Whites in Zimbabwe
Encyclopedia
White Zimbabweans are people from the southern African country Zimbabwe
who identify themselves as white
. In linguistic
, cultural and historical terms, these Zimbabweans of European
ethnic origin are divided between the English-speaking
Anglo-African
descendants of British
and Irish
settlers, the Afrikaans
-speaking descendants of Afrikaner
s from South Africa, and those descended from Greek
and Portuguese settlers.
A small number of people of European ethnicity first came to Southern Rhodesia
(now Zimbabwe) as settlers during the late nineteenth century. A steady immigration of white people followed after the end of the Second World War
, and to avoid the coming of black African rule (commonly referred to at the time as the Wind of Change
), Southern Rhodesia broke away under a unilateral declaration of independence
and the self-governing country known as Rhodesia
was established.
As was the case (to varying degrees) in most European colonies in Africa and Asia, white immigrants took a privileged position in many areas of society. However, the position in Rhodesia was distinguished by the fact that the local white minority entrenched its political, economic and social dominance of the country. Extensive areas of prime farmland were owned by whites. Senior positions in the public services were reserved for whites, and whites working in manual occupations enjoyed legal protection against job competition from Africans. As time passed, this situation became increasingly unwelcome to the majority ethnic groups within the country and also to wide sections of international opinion.
After the country's reform as Zimbabwe in 1980, whites had to adjust to being an ethnic minority in a country with a Black African government. Many whites emigrated in the early 1980s, regretting the loss of their racially based privileges and being uncertain about their future, but many remained. Political unrest and the illegal seizure of some white-owned commercial farms resulted in a further exodus commencing in 1999. The 2002 census recorded 46,743 whites remaining in Zimbabwe. More than 10,000 were elderly and fewer than 9,000 were under the age of 15.
) was selected as a settlement colony by South African, British and Afrikaner colonists from the 1890s onwards, following the subjugation of the Matabele, (Ndebele), and Shona nations by the British South Africa Company
(BSAC). The early white settlers came in search of mineral resources, finding deposits of coal, chromium, nickel, platinum, and gold. They also found some of the best farmland in Africa. The central part of Rhodesia is a plateau which varies in altitude between 900 m and 1,500 m (2,950 and 4,900 ft) above sea level. This gives the area a sub-tropical climate which is conducive to European settlement and agricultural practices.
The white soldiers who assisted in the BSAC takeover of the country were each given 3,000 land grants of 3,000 acres or more, and black people living on the land became tenants. Later, Land Apportionment and Tenure Acts reserved extensive low rainfall areas for black only tribal trust lands and high rainfall areas for white ownership, which gave rise to cases of black people being excluded from their own land. White settlers were attracted to Rhodesia by the availability of tracts of prime farmland that could be purchased from the state at low cost. This resulted in a major feature of the Rhodesian economy—the "white farm". The white farm was typically a large (>100 km² (>38.6 mi²)) mechanised estate, owned by a white family and employing hundreds of black people. Many white farms provided housing, schools, and clinics for black employees and their families. At the time of independence in 1980, over 40% of the country's farming land was contained within 5,000 white farms. It was claimed that these farms provided 40% of the country's GDP and up to 60% of its foreign earnings. Major export products included tobacco, beef, sugar, cotton, and maize.
The minerals sector was also important. Gold, asbestos, nickel, and chrome were mined by foreign-owned concerns such as Lonrho
(Lonmin since 1999) and Anglo American. These operations were usually run by white managers, engineers, and foremen.
The Census of 3 May 1921 found that Southern Rhodesia had a total population of 899,187, of whom 33,620 were Europeans, 1,998 were Coloured (mixed races), 1,250 Asiatics, 761,790 Bantu natives of Southern Rhodesia, and 100,529 Bantu aliens. The following year, Southern Rhodesians rejected, in a referendum
, the option of becoming a province of the Union of South Africa
. Instead, the country became a self-governing British colony. It never gained full dominion
status, although unlike other colonies it was treated as a de facto dominion
, with its Prime Minister attending the Commonwealth
Prime Ministers' Conferences.
Large-scale white emigration to Rhodesia did not begin until after the Second World War, and at its peak in the late 1960s Rhodesia's white population consisted of as many as 270,000. There were influxes of white immigrants from the 1940s through to the early 1970s. The most conspicuous group were former British servicemen in the immediate post-war period. But many of the new immigrants were refugees from communism in Europe, others were former service personnel from British India, others came from Kenya, the Belgian Congo, Zambia, Algeria, and Mozambique. For a time, Rhodesia provided something of a haven for white people who were retreating from decolonisation elsewhere in Africa and Asia.
Rhodesian white settlers were considered different in character to white settlers in other British colonies. Settlers in Kenya
were perceived to be drawn from 'the officer class' and from the British landowning class
. Settlers after the second world war in Rhodesia were perceived to be drawn from lower social strata and were treated accordingly by the British authorities:
However, it should be noted that white people never amounted to more than 5.4% of the country's total population (that is, 270,000 white people divided by 5 million total population in 1970). Also, the white farming community never amounted to more than around 8% of the total white population and this proportion fell steadily after 1945 up to independence in 1980.
Various factors encouraged the growth of the white population of Rhodesia. These included the industrialisation and prosperity of the economy in the post-War period and the fact that the National Party victory in the 1948 South African general election made that country less friendly to British settlement and investment than was previously the case. It was also apparent as early as the 1950s that white rule would continue for longer in Rhodesia than it would in other British colonies such as Zambia (Northern Rhodesia) and Kenya. Many of the new immigrants had a "not here" attitude to majority rule and independence.
Rhodesia was run by a minority government. In 1965 that government declared itself independent through a Unilateral Declaration of Independence
('UDI') under Prime Minister Ian Smith
. The UDI project eventually failed, after a period of UN economic sanctions and a civil war known as the Chimurenga
(Shona) or Bush War
. British colonial rule returned in December 1979, when the country became the British Dependency of Southern Rhodesia. In April 1980 it was granted independence as "Zimbabwe".
One characteristic of white settlement in Rhodesia was that the white community kept itself largely separate from the black and Asian communities in the country. Urban white people lived in separate areas of town, and white people had their own segregated education, healthcare and recreational facilities. Marriage between black and white people was possible, but remains to the present day very rare. The 1903 Immorality Suppression Ordinance made "illicit" (i.e. unmarried) sex between black men and white women illegal – with a penalty of two years imprisonment for any offending white woman. The majority of the early white immigrants were men, so some white men entered into relationships with black women. The result was a small number of mixed-race persons, (1998 out of 899187 total according to the 1921 census), some of whom were accepted as being white. A proposal by Garfield Todd
(Prime Minister, 1953–1958) to liberalise laws on inter-racial sex was viewed as dangerously radical. The proposal was rejected and was one factor that led to the political demise of Todd.
Rhodesian white people had enjoyed a very high standard of living. The Land Tenure Act had reserved 30% of agricultural land for white ownership and black labour costs were low (around US$40 per month in 1975) But free housing, food and clothing.(nurses earned US$120 per month in 1975), which had a large effect in the context of an agricultural economy. Public spending on education, healthcare and other social services was heavily weighted towards provision for white people. Most of the better paid jobs in public service were reserved for white people. White people in skilled manual occupations enjoyed employment protection against black competition. In 1975, the average annual income per head for Rhodesian white people was around US$8,000 (with income tax at a marginal rate of 5%) — making them one of the richest communities in the world.
At independence probably around 38% of white Zimbabweans were UK-born, with slightly fewer born in Rhodesia and around 20% from elsewhere in Africa. The white population of that era contained a large transient element and many white people might better be considered foreign expatriates than settlers. Between 1960 and 1979 white immigration to Rhodesia was 180,000 and white emigration in the same period was 202,000 (with an average white population of around 240,000). Many white people were relatively recent arrivals in the country and showed little hesitation about moving on after
independence.
in April 1980, under a ZANU-PF government led by Robert Mugabe
. Following independence, the country's white people lost most of their former privileges. A generous social welfare net (including both education and healthcare) that had supported white people in Rhodesia disappeared almost in an instant. White people in the artisan, skilled worker and supervisory classes began to experience job competition from black people. Indigenisation in the public services displaced many white people. The result was that white emigration gathered pace. In the ten-year period from 1980 to 1990 approximately two thirds of the white population left Zimbabwe.
However, many white people resolved to stay in the new Zimbabwe. Only one third of the white farming community left. An even smaller proportion of white urban business owners and members of the professional classes left. This pattern of migration meant that although small in absolute numbers, Zimbabwe's white people formed a high proportion of the upper strata of society.
A 1984 article in the Sunday Times Magazine described and pictured the life of Zimbabwean white people at a time when their number was just about to fall below 100,000. About 49% of emigrants left to settle in South Africa, many of whom were Afrikaans speakers, 29% in the United Kingdom and Ireland, with most of the remainder going to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States. Many of these emigrants continue to identify themselves as Rhodesia
n. A white Rhodesian/Zimbabwean who is nostalgic for the UDI era is known colloquially as a "Rhodie
". These nostalgic "Rhodesians" are also sometimes referred to as "Whenwe
s", because of the nostalgia of "when we were in Rhodesia". A white who remained in Zimbabwe and accepted the situation is known as a "Zimbo".
The lifting of UN imposed economic sanctions and the end of the Bush War
at the time of independence produced an immediate 'peace dividend'. Renewed access to world capital markets made it possible to finance major new infrastructure developments in transport and schools. One area of economic growth was tourism, catering in particular to visitors from Europe and North America. Many white people found work in this sector. Another area of growth was horticulture, involving the cultivation of flowers, fruits and vegetables which were air-freighted to market in Europe. Many white farmers were involved in this and in 2002 it was claimed that 8% of horticultural imports into Europe were sourced in Zimbabwe. The economic-migrant element among the white population had departed quickly after independence, leaving behind those white people with deeper roots in the country. The country settled and the white population stabilised.
