Bakwethu ngizwa ngicasuka, ngithukuthela. Angazi kwenziweni?? Senzeni sibili, should we leave things getting worse or we should do something?? Angazi ngixoleleni ngemibuzo. Yini enziwa ngesintu engathiwa ilohlonzi? Nxa ungaloba ngesintu kuthiwa you are living in the 18th century, look at the young generation, abafuni ngitsho loku hambelana lesintu. Khathesi wonke umuntu othiwa ngumnozz, kubonakala kusengathi unqcono kulalo okhuluma isintu angazi njalo mhlawumbe yikukhayeka kumbe yikungazi kumbe yimi engibona kakhulu. Kanti isiNdebele why singabekwa sibe compulsory to abafundi ezikolweni. Yebo sekela abantwana bekele ukufunda isiNdebele ngitshela ukuthi ngemva kweminyaka engamatshumi emathathu kumbe amatshumi athize kulomuntu oyabe esazi ukuloba kumbe khona ukufunda isiNdebele na? Asikufa kolimini na. Ubuntu bethu kasisabazi akulanto enziwayo ukuze ubuntu bethu sihlale sibunanza kanti nkokheli zethu lenzani sibili libulala uluntu, ngubani osewatsho ukuthi isilungu singcono kulezinye indimi? Khangela amaJelimani, khangela amaChina ngitshela ukuthi nga bavumela ukuthi iluntu lwabo luginywe yisilungu, ngabe bakuphi okwamanje. Ngikhangele izizwe eziningi ezeYuropu, zilokhe zisebenzisa indimi zazo, khangela okungamazwe okunjengabo Greece. Thina senzani sibili??? Ngikhangele indaba yokusulwa kwezikweledi, is that enough?? Uhlupho lwethu yizikweledi kumbe yikuthi umhlaba jikelezi ukhangelela abantu abansundu phansi, imikambo yomhlaba jikelezi ivulekile na okokuthi thina abansundu, senelisa na ukutsho intengo esinyifunayo kumbe thina siyatshelwa ukuthi hatshi silinikeza imali engaka empahleni elisithengisela yona. Are world markets that free as they are purpoted to be??

Africa Union wazini nge AU ngaphandle kokuthi kulekhefu lika mhlaka 25 May mnyaka yonke. Kanti yona AU yakhona yenzani okukhanyayo. Yinindaba ingenzi okukhanyayo, mina ngibona kuyikukhangelela izwekazi phansi. Indaba yami ngeyokuzikhulula ebugqilini lobu obokubona kusengathi konke okwabelungu ( colonialists) kuncono kulesingakwenza, lithini ngakho.


Wa Thiong'o Ngugi has noted a recurring pattern in colonial oppression in his key study Decolonising the Mind:

The oppressed and the exploited of the earth maintain their defiance: liberty from theft. But the biggest weapon wielded and actually daily
unleashed by imperialism against that collective defiance is the cultural bomb. The effect of a cultural bomb is to annihilate a people's belief in their names, in their languages, in their
environment, in their heritage of struggle, in their unity, in their capacities and ultimately in themselves. It makes them see their past as one wasteland of non-achievement and it makes them want to distance themselves from that wasteland. It makes them want to identify with
that which is furthest removed from themselves; for instance, with other peoples' languages rather than their own. It makes them identify
with that which is decadent and reactionary, all those forces which would stop their own springs of life. It even plants serious doubts about the moral rightness of struggle. Possibilities of triumph or victory are seen as remote, ridiculous dreams. The intended results are despair, despondency and a collective death-wish. Amidst this wasteland which it has created, imperialism presents itself as the cure and demands that the dependent sing hymns of praise with the constant refrain: Theft is holy.' Indeed, this refrain sums up the new creed of the neocolonial bourgeoisie.

