Monthly Archive

So it seems that the Zimbabwe opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has won the Zimbabwe general election, at least on paper. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has yet to announce the victory and has at the time of writing banned any “premature” announcements on broadcast media. Secretary-General of the MDC Tendai Biti said that his party “made a mistake” in the 2005 election by not announcing their victory, and went on to state that he does not trust the ZEC which, he said, “is not independent” (Source: Business Day).

Zimbabwe has been under great stress in the last decade, with hyperinflation, a shortage of foreign currency, and problems with the supply of many basic commodities. One can only hope that Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF party, led by the autocratic Robert Mugabe, will accept defeat gracefully and hand over power to the opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai so that the long process of governmental reform and economic reconstruction can begin. If (and admittedly, this is a big if) Mugabe does concede defeat, the next chapter of Zimbabwe’s history will move to another phase of decolonisation that began with the fall of Rhodesia, leading to the former freedom fighter’s present anti-western dictatorship. A process which has been mirrored in varying degrees throughout Africa and in parts of the western world.

I was thinking the other day about this process, and in particular what final form each former colony will take. The process itself has necessarily involved the transfer of control of local lands, resources and executive power to indigenous peoples, but I wonder to what extent this must be constitutionally guaranteed. The point is somewhat moot in places like Zimbabwe and South Africa where indigenous populations are now dominant. But in places like Fiji, Australia and New Zealand, the demography reflects a significantly large population of colonial origin that in some cases form a majority. Is it possible to successfully ‘decolonise’ such a nation while retaining a democratic form of government? Fiji’s experience in particular has shown how fraught the process can be, having several military coups over the constitutional protection of indigenous rights since 1987. Zimbabwe lost much of its white population through ‘redistribution’ of farms and other human rights abuses. But it is probably unfair to place the blame for this entirely on Mugabe’s government, which has been in power since the removal of Ian Smith’s Rhodesia. Other colonial nations at least granted early suffrage to their respective indigenous populations; Ian Smith’s white minority regime did not. Civil war - with the attendant instability, corruption and ethnic tensions - may have been inevitable.

In the old days of colonialism, the thinking was that integration could best be achieved with the assimilation of native populations into the imperial family. But perhaps what needs to be assimilated most is the knowledge, history and cultural values of indigenous peoples - not simply as a patsy to contemporary liberal thought - but as recognition that no empire lasts forever, and as a way of ensuring that decolonisation must not necessarily involve the marginalisation of colonial populations through constitutionally racist, non-democratic forms of government. We have already seen how such protectionist (and worse) governance can lead to destructive ethnic tensions and economic flight. It may be a bit early for Zimbabwe to make peace with its own colonial past, but we can hope Morgan Tsvangirai and his Movement for Democratic Change make good on the promise of his party’s name, and leave corruption, economic oblivion and despotism behind.

Well it’s been a while since my last post, and there is a reason for that. You see, just a few days ago the final chapter closed on a rather ugly episode in my life. I was present at a criminal hearing at the Wellington District Court a couple of days ago and I didn’t want to risk prejudicing the case by writing any opinions here beforehand, no matter how small the risk. But before I talk about that and my thoughts on the whole business, some background is in order. I apologise in advance for the colourful language.

On Friday the 29th of September last year, I had been having a few social drinks and games of pool with friends at a pub in Cuba Street, Wellington. I said my goodbyes at around 11:45pm and walked through the Cuba mall toward Manners Street, where I intended to get a taxi home. As I walked past the entrance to Opera House Lane (a small side-street/alleyway coming off Manners) however, a tall, young polynesian man detached from a group of youths hanging around the area and shoulder-barged me, trying to pick a fight, saying “You’re the man! You’re the man!”, or similar. I brushed him off with my arm and told him to fuck off, but as I walked on ahead he punched me in the back of the head.

Clearly he was not going to accept ‘no’ for an answer.

I turned around and punched the guy in the face, and told him not to fucking punch me. This brought an appreciative jeer from his mates, who quickly gathered around and slightly behind my assailant. They were grinning with anticipation (in retrospect, this was actually one of the worst aspects of the situation for me; I felt like I was being forced to provide entertainment for these losers like some circus animal, and it made me want even more to leave as quickly as possible). I knew that if I ran I would simply be chased and possibly caught; so as my attacker advanced once again I fought him defensively, walking backwards all the while.

He dropped into an amateurish boxer’s crouch that would have looked comical if it was a different situation, as it was clear that he was slightly inebriated and/or inexperienced. He grabbed hold of the lapel of my jacket and tried to hit me repeatedly with his spare fist, but I managed to pull free of his grip before that happened. After we exchanged a few blows, the guy fell back with his mates briefly, and I took that opportunity to turn and walk away. This brought disappointed jeers from the crowd of youths (which included a few females), and a few insults such as “white trash”. I passed a couple of bemused-looking Asian teens as I approached the Great India restaurant near the corner of Taranaki Street and Manners Street. They asked me if I was OK. “Yep,” I replied grimly as I neared the taxi rank. I didn’t quite make it, however: I felt a sharp blow to the back of my head. It was much harder than the first one, and I remember a feeling of annoyed frustration as I toppled forward.

What happened next I have no recollection of, as I had been knocked out cold with a brass knuckleduster. The coward then kicked me in the head as I laid unconscious on the pavement. When I came to around two minutes later (it felt instantaneous to me), the guy was still attacking me, pummeling me around the head as I staggered dizzily to my feet. At one stage I was thrown backwards against a taxi, and then a taxi driver said “come on, that’s enough!” and to their everlasting credit, a group of them, plus two security bouncers from somewhere formed a line between me and my attacker. He kept trying to fight me, and to get me to fight him, but I called him a coward (for attacking me from behind) and said I had nothing to say to him.

After a little while, the punk’s friend (who called me a “palagi wuss” in a provocative manner) started pushing him away around the corner. He left with a final arrogant comment about how lucky I was, and someone said the police were coming. Not long afterward I saw two police officers talking to youths back the way I had come, with one then running past me and around the corner where my attacker had gone. I later learned that he had caught my attacker, while the other constable took my statement and that of another witness down at the central police station. Fortunately, my injuries were light and I was able to go home after a checkup by the hospital A&E doctor.

Back to the present. In keeping with his general tone thus far, my attacker had until the very day of his court case on the 4th, pleaded Not guilty to the charge of Assault with Intent; claiming “self defense”, and that he had only hit me once. This meant that I and the other witness had to be summonsed to appear in court to give testimony. However, this in the end was not required as his lawyer managed to convince him to change his plea.

You will see now part of the reason for my interest in the growing trend of random violence by youth gangs, as posted earlier! This trend has affected me personally, and it is truly a disturbing one. The police constable in charge of my case described downtown Wellington as becoming like the movie “The Warriors“; where gangs of different colours stretch police resources, fight over territory and make the streets unsafe after dark.

But why the random violence? It beggars belief, and seems to be a fairly recent phenomenon. It is clear that US-style “gangsta” subculture has found a home in the hearts and minds of a portion of New Zealand’s young, primarily Maori/Polynesian men. But there’s a disturbing nihilism that seems to predicate these random attacks. Shortly after being arrested for his assault on me, the guy (who I later learned was affiliated with Black Power) admitted his crime to the police officer, saying “you know me - that’s how I roll”.

With such feral and mindless motivation present in these guys, it remains to be seen what the solution will be.