The 1979 Lancaster House Agreement
, which was the basis for independence, had precluded compulsory land redistribution in favour of subsidised voluntary sale of land by white owners, for a period of at least 10 years. The pattern of land ownership established during the Rhodesian state therefore survived for some time after independence. Those white people who were prepared to adapt to the situation they found themselves in were therefore able to continue enjoying a very comfortable existence. In fact, the independence settlement combined with favourable economic conditions plus ESAP (see below) produced a 20-year period of unprecedented prosperity for Zimbabwean white people and for the white farming community in particular. A new class of "young white millionaires" appeared in the farming sector. These were typically young Zimbabweans who had applied skills learned in agricultural colleges and business schools in Europe.
"This is the best government for commercial farmers that this country has ever seen" John Brown (CFU president), 1989
(Zimbabwe's white people) "... kept their houses and their pools and their servants. The white farmers had it even better. With crop prices soaring they bought boats on Lake Kariba and built air strips on their farms for newly acquired planes. Zimbabwe's whites reached an implicit understanding with Zanu-PF; they could go on as before, so long as they kept out of politics" - Chris McGeal, April 2008
White Zimbabweans with professional skills were readily accepted in the new order. For example, Chris Andersen had been the hardline Rhodesian justice minister but made a new career for himself as an independent MP and leading attorney in Zimbabwe. In 1998 he defended former President Canaan Banana
in the infamous "sodomy trial". At the time of this trial, Andersen spoke out against the attitude of President Mugabe who had described homosexuals as being "worse than dogs and pigs since they are a colonial invention, unknown in African tradition".
(intended to alter the ethnic balance of land ownership) dislodged many white farmers. The level of violence associated with these reforms in some rural areas made the position of the wider white community uncomfortable. Twenty years after independence, there were 21,000 commercial farmers in the country of whom 4,000 were white and 17,000 were black. Natural market processes had diminished the influence of white farmers to a point where the government was no longer afraid to confront them.
The "land issue" is a problem that came to assume a very high profile in Zimbabwe's political life. ZANU politicians pressed for land to be transferred from white to black ownership regardless of the resultant disruption to agricultural output, in order to correct the perceived "injustice" of the Rhodesian land apportionment. White farmers argued that this served little purpose since Zimbabwe has ample agricultural land much of which was either vacant or only lightly cultivated. On this last basis, the problem was really a lack of development rather than one of land tenure. White farmers would respond to claims that they owned "70% of the best arable land" by stating that what they actually owned was "70% of the best developed arable land" — and the two are entirely different things. Whatever the merits of the arguments, in the post-Independence period the Land Issue assumed enormous symbolic importance to all concerned.
As the euphoria of independence subsided and as a variety of economic and social problems became evident in the late 1990s, the Land Issue became a focus for trouble.
In 1999 the government initiated a "fast track land reform" programme. This was intended to transfer 4,000 white farms, covering 110,000 km² (42,470 mi²) of mostly prime farmland, to black ownership. The means used to implement the programme were ad-hoc and involved forcible seizure in many cases.
By mid-2006 only 500 of the original 5,000 white farms were still fully operational. The majority of the white farms that avoided expropriation were in Manicaland and Midlands where it proved possible to do local deals and form strategic partnerships. However, by early 2007, a number of the farms were being leased back to their former white owners (although in reduced size and/or on a contract basis) and it is possible that as many as 1,000 of them could be operational again, in some form. Of the 3,500 evicted white farmers it is reported that 2,000 are still in Zimbabwe and are turning their hands to new business enterprises. One former white farmer formed a construction company and later contracted his bulldozers to the government for use in Operation Murambatsvina
:
"This is Africa, you have to make a plan and if that means doing business with guys that aren't very nice then so be it. It was cash up front - no questions asked. It's survival of the fittest, my friend ... if you want to live here you must play the game" anonymous, quoted in the Selby thesis
While the expropriated white farmers themselves have generally moved on to other things, this has not been the case for some of their employees. Former white farm workers from the chargehand/foreman bracket have found themselves in much reduced circumstances. The post-2000 recession has seen the emergence of a class of "poor white people". These are typically persons who lack capital, education and skills — and who are therefore unable to migrate from Zimbabwe. Social workers have commented that black people facing difficulties are usually able to fall back on support from extended families. White and coloured people have a much more individualistic culture and appear less able to cope with hardship.
A University of Zimbabwe
sociologist told IWPR
journalist Benedict Unendoro, the esprit de corps of the white dominant class in the former Rhodesia
prevented the poor white people from becoming a recognizable social group because of the social assistance provided by the dominant social class on racial grounds. This system broke down after the founding of Zimbabwe, causing the number of poor white people to increase especially after 2000, when the confiscation of white-owned farms took its toll. As rich white land owners emigrate or fend for themselves financially, their white employees who mainly worked as supervisors of black labour, found themselves destitute on the streets of cities like Harare, with many found begging around urban centres like Eastlea. The land confiscated from white owners has been redistributed to black peasant farmers and smallholders, acquired by commercial land companies, or persons connected to the regime.
Sympathisers of the expropriated white farmers have claimed that lack of professional management skills among the new landholders has resulted in a dramatic decline in Zimbabwe's agricultural production. Indeed, in an effort to boost their own agricultural output, neighboring countries including Mozambique and Zambia offered land and other incentives to entice Zimbabwe's white farmers to immigrate.
By 2008, an estimated one in ten out of 5,000 white farmers remained on their land. Many of these continued to face intimidation. By June 2008, it was reported that only 280 white farmers remained and all of their farms were invaded.
On the day of Mugabe's inauguration as president on June 28, 2008, several white farmers who had protested the seizure of their land were beaten and burned by Robert Mugabe's supporters. A British-born farmer, Ben Freeth
(who has had several articles and letters published in the British press regarding the hostile situation) and his in-laws, Mike and Angela Campbell were recently abducted and found badly beaten. Mr Campbell, speaking from hospital in Harare, has vowed to continue with his legal fight for his farm. In November 2008, an SADC tribunal ruled that the government had racially discriminated against Mike Campbell and denied him legal redress and prevented him from defending his farm.
started his trading business during the UDI era when he developed expertise in "sanctions busting". He is reported to have arranged the export of Rhodesian tobacco and the import of components (including parts and munitions for the UDI regime's force of Hunter jets) in the face of UN trade sanctions. Bredenkamp was able to continue and expand his business after independence, making himself a personal fortune estimated at around US$1 billion.
A number of foreign white entrepreneurs have been attracted to Zimbabwe in recent years. Controversial British businessman Nicholas van Hoogstraten
has built up a 4200 km² (1620 mi²) land holding in central Zimbabwe through his corporate interests (mainly Messina Investments). Far from losing land to resettlement, van Hoogstraten has actually been able to purchase new property since 2000. Van Hoogstraten, a man with criminal history, has described President Mugabe as "100 percent decent and incorruptible" and "a true English gentleman". Van Hoogstraten is reported to have arranged supplies for Zimbabwean forces in the DRC and to have underwritten arms deals for the Mugabe administration. Although, van Hoogstraten appears to have recently fallen out with the Zimbabwean establishment.
Several white Zimbabwean businessmen, such as Billy Rautenbach
, have returned to their native country after working abroad for some years. Rautenbach has succeeded in extending Zimbabawean minerals sector activity into neighbouring countries such as the DRC.
Charles Davy is one of the largest private landowners in Zimbabwe. 53-year-old Davy is reported to own 1,200 km² (460 mi²) of land including farms at Ripple Creek, Driehoek, Dyer's Ranch and Mlelesi. His property has been almost unaffected by any form of land redistribution — and he denies that this fact has any link to his business relationship with MP and Minister Webster Shamu. Says Davy about Minister Shamu "I am in partnership with a person who I personally like and get along with". Other views on Shamu are less kind.
Davy is married to Beverley, a former model and "Miss Rhodesia" of 1973. Their daughter Chelsy
(born and raised in Bulawayo) was the long-standing girlfriend of Prince Harry until their split in January 2009. Press reports quote Chelsy's Uncle Paul as saying that although Harry and Chelsy wished to marry, the Royal Family would not allow this because of Chelsy's Zimbabwean connections.
Belfast
-born murdered socialite
and naturalized Rhodesian and South African citizen, Hazel Crane
made her fortune as a diamond smuggler in the then Rhodesia. Crane's first husband was in the Rhodesian Army
fighting in the Rhodesian Bush War
when he was killed at age 25. Crane who had one child, and was pregnant with the couple's second turned to a life of crime after his death. Her activities included; smuggling diamonds and emeralds, making blackmarket currency deals, owning a striptease joint and selling hard-core pornography. In her posthumous biography, she describes how she would tuck emeralds into her beehive hairdo or pack them into her son's nappies for smuggling. She invested her profits in legitimate businesses, such as the Copa Cobana restaurant, one of Rhodesia's most popular and fashionable meeting places. In later life, she was a commodity broker. She was allegedly murdered by the Israeli mafia
in 2003, near her mansion home in Abbotsford, Gauteng
.
The political environment in Zimbabwe has allowed the development of an exploitative business culture, in which some white businessmen have played a prominent role. When Zimbabwe was subject to EU sanctions arising from its involvement in the DRC from 1998, the government was able to call on sanctions busting expertise and personnel from the UDI era to provide parts and munitions for its force of Hawk jets. After 25 years of ZANU-PF government, Zimbabwe has become a congenial place for white millionaires of a certain kind to live and do business in.