I can tell baba ukuthi ukhathazekile umoya wakho, i wish i had the powers to over-turn the tables and completely change the current status quo, where Africans are seen or percieved as underdogs, where Africans view themselves as civilised and more developed if they can speak English, French etc, but unfortunately it is not the case. This brings me down to the ground and compels me to seek practical solutions or more pragmatic ones.
We can not deny the positive and negative influence of coloniasm, but unfortunately, the worst legacy it left on us is of self-pity, self-despisation, self-hatred, yes, i mean it, self-hatred, we hate what we are, we hate what we were, we hate our forms of civilisations, we hate our customs, we hate everything that is African, we look down upon ourselves, we view ourselves as inferior compared to our white counterparts, we do not have confidence in our abilities, this is the mental rut that we have been accustommed to, we need to forcefully breakthrough this false sense of uselessness. We are a people of exceptional capabilities and talents, we can do what they can do, given all the training, time and exposure. If we can do all what they can do, why then are we behind in terms of development, one may ask, the answer is, i don't know, but what i know is that all societies are not developed to the same degree, there are some phases of development, sometimes you retrogress, sometimes you become stagnant and sometimes you develop quickly to the point of boiling. No society will remain the same forever, no society will not develop forever, one day Africa will be at the forefront of development, but we don't know when this will be, Africa once had its glory days, now some Asian and European countries are having their day, but development is like a wheel, today is me, tomorrow is you, the wheel might move slow, it might stand still for sometime at given point, but when it moves the change will be felt where it was and where it is moving to, be it back or forward. Africa will have its time again, but to accelerate that change we need to utilise our resources wisely, from human resources to our mineral resources etc.

We all appear and sound suspiscious about the operations of the west and yet cannot pin point any facts. Our suspicions are on point but we need to substantiate them with accurate facts. Thandindaba gave us a resource which I gently but firmly suggest we all read. It is John Perkins "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" He was warned against writing the book but went ahead and wrote it anyway; if, he is to be believed. I also recommend Jim Marrs's "Rule By Secrecy" bakwethu. I think time is ripe for us to be arguing and informing each other about how we move forward lest intsha ihlale isisola ukuthi we keep going in circles.

Unless we are privy the information in these titles, we cannot strategise effectively and identify appropriate alliances. Sizabe siqhubeka sicela uncedo kuba huquluzi labacindezeli.

Hayi Msupa asenzeni into ekhanyayo hk hk hk
Ungabaphenduleli abafowenu hk.

charity begins at home bakwethu. Sibamba usithatha back to basics lapha. Sikhangelela okwethu phansi. The moment we realise ukuthi sizigqanje ngokwethu first andubana si assimilate kokwabanye, then we will move onto the second level of empowerment.

Abazali, ikakhulu the dangerous, so-called learned young parents -emanating from little knowledge - sithathela i development phezulu and go to extremes. Simplest example yenzeka ebantwaneni the moment bengena e pre-school. As abazali sesiqala ukukhuluma labo isilungu, akusakhulunywa ulimi lwabo. That is very, very dangerous. Yes, kumele babelethuba to practise isilungu abasifunde esikolo, but not at the expense of richness yolimi lwabo. In actual fact, umntwana will grasp a second language better, if he has a very good grasp of his mother tongue. At the same time we assume that they 'will get confused ngama languages amanengi' - ayisikho zihlobo. A child will have i exposure to 5 languages and she will know when it is appropriate to use which language with which person. Lingenzi abantwabenu isihluku sokungazi ulimi lwabo -whether abroad or ekhaya. Bengezwa siqakathekisa ulimi lwethu, abantwabethu will also see i value to it

Decolonise the mind - thanda ulimi lwakho kuqala and have pride kulo.

Sho ngwenya uqambe utshilo. Kodwa akumelanga siphelele olimini njengesiwiji kuphela, kumele siye lemikhutsheni lakho sibambe ziqine singekethisi sisithi njengoba abantwabethu sebe exposed to different cultures kulungile ukuthi bayigodle leyomikhuba yemizini.

