By Dr Masimba Mavaza| Zimbabwe is the only country we can call ours in the world. There is no other country we can call ours besides Zimbabwe. Having stayed outside the country for a long time I’ve become aware of the fact that there is no other place.
Every Zimbabwean has a right to be protected by law and by his or her government. Human rights in Zimbabwe are protected by the Human Rights Act and the Constitution Anyone who is in Zimbabwe for any reason is protected by the constitution regardless of citizenship or immigration status.
Over the weekend a Chinese man was arrested after shooting 2 workers in a wage dispute at a Gweru mine. The Chinese man shot and injured two employees at a gold mine on Sunday during a confrontation over their outstanding salaries.
Zhang Xueun, 41, has been charged with attempted murder over the shooting at Reeden Mine, 25km outside the Midlands town of Gweru along Matobo road.
Wendy Chikwaira, 31, and Kennedy Tachiona, 39, were shot at point blank range after they demaded their dues from Zhang, the mine’s owner and general manager.
Two months ago several Zimbabweans were left fighting for their lives after being exposed to high radiation by a Chinese employee in a mine in Chakari. Several people were left with life changing burns all over their bodies.
Several working places Zimbabweans have been abused , terrorised and some sodomised by their Chinese bosses. In most cases the Chinese go Scott free.
Several Zimbabweans have been treated like junk in their own country. The Chinese have been left to do as they please in our mother land.
In Uzumba a. Chinese company ploughed down people’s fields to give way to their mining company. Many Zimbabweans are crying everyday because of the brutality the Chinese have been allowed to put on the heads of our own people.
While China is our all weather friend it must not be allowed to give us its bigots pretending to be investors. Chinese largely do not respect black people and our government must stand for its people and not for the bigoted Chinese pausing as our friends. How much blood has to be shed in Zimbabwe before the Chinese are called to order. We must never be Afraid to arrest and prosecute our Chinese friends if they behave in an unfriendly manner.
Tachiona, who was shot in his right leg and left thigh, was still admitted at a private hospital in Gweru on Monday, where he remained stable. He got five bullets as he lay down helplessly and the Chinaman was unfazed. He wished he had more bullets.
Zhang was arrested and detained overnight Sunday ahead of a court appearance. Police said he had been charged with attempted murder. But will he see the trial through.
In a statement on Monday, the Chinese embassy said it “firmly supports Zimbabwe’s law enforcement agencies to transparently and openly investigate and handle the case in accordance with the laws of Zimbabwe.” The problem is not the Chinese. The Chinese are one of the people who respect their officers and the law. But they are allowed to do as they please in Zimbabwe and some African countries.
Any possible illegal acts and persons who violate the law should not be shielded,” the embassy said. But the Chinese are shielded by our corrupt officials. This must not be tolerated.
In a very embarrassing statement of the year The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions said the incident was part of a growing pattern of Chinese employers abusing their local workforce.
The government has sold the country to China,” the ZCTU said in a statement released via Twitter. “Now the Chinese do as they please and illtreat Zimbabwean workers in our own country because they know we have no protection from the government. The liberators have turned our good country into a predator state.” This is an unfortunate statement from the ZCTU. one would have expected the ZCTU to take up the matter and visit all Chinese premises where our people are being ill treated. Insulting the government for things which ZCTU is created for is embarrassing. Their inaction when they are fully aware of the abuses in mines shops and industries by the Chinese is in itself a conspiracy. They are not doing their job. They have now sworn to attack the government and not attack the rogue Chinese businessman.
But the biggest culprit is those in authority. The oldest and simplest justification for government is as protector: protecting citizens from violence.
without a government to provide the safety of law and order, protecting citizens from each other and from foreign foes the nation will be in a free for all fall. The horrors of little or no government to provide that function are on global display in the world’s many fragile states and essentially ungoverned regions. Zimbabwe must not fall into that category. The inhuman behaviour of the Chinese must be checked now.
And indeed, when the chaos of abuse and disorder mounts too high, citizens will feel abandoned and in most cases loses trust in their governments. This can be avoided if the government is to be tough on those Chinese who think that we are a punch bag.
The idea of government as protector requires taxes to fund, train and equip an army and a police force; to build courts and jails; and to elect or appoint the officials to pass and implement the laws citizens must not break. So foreigners must never be allowed to oppress the locals simply because the government is extending a hand.
The concept of government as provider comes next: government as provider of protection that individuals cannot provide individually for themselves. Government in this conception is the solution to collective action problems, the medium through which citizens have good working conditions in their work places and peace in their mother land.
The government can cushion the inability of citizens to provide for themselves, particularly in the vulnerable conditions of unemployment due to economic forces beyond their control.
The future of government builds on these foundations of protecting and providing. Government will continue to protect citizens from violence and from the worst vicissitudes of life. Government will continue to provide security at a level necessary to ensure a globally competitive economy and a well-functioning society. But wherever possible, government should invest in citizen capabilities to enable them to provide for themselves in rapidly and continually changing circumstances.
The abuse of citizens by the Chinese must not be left like this. In Kenya a Chinese man who insulted blacks and all Kenyans was detained and deported.
If our government fails to act people will be forced to deal with these Chinese who are bigots. Any action by our people will reflect badly on the government so it is important that government takes proper action.
People are not all stupid neither are they all cowards so Zimbabweans must be respected for their patience. The brutality of the Zimbabweans by the Chinese goes beyond the all weather friendship. Friends do not shed blood of friends.
The Chinese given guns in our country have they gone through proper vetting. Do they have mental issues. All these have not been checked. What we are left with is the blood in our hands.
We can not have Chinese as our masters. Never again shall we be subjected to such oppression. If Chinese have no respect of the Zimbabwean please let us suffer in our own country. We do not need new masters who pretend to be friends.
The Chinese government through their embassy have insisted that any Chinese who break the law must not be protected. The full wreath of the law must be allowed to take its course.
We cannot be second class in our mother land. In China corruption is punishable by death but Chinese in Zimbabwe bribe officials with no consequences. This should stop right now. We must see justice for all Zimbabweans and justice for those beaten shot or rapped by their foreign bosses. Zimbabwe is the only country we can call ours in the whole world.