.jpg)
Nobel Prize
-winning writer Doris Lessing
, who lived in Southern Rhodesia
between 1924 and 1949 and had two children there, has published works about the colonial experience and exposing racial hostilities. Her 1950 novel, The Grass Is Singing
is set in Southern Rhodesia in the late 1940s and deals with racial injustice. The book was banned in Southern Rhodesia until independence in 1980. She visited her children in the country in 1956 but was declared a 'prohibited immigrant
' and banned from coming back again for political reasons. She visited the country many times since independence and released her accounts of the visits in the book African Laughter: Four Visits to Zimbabwe in 1992. In her 2008 semi fictional/non-fiction novel Alfred and Emily
, Southern Rhodesia is a prominent backdrop in the second 'factual' part of her account of her parents' lives.
Peter Godwin (born Salisbury, 1957) wrote several books with a Zimbabwean background including Rhodesians Never Die (1984) and When a Crocodile Eats the Sun
(2007). The theme of these books is the impact of political change in Zimbabwe on the country's white community. Godwin regularly contributes to newspapers, TV and radio on Zimbabwean affairs. Godwin's writing appears much affected by the death of one of his sisters in a "friendly fire
" incident during the liberation war in the 1970s. Another sibling, Georgina Godwin, was until 2001 a presenter on Zimbabwe TV and radio. Douglas Rogers
has also enjoyed success chronicling his parents struggle to hold onto their game farm and backpackers resort in The Last Resort. In 2010 the book won the British Guild of Travel Writers
award for Best Narrative Travel Book.
Catherine Buckle
has also tackled the issue of chaotic land reforms. Her books African Tears and Beyond Tears. The former deals with the emotional struggle that she and her family faced as war veterans invaded her farm. She also explores the traumatic situation facing farm workers and other farming families in similar positions to hers. In Beyond Tears she speaks to the family of a murdered farmer, to five farmers who were abducted as well as to rape victims. She also returns to visit her once-productive farm, which has been burnt to the ground and turned into a squatter camp.
South Africa-born novelist and poet John Eppel
was raised in Southern Rhodesia and is a Zimbabwean citizen. His works have been released to critical acclaim; in particular, he has enjoyed success with D G G Berry's The Great North Road.In particular he deals with themes such as the Rhodesian Bush War, independence and neo-colonialism.
Heidi Holland
has enjoyed considerable success and has written for leading international publications such as The Sunday Times
, The New York Times
and The Telegraph
. Her latest book Dinner With Mugabe gained significant media attention and allows a rare insight into Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe
.
Alexandra Fuller
wrote of her childhood in the 1970s on a farm in Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, which won the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize in 2002, was a New York Times Notable Book for 2002 and a finalist for The Guardian
's First Book Award. Scribbling the Cat (2004) recounted a return journey as an adult, travelling with a troubled ex-soldier, attempting to lay childhood ghosts to rest. It won the Lettre Ulysses Award for the Art of Reportage in 2006. Lauren Liebenberg
's also centred her debut novel, The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam on a Rhodesian farm in 1978. It was later nominated for the Orange Prize for Fiction
in 2008. Liebenberg drew upon some of her own experiences as a child growing up in war-torn Rhodesia.
Alexander McCall Smith
, who was born and brought up in Southern Rhodesia, has also enjoyed success. In particular he is known as the creator of the Africa-inspired series The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
set in neighbouring Botswana.
Marthinus L. Daneel, born at Morgenster Mission in 1936, is the leading scholar of Shona Traditional Religion and African Indigenous Churches in Zimbabwe. Accused of treason by the Smith government for refusing to bear arms against black Zimbabweans among whom he was in ministry, he nevertheless continued mission work in rural Masvingo Province and founded the first continent-wide ecumenical movement of AICs. During the 1990s, he launched a religiously-based grassroots tree-planting and environmental movement called ZIRRCON, that planted up to a million trees a year for fifteen years. As a result of his research on religion during the Chimurenga struggle, he wrote the war novel Guerilla Snuff (1997) under the nom de plume Mafuranhunzi Gumbo (his adopted clan name). When in 2004 the Zimbabwe International Book Fair selected the 75 Best Books of the 20th century written by Zimbabweans, Guerilla Snuff was the only work written by a white Zimbabwean. Daneel's literary corpus represents the voice of a white Afrikaans Zimbabwean who remains connected to the country and thus defies the stereotype of white "exile" literature as described above.
. A leading musical figure was Clem Tholet
who married Ian Smith
's stepdaughter Jean Smith in 1967. In particular Tholet became famous for patriotic anthems such as Rhodesians Never Die. He enjoyed gold status (60,000+) with his first album Songs Of Love & War.
Another popular folk singer was Northern Rhodesia
n-born John Edmond
and former soldier of the (Southern) Rhodesian Army
who also enjoyed considerable success during the Rhodesian Bush War
. In particular he had hits with patriotic folk songs such as 'The UDI song' from his popular Troopiesongs album.
Concert pianist Manuel Bagorro (born Harare, 1968) is the founder and artistic director of The Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA). First held in 1999, the Festival was most recently held in April 2008 and was successful in attracting attention to the arts in Zimbabwe at a difficult time. Bagorro's audio diary of the Festival, set against the background of the 2008 elections, was broadcast in instalments by the BBC World Service. The theme of HIFA was "north meets south" with contributions from African and European cultures.
Cape Town
-based white Zimbabwean Simon Attwell is a band member of the popular South African group Freshlyground
, playing the flute, mbira, sax, and harmonica. Freshlyground combines both African and European musical traditions. Freshlyground participated in the 2008 HIFA.
The jazz composer, bandleader, and trombonist Mike Gibbs was born in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia. Other internationally successful artists born there include the Royal Ballet prima ballerina Dame Merle Park and actress Susan Burnet
, whose grandfather was one of the country's first white settlers.
Theatre was immensely popular across African colonies amongst bourgeoise white residents, often seeking the culture of European metropoles. The construction of larger theatres boomed in the twentieth century in colonies most populated by white people, such as Kenya
, Southern Rhodesia and the copperbelt of Northern Rhodesia. 'Little theatres' were also popular, often they were part of large sporting venues, gymkhana
and turf clubs. In 1910 one author remarked on the popularity of theatre amongst Southern Rhodesia's white population; "the local population must have spent a considerable amount on theatre seats. Fifteen professional companies went on tour that year." Theatres in Southern African colonies were usually situated next to a railway line. The premier European dramatic performance in then Southern Rhodesia took place in the southern region of Bulawayo. The development of rail infrastructure allowed the involvement of entertainers from neighbouring South Africa.
The National Theatre Organisation, formerly The National Theatre Foundation focussed on Euro-centric theatre productions. These included plays such as A midsummer's Night Dream and No Sex Please, We're British.
An aspiring white Zimbabwean actor and playwright is Scott Sparrow, the 25 year-old Rhodes University
drama graduate has been in several South African theatre productions as well as Zimbabwean productions when he was younger. In 2006, at the age of 23, he wrote his first play Performers' Travel Guide, staged at the Intimate Theatre. Sparrow plays 17 characters in the one-man play concerning the disappearance of a woman's child ten years earlier. Along with South African veteran theatre-maker Nicholas Ellenbogen, he was invited to put on a play for the King of Venda
. Sparrow directed the play titled African Dream Salon for the King.
was adapted into a film by a Swedish company and released in 1981. Despite the majority of the original novel taking place in then Southern Rhodesia and earlier scenes in South Africa, the adaptation was filmed in Zambia
and Sweden
. The film stars Karen Black
and John Thaw
as the poverty-stricken white farming couple Mary and Dick Turner and John Kani
as the black houseboy
and love-interest of Mary Turner. The Grass is Singing (film) is also known under the titles of Gräset Sjunger (Swedish) and Killing Heat.
The most significant recent portrayal of a white Zimbabwean was by Leonardo DiCaprio
in the 2006 film Blood Diamond
. He plays the lead fictional character of Danny Archer, an ex-mercenary
, diamond-smuggler and self-proclaimed "Rhodesian" whose parents were murdered on their farm by rebels. The adventure drama film is set in 1999 during the Sierra Leone Civil War
.
Another prominent performance was by Nicole Kidman
in the 2005 film The Interpreter
, the final film by celebrated director Sydney Pollack
. Kidman plays the lead of Silvia Broome, a white African and New York
-based United Nations
interpreter raised in the fictional African republic of Matobo. The film centres on the pending visit of the President of Matobo to address the UN in New York; Broome's parents and sister have been killed earlier by a land mine leading to their farm, and soon her brother is murdered in Matobo. There has been much speculation that Matabo is symbolic of Zimbabwe. Its flag bears a striking resemblance to the Zimbabwean one, and there really is a Matobo National Park
in Zimbabwe. There are also striking parallels between Matabo's history and that of Zimbabwe
. The president of Matobo is presented in a manner similar to the President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe
, for example by referring to him as the "teacher", a nickname shared by Mugabe, in reference to his teaching career. The striking parallels between Matobo and Zimbabwe provoked a reaction from the Zimbabwean government; Acting Information Minister Chen Chimutengwende said the film had "obvious connections" and that the Hollywood film was part of a "CIA plot" to discredit the Southern African nation.
The 1980 film Shamwari, also known as Chain Gang Killings in the United States, is an action thriller about two escaped prisoners, one black, one white and their developing friendship. The film was set and filmed in Rhodesia and several local white actors starred, such as Tamara Franke in the role of Tracy.
In 1960 television was introduced into the then Southern Rhodesia. It was the first such service in the region, as South Africa did not introduce television until 1976 due to the potential ideological conflicts that it posed. The Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation (RBC) TV was a commercial service carrying advertising, although there was also a television licence fee. Television reception was confined mainly to the large cities, and the majority of television personalities and viewers were from the white minority. The RBC used the BBC
as a model in that a government department was not responsible for it, but a board of governors (selected by Ian Smith) were instead. Popular television shows included Kwizzkids, Frankly Partridge and Music Time. Possibly the best-known Director of the RBC was Dr. Harvey Ward
. Prior to the introduction of television, RBC had developed a successful radio network, which continued. By 1978, three top white executives had fled overseas, including Dr. Ward who "probably more than any other person, became identified with the right-wing bias on Rhodesia's radio and TV networks." The RBC was later succeeded by the Zimbabwe Rhodesia Corporation and later in its present form as the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation
.
