I’m not alarmist, but I know that is a fact
I don’t have cases in point but I know it kills
For the third time in as many months I said ‘chakafukidza dzimba matenga’ yesterday to my aunt
We were discussing about the circumstances around a family member’s illness
They just went haywire the other day and the family said they’d gone mad
Now when you look at the circumstances around this said person,
I don’t wonder why what happened to them happened
Everyone reaches a breaking point and I know mine
When people push you there’s a limit to which you’ll go along
After a certain point you just will not take it
You will either break down or fight back
Breaking down is what people actually expect you to do
Fighting back, they’re never prepared for it unless you’ve done it before along the same road
Usually the road is different so they actually bet how you’ll breakdown
You’ll pack your bags, you cry foul or you’ll just give in to what they wanted you to do in the first place
People are indeed selfish
They never think about anyone further than themselves most of the times
They worry about their public image
They worry what people will think about them
They seldom ask what people think about them
Actually, they don’t want to know hat people think about them
They want people to think about them the way they want them to
I stop before the tangent becomes too wide.
When someone does what’s not expected of them and they have to deal with the situation they are now in, not many people genuinely support them
Support, not in the sense of condoning them, but in the sense of helping them through the difficult phase they will be going through
We all make mistakes at some time
Admittedly, it’s not easy to accept some of the mistakes people make
Especially when they are family, especially children under one’s roof
But that’s why we are human
I have a problem when a Christian openly says they forgive someone’s error and will be there to support them all the way
Support they do, till the person they’re in company with leaves
After that, they start condemning the person in secret to everyone but openly to the said offender
The picture outside is rosy but inside it’s a different story
The person who made a mistake will be paying for their mistake daily
They’re reminded of what they did and what they should have done
They’re told daily of the inconveniences they’ve imposed on the family
They’re a burden to the family
They’ve messed up the picture of the family
They silently pay for their mistake by the daily admonitions
On the outside people think that the offender is eating themselves up over a mistake they’ve been forgiven of not knowing that they never were forgiven and probably never will
They wither silently as they cannot talk against a person whom to the outside world extended the olive leaf and continues to even shun discussion of the matter as it was forgiven and should be forgotten
I hate such double standards, but it’s something I’ve seen continue daily in our existence
Sometimes the offender will be brave enough to start over and start a new life away from the family as they know they will not survive under such conditions
My awe is at the secret keepers
The ones who have two faces- one for the public and another for the offender
They have a hard act to keep up
They also are stressed with how they have to carry on
All their actions have to be in check so that people will never know the real truth
It’s a sad situation that has been perpetrated over the ages and unfortunately my sex is to blame more for that
We keep things inside and there is this evil vengeance that has to be satisfied all the time we lie that we’ve forgiven someone
The ‘stronger’ sex has the public on their side and it’s expected that they will not forgive and so they do not bother expressing their true opinion
The public acts in a manner that declares that they cannot forgive the offender so even if they forgive the person they have nothing to deal with as the public has already decided on how they will treat the matter
Oh! How I wish we all would be true to ourselves and to others
The burdens we carry with us daily take their toll on s and people declare ‘that’s what mothers/women are like, cares and worries of the family wear them down and so we should love them more even if they err sometimes’
I’m not for the school of accepting ‘norms’ as some of these norms are just wrong
I believe we dissolve into oblivion because of being the normal accepted being of society
I will be me and not lie or stress.
We have heavy enough loads as it is without deception
So be true to truth and have a happy, stress free life.
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
Foreign foods
After this you can call me myopic or alarmist but at least you’ll know my line of thought
It’s weird the number o chicken brands we now have in our local store
Weird coz I’m down here in little old Zimbabwe and I’m seeing Brazilian chicken
And it costs almost half the price of local chicken
Hold on!
There’s got to be a catch somewhere
I stroll to the laundry section and I hear a comment
“Ah! Sipo yeblue yadzoka (the blue soap is back)”
The lady next to the one commenting on soap is examining the back of a laundry powder box
They’re looking for the manufacturer’s address
Another man at the end of the isle is asking for real milk, not this one from a carton
Foreign things have invaded our market especially in the past year
We couldn’t produce things that we needed to get by so imports increased
Little did we know that down the line we’ll have the task of looking for Zimbabwe on the label so that we are happy with our purchase
Yes we had shortages hence the influx of imports to ease the ‘lack’
But today not many of us will not have misgivings when they buy that takeaway chicken
If anything, people now consciously choose beef
And there’s this misnomer -that people got wrong but for the wrong reasons they made the right choice
It seems the general populous has no idea what RDA means on a food package
Mealie meal was the first product to flood the market as sadza is our staple and we didn’t have enough grain to provide adequate supplies of the stuff
The mealie meal we got was whiter than the local variant and the grains were either large when cooked or just too fine
The result was not the kind of sadza that we’re used to
Then some wise someone had the presence of mind to read the labelling on the pack
They figured that “ % RDA for persons age 13 and older” meant that their 10year old kid wasn’t meant to eat it as it wasn’t good enough for them
Then when things were much better the chickens came in
Beef always was cheaper than chicken as chicken was somehow special meat and beef was the staple by default
But in came the cheap chickens and people flocked to buy them
I remember when I first cooked imported chicken
Try as I might to fry it properly, it wouldn’t, it’d just brown a bit almost burning it
It’s a queer texture
It’s meat alright but I prefer my local chicken, even if it’s not free range
I used to wonder what all the fuss was about organic foods
They tend to be more expensive to the extent that a normal household can barely afford them
Then I look at why people have opted for Gm food in the states
I think it’s just a case of poverty and money
The ones taking the food cannot afford the organic alternative so they buy the GM variant
Then since they’re used to it and they don’t see anything wrong with them or their offspring, they say it’s OK and people are just exaggerating this stuff on side effects about GM food
But I look at the average Zimbabwean and I just cannot but marvel at their faith in another human being
They don’t trust that nothing will happen to them or their offspring in generations to come
They look at mainly the South Africans and they say the reason they’re that big body wise is becoz of the kind of food they eat
And to some extent I agree
Nothing is for free
Someone once told me that there’s nothing such as a free lunch
The other party will get something out of that ‘free’ lunch so it won’t be free
So it is with these imports
They sail across oceans and seas and they still land cheaper than the local product
Yes, the normal supply and demand rules apply but what if supply is excessive such that prices are pushed down to the detriment of local produce?