Decolonising the colonised minds alone will be an unfinished business. There is an urgent need to Reconstruct the Decolonised minds of our people through an aggressive cultural revolution in our communities. This should start outside the school and then into schools. The reverse will lead to a failed project. Julius Nyerere's uJaama project is a great example.

Kodwa ma likhangele, lokhu esikukhulumayo how feasible is it??

Bakwethu
No one can free this prevelant colonial mind but ourselves,the challenge is both on the elderly and especially the new age/young parents of our society today.

To me I find it ludicrous and insane that Ndebele is not a compulsory subject in our schools.When i went to school it was compulsory to do Maths,English, Science and a vernacular subject Ndebele or other.I clearly remember even those who were not Ndebeles or Ndebele speakers e.g.Whites,Indians and Shonas etc were suppossed to do what was called Ndebele 2 which was an introductory subject to Ndebele and was compulsory--where has that gone?has it been scrapped now?
As a person who has been fortunate to grow up in both pre and post "independant" Zim and knew what was happenning around me it is my rightfull duty to CONDEMN our past and some present leaders and make sure, that present dynamic or future leaders dont do what their predeccessors have done with regards to helping decolinise its people's mind but instead they invented a new kind of colonisation.
What I am about here is,look at Zim,its been independant for 25 years, which symbols Africanism or blackness have been erected to remind us of who we are and what we are as we search to the solutions of our existence?In Matabeleland/Midlands I dont see the following,liberation war museum showing the history of the gallant freedom fighters Zipra,Lobengula's statue,Mzilikazi's statue and Mzilkazi's grave is not really well kept like the Cecil John's one and we were never encouraged to visit it during school trips but flocked to Rhodes grave, there is no exclusive museum depicting the history of Mthwakazi in detail and we vaguely know how was Nkulumane's 2 year reign as King,there are no Gukurahundi memorial sites put in rememberance of the evil,gruesome & sad deaths of innocent people.Then we say we have got great leaders, when they failed to learn and probe the mind of the coloniser,check this, within moments the white settlers had built memorials for their heroes,egRhodes right through all countries of Africa such that their future generations will visit,see,read and not just hearsay or oral history.africans still have a culture of relying on oral history thats why our history gets so distorted,its time we have a culture of writing down events for future generations to enjoy and read.A lot of white people can trace their blood acenstry(family by family) right back to the 15th Century just because they recorded it in writing not just oral.sad for a lot of blacks they cant even trace their families as near back a the 1800s,a lot of Mthwakazi families who have their fathers born lets say from 1920 cant even trace their relations in Southafrica or elsewhere when its no far off from the 1800s just 20yrs after but I remember things of 30 years ago.So bakwethu lets write and record things for us and our children and future generations.

Whenever we get into power lets remember to build historical memorial sites around the country to remind us who we are and for the benefit of generations to come.hats off to the Jewish people they make the whole world stop and think every year on Holocaust rememberance day ceremony and almost every country in the world has a shrine where you can go and pay your respects for victims of the holocaust,that just didnt come like manna from heaven but the Jews and symphathisers campaigned for it till it got international recognition.
Bantwana besizwe sikaMthwakazi we need those symbols of our history and culture to decolonise our minds and then become proud of being what we are.Lastly to beat the the colonial powers is to learn their ways and probe the mind that stole a continent and its people.To see how entering the mind of your oppressor works here are examples,umdala wentshebe zakhe lona owabhidliza imiphongolo engamawele kwele melika,wangena engqondweni zabo ngendlela yezikole zenqolomoya njalo waphenya nendlela nezikhathi amabhanoni asukuma ngazo bheka umphumela wakhona!iJapan yangena kwimfihlo ze technology yemeilika dukuduku ma kusayo imelika ithole ukuthi ijapan seyenze loku ngaphambu kwabo.Ngamafishane yindlela umhlaba ogawulana ngayo kulezinsuku and in conclusion southafrica also 10 years on I dont see any monuments around the country for victims of aphetheid besides the Hector Petersen plaque in Soweto all you see standing tall is shamefull evil aphetheid symbols which need to be dumped in museums.Ngisazoqhubeka ngiyema lapho bathi kusinwa kudedelwana.Enkosi bakwethu.