Until her departure in 2001, Georgina Godwin, the sister of author Peter Godwin, was a celebrity DJ for the corporation and television personality, and also described by Britain's The Guardian
newspaper as Zimbabwe's Sara Cox
. She previously held a morning drive-time show and gossip column in Zimbabwe. Most recently she was involved in the London-based SW Radio Africa
, a station with a purpose of broadcasting independent of Zimbabwean state interference. Godwin has conducted various powerful interviews for the station with figures such as Desmond Tutu
and Zanu-PF firebrand Jocelyn Chiwenga.
In 2009, the documentary film Mugabe and the White African
premiered at the London Film Festival
to rave reviews. The film deals with a white Zimbabwean farming family working against Mugabe's draconian land reform policies.
until 1995. Rally driver Conrad Rautenbach (son of Billy, see above) won the FIA African Championship scoring Dunlop Zimbabwe Challenge Rally in 2005 and 2006. The iconic event is the all-white Zimbabwean women's field hockey team, captained by Ann Grant (formerly Ann Fletcher), winning gold medals at the Moscow Olympics in July 1980. Ann Grant's brother is the cricketer Duncan Fletcher
who later became the England team manager.
As of 2007, a large number of Zimbabwe's most famous athletes are white. In tennis
, the Black family of Cara
, Byron
and Wayne Black
and Kevin Ullyett
are notable doubles players. In the 1990s, Zimbabwe's largely white cricket team was a strong one and included world class players such as Andy Flower
, Grant Flower
and several others. Today Zimbabwe's National Cricket Team still has several white players including Brendan Taylor
and Sean Williams
. Also, Zimbabwe's most successful recent Olympic athlete is swimmer Kirsty Coventry
, who won three medals (including gold) at the 2004 Summer Olympics
and four medals (including gold) at the 2008 Summer Olympics
. Famous white Zimbabwean golfers include Nick Price
, Mark McNulty
and Brendon De Jonge
.
Although she represents South Africa, Rhodesian-born Charlene Wittstock
, who was brought up in Bulawayo until moving to South Africa at the age of ten, has achieved success as a swimmer. She has also became a celebrity figure, thanks to her current romantic relationship with Prince Albert II Sovereign Prince of Monaco.
Australian rugby union player David Pocock is also a well-known Zimbabwean, having emigrated to Australia in 2002.
During the UDI era, Rhodesia developed a siege economy as the means of withstanding UN sanctions. The country operated a strict system of exchange and import controls, while major export items were channelled through state trade agencies (such as 'the Grain Marketing Board'). This approach was continued until around 1990, at which time International Monetary Fund
and World Bank
development funding was made conditional upon the adoption of economic liberalisation. In 1991 Zimbabwe adopted ESAP (Economic Structural Adjustment Programme) which required privatisation, the removal of exchange and import controls, trade deregulation and the phasing out of export subsidies. Up to the time of independence, the economy relied mainly on the export of a narrow range of primary products including tobacco, asbestos and gold. In the post independence period, the world markets for all these products deteriorated and it was hoped that ESAP would facilitate diversification.
ESAP and its successor ZIMPREST (Zimbabwe Programme for Economic and Social Transformation) caused considerable economic turbulence. Some sectors of the economy did benefit. But the immediate results included job losses, a rise in poverty, and a series of exchange rate crises. The associated economic downturn caused the budget deficit to rise which put pressure on public services. The means used to finance the budget deficit have caused hyperinflation. These factors created a situation in which many bright and qualified Zimbabweans (both black and white) had to look abroad for work opportunities. Zimbabwean politics since 1990 have therefore been conducted against a background of economic difficulty with the manufacturing sector (in particular) being 'hollowed out'. Although, some parts of the economy continue to perform well. The Zimbabwe stock exchange and the property market have experienced minor booms, while outsiders are coming to invest in both mining and land operations. Where some see crisis, others see opportunity.
In the period immediately after independence, some white political leaders (such as Ian Smith
) sought to maintain the identity of white Zimbabweans as a separate group. In particular, they sought to maintain a separate "white roll" for the election of 20 seats in parliament reserved for white people (abolished in 1987). Despite this, many white Zimbabweans embraced the political changes and many even joined Zanu-PF in the 1980s and 1990s. For example, Timothy Stamps
served as Minister of Health in the Zimbabwean government from 1986 to 2002.
, formerly Security Minister and later Speaker of Parliament. Mnangagwa has been described as "the richest politician in Zimbabwe". He is believed to have favoured the early retirement of President Mugabe and a conciliatory approach towards the regime's domestic opponents. This line has displeased other elements in ZANU-PF. In June 2006, John Bredenkamp (a prominent former Mnangagwa associate) fled Zimbabwe in his private jet after government investigations into the affairs of his Breco trading company were started. Bredenkamp returned to Zimbabwe in September 2006 after his passport was returned by court order.
In July 2002, 92 prominent Zimbabweans were subject to EU "smart sanctions" intended to express disapproval of various Zimbabwe government policies. These persons were banned from the EU and access to assets they own in the EU was frozen. 91 of those on the blacklist were black and 1 was white. The single white was Dr. Timothy Stamps
.
Many observers found the EU's treatment of Dr. Stamps to be curious, given that by July 2002 he was retired from active politics and a semi-invalid. Also, Stamps was widely rated to be a highly dedicated doctor who had never been implicated in any form of wrongdoing. The same observers found it equally curious that the EU Commission did not include the wealthy white backers of Mugabe on the list.
Roy Bennett, a white farmer forced off his coffee plantation after it was overrun by radical militants and then expropriated, won a strong victory in the Chimanimani constituency (adjoining the Mozambican border) in the 2000 general election. Bennett (a former Conservative Alliance of Zimbabwe
member) won his seat for the Movement for Democratic Change, and was one of four white MDC constituency MPs elected in 2000.
Other white MPs elected in 2000 included David Coltart
(a prominent human rights lawyer and founding legal secretary of the MDC) and Michael Auret (a civil rights activist of long standing who had opposed white minority rule in the 1970s). Trudy Stevenson
was a Ugandan white who had come to Rhodesia in 1972. Stevenson served as the MDC's Secretary for Policy and Research before being elected to Parliament. In July 2006, after attending a political meeting in the Harare suburb of Mabvuku, Mrs Stevenson was attacked and suffered panga
wounds to the back of her neck and head. The MDC leadership immediately claimed that the attack was carried out by ZANU militants. But, while recovering in hospital, the MP for Harare North positively identified her assailants as members of a rival faction of the MDC. This serves to illustrate the violent and faction ridden nature of Zimbabwean politics. Zimbabwean politicians (black and white) routinely accuse each other of murder, theft, electoral fraud, conspiracy and treason. It is often difficult to know the truth of these matters.
One MDC spokesmen is Eddie Cross. Cross is a leading Zimbabwean business figure and serves as the MDC's Economic Secretary and shadow finance minister. Although critical of the ZANU-PF government,Cross hass been an advocate of the economic liberalisation that the government has introduced.
The 2000 general election was arguably the most significant event in post-independence Zimbabwean politics. It was the first seriously contested election in the country since 1962 and was fought out against a background of intractable economic, social and political problems. The ZANU ruling party had been in power for 20 years and was widely considered to have run out of ideas. White people played a leading role in the campaign of the opposition MDC which almost won the election. Radical elements in the country perceived the MDC project to have been an attempt to restore a limited form of white minority rule and this produced a violent backlash.
However, these last figures may be misleading since there is a large community of white Zimbabweans who work abroad on a contract basis or have moved their businesses abroad — while retaining a home in the country. One view is that the white population of Zimbabwe has been surprisingly resilient, and any improvement in the economic and political climate would bring many expatriates home again.
The Independence constitution contained a provision requiring the Zimbabwean government to honour pension obligations due former servants of the Rhodesian state. This obligation included payment in foreign currency to pensioners living outside Zimbabwe (almost all white). Pension payments were made until the 1990s, but they then became erratic and stopped altogether in 2003.
White communities in African countries suffered a variety of fates in the post-colonial period. In many countries (e.g. Kenya
, Namibia
and Botswana
) the white communities survived and actually grew in number. In two particular cases, Algeria
and Zimbabwe, the previously large European communities have shrunk. In both these last cases, the white communities had put up a fight against decolonisation and many white people found it difficult to adjust to the realities of the world they found themselves in after independence. Many neutral observers feel that the failure of some newly independent African countries and their white minorities to come to terms with one another was to the mutual disadvantage of both parties. For example, expatriate white farmers and hoteliers from Zimbabwe have done much to revive agriculture and develop tourism in neighbouring Zambia. Although much depleted in numbers, white Zimbabweans continue to play a leading role in the country's economic and political life.
The white community has also recently been the subject of a campaign by the Zimbabwean State media. Several state newspapers have referred to white Zimbabweans as "Britain's Children" and "settlers and colonialists".
In 2006 several residents (including British aristocrats) of the predominantly wealthy white Harare suburb of Borrowdale
were evicted from their homes because of their proximity to Mugabe's new home in the suburb. In 2007 the exclusive suburb hit the headlines again when news emerged that 100 mainly white youths were arrested during a raid in the suburb's Glow Nightclub, they were transported in two police buses and detained in the downtown central police station. According to eye witnesses, several of the youths were attacked by the Zimbabwean police. In 2008, The Guardian reported on the increasingly hostile situation that the urban white community were facing in Zimbabwe.
