Durban residents hold vigil to support Zimbabwe
Despite the poor turn-out, those in attendance were in high spirits and vowed that there would be more gatherings until the situation in Zimbabwe improves.
IN show of solidarity and support, residents of Durban held a candlelight vigil at Jameson Park on Florida Road on Monday night.
Despite the poor turn-out, those in attendance were in high spirits and vowed that there would be more gatherings until the situation in Zimbabwe improves. The country was plunged into violent and angry protests from January 16, following President Emmerson Mnangagwa’ steep fuel price increases, followed by an internet shutdown as the security forces cracked down on protesters, as anti-government demonstrations gained momentum.
According to Katie Friedman the organiser of the vigil at Jameson Park, the reason behind the march was that people were very worried about what was happening in Zimbabwe.
“We’ve got together to show our support for Zimbabwean citizens. The idea is that we all stand together to make ourselves seen and our protest heard about what’s happening in Zimbabwe. They are not alone,” she said.
Ward 27 Councillor, Martin Meyer encouraged the residents to put pressure on government and demand that the issues in Zimbabwe be resolved a soon as possible. “We are here to show solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe. I urge everyone to write to the Presidency, write to the Ministers, member of parliaments and demand that they take action. They must do something about the situation in Zimbabwe, South Africa cannot be free if Zimbabwe is not free.”
Also present at the gathering was anti-apartheid activist Reverend Danny Chetty and Robin Moodley from Practical Ministries, both of whom emphasized how important the role of South Africa was in mediating and solving the challenges Zimbabwe faces.
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“The Bible teaches to love thy neighbor as you love thy self, our presence here today is to show our solidarity with our brothers and sisters. They did the same for us during apartheid, we are not happy with what is happening to our neighbors and we hope that this will be resolved as soon as possible,” they both said.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwean national Percy Nhau said that as things stand, Zimbabwe is South Africa de-facto tenth province. “It will be beneficial for this country to do more in helping the people of Zimbabwe, if they don’t act the situation will become worse,” he said.
“The problem is political, we have leaders who are doing a bad job in governing the country. These problems started a long time ago, this is a culmination of a process that started ages ago. We are appealing to local organisations to help create awareness about the situation in Zimbabwe. South African government has a critical role to play, they did so during Ian Smith and we calling on them to do it again. We need to keep Zimbabwe in the newspaper headlines,” Nhau said.
Activists and lawyers in Zimbabwe fear that the brutal crackdown by security forces will continue ‘for the foreseeable future’ as authorities seek to crush all possible opposition to the ruling Zanu-PF party. So far 12 people have been killed, many more injured and between 700 and 1,500 detained.
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