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Mugabe is the harbinger of things to come
How the hell has Robert Mugabe got away with it this far? It is because in Africa he is a massively popular hero; more popular than Mandela. Not only did he defeat the whites in battle but also, uniquely, he has seized back the land they stole and publicly humiliated them - something which no other African leader has had the guts to do.
It is a unique achievement. No doubt sophisticated Africans love Mandela for his saintly forgiveness and reconciliation. But the great mass love Mugabe as a leader who has exacted sweet revenge.
Yes, you will say, but what about the terrible things he has done to his own people? The trouble is that so many of the wronged Zimbabweans are not his own people, since many of them are of a different tribe and therefore, to the African man in the street, fair game.
So in reality it is not surprising that Mugabe survives in power, just as it would not have been surprising if in 1945 Churchill had survived in power here. The surprise then was that so many of us were ungrateful enough to kick him out.
Britain needs to wake up to reality. One of the main stories of the 21st century is going to tell the tale of how the coloured peoples reversed the wrongs that were done to them by the white race in the previous two centuries; and Africa, make no mistake, is going to be part of that story as much as Asia and the Arab world.
In other words, Mugabe is not the odd man out; or the savage throwback; he is the harbinger of things to come. We have seen nothing yet. ·
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I agree with Vera, Peregrine does talk utter nonsense, it's fairly consistent of all his commentary, sometimes I wonder if he isn't playing the devil's advocate. I doubt the vast majority of Zimbabweans still see Mugabe as a hero (certainly after this past few weeks), and if they had access to a balanced media I'm sure even fewer would. Just look at the recent football match in Kenya where the spectators were all chanting 'Mugabe must go'. Hero to Africa? I don't think so, more like embarrassment, start reading the commentary from some of the continent's papers old chap. Peregrine sounds like these very sad old African leaders of a long gone generation harping on about colonial injustices, it's time to move on and stop using it as an excuse for their ineptitude. Mugabe's land reposession is nothing more than theft by his cronies.
Saying the 'coloured' crowd will reverse the wrongs in the 21st century is simple jingoistic rubbish, if anything they'll reverse their prosperity through poor democracy and mismanagement. The 21st century belongs to Asia anyhow, much of that continent was colonised but they're focused on the future they can make for themselves, not the past of their oppressors, the difference in poverty reduction betweeen the two continents is obvious.
As a student of African history and politics, I've come across a number of scholars attempting to decode and understand the complexities of the diverse continent. However, I never felt I grasped the post-independence breakdown in many countries until I read African novelists such Chinua Achebe, Ayi Kwei Armah, and Ngugi wa Thiongo. While Zimbabwe's Rhodesian past most certainly gives the country its own unique flavor (or perhaps more appropriately, its own aftertaste), I suggest Worsthorne look into the literature these, and other, prolific writers from the continent. He might come out with a strikingly different opinion on African leaders and their identity in front of both their constituents and outsiders as right-doers/wrong-doers, heroes/villains; Worsthorne might even be able to move beyond the age-old idea of race or "tribe" or white or coloured as a static, primoridal charcteristic of African politics.
Worsthorne is the one who needs a little wake-up call. He is sadly living in the self-consciousness of his country's colonial past.
It is not surprising that you hold this opinion Sir Peregrine, I would imagine that the Iraqi/Kuwait situation was also perfectly legitimate, or the countless Balkan independance wars ..... and of course there is the fact that by using the same logic you could wrongly justify the holocaust by saying that the Jewish people were 'not Hitlers people and therefore fair game'. Should we have 'woken up to reality' and done nothing then? --
Then again Ireland is also part of the UK, so I'm sure that they won't mind the English back in to reclaim what is, using your logic, rightfully theirs ..... and of course that is completely ridiculous. --
Mind you, it is no surprise to me that the man who stated in the early '80s that :
"The English have every reason to feel proud of their country's recent record in Northern Ireland, since it sets the world a uniquely impressive example of altruistic service in the cause of peace. Nothing done by any other country in modern times so richly deserves the Nobel prize." :
can see a murderous dictator such as Mugabe being the norm.
Pergrine come down from the clouds, as the food shortage crises worsens throughout the 21st century, coloured people and most of all those on the African continent will be far to busy trying to survive starvation than pointing fingers at the 'white race' , Britain or the West.
PW writes the biggest load of rubbish i have ever read. I have lived in Zimbabwe for over 40 years .Where on earth do you state that the great mass of peop;e love Mugabe . Just because because you see films of people cheering him they have no option but too its either that or get beaten up or much worse KILLED. We have winessed Mugabes thugs and they do NOT make any distinction between Mashona Ndebele Karanga or the whites . The majority are his people we all know that he hates the Ndbele just look at what he did in Bulawayo and we actually witnessed that event.
Before you say any more the people all say that they were much better off under a white govnment than they are now under a black how many times we have heard that they wish they had a whites in power . I would love to know just how long you have lived in Zimbabwe . Let me tell you, you have to spend at least two to three years in Zim before you can say how the people think I would suggest you read the ZIMBABWEAN newspaper for a true picture not your rubbish
Mr Worsthorne does not mention the American Indians, the Eskimos nor the Aboriginals of Australia. Will they also be allowed to reverse the wrongs of the past or do those wrongs not count, predating, as they do, the two centuries introduced by the author as a limit? Tks Bob Visser