In March 2008, Zimbabweans took part in the Parliamentary and Presidential elections
. High profile white Zimbabwean candidates in these elections included David Coltart
for the Senate and Trudy Stevenson
, Eddie Cross
, and Ian Kay for the House of Assembly — all of these running for one of the Movement for Democratic Change factions (MDC-T
) or (MDC-M
). Coltart, Cross, and Kay were all elected, while Stevenson failed to take the Mount Pleasant seat in Harare for the Mutumbara
faction of the MDC.
The MDC won both the Parliamentary and Presidential elections
. In a normal political system, ZANU-PF would go into opposition and a new MDC government would come into office. Since 1980 Zimbabwe has existed in a post-revolutionary state run by a liberation movement. The process of transformation was therefore slow and painful. On 16 September 2008 the formation of a new "unity" government was agreed with MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai
as Prime Minister. Senator Roy Bennett was nominated to be Minister of Lands, Agriculture, and Resettlement while Eddie Cross
was nominated to be Minister of International Trade.
In February 2009, The Times
reported on the struggles the white community faces today. They cited the struggle to afford food and the astronomical price of private healthcare. Reporting that most whites resident in Zimbabwe were financially dependent on relatives abroad.
In the same month, the British government confirmed that it would assist elderly British citizens living in the country to resettle in the United Kingdom. The repatriation plan will focus on Britons over seventy and younger Britons with medical or other problems may also be eligible.
In February 2010, the international media reported that new government regulations stipulated that all white business owners must sign over a 51% majority share of their business to black Zimbabweans. A penalty for those that do not comply could result in imprisonment. Most recently, the law has been abandoned pending further discussion.
In March 2010, a group of dispossessed white farmers were handed the ownership documents of a valuable property in Cape Town
owned by the Zimbabwean government. A South African court had earlier ruled that land grabs in Zimbabwe were unlawful and that property owned by the Zimbabwean government (and not protected by diplomatic immunity) could be seized as compensation for victims of the land grabs. It is anticipated that other assets such as Air Zimbabwe
jets in South Africa could be seized.
The charity Zane ("Zimbabwe, a National Emergency") was established in 2002. The charity helps to facilitate the repatriation of cash-strapped British passport-holders resident in Zimbabwe. As of 2010, it continues to support 1,800 white Zimbabweans, while also providing support to wider Zimbabwean society.
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
who identify themselves as white
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
. In linguistic
Natural language
In the philosophy of language, a natural language is any language which arises in an unpremeditated fashion as the result of the innate facility for language possessed by the human intellect. A natural language is typically used for communication, and may be spoken, signed, or written...
, cultural and historical terms, these Zimbabweans of European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
ethnic origin are divided between the English-speaking
English-speaking world
The English-speaking world consists of those countries or regions that use the English language to one degree or another. For more information, please see:Lists:* List of countries by English-speaking population...
Anglo-African
Anglo-African
Anglo-Africans are primarily White African people of largely British descent who live or come from Sub-Saharan Africa and are Anglophone. A large majority live in South Africa...
descendants of British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
and Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
settlers, the Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
-speaking descendants of Afrikaner
Afrikaner
Afrikaners are an ethnic group in Southern Africa descended from almost equal numbers of Dutch, French and German settlers whose native tongue is Afrikaans: a Germanic language which derives primarily from 17th century Dutch, and a variety of other languages.-Related ethno-linguistic groups:The...
s from South Africa, and those descended from Greek
Greeks in Zimbabwe
The Greek community in Zimbabwe comprises about 2,500 of Greek origin, almost half of them from Cyprus. Zimbabwe currently hosts eleven Greek Orthodox churches and fifteen Greek associations and humanitarian organizations.-History:...
and Portuguese settlers.
A small number of people of European ethnicity first came to Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was the name of the British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa. From its independence in 1965 until its extinction in 1980, it was known as Rhodesia...
(now Zimbabwe) as settlers during the late nineteenth century. A steady immigration of white people followed after the end of the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and to avoid the coming of black African rule (commonly referred to at the time as the Wind of Change
Wind of Change (speech)
The Wind of Change speech was a historically important address made by British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan to the Parliament of South Africa, on 3 February 1960 in Cape Town. He had spent a month in Africa visiting a number of British colonies, as they were at the time...
), Southern Rhodesia broke away under a unilateral declaration of independence
Unilateral Declaration of Independence (Rhodesia)
The Unilateral Declaration of Independence of Rhodesia from the United Kingdom was signed on November 11, 1965, by the administration of Ian Smith, whose Rhodesian Front party opposed black majority rule in the then British colony. Although it declared independence from the United Kingdom it...
and the self-governing country known as Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
was established.
As was the case (to varying degrees) in most European colonies in Africa and Asia, white immigrants took a privileged position in many areas of society. However, the position in Rhodesia was distinguished by the fact that the local white minority entrenched its political, economic and social dominance of the country. Extensive areas of prime farmland were owned by whites. Senior positions in the public services were reserved for whites, and whites working in manual occupations enjoyed legal protection against job competition from Africans. As time passed, this situation became increasingly unwelcome to the majority ethnic groups within the country and also to wide sections of international opinion.
After the country's reform as Zimbabwe in 1980, whites had to adjust to being an ethnic minority in a country with a Black African government. Many whites emigrated in the early 1980s, regretting the loss of their racially based privileges and being uncertain about their future, but many remained. Political unrest and the illegal seizure of some white-owned commercial farms resulted in a further exodus commencing in 1999. The 2002 census recorded 46,743 whites remaining in Zimbabwe. More than 10,000 were elderly and fewer than 9,000 were under the age of 15.
Background
Zimbabwe (then known as Southern RhodesiaSouthern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was the name of the British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa. From its independence in 1965 until its extinction in 1980, it was known as Rhodesia...
) was selected as a settlement colony by South African, British and Afrikaner colonists from the 1890s onwards, following the subjugation of the Matabele, (Ndebele), and Shona nations by the British South Africa Company
British South Africa Company
The British South Africa Company was established by Cecil Rhodes through the amalgamation of the Central Search Association and the Exploring Company Ltd., receiving a royal charter in 1889...
(BSAC). The early white settlers came in search of mineral resources, finding deposits of coal, chromium, nickel, platinum, and gold. They also found some of the best farmland in Africa. The central part of Rhodesia is a plateau which varies in altitude between 900 m and 1,500 m (2,950 and 4,900 ft) above sea level. This gives the area a sub-tropical climate which is conducive to European settlement and agricultural practices.
The white soldiers who assisted in the BSAC takeover of the country were each given 3,000 land grants of 3,000 acres or more, and black people living on the land became tenants. Later, Land Apportionment and Tenure Acts reserved extensive low rainfall areas for black only tribal trust lands and high rainfall areas for white ownership, which gave rise to cases of black people being excluded from their own land. White settlers were attracted to Rhodesia by the availability of tracts of prime farmland that could be purchased from the state at low cost. This resulted in a major feature of the Rhodesian economy—the "white farm". The white farm was typically a large (>100 km² (>38.6 mi²)) mechanised estate, owned by a white family and employing hundreds of black people. Many white farms provided housing, schools, and clinics for black employees and their families. At the time of independence in 1980, over 40% of the country's farming land was contained within 5,000 white farms. It was claimed that these farms provided 40% of the country's GDP and up to 60% of its foreign earnings. Major export products included tobacco, beef, sugar, cotton, and maize.
The minerals sector was also important. Gold, asbestos, nickel, and chrome were mined by foreign-owned concerns such as Lonrho
Lonmin
Lonmin plc , formerly Lonrho plc, is a producer of platinum group metals operating in the Bushveld Complex of South Africa. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...
(Lonmin since 1999) and Anglo American. These operations were usually run by white managers, engineers, and foremen.
The Census of 3 May 1921 found that Southern Rhodesia had a total population of 899,187, of whom 33,620 were Europeans, 1,998 were Coloured (mixed races), 1,250 Asiatics, 761,790 Bantu natives of Southern Rhodesia, and 100,529 Bantu aliens. The following year, Southern Rhodesians rejected, in a referendum
Southern Rhodesia government referendum, 1922
The Southern Rhodesia government referendum of October 27, 1922 saw the voters of the colony of Southern Rhodesia by a comfortable majority reject the chance to join the Union of South Africa in favour of establishing a responsible government within the colony...
, the option of becoming a province of the Union of South Africa
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State...
. Instead, the country became a self-governing British colony. It never gained full dominion
Dominion
A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities that were nominally under British sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth, beginning in the latter part of the 19th century. They have included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland,...
status, although unlike other colonies it was treated as a de facto dominion
Dominion
A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities that were nominally under British sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth, beginning in the latter part of the 19th century. They have included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland,...
, with its Prime Minister attending the Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
Prime Ministers' Conferences.
Growth of the white community
In 1891, before Southern Rhodesia was established as a territory, it was estimated that there were about 1,500 Europeans residing there. This number grew slowly to around 75,000 in 1945. In the period 1945 to 1955 the white population doubled to 150,000. During that decade, 100,000 black people were forcibly resettled from farming land designated for white ownership. However some members of the white farming community opposed the forced removal of black people from land designated for white ownership and some even favoured the handover of underutilized 'white land' to black farmers. For example, in 1947 Wedza white farmer Harry Meade unsuccessfully opposed the eviction of his black neighbour Solomon Ndawa from a 500 acres (2 km²) irrigated wheat farm. Meade represented Ndawa at hearings of the Land Commission and attempted to protect Ndawa from abusive questioning.Rhodesian white settlers were considered different in character to white settlers in other British colonies. Settlers in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
were perceived to be drawn from 'the officer class' and from the British landowning class
Landed gentry
Landed gentry is a traditional British social class, consisting of land owners who could live entirely off rental income. Often they worked only in an administrative capacity looking after the management of their own lands....
