“Three blind mice; three blind mice See how they run; see how they run They all ran after the farmer’s wife Who cut off their tails with a carving knife Did you ever see such a thing in your life As three blind mice”
So goes the lyrics of an old English song. The origin of the song and lyrics are based on an English allegory referring to the daughter of King Henry VIII, Queen Mary I, who was a staunch Catholic and whose violent persecution of Protestants led to her being nicknamed “Bloody Mary”.
The three blind mice referred to the three noblemen who were staunch Protestants and were burnt at the stake for their religious beliefs after being falsely convicted of plotting against the Queen.
Recently, in Zimbabwe four blind men who had been arrested by the police and had their wares confiscated were so incensed they overcame their handicap and meted out instant blind justice to the offending policeman.
Throughout the world blind people often resort to menial pursuits to eke out a living.
In the US many, like Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder, overcame their handicaps becoming renowned singers, earning millions of dollars and a celebrity lifestyle.
In Zimbabwe, one Pearson Nherera, a blind man, overcame his handicap, successfully completed his law degrees and lived a full life until his death.
It is said that handicaps can often result in compensatory gains in other senses to astonishing levels. But support mechanisms are necessary to help unlock this potential.
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Present-day Zimbabwe poses unforgiving challenges, even for non-handicapped people. With a basically collapsed economy, on account of the adventurism and kamikaze policies of the Mr Know-it-alls of our time, who are blasé and scoff at, and sacrifice tried and tested conventional economic principles on the altar of political expediency, the majority of its people are scraping the barrel.
Industries have shut down and more are likely to close, as more and more regimental policies which have no stakeholder buy-in are introduced. Resultantly, the people have resorted to the instrument at hand, to survive.
Women are forced to sell their honour, to survive and many have resorted to vending. The police force, on the other hand, holds no brief for these toiling masses.
They have been as efficient in dealing with these unfortunate souls as they have been in dealing with perceived enemies and opponents of Zanu PF.
It’s against this background that four blind men overcame their handicap and meted out instant justice to some police details who had arrested them for vending and confiscated their wares.
There comes a time when even a worm will turn.
A people who are continuously subjected to repression will, at some point or other, muster enough courage to face their persecutors.
In the Asian jurisdiction they have resorted to the desperate measure of suicide bombing as a way of making their point.
Many innocent lives have been lost, as a result. There used to be social welfare systems in days gone-by which provided a safety net for those of us unfortunate enough to be in dire straits.
There is no such thing, it’s now dog-eat-dog. If the biblical Good Samaritan were to return today, he would be overwhelmed.
There are floods of desperate souls throughout the country.
Our people are suffering. Zimbabwe has been reduced to a land of kings and vagabonds with the yawning chasm between the rich and the poor forever widening, and nobody cares.
Politicians, the elite and crusaders of patronage, are in it for themselves. They are filthy rich and making a killing, ever falling over each other grabbing opportunities that they sprinkle over themselves like confetti, while the poor are watch like orphans and stepchildren.
The laws that deal with the poor are crafted by the rich who view such poor as a nuisance to be stamped out, rather than a social condition to be addressed.
A more public relations-oriented approach to these issues is the humane way to go.
The poor do not create the conditions they find themselves in – they are created by the same people who send these police officers to brutalise them and confiscate their wares.
How often do we hear the rulers take responsibility for this malfeasance?
They drive people into abject poverty through their political ineptitude then they follow them up in the streets, when they try to eke out a living, and confiscate their wares.
Some have been smashing commuter omnibus windshields.
Police officers, taking the law into their own hands and causing malicious injury to property, with impunity!
Talk of blind rage . . .! The signs are telling, when the blind resort to physical brawls! Only in Zimbabwe . . .!
When are we going to learn to deal with the causes of societal ills rather than the symptoms?
