Where will you be found in The Sands of Our Time?

Where will you be found in The Sands of Our Time? When you read biographies, you suddenly realise that all the illustrious people of our past had to grit their teeth to powder to achieve what we read about in their biographies today. I have read Nelson Mandela – The Long Walk to Freedom, Wilberforce and Lee Kuan Yew, From Third World to First: The Singapore Story: 1965-2000. I have also read Gandhi. Until I read Mother Teresa, I may be biased to conclude based on the walk of great man in politics. Nelson Mandela redefined the meaning of forgiveness and was the symbol of tolerance for the greater good of society in the 21st Century. William Wilberforce as an 18th Century Independent Politician and a born again Christian shaped the governance structures of his time and devoted his entire life to the abolition of the slave trade in and around the British Empire. A feat he accomplished late in his 60s. Lee Kuan Yew stands to this day as a symbol of commitment to development and progress transforming Singapore at its independence in 1965 from a Third World British Trading Post to a First World Independent country in a single Generation. These persons and more stand as beacons of light in the human spirit of what can be accomplished and its influence in the world when men devote their lives to selfless service of humanity. The struggles of these luminaries and their impact on the world of their times stand in judgement to the people of our times When I look at our country Zimbabwe in general and our city Harare in particular, I search records and realise no biographies will be written about the men of my times. We do not have any persons living presently dedicated to the cause of humanity either from politics or religion whose lives will be narrated. The state of Harare is in so deplorable a state with no hope whatsoever and no one wherever in sight shining a light in the darkness of our times. The state of decay and regression is so vivid to be almost tangible. The mentality of its people has adopted a valueless existence that has blossomed into an unchecked destructive culture. As you drive or are driven around Harare, the condition of the direction signs that indicate to you which suburbs are in which direction are non-existent with only a few remnants of the progress of the bygone era. An era that is remembered with nostalgia though its promise to a developing and modern times ahead stands in stark contrast to the rot of our present day. You may not actually notice the absence of these signs as your focus is on which part of the Gravel Tar that is navigable. Enter the city and marvel at the grass growing on concrete pavements where it traps more soil and litter for its uninterrupted growth. Look around and see the filth, the litter and scum that now define the outlook of our societies. Yet again I realise there is no one out there with a twinkle of passion championing any cause of humanity save for the likes of little supported Fungai Chiposis and other community champions that are trying to disinfect the decay of our present age . Society and corporates actually deride their efforts and class them in the group of ‘mad men’. The luminaries of the past centuries that we all allude to were all actually mad men of their time. The difference though with our times is that some in their society saw the vision and bought into the journey. If you look closer in Harare and see the vandalism and lack of maintenance of the little social infrastructure that has been put in to jump start some semblance of a humane society, you will realise that the mad men are actually the multitude who see the ‘mad men’ of their times. A case in point is the litter bin project that was rolled at the end of last year in the city centre which as hoped by the ‘mad me’ that our City Fathers would build on the efforts of the volunteers. There is absolutely no sign that the lights are on at Townhouse with the destroyed and damaged litter bins now outnumbering the usable ones. These are our times where no men of influence will attempt to influence their era. Where will you be found in The Sands of Our Time? Jazinda Machache jmachache@gmail.com