. Settlers after the second world war in Rhodesia were perceived to be drawn from lower social strata and were treated accordingly by the British authorities:
However, it should be noted that white people never amounted to more than 5.4% of the country's total population (that is, 270,000 white people divided by 5 million total population in 1970). Also, the white farming community never amounted to more than around 8% of the total white population and this proportion fell steadily after 1945 up to independence in 1980.
Various factors encouraged the growth of the white population of Rhodesia. These included the industrialisation and prosperity of the economy in the post-War period and the fact that the National Party victory in the 1948 South African general election made that country less friendly to British settlement and investment than was previously the case. It was also apparent as early as the 1950s that white rule would continue for longer in Rhodesia than it would in other British colonies such as Zambia (Northern Rhodesia) and Kenya. Many of the new immigrants had a "not here" attitude to majority rule and independence.
Unilateral Declaration of Independence (Rhodesia)
The Unilateral Declaration of Independence of Rhodesia from the United Kingdom was signed on November 11, 1965, by the administration of Ian Smith, whose Rhodesian Front party opposed black majority rule in the then British colony. Although it declared independence from the United Kingdom it...
('UDI') under Prime Minister Ian Smith
Ian Smith
Ian Douglas Smith GCLM ID was a politician active in the government of Southern Rhodesia, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Rhodesia, Zimbabwe Rhodesia and Zimbabwe from 1948 to 1987, most notably serving as Prime Minister of Rhodesia from 13 April 1964 to 1 June 1979...
. The UDI project eventually failed, after a period of UN economic sanctions and a civil war known as the Chimurenga
Chimurenga
Chimurenga is a Shona word for 'revolutionary struggle'. The word's modern interpretation has been extended to describe a struggle for human rights, political dignity and social justice, specifically used for the African insurrections against British colonial rule 1896–1897 and the guerrilla war...
(Shona) or Bush War
Rhodesian Bush War
The Rhodesian Bush War – also known as the Second Chimurenga or the Zimbabwe War of Liberation – was a civil war which took place between July 1964 and December 1979 in the unrecognised country of Rhodesia...
. British colonial rule returned in December 1979, when the country became the British Dependency of Southern Rhodesia. In April 1980 it was granted independence as "Zimbabwe".
One characteristic of white settlement in Rhodesia was that the white community kept itself largely separate from the black and Asian communities in the country. Urban white people lived in separate areas of town, and white people had their own segregated education, healthcare and recreational facilities. Marriage between black and white people was possible, but remains to the present day very rare. The 1903 Immorality Suppression Ordinance made "illicit" (i.e. unmarried) sex between black men and white women illegal – with a penalty of two years imprisonment for any offending white woman. The majority of the early white immigrants were men, so some white men entered into relationships with black women. The result was a small number of mixed-race persons, (1998 out of 899187 total according to the 1921 census), some of whom were accepted as being white. A proposal by Garfield Todd
Garfield Todd
Sir Reginald Stephen Garfield Todd was a reformist Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia from 1953 to 1958 and later became an opponent of white minority rule in Rhodesia. He was born in Invercargill, New Zealand.-Background:...
(Prime Minister, 1953–1958) to liberalise laws on inter-racial sex was viewed as dangerously radical. The proposal was rejected and was one factor that led to the political demise of Todd.
Rhodesian white people had enjoyed a very high standard of living. The Land Tenure Act had reserved 30% of agricultural land for white ownership and black labour costs were low (around US$40 per month in 1975) But free housing, food and clothing.(nurses earned US$120 per month in 1975), which had a large effect in the context of an agricultural economy. Public spending on education, healthcare and other social services was heavily weighted towards provision for white people. Most of the better paid jobs in public service were reserved for white people. White people in skilled manual occupations enjoyed employment protection against black competition. In 1975, the average annual income per head for Rhodesian white people was around US$8,000 (with income tax at a marginal rate of 5%) — making them one of the richest communities in the world.
At independence probably around 38% of white Zimbabweans were UK-born, with slightly fewer born in Rhodesia and around 20% from elsewhere in Africa. The white population of that era contained a large transient element and many white people might better be considered foreign expatriates than settlers. Between 1960 and 1979 white immigration to Rhodesia was 180,000 and white emigration in the same period was 202,000 (with an average white population of around 240,000). Many white people were relatively recent arrivals in the country and showed little hesitation about moving on after
independence.
Status of whites
The country gained its independence as ZimbabweZimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
in April 1980, under a ZANU-PF government led by Robert Mugabe
Robert Mugabe
Robert Gabriel Mugabe is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980...
. Following independence, the country's white people lost most of their former privileges. A generous social welfare net (including both education and healthcare) that had supported white people in Rhodesia disappeared almost in an instant. White people in the artisan, skilled worker and supervisory classes began to experience job competition from black people. Indigenisation in the public services displaced many white people. The result was that white emigration gathered pace. In the ten-year period from 1980 to 1990 approximately two thirds of the white population left Zimbabwe.
However, many white people resolved to stay in the new Zimbabwe. Only one third of the white farming community left. An even smaller proportion of white urban business owners and members of the professional classes left. This pattern of migration meant that although small in absolute numbers, Zimbabwe's white people formed a high proportion of the upper strata of society.
A 1984 article in the Sunday Times Magazine described and pictured the life of Zimbabwean white people at a time when their number was just about to fall below 100,000. About 49% of emigrants left to settle in South Africa, many of whom were Afrikaans speakers, 29% in the United Kingdom and Ireland, with most of the remainder going to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States. Many of these emigrants continue to identify themselves as Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
n. A white Rhodesian/Zimbabwean who is nostalgic for the UDI era is known colloquially as a "Rhodie
Rhodie
Rhodie is a colloquial term. It is typically applied to a white Zimbabwean or expatriate Rhodesian.-Origins of the term:The term was first used by British army and civil service personnel in Rhodesia during the period immediately before the country's independence :".....
". These nostalgic "Rhodesians" are also sometimes referred to as "Whenwe
Whenwe
The term whenwe is a derogatory term used to describe former British settlers or expatriates, known to talk nostalgically about their former homes in colonial Africa, i.e.: "when we lived in..." . The original 'whenwes' came from eastern Africa, mostly Kenya...
s", because of the nostalgia of "when we were in Rhodesia". A white who remained in Zimbabwe and accepted the situation is known as a "Zimbo".
The lifting of UN imposed economic sanctions and the end of the Bush War
Rhodesian Bush War
The Rhodesian Bush War – also known as the Second Chimurenga or the Zimbabwe War of Liberation – was a civil war which took place between July 1964 and December 1979 in the unrecognised country of Rhodesia...
at the time of independence produced an immediate 'peace dividend'. Renewed access to world capital markets made it possible to finance major new infrastructure developments in transport and schools. One area of economic growth was tourism, catering in particular to visitors from Europe and North America. Many white people found work in this sector. Another area of growth was horticulture, involving the cultivation of flowers, fruits and vegetables which were air-freighted to market in Europe. Many white farmers were involved in this and in 2002 it was claimed that 8% of horticultural imports into Europe were sourced in Zimbabwe. The economic-migrant element among the white population had departed quickly after independence, leaving behind those white people with deeper roots in the country. The country settled and the white population stabilised.
The 1979 Lancaster House Agreement
Lancaster House Agreement
The negotiations which led to the Lancaster House Agreement brought independence to Rhodesia following Ian Smith’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965. The Agreement covered the Independence Constitution, pre-independence arrangements, and a ceasefire...
, which was the basis for independence, had precluded compulsory land redistribution in favour of subsidised voluntary sale of land by white owners, for a period of at least 10 years. The pattern of land ownership established during the Rhodesian state therefore survived for some time after independence. Those white people who were prepared to adapt to the situation they found themselves in were therefore able to continue enjoying a very comfortable existence. In fact, the independence settlement combined with favourable economic conditions plus ESAP (see below) produced a 20-year period of unprecedented prosperity for Zimbabwean white people and for the white farming community in particular. A new class of "young white millionaires" appeared in the farming sector. These were typically young Zimbabweans who had applied skills learned in agricultural colleges and business schools in Europe.
"This is the best government for commercial farmers that this country has ever seen" John Brown (CFU president), 1989
(Zimbabwe's white people) "... kept their houses and their pools and their servants. The white farmers had it even better. With crop prices soaring they bought boats on Lake Kariba and built air strips on their farms for newly acquired planes. Zimbabwe's whites reached an implicit understanding with Zanu-PF; they could go on as before, so long as they kept out of politics" - Chris McGeal, April 2008
White Zimbabweans with professional skills were readily accepted in the new order. For example, Chris Andersen had been the hardline Rhodesian justice minister but made a new career for himself as an independent MP and leading attorney in Zimbabwe. In 1998 he defended former President Canaan Banana
Canaan Banana
Canaan Sodindo Banana served as the first President of Zimbabwe from 18 April 1980 until 31 December 1987. A Methodist minister, he held the largely ceremonial office of the presidency while his eventual successor, Robert Mugabe, served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe.During his lifetime, Banana...
in the infamous "sodomy trial". At the time of this trial, Andersen spoke out against the attitude of President Mugabe who had described homosexuals as being "worse than dogs and pigs since they are a colonial invention, unknown in African tradition".
Land
By the mid-1990s it is thought that around 70,000 white people remained in Zimbabwe. In spite of this small number, the white Zimbabwean minority maintained control of much of the economy through its investment in commercial farms, industry, and tourism. However, an on-going program of land reformsLand reform in Zimbabwe
Land reform in Zimbabwe officially began in 1979 with the signing of the Lancaster House Agreement, an effort to more equitably distribute land between the historically disenfranchised blacks and the minority-whites who ruled Zimbabwe from 1890 to 1979...
