Open Forum with Evelyn Mazvizvo
THE earth beneath us echoes the cries of innocent men, women and children who were killed as a result of the 2008 political violence.
The citizens of Zimbabwe remain vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. The very systems that are meant to protect them are the ones that have left Zimbabweans exposed and prone to abuse.
In defining stress, there isn’t a generally acceptable statement. In emphasis, Cox (1988) suggests that there is no single agreed definition in existence. What stress is not: Stress is not something which only affects people in the 21st Century; stress is not simple anxiety or tension; stress is not necessarily bad or damaging; stress is not an event or circumstance, but a response to it; stress is not necessarily to be avoided.
Characteristics of political violence in Zimbabwe comprises of most commonly political rape, also known as systematic rape, physical torture and abductions.
One of the most common phenomenon in conflicts and war in Africa is political rape or systematic rape. The victims of systematic rape are often female party supporters, close relatives or wives of party members. In Zimbabwe, the use of sexual violence did not begin in 2008, but has its roots in the Chimurenga wars experienced in this country.
Political rape is a tool used to define the strength and power of a political party or group.
Furthermore, socially in the African context of marriage, women are a man’s possession especially in rural areas. When a woman is raped, it is seen as an attack on the woman’s husband. The husband is seen as the protector and defender, hence, the inability to do this deflects his manhood. Hence, rape is used to create an attack situation where a man attacks another man which perpetuates a politically violent environment.
Political rape is also used to change the goals and interests of the opponents or parties. There are cases of close relatives of male party members as well as female party members who have been systematically raped and this tool has been effective in shifting the goals and interests of these members.
Systematic rape has short and long-term effects that do not only affect the victim, but the family and the community to whom they belong. The institution of marriage carries strong connotations of dignity, respect and virtue in African societies. A girl’s virginity counts for her worth and purity. If anything interrupts with these two concepts, women suffer the loss of value and the majority of them lose their eligibility for marriage.
The social consequence of political rape is that women are rejected by their families and their husbands. In such situations, husbands tend to think their wives have contracted HIV and this pervades their ability to make rational decisions, hence, they often send their wives away. Children are left motherless, depriving them of motherly love and care. Children experience feelings of abandonment and loneliness.
Women constitute most of the agricultural workforce, which, when they leave, families suffer shortages in food supply. The effects of stress on women results in post-traumatic stress disorder, sleeplessness and apathy. Women, who end up staying, are prone to domestic violence from their husband’s outbursts of anger.
Physical torture is another phenomenon in conflict and war. The 2008 electoral campaign was characterised by beatings and battering of women, men and children. Many had their body parts amputated especially their arms, being asked if they want “short sleeve” or “long sleeve” amputations. Many now have disabilities and suffer from head or back aches that limit proper functioning in which they struggle to accomplish everyday tasks for survival.
People in rural areas suffer more in politically violent situations yet they still have to depend on physical activities to be productive. Victims of physical torture experience hallucinations and heightened episodes of fear and anxiety.
During the 2008 election campaigns, individuals were also forced to attend rallies. Some were abducted and taken to torture camps. As a result, many suffer severe psychological problems. Some due to the gruesome experiences, suffer mental disorders.
In the 2008 political decadence, being victims directly and indirectly, Zimbabweans showed no signs of distress as they managed to concentrate, perform tasks, rationalised in thought, presented themselves well and maintained their self-esteem. The responses of Zimbabwean people to the political stressors, characterised by violence in 2008, was that of steadfastness, anticipation and hopefulness. This was reflected by the peace that resided in and among people who chose not to take warring arms for their abused, tortured, beaten, abducted and raped relatives or friends.
For those who may still experience stress rooted in the 2008 political violence, there are indicators that stress is becoming out of control leading to distress. Measuring stress responses help in distinguishing stress at different levels over a period of time or specific time. According to researchers, stress can be measured physiologically.
Popular physiological measures of stress include heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, pulse rate, finger sweat print (FSP), muscle tone, urine analysis. Stress can be measured also by self-report measures.
The instruments that assess stress on individuals tend to focus on the level of environmental stressors to which a person is exposed, the amount of pressure experienced by the individual and the ability of individuals to manage stress, hence their vulnerability to stress. There are unobtrusive measures of stress which include physical traces such as posters or graffiti on walls written “stop the violence”. Systematic models of stress assessment for communities and institutions need to be developed and implemented to indicate the impact of the political violence in 2008; hence, the level of intervention by social workers, psychologists and health practitioners can be clearly ascertained.
As individuals, we need to reach a place of self-healing and this is where learning to manage one’s personal traumatic experiences begins. The first step is to make the right cognitive re-appraisals, such as constructive self-talk. Stress may also be managed by seeking social support as well as change of lifestyle.
Healing for Zimbabweans will take time and will firstly require an individual and community work. Second, the government of Zimbabwe needs to acknowledge the abuses that took place during the 2008 campaign period and take responsibility of the damage it has done, by apologising to the people deeply and sincerely, as well as offering therapeutic programmes for those who are distressed.
In order for this to take place, church leaders, community leaders and institutions should generate creative ideas that begin dialogue of the events and experiences of 2008 political episode. These experiences should be known by our children as our history. Children must be educated about the political violence of 2008 and history books must be written and published and included in the educational curriculum.
The Organ on National Healing and Reconciliation has to deal thoroughly with the past experiences and face them head on. Avoiding the past will perpetuate the politically driven violence in Zimbabwe for generations.
The armed forces and the leaders of this nation should achieve absolute protection of the citizens of Zimbabwe and maintain their rights.
The National Healing organ presently does not have the capacity and is not equipped to prevent political violence in the future. A reformation of the institutions, laws, constitution needs to take place allowing for accountability structures so that political violence is no longer tolerated in Zimbabwe.
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