbabwe but on US policy on Zimbabwe in general.

Ambassador Thomas and staff have a well-orchestrated campaign but the contradictions and hypocrisy are glaringly obvious. On the one hand they call Air Zimbabwe unreliable because flights have been subject to unannounced schedule changes and encourage traveling by road between Harare and Bulawayo, but coincidentally call driving in Zimbabwe hazardous because people often drive over the speed limit.

Ambassador Thomas and staff also felt compelled to state that; “Criminals operate in the vicinity of hotels, restaurants and shopping areas of major cities such as Victoria Falls. The downtown sections of Harare and its high density residential suburbs are particular high crime areas.”

This complements an additional warning that suggests that thieves will break your car window while you are stopped at intersections and take things within reach.

Before Ambassador Thomas and his staff went on the rampage, they should have taken the trouble to list for Zimbabweans headed for US shores the 25 most dangerous cities which are as follows; St Louis, Detroit, Birmingham, Memphis, Milwaukee, Rockford, Baltimore, Little Rock, Oakland,Kansas City, Springfield, Stockton, Indianapolis, San Bernadino, Washington,DC, Lansing, Hartford, Toledo, Atlanta, Buffalo, Springfield, Anchorage, Talahasee and Minneapolis.

The list does not include the city of Chicago which already has 500 homicides including 90 that occurred during the month of August. We also cannot share these numbers in isolation from the harsh reality that so-called African Americans are murdered by law enforcement officials every 28 hours inside US borders.

What Ambassador Thomas needs to explain is despite the demonising narrative his staff decided to provide the world concerning life on the ground in Zimbabwe, the US Overseas Security Advisory Council does not include Harare on its list of Africa’s 10 most dangerous cities. Those places are as follows; Rustenburg, Pietermaritzburg, Benghazi, Johannesburg, Durban, Lagos, Cape Town, Port Louis, Luanda and Nairobi.

Since the SADC region is currently the face of political stability on our beloved mother continent, it breaks our heart to see that six of these cities are in South Africa, where 49 people are murdered on a daily basis.

The late Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Ambassador Tichaona Jokonya would always tell the story of how the Australian Cricket Team played in Zimbabwe and afterwards became belligerent and insisted arrangements be made for them to go to South Africa, only to be robbed and left face down in a sports bar in Zimbabwe.

If we are to summarize the picture painted by Ambassador Thomas and his staff, we would consider Zimbabwe, an African nation where the President’s security do people severe bodily harm, you will be robbed outside the hotels or eating out and shopping. Let us not forget that the main outlet of public transportation is off limits and the national carrier should not be patronised.

How does Ambassador Thomas explain the sophisticated manner concerning how the Zimbabwe Ambassador to the US Ammon Mutembwa decided not push the envelope, when the US based dentist Walter Palmer murdered Cecil the Lion in cold blood and the international community felt he should be extradited to Zimbabwe and be punished to the fullest extent of the law?

Ambassador Thomas and his staff are in for a rude awakening if they are functioning from the understanding that we can’t see their main function at the moment is to sabotage the campaign of Zimbabwe’s Minister of Tourism and Hospitality, Honourable Walter Mzembi who is on the verge of becoming the first African born Secretary-General of the UNWTO.

Based on the endorsements Minister Mzembi is picking up by the second, Ambassador Thomas and his staff will have to get used to hearing the following phrase, too little too late.

Obi Egbuna Jnr is the US Correspondent to The Herald and the External Relations officer of ZICUFA(Zimbabwe Cuba Friendship Association). His email is [email protected]