(intended to alter the ethnic balance of land ownership) dislodged many white farmers. The level of violence associated with these reforms in some rural areas made the position of the wider white community uncomfortable. Twenty years after independence, there were 21,000 commercial farmers in the country of whom 4,000 were white and 17,000 were black. Natural market processes had diminished the influence of white farmers to a point where the government was no longer afraid to confront them.
The "land issue" is a problem that came to assume a very high profile in Zimbabwe's political life. ZANU politicians pressed for land to be transferred from white to black ownership regardless of the resultant disruption to agricultural output, in order to correct the perceived "injustice" of the Rhodesian land apportionment. White farmers argued that this served little purpose since Zimbabwe has ample agricultural land much of which was either vacant or only lightly cultivated. On this last basis, the problem was really a lack of development rather than one of land tenure. White farmers would respond to claims that they owned "70% of the best arable land" by stating that what they actually owned was "70% of the best developed arable land" — and the two are entirely different things. Whatever the merits of the arguments, in the post-Independence period the Land Issue assumed enormous symbolic importance to all concerned.
As the euphoria of independence subsided and as a variety of economic and social problems became evident in the late 1990s, the Land Issue became a focus for trouble.
In 1999 the government initiated a "fast track land reform" programme. This was intended to transfer 4,000 white farms, covering 110,000 km² (42,470 mi²) of mostly prime farmland, to black ownership. The means used to implement the programme were ad-hoc and involved forcible seizure in many cases.
By mid-2006 only 500 of the original 5,000 white farms were still fully operational. The majority of the white farms that avoided expropriation were in Manicaland and Midlands where it proved possible to do local deals and form strategic partnerships. However, by early 2007, a number of the farms were being leased back to their former white owners (although in reduced size and/or on a contract basis) and it is possible that as many as 1,000 of them could be operational again, in some form. Of the 3,500 evicted white farmers it is reported that 2,000 are still in Zimbabwe and are turning their hands to new business enterprises. One former white farmer formed a construction company and later contracted his bulldozers to the government for use in Operation Murambatsvina
Operation Murambatsvina
Operation Murambatsvina , also officially known as Operation Restore Order, is a large-scale Zimbabwean government campaign to forcibly clear slum areas across the country...
:
"This is Africa, you have to make a plan and if that means doing business with guys that aren't very nice then so be it. It was cash up front - no questions asked. It's survival of the fittest, my friend ... if you want to live here you must play the game" anonymous, quoted in the Selby thesis
While the expropriated white farmers themselves have generally moved on to other things, this has not been the case for some of their employees. Former white farm workers from the chargehand/foreman bracket have found themselves in much reduced circumstances. The post-2000 recession has seen the emergence of a class of "poor white people". These are typically persons who lack capital, education and skills — and who are therefore unable to migrate from Zimbabwe. Social workers have commented that black people facing difficulties are usually able to fall back on support from extended families. White and coloured people have a much more individualistic culture and appear less able to cope with hardship.
A University of Zimbabwe
University of Zimbabwe
The University of Zimbabwe in Harare, is the oldest and largest university in Zimbabwe. It was founded through a special relationship with the University of London and it opened its doors to its first students in 1952. The university has ten faculties offering a wide variety of degree programmes...
sociologist told IWPR
Institute for War and Peace Reporting
Institute for War & Peace Reporting is an international media development charity, established in 1991. It runs major programmes in Afghanistan, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Iran, Iraq, the Balkans, Congo DRC, Tunisia and Uganda...
journalist Benedict Unendoro, the esprit de corps of the white dominant class in the former Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
prevented the poor white people from becoming a recognizable social group because of the social assistance provided by the dominant social class on racial grounds. This system broke down after the founding of Zimbabwe, causing the number of poor white people to increase especially after 2000, when the confiscation of white-owned farms took its toll. As rich white land owners emigrate or fend for themselves financially, their white employees who mainly worked as supervisors of black labour, found themselves destitute on the streets of cities like Harare, with many found begging around urban centres like Eastlea. The land confiscated from white owners has been redistributed to black peasant farmers and smallholders, acquired by commercial land companies, or persons connected to the regime.
Sympathisers of the expropriated white farmers have claimed that lack of professional management skills among the new landholders has resulted in a dramatic decline in Zimbabwe's agricultural production. Indeed, in an effort to boost their own agricultural output, neighboring countries including Mozambique and Zambia offered land and other incentives to entice Zimbabwe's white farmers to immigrate.
By 2008, an estimated one in ten out of 5,000 white farmers remained on their land. Many of these continued to face intimidation. By June 2008, it was reported that only 280 white farmers remained and all of their farms were invaded.
On the day of Mugabe's inauguration as president on June 28, 2008, several white farmers who had protested the seizure of their land were beaten and burned by Robert Mugabe's supporters. A British-born farmer, Ben Freeth
Ben Freeth
Benjamin "Ben" Freeth, MBE is a British-born White Zimbabwean farmer and human rights activist from the district of Chegutu in Mashonaland West Province, Zimbabwe. Together with his father-in-law, Mike Campbell, he rose to international prominence after 2008 for suing the regime of Zimbabwean...
(who has had several articles and letters published in the British press regarding the hostile situation) and his in-laws, Mike and Angela Campbell were recently abducted and found badly beaten. Mr Campbell, speaking from hospital in Harare, has vowed to continue with his legal fight for his farm. In November 2008, an SADC tribunal ruled that the government had racially discriminated against Mike Campbell and denied him legal redress and prevented him from defending his farm.
White millionaires
John BredenkampJohn Bredenkamp
John Arnold Bredenkamp is a Zimbabwean businessman and former rugby player. He is the founder of the Casalee Group.-Early life:...
started his trading business during the UDI era when he developed expertise in "sanctions busting". He is reported to have arranged the export of Rhodesian tobacco and the import of components (including parts and munitions for the UDI regime's force of Hunter jets) in the face of UN trade sanctions. Bredenkamp was able to continue and expand his business after independence, making himself a personal fortune estimated at around US$1 billion.
A number of foreign white entrepreneurs have been attracted to Zimbabwe in recent years. Controversial British businessman Nicholas van Hoogstraten
Nicholas van Hoogstraten
Nicholas van Hoogstraten is a British businessman and real estate magnate. van Hoogstraten is known for his business empire as well as his controversial life story: In 1968, he was convicted, and sent to prison, for paying a gang to attack a business associate...
has built up a 4200 km² (1620 mi²) land holding in central Zimbabwe through his corporate interests (mainly Messina Investments). Far from losing land to resettlement, van Hoogstraten has actually been able to purchase new property since 2000. Van Hoogstraten, a man with criminal history, has described President Mugabe as "100 percent decent and incorruptible" and "a true English gentleman". Van Hoogstraten is reported to have arranged supplies for Zimbabwean forces in the DRC and to have underwritten arms deals for the Mugabe administration. Although, van Hoogstraten appears to have recently fallen out with the Zimbabwean establishment.
Several white Zimbabwean businessmen, such as Billy Rautenbach
Billy Rautenbach
Billy Rautenbach, also known as Muller Conrad Rautenbach , is a multimillionaire Zimbabwean businessman. He is known for his aggressive business tactics and is believed to have close links to ZANU-PF and the government of Robert Mugabe...
, have returned to their native country after working abroad for some years. Rautenbach has succeeded in extending Zimbabawean minerals sector activity into neighbouring countries such as the DRC.
Charles Davy is one of the largest private landowners in Zimbabwe. 53-year-old Davy is reported to own 1,200 km² (460 mi²) of land including farms at Ripple Creek, Driehoek, Dyer's Ranch and Mlelesi. His property has been almost unaffected by any form of land redistribution — and he denies that this fact has any link to his business relationship with MP and Minister Webster Shamu. Says Davy about Minister Shamu "I am in partnership with a person who I personally like and get along with". Other views on Shamu are less kind.
Davy is married to Beverley, a former model and "Miss Rhodesia" of 1973. Their daughter Chelsy
Chelsy Davy
Chelsy Yvonne Davy is a Zimbabwean National who was the on-off girlfriend of Prince Harry of Wales from early 2004 to May 2010.- Early life :...
(born and raised in Bulawayo) was the long-standing girlfriend of Prince Harry until their split in January 2009. Press reports quote Chelsy's Uncle Paul as saying that although Harry and Chelsy wished to marry, the Royal Family would not allow this because of Chelsy's Zimbabwean connections.
Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
-born murdered socialite
Socialite
A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....
and naturalized Rhodesian and South African citizen, Hazel Crane
Hazel Crane
Hazel Crane was a prominent socialite, businesswoman and posthumous memoirist in South Africa. She was assassinated on 10 November 2003 near her mansion home in the plush Northern Johannesburg suburb of Abbotsford, the same suburb where controversial mining magnate Brett Kebble was murdered later...
made her fortune as a diamond smuggler in the then Rhodesia. Crane's first husband was in the Rhodesian Army
Rhodesian Army
The Rhodesian Security Forces consisted of the Rhodesian Army, Royal Rhodesian Air Force, British South Africa Police, Rhodesian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Guard Force.- Rhodesian Army :...
fighting in the Rhodesian Bush War
Rhodesian Bush War
The Rhodesian Bush War – also known as the Second Chimurenga or the Zimbabwe War of Liberation – was a civil war which took place between July 1964 and December 1979 in the unrecognised country of Rhodesia...
when he was killed at age 25. Crane who had one child, and was pregnant with the couple's second turned to a life of crime after his death. Her activities included; smuggling diamonds and emeralds, making blackmarket currency deals, owning a striptease joint and selling hard-core pornography. In her posthumous biography, she describes how she would tuck emeralds into her beehive hairdo or pack them into her son's nappies for smuggling. She invested her profits in legitimate businesses, such as the Copa Cobana restaurant, one of Rhodesia's most popular and fashionable meeting places. In later life, she was a commodity broker. She was allegedly murdered by the Israeli mafia
Israeli mafia
The Israeli mafia is the general term for organized crime groups operating in Israel and also internationally. Allegedly there are 16 crime families operating in Israel, five major groups active on the national-level, and 11 smaller organizations...
in 2003, near her mansion home in Abbotsford, Gauteng
Abbotsford, Gauteng
Abbotsford is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is located in Region 3. In the early 2000s prominent public figures Hazel Crane and Brett Kebble were murdered in the suburb....
