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The Herald, 18 July 2014
ZIMBABWEANS must tell their own story if a true account of their lives and the country is to be recorded, Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Mozambique, Retired Brigadier-General Agrippa Mutambara has said.

Speaking on the sidelines of the burial of Major-General Eliah Bandama at the National Heroes Acre in Harare yesterday, Ambassador Mutambara said cadres who participated in the liberation struggle were not doing justice to the struggle by failing to write or narrate their experiences.

As a result, he said, the nation was losing out in terms of history.

Ambassador Mutambara has written two books: “Chimoio Attack: Rhodesian Genocide” and “The Rebel in Me”, that give first-hand information on the atrocities committed by the Rhodesian regime during the liberation struggle.

“I feel that we are not doing justice to our struggle by not adequately covering our experiences,” he said.

“As you can realise now, our fellow departed comrade (Maj-Gen Bandama) is being buried and history is being buried.

“Maybe the only people who benefited from his knowledge is the family, which he was close to or his friends, but the nation is losing out.”

Ambassador Mutambara said everyone who participated in the struggle should endeavour to write the country’s history.

“I feel that comrades who participated in the liberation struggle should impart the knowledge about our struggle,” he said.

“We should all strive to write or narrate our history. You do not have to be a talented writer, but you can narrate while others record your history.”

Ambassador Mutambara said, if written, Government should ensure the literature filters into the country’s schools.

He said it was beneficial for Zimbabwean students to learn about their history rather than that of Western countries.

“Most importantly, I think our leadership should realise that one can write, but if that history does not filter into our school system, people will not get to know about it,” he said.

“Government should recognise our efforts and ensure this literature we write gets into our schools than reading about William Shakespeare which has got no relevance to our culture. Let us write about own history.”

LESSONS FOR TODAY
 Four decades after the liberation struggle, very few freedom fighters’ autobiographies and biographies have been published. This is a disservice to their sacrifices. The danger is that eventually, that history will be written from a revisionist perspective to suit certain agendas.

Be it people, places or events, the history of everything is of paramount importance to our existence.

There is a lost opportunity to gather and document history whenever a hero is fallen.

Some of their stories were documented, but certainly not enough of them were; thousands of insightful tales will never be known.

Compelling personal details are well-documented, thus oral story examples provide first-hand helping to provide the broader accounts of moments in history.

For historical information contact:
Zimpapers Knowledge Centre at Herald House on:
+263 8677 004323;
+263 0242 795771
E-mail: [email protected]