Violence and the Revolution

An interesting conversation turned towards Che Guevara, and the questioned was raised, "How can I support the man when his actions were so marred by violence?" Guevara was a man seemingly dedicated to the restoration of the poor, to the solidarity of humanity, to the propagation of peace. In fact, he once stated that the "true revolutionary is guided by feelings of love." Yet compare his rhetoric to his actions, and a quandary arises for the person sold on the revolution of peace. Guevara's violent means to a peaceful end are of course a contradiction, a hypocrisy for the zealot.

Guevara's endorsement of violence as a proper vehicle to peace must be seen within the context of Guevara's Latin America. With the abuses of capitalism self-evident, and the centuries old subjection of the indigenous peoples, oppression was systemic. Add the Cold War into the mix, and the 'Big Brother' attitude of the United States towards its southernly neighbors at the time, the cultural setting becomes quite explosive. In this sense, it would be wrong to judge the actions of Guevara; his cultural context informed in him in a certain direction. However, this does not vindicate his choice of violent revolution. I believe history does a fine job at exposing the true nature of revolution.

Leo Tolstoy, Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Jesus of Nazereth; these were men who were revolutionaries of peace and their legacies are ones of love, beauty, creativity, life. It would be hard to say this is the legacy of Guevara. History vindicates peaceful revolution.

What does any of this have to do with Zimbabwe? Botswana's foreign minister recently went on record saying he feared a military coup or bloody civil war if Zim's current unity talks fell through. Many might welcome a change in leadership, even at the expense of a few lives. But I fear this would be disastrous. 

Just like Guevara's Latin America, Zimbabwe has been in an explosive situation the past several years, but opposition leaders have refrained from violent action. The Shona people are peaceful, capable of enduring much. They must push through the current moments of suffering to reach the peaceful embrace of stability and prosperity. Violence will only breed more blood shed. The foundation of Zimbabwe's future must be built on the peaceful transition of power.

Up, up and away

11.2 million percent. That's Zimbabwe's latest count on its hyper-inflation. It is astronomical, nearly comical because of its absurdity. But the reality of this economic collapse is terrifying. The latest numbers from the World Food Program (WFP) estimates 83% of Zimbabwe's population are living off of less than two US dollars a day. Imagine trying to feed yourself, let alone a family, with just $2. The situation gets even more complicated when you consider the massive shortage of food. The WFP estimates 45% of the total population are malnourished. And with maize (corn) production down another 28% on top of last year's already abysmal numbers, an estimated 4 million people are in danger of needing food assistance this coming year.

The enormity of these numbers is overwhelming, but we must not forget the individual faces of Zimbabwe. Each of these statistics impacts single people like you and me. My father has lost his job; your mother cannot feed your family; our brothers and sisters are going without food. How would we respond if it were the people close to us? ... Perhaps that should be our response to the crisis in Zimbabwe.