This week the media highlighted two stories that showed two contradictory schools of thought exhibited by the late Vice-President Joshua Nkomo’s family and President Robert Mugabe.
The Nkomo family called for peace and reconciliation while President Mugabe called for vengeance against the white community by evicting them from farms they occupy.
The late Nkomo’s son Sibangilizwe said: “This [burying the hatchet] is important for us to go forward socially, economically and in all other aspects of our lives. It’s the only way to truly honour our founding fathers and mothers whose sacrifices can’t be in vain.”
But President Mugabe, speaking at the launch of the new A1 permits at Chipfundi in Mhangura, accused his lieutenants of “supping with whites” and vowed that no farmland would be returned to whites again.
Forgiveness is a virtue. It is not easy.
It requires a lot of maturity and a change of feeling and attitude by the wronged party.
In the ancient world, revenge was a virtue until communities sobered up and noted that it is actually forgiveness that is virtuous. Revenge creates a vicious cycle of bitterness and destruction.
We have seen how, in the quest for revenge, mankind has not only committed genocide, but has hurt innocent people too. The wise have said an eye for an eye makes the world blind.
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To forgive is to free one from the shackles of pain and bitterness. President Mugabe, as a wise, educated and old statesman should be aware of this.
We cannot continue fighting each other on the basis of ethnicity in this global village. Fights don’t bring food to the table. Nkomo’s son was spot on — forgiving each other will make us go forward socially and economically.
Bitter wars were fought in Europe, but the nations forgave each other and formed a very powerful economic bloc called the European Union.
Today they are reaping the fruits of forgiveness. We all make mistakes and we all want to be forgiven for the mistakes that we make. What we were yesterday is not what we are today.
Who has not hurt others in his or her life? Is there anyone so pure that they have not made mistakes that have hurt others? The answer is a resounding NO!
We should preach peace so that we teach our children to forgive. Bitterness is a hindrance to progress.
Revenge, like greed, knows no bounds and will never stop. Both lead to barbaric acts. The two can only destroy.
The large part of our economic problems stem from our inability to bury the hatchet.
For the past decades, we have seen how the desire for revenge has torn apart the nation and the economy and to continue advocating for revenge shows lack of wisdom.
President Mugabe should lead us to forgive others as we have also been forgiven by those we have wronged.
