Our future now rests with the youth.
During today’s burial of the late Brigadier General (Rtd) Charles Chimwaza at the National Heroes Acre in Harare, President Emmerson Mnangagwa urged the youth to visit shrines such as Chimoio in Mozambique, and other sites where hundreds of freedom fighters and refugees were massacred by Rhodesian forces during the armed struggle for Zimbabwe’s independence.
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He said that such visits would help the young ones appreciate the sacrifices made by our forebears in fighting for the nation’s liberation.
At first glance, it seemed like a reasonable idea.
Indeed, every Zimbabwean child should be encouraged to visit these historic sites to gain a deeper understanding of the trials, tribulations, and extraordinary courage that defined the struggle for independence.
Our mothers and fathers endured unimaginable suffering to secure a Zimbabwe where every citizen would have an equal stake in the wealth and resources of their country — a wealth that was then hoarded by a small minority who believed themselves entitled to it.
Young Zimbabweans should witness the bravery of an earlier generation that dared to stand up against oppression and marginalization, to fight for the principle that their country belonged to all of its people, not just a select few.
Visiting Chimoio, Mboroma, Nyadzonia, and other refugee and training camps should serve as a stark reminder that freedom was never free, and that every ounce of independence was purchased with courage, blood, and sacrifice.
But more than just an exercise in historical education, such visits must serve as a mirror reflecting the harsh realities of contemporary Zimbabwe.
For those who walk through these shrines, the euphoria of liberation should quickly be tempered by the sobering observation that the vision our heroes died for has not yet been realized.
In today’s Zimbabwe, the country’s immense natural resources remain concentrated in the hands of a ruling elite.
The wealth that once symbolized hope and national pride has been monopolized, leaving ordinary Zimbabweans to survive on meager wages, handouts, and the occasional crumbs tossed from the tables of the powerful.
The inequities are glaring: towns without running water, hospitals without basic medication or diagnostic equipment, schools lying in ruin, and young people facing a future bereft of opportunity.
These are not the conditions of a free and equitable society.
They are the vestiges of a stolen promise.
It is in this context that a visit to Chimoio becomes profoundly instructive.
As the youth stand before the graves and memorials of those who sacrificed everything, they must ask themselves a painful question: did our forebears fight and die so that Zimbabweans today would remain trapped under the rule of a self-serving elite?
Did they imagine a nation where the spoils of independence would be reserved for a privileged few while millions endure daily indignities?
The answer, tragically, is evident in the state of our schools, hospitals, and communities.
The dreams of liberation have been subverted by leaders who view the nation as a personal fiefdom rather than a collective inheritance.
The youth must also recognize that the baton of freedom has now been passed to them.
The struggle no longer requires rifles and guerrilla warfare, but it does demand courage, vision, and persistence.
It calls for vigilance against corruption, entitlement, and the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of the few.
It calls for advocacy, for demanding accountability, and for reclaiming the dignity and opportunities that have been systematically denied.
Today’s battle is fought in classrooms, courts, public spaces, and boardrooms — everywhere that decisions are made that affect the lives of ordinary Zimbabweans.
Moreover, those visiting Chimoio should see firsthand that the nation’s youth cannot wait for foreigners to solve their problems, nor can they rely on promises from a political elite that has repeatedly failed them.
The path to liberation today is internal and collective.
It requires ordinary Zimbabweans to recognize their power, to organize, to demand equitable access to resources, and to insist on governance that prioritizes the citizenry over self-enrichment.
The martyrs of Chimoio and other sites paid with their lives to make such action possible.
Their sacrifice was not the end, but the beginning — a call for each generation to take responsibility for the freedom they inherited.
It is also crucial that a visit to these shrines fosters not just anger or disappointment, but a determination to act.
The youth should leave Chimoio and similar sites with a sense of urgency and responsibility.
They must question the structural inequalities that persist, challenge the apathy that allows corruption to flourish, and reject narratives that absolve them from the duty of active citizenship.
Freedom without justice, equality, and opportunity is hollow.
Today, Zimbabweans are confronted with the stark reality that the freedom for which so many gave their lives remains incomplete, and the task of completing it falls squarely on the shoulders of those who now have the benefit of hindsight, history, and knowledge.
Furthermore, such visits should illuminate the personal dimension of the national crisis.
Young people must see that the struggles of their parents — the inability to provide for families, the lack of access to quality healthcare and education, and the daily battles with inadequate infrastructure — are not inevitable or natural, but the direct consequence of mismanagement and kleptocracy.
The heroes who lie at Chimoio and other shrines did not fight to leave their children and grandchildren beholden to a system that perpetuates suffering and inequality.
By understanding this, the youth can better grasp the moral imperative to reclaim the promise of independence and demand a Zimbabwe that works for all.
In the end, a visit to Chimoio should inspire reflection, but more importantly, it should spur action.
Zimbabwe’s youth, standing amidst the graves of the brave, must understand that history has given them the tools and the responsibility to reshape their nation.
They must reject passivity, confront injustice wherever it exists, and act with courage, integrity, and vision.
Only by doing so can they honor the memory of those who gave everything for a free Zimbabwe.
The martyrs of our past cannot return to finish the struggle; it is up to today’s generation to carry forward the fight — not with arms, but with knowledge, action, and unwavering commitment to the ideals of equity, justice, and shared prosperity.
A visit to Chimoio, therefore, is more than a historical exercise.
It is a call to witness, a call to reckon, and a call to act.
And if the youth heed that call, they may finally see that the promise of independence is not a relic of the past, but a vision for the future — one that they themselves are empowered to realize.
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