Names & Places: How to butress Mthwakazi.


Bandla, ngibuye njalo ngenye ingxoxo. Indaba ile;


First European colonialism in the 18th century and then Shona language and cultural imperialism today, Mthwakazi/Matebeleland has been under constant assault in attempts to annihilate Mthwakazi and her peoples.
Militarism and language/cultural imperialism have been the two central policy planks employed in the assault against Mthwakazi.Think Cecil Rhodes and his forces then Robert Mugabe and Gukurawundi.
It must be noted that in both these situations, Cecil Rhodes and Robert Mgabe did not operate in a vacuum - they had the total backing of their people, whites and amaShona.

Apart from the urgent need to find a common cause and rally behind it, what can/should Mthwakazians do to defend themselves against this onslaught? While political programmes such as federalism and secession require that we first seize total control of the political space in Mthwakazi before implementing our policies - a scenario that is very remote, if not entirely impossible as things stand - what about 'non-political'or civic programmes in areas where we seem to have a certain measure of control?

Lapha I'm thinking of local government - think city/rural councils etc.Are our civic leaders in a position to reverse gains made by Shona imperialists in Mthwakazi?
A simple, Mthwakazi-wide civic programme of reclaiming our land, using traditional names is the best weapon at our disposal okwamanje. Shona language and cultural imperialist ambitions were made plain and clear when Zanu changed Bulawayo street names from English to Shona.We must reverse all of this by adopting Mthwakazi geographical points and people names to not only preserve them but most importantly, entrench/strengthen a tribal/cultural connection with them.

Every hill, mountain, river, street, village, town, city residential area must carry a Mthwakazi (Venda, Tonga, Ndebele, Sotho, Zulu, etc )name njengoba silabo Mzilikazi 'township' etc. All English and Shona names must be removed - that we have streets called 'Takawira', 'Jiri' or residential areas called 'Hillside', 'Selbourne Park' etc is a travesty. Are we being party to our own destruction?

Remember ukuthi Mthwakazi names and places are descriptive, they remind us of past legends and things that happened there. Are we to let go of all that history and heritage?Our land has been besmirched with foreign history. Our current and future civic leaders must be made to realise how much power they hold in the fight against Shona language and cultural imperialism. We need forward-thinking civic leaders who will take pride in our history and heritage.

I propose that all our city/rural councils create a 'Culture Directorate' in their ranks. This Directorate would liase with Mthwakazian Historians and researchers whenever a new building, residential area, road, street is erected and advise on the naming process. Mthwakazi, liyizwa kanjani lendaba?

Ibambeni, lingay'yeki. Sebenza!!

I am of the opinion that the suggestions forwarded by Maqhamehlezi and Skuvethe will not be accepted or allowed in Zim. These are the very things we need in Mthwakazi, but i doubt that the government of Robert Mugabe will be kind to our wishes, because what the two gentlemen have suggested will have marvellous impact on our people and thereby restoring our pride as a people, but this is what Robert Mugabe and his government have been fighting agaisnt since independence. It is unthinkable in a free Zimbabwe without monuments erected of Lobengula and Mzilikazi, it is ridiclous that there are no national ceremonies to remember these great kings. Yes, i agree with you Skuvethe, street names need to change and Mthwakazi names used instead, to reinforce that further, tshona teachers in primary schools must go and replaced by Mthwakazi teachers so as to prepare our children adequately for what they supposed to be and admire as a people.

Decolonise the mind-- never let your child be taught by a tshona teacher at primary level.

Bafowethu.