I may go on forever but I think I’m not being paranoid when I say there’s a catch and I look forward to reading ‘conspiracy of the rich’ as soon as I’m done with my exams
What looks like help from one side is actually stealing when looked at from the right perspective and not form the eyes of the one in need
There’s all to gain by having new markets and once people develop habits it’s difficult to wean them off
But I’ll say hats off to my fellow Zimbos
They’ll look the gift horse in the mouth coz we ain’t used to riding horses so why are we getting it?
All this GM stuff is playing with nature and I shudder when someone says ‘yes, it’s playing God, but we’ve been doing it for hundreds of years’
Maybe I’ve watched too many sci-fi movies and read too much into conspiracy theories
But trust don’t come easy from people like us
And that’s the thing I like about being African
Though backward people may view us, we’re much safer and saner that way
I make my own world.
It almost gets me to start on “vakadzi vatorwa” but that’s another post for another blog.
It’s weird the number o chicken brands we now have in our local store
Weird coz I’m down here in little old Zimbabwe and I’m seeing Brazilian chicken
And it costs almost half the price of local chicken
Hold on!
There’s got to be a catch somewhere
I stroll to the laundry section and I hear a comment
“Ah! Sipo yeblue yadzoka (the blue soap is back)”
The lady next to the one commenting on soap is examining the back of a laundry powder box
They’re looking for the manufacturer’s address
Another man at the end of the isle is asking for real milk, not this one from a carton
Foreign things have invaded our market especially in the past year
We couldn’t produce things that we needed to get by so imports increased
Little did we know that down the line we’ll have the task of looking for Zimbabwe on the label so that we are happy with our purchase
Yes we had shortages hence the influx of imports to ease the ‘lack’
But today not many of us will not have misgivings when they buy that takeaway chicken
If anything, people now consciously choose beef
And there’s this misnomer -that people got wrong but for the wrong reasons they made the right choice
It seems the general populous has no idea what RDA means on a food package
Mealie meal was the first product to flood the market as sadza is our staple and we didn’t have enough grain to provide adequate supplies of the stuff
The mealie meal we got was whiter than the local variant and the grains were either large when cooked or just too fine
The result was not the kind of sadza that we’re used to
Then some wise someone had the presence of mind to read the labelling on the pack
They figured that “ % RDA for persons age 13 and older” meant that their 10year old kid wasn’t meant to eat it as it wasn’t good enough for them
Then when things were much better the chickens came in
Beef always was cheaper than chicken as chicken was somehow special meat and beef was the staple by default
But in came the cheap chickens and people flocked to buy them
I remember when I first cooked imported chicken
Try as I might to fry it properly, it wouldn’t, it’d just brown a bit almost burning it
It’s a queer texture
It’s meat alright but I prefer my local chicken, even if it’s not free range
I used to wonder what all the fuss was about organic foods
They tend to be more expensive to the extent that a normal household can barely afford them
Then I look at why people have opted for Gm food in the states
I think it’s just a case of poverty and money
The ones taking the food cannot afford the organic alternative so they buy the GM variant
Then since they’re used to it and they don’t see anything wrong with them or their offspring, they say it’s OK and people are just exaggerating this stuff on side effects about GM food
But I look at the average Zimbabwean and I just cannot but marvel at their faith in another human being
They don’t trust that nothing will happen to them or their offspring in generations to come
They look at mainly the South Africans and they say the reason they’re that big body wise is becoz of the kind of food they eat
And to some extent I agree
Nothing is for free
Someone once told me that there’s nothing such as a free lunch
The other party will get something out of that ‘free’ lunch so it won’t be free
So it is with these imports
They sail across oceans and seas and they still land cheaper than the local product
Yes, the normal supply and demand rules apply but what if supply is excessive such that prices are pushed down to the detriment of local produce?
I may go on forever but I think I’m not being paranoid when I say there’s a catch and I look forward to reading ‘conspiracy of the rich’ as soon as I’m done with my exams
What looks like help from one side is actually stealing when looked at from the right perspective and not form the eyes of the one in need
There’s all to gain by having new markets and once people develop habits it’s difficult to wean them off
But I’ll say hats off to my fellow Zimbos
They’ll look the gift horse in the mouth coz we ain’t used to riding horses so why are we getting it?
All this GM stuff is playing with nature and I shudder when someone says ‘yes, it’s playing God, but we’ve been doing it for hundreds of years’
Maybe I’ve watched too many sci-fi movies and read too much into conspiracy theories
But trust don’t come easy from people like us
And that’s the thing I like about being African
Though backward people may view us, we’re much safer and saner that way
I make my own world.
It almost gets me to start on “vakadzi vatorwa” but that’s another post for another blog.
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