By Dr. Masimba Mavaza | We shall witness many troublemakers taking photos and posting them solely for their own gain as Zimbabwe gets ready for elections. They won’t even consider the nation they will be destroying and demonising. We’ll have individuals who are satanic, demonic, and evil and who aim to harm the reputation of our nation.
This makes me think of the late South African journalist Kevin Carter.
A widely shared photograph of a vulture waiting for a malnourished little girl to die so it might feast on her corpse surfaced in the 1990s. Kevin Carter, a South African photojournalist who later won the Pulitzer Prize for this “amazing shot,” took the picture during the Sudanese famine of 1993–1994.
Kevin Carter only had a few months to enjoy his purported achievement and fame, as he eventually became despondent and committed suicide! *However, as he was relishing his feat and being praised for such a “exceptional photographic skill” on major news stations and networks around the world, Kevin Carter committed suicide!
*Kevin Carter’s sadness began when a caller inquired about the fate of the little girl during one of these conversations (a phone-in programme). I didn’t wait to find out after this photo since I had a trip to catch,” he merely said in response. “I put it to you that there were two vultures on that day, one had a camera,” the caller continued.
As a result, his persistent reflection on that statement eventually contributed to his melancholy and finally led to his death. If Kevin Carter had simply picked up the young child and carried her to the United Nations Feeding Centre, where she was seeking to reach, or at the very least taken her to somewhere secure, he might still be alive today and even far more renowned.
Sadly, Zimbabwe is currently experiencing this. Some people take pleasure in being foolish and acting cruelly towards others. They’ll circulate false information and give the impression that Zimbabwe is on fire. To appease their controllers, they will post fabricated images of violence. Their acts will never aid Zimbabwe; instead, they will ruin it. Kevin Carter should have pulled the girl out of that situation, and doing so would have cost him nothing, but he chose not to. “He had all the time to take his shot, but he had no time to save the girl’s life,” is the inhuman stance displayed here. Some people will have time to distribute false information about Zimbabwe but not enough time to do the opposite. Not harmful rumour mongers, but positive thinkers are what Zimbabwe needs.
We must all comprehend that life’s mission is to affect people, as well. How many lives will you touch during this election season? Are you a vulture as well? Let Zimbabwe be the priority in whatever we do, not what we stand to gain from the situation. Let’s keep Zimbabwe in mind at all times and consider how we might help the country. How we may offer support and wipe away tears would cheer up the masses of Zimbabweans who are willing to cast peaceful votes. Therefore, let’s consider how we might use information, income, fame, abilities, or even positions to help individuals and society as a whole. Instead of people who are paid to appease their masters, Zimbabwe needs people who are patriotic.
Keep in mind that you have the most to do with bringing about peace and tranquilly in Zimbabwe. Please think of Zimbawe and humanity rather than acting like Kevin Carter.
Tranquillity is the owner of the gate and misfortune would be upon if you misbehave, as my haughty primary school teacher from Mberi Primary School in Chitungwiza used to say. Making your country appear terrible by inciting violence simply to grab photos, you are the second vulture.
Don’t encourage violence and unrest; Zimbabwe can hold elections in peace. It is shocking and extremely disappointing how some of us are eager to commit acts of violence in order to satisfy the demands of our oppressors. The whole knee shaking thing.
Beware, if we lack humanity in whatever we do, we are not humans.
We can only claim one nation as our own. We only have Zimbabwe as a country. Stop defaming your nation.
I am one of the basa.
Inovakwa Nyika nevaridzi Vayo.