NGITHE KUMBE LOKHU KUNGASIPHA UMBONO NGOKUTHI EZINYE IZIVE ZENZANI NGE DECOLONIZATION:
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U.S. Aid Can't Win Bolivia's Love as New Suitors Emerge
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By JUAN FORERO
Published: May 14, 2006
EL PALOMAR, Bolivia, May 7 — For decades, the United States has given hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Bolivia, spending on everything from roads to rural health care. But these days, to Washington's dismay, it is Cuba and Venezuela that Bolivians in places like this small farming community are embracing because of new assistance programs from those countries.


Noah Friedman-Rudovsky for The New York Times
Bolivians recently waited to see Cuban doctors at an ophthalmology clinic in El Alto, one of the health and educational programs paid for by Cuba.


The New York Times
Venezuela and Cuba sponsor an education program in El Palomar.
Aid from Havana and Caracas has been flowing into Bolivia since a Socialist union leader, Evo Morales, became president in January, and it signals a deepening partnership with the Bush administration's most prominent regional antagonists.

It also highlights Washington's seeming inability, despite its formidable spending, to win over Bolivians. Many Bolivians have come to associate American aid almost exclusively with a generation-old anti-drug policy to wipe out coca, the raw material for cocaine, which has led to years of political unrest here.

"The United States just subordinates Latin America and Bolivia, and it bothers me, it really bothers me," said Enrique de la Cruz, 25, a medical student who was waiting for a bus in El Palomar, where many people live in simple adobe homes. "The alliances with Venezuela and Cuba are super."

Development aid from the United States to Bolivia still amounts to about $100 million annually, far more than from any other country. In addition to paying for big infrastructure projects like roads and pushing international lenders to forgive Bolivia's debt — assistance that for years gave Washington unchallenged influence with governments here — the aid from the United States has helped Bolivians in more direct ways, too, building clinics and helping small businesses.

Still, many people who seek help do not know the money comes from the United States government.

Now, that aid is going head to head with programs that have been publicly promoted by Mr. Morales and are sponsored by Fidel Castro of Cuba and Venezuela's president, Hugo Chávez, whose country is awash in oil money.

The emergence of a populist leader like Mr. Morales, an Aymara Indian and former coca grower, has made Bolivia the most promising place yet for Venezuela, in particular, to showcase its influence and further Mr. Chávez's ambitious policy of countering the Bush administration's aims in Latin America.

The total actually spent on the programs so far is unclear; Cuba and Venezuela have pledged to provide development aid and services that could total $130 million or more over the course of several years, but those have not been realized yet.

"The Cubans and Venezuelans are putting a human face on what they're doing, so they can get a hell of a lot of mileage," said Myles Frechette, a former United States diplomat in Latin America. "We have been the donor of choice for a very, very long time, and the kind of things that we help with pay off in the long run. So they tend to be undramatic and people don't notice and seem to take them for granted."

The new programs include money for rural clinics run by Cuban doctors and literacy classes organized by both countries.

Venezuela has promised to help Bolivia with its plans to nationalize its energy industry. And it is building 109 rural radio stations, offering scholarships to train Bolivian health workers and leading an effort to help hundreds of thousands of Bolivians get identification papers.

That aid allowed Wilson Calle, 15, to get his first inoculation the other day at a local school here. Miles away, in the poor city of El Alto, Juan Rolando Jano, 73, received free cataract surgery from Cuban doctors at a center where a banner read Bolivian-Cuban Ophthalmology Clinic.

Álvaro Chura Quispe, 15, got his identification card with 250 fellow students at his high school in La Paz, the capital.

Here in El Palomar, about 30 miles south of the capital, Francisca Tarqui expressed jubilation that because of an education program jointly sponsored by Venezuela and Cuba, she will soon learn to read.

"I cannot believe it," she said, standing at the door of her home on a dirt road. "I'm 83 years old!"

Mr. Morales has welcomed the aid, attending ribbon cuttings for Cuban and Venezuelan programs and meeting with Mr. Chávez and Mr. Castro.

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Li Zwangendaba.