.
The political environment in Zimbabwe has allowed the development of an exploitative business culture, in which some white businessmen have played a prominent role. When Zimbabwe was subject to EU sanctions arising from its involvement in the DRC from 1998, the government was able to call on sanctions busting expertise and personnel from the UDI era to provide parts and munitions for its force of Hawk jets. After 25 years of ZANU-PF government, Zimbabwe has become a congenial place for white millionaires of a certain kind to live and do business in.
Arts
Several cultural organisations existed during white-minority rule that mainly served the interests of the community. These included The National Art Gallery, The National Arts Foundation and the Salisbury Arts Council.Literature
Artistic expression often portrays "the melancholy white exile" from Zimbabwe who secretly longs to return home.Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
-winning writer Doris Lessing
Doris Lessing
Doris May Lessing CH is a British writer. Her novels include The Grass is Singing, The Golden Notebook, and five novels collectively known as Canopus in Argos....
, who lived in Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was the name of the British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa. From its independence in 1965 until its extinction in 1980, it was known as Rhodesia...
between 1924 and 1949 and had two children there, has published works about the colonial experience and exposing racial hostilities. Her 1950 novel, The Grass Is Singing
The Grass Is Singing
The Grass Is Singing is the first novel, published in 1950, by British Nobel Prize-winning author Doris Lessing. It takes place in Rhodesia , in southern Africa, during the 1940s and deals with the racial politics between whites and blacks in that country...
is set in Southern Rhodesia in the late 1940s and deals with racial injustice. The book was banned in Southern Rhodesia until independence in 1980. She visited her children in the country in 1956 but was declared a 'prohibited immigrant
Persona non grata
Persona non grata , literally meaning "an unwelcome person", is a legal term used in diplomacy that indicates a proscription against a person entering the country...
' and banned from coming back again for political reasons. She visited the country many times since independence and released her accounts of the visits in the book African Laughter: Four Visits to Zimbabwe in 1992. In her 2008 semi fictional/non-fiction novel Alfred and Emily
Alfred and Emily
Alfred and Emily is a 2008 part fiction, part memoir book by British Nobel Prize in Literature-winner Doris Lessing . The story is structured in two parts and is based on the lives of Lessing's parents. The first is a novella, a fictional portrait of how her parents lives would have been without...
, Southern Rhodesia is a prominent backdrop in the second 'factual' part of her account of her parents' lives.
Peter Godwin (born Salisbury, 1957) wrote several books with a Zimbabwean background including Rhodesians Never Die (1984) and When a Crocodile Eats the Sun
When a Crocodile Eats the Sun
When a Crocodile Eats the Sun is an acclaimed 2006 book of memoirs by Peter Godwin. It is a continuation to Godwin's highly-successful earlier memoirs, Mukiwa. The book was published by Picador.-Content:...
(2007). The theme of these books is the impact of political change in Zimbabwe on the country's white community. Godwin regularly contributes to newspapers, TV and radio on Zimbabwean affairs. Godwin's writing appears much affected by the death of one of his sisters in a "friendly fire
Friendly fire
Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire...
" incident during the liberation war in the 1970s. Another sibling, Georgina Godwin, was until 2001 a presenter on Zimbabwe TV and radio. Douglas Rogers
Douglas Rogers (writer)
Douglas Rogers is a Zimbabwean journalist, travel writer and memoirist.-Background:He was born and raised in Umtali, Rhodesia to Lyn, a lawyer and Rosalind, a drama teacher. He grew up on heavily fortified chicken and grape farms during the Rhodesian Bush War with his three sisters...
has also enjoyed success chronicling his parents struggle to hold onto their game farm and backpackers resort in The Last Resort. In 2010 the book won the British Guild of Travel Writers
British Guild of Travel Writers
The British Guild of Travel Writers was formed in 1960. It is a membership organisation that admits authors whose work focuses on travel. It also includes among its membership many other professionals who generate travel-related content for print, broadcast and online media...
award for Best Narrative Travel Book.
Catherine Buckle
Catherine Buckle
Catherine Buckle or Cathy Buckle is a Zimbabwean writer and blogger living in Marondera, Zimbabwe. She and her former husband bought "Stow Farm" in Marondera in 1990 and managed to make the farm productive and viable...
has also tackled the issue of chaotic land reforms. Her books African Tears and Beyond Tears. The former deals with the emotional struggle that she and her family faced as war veterans invaded her farm. She also explores the traumatic situation facing farm workers and other farming families in similar positions to hers. In Beyond Tears she speaks to the family of a murdered farmer, to five farmers who were abducted as well as to rape victims. She also returns to visit her once-productive farm, which has been burnt to the ground and turned into a squatter camp.
South Africa-born novelist and poet John Eppel
John Eppel
John Eppel was born in Lydenburg, South Africa. He moved to Colleen Bawn, a small mining town in the south of Southern Rhodesia , at the age of four. He was educated at Milton High School in Bulawayo, and later attended the University of Natal in South Africa. He married at the age of 34 and has...
was raised in Southern Rhodesia and is a Zimbabwean citizen. His works have been released to critical acclaim; in particular, he has enjoyed success with D G G Berry's The Great North Road.In particular he deals with themes such as the Rhodesian Bush War, independence and neo-colonialism.
Heidi Holland
Heidi Holland
Heidi Holland is a South Africa–based Zimbabwean journalist and author who has been involved in the journalism industry for over 30 years. She has worked as a freelancer writer on publications such as The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, International Herald Tribune, The New York Times and The Guardian...
has enjoyed considerable success and has written for leading international publications such as The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and The Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
. Her latest book Dinner With Mugabe gained significant media attention and allows a rare insight into Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe
Robert Mugabe
Robert Gabriel Mugabe is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980...
.
Alexandra Fuller
Alexandra Fuller
Alexandra Fuller is an Anglo-African author, who currently lives in the U.S. state of Wyoming.-Biography:Her first book was Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, a memoir of life with her family living all around Africa...
wrote of her childhood in the 1970s on a farm in Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, which won the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize in 2002, was a New York Times Notable Book for 2002 and a finalist for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
's First Book Award. Scribbling the Cat (2004) recounted a return journey as an adult, travelling with a troubled ex-soldier, attempting to lay childhood ghosts to rest. It won the Lettre Ulysses Award for the Art of Reportage in 2006. Lauren Liebenberg
Lauren Liebenberg
Lauren Liebenberg is a Rhodesia-raised South African writer. Her debut novel The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam was nominated for the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2008, the sole African entry that year to receive a nomination...
's also centred her debut novel, The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam on a Rhodesian farm in 1978. It was later nominated for the Orange Prize for Fiction
Orange Prize for Fiction
The Orange Prize for Fiction is one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious literary prizes, annually awarded to a female author of any nationality for the best original full-length novel written in English, and published in the United Kingdom in the preceding year...
in 2008. Liebenberg drew upon some of her own experiences as a child growing up in war-torn Rhodesia.
Alexander McCall Smith
Alexander "Sandy" McCall Smith, CBE, FRSE, is a Rhodesian-born Scottish writer and Emeritus Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh. In the late 20th century, McCall Smith became a respected expert on medical law and bioethics and served on British and international committees...
, who was born and brought up in Southern Rhodesia, has also enjoyed success. In particular he is known as the creator of the Africa-inspired series The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is a series of twelve novels by Scottish author Alexander McCall Smith. The agency is located in Gaborone, capital of Botswana. Its founder is a Motswana woman, Mma Precious Ramotswe, who features as the stories' protagonist and main detective...
set in neighbouring Botswana.
Marthinus L. Daneel, born at Morgenster Mission in 1936, is the leading scholar of Shona Traditional Religion and African Indigenous Churches in Zimbabwe. Accused of treason by the Smith government for refusing to bear arms against black Zimbabweans among whom he was in ministry, he nevertheless continued mission work in rural Masvingo Province and founded the first continent-wide ecumenical movement of AICs. During the 1990s, he launched a religiously-based grassroots tree-planting and environmental movement called ZIRRCON, that planted up to a million trees a year for fifteen years. As a result of his research on religion during the Chimurenga struggle, he wrote the war novel Guerilla Snuff (1997) under the nom de plume Mafuranhunzi Gumbo (his adopted clan name). When in 2004 the Zimbabwe International Book Fair selected the 75 Best Books of the 20th century written by Zimbabweans, Guerilla Snuff was the only work written by a white Zimbabwean. Daneel's literary corpus represents the voice of a white Afrikaans Zimbabwean who remains connected to the country and thus defies the stereotype of white "exile" literature as described above.
Music and theatre
In particular patriotic folk songs were popular amongst the white community during the Rhodesian Bush WarRhodesian Bush War
The Rhodesian Bush War – also known as the Second Chimurenga or the Zimbabwe War of Liberation – was a civil war which took place between July 1964 and December 1979 in the unrecognised country of Rhodesia...
. A leading musical figure was Clem Tholet
Clem Tholet
Clem Tholet was a Rhodesian folk singer who became popular in the 1970s for his Rhodesian patriotic songs. He reached the height of his fame during the Rhodesian Bush War....
who married Ian Smith
Ian Smith
Ian Douglas Smith GCLM ID was a politician active in the government of Southern Rhodesia, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Rhodesia, Zimbabwe Rhodesia and Zimbabwe from 1948 to 1987, most notably serving as Prime Minister of Rhodesia from 13 April 1964 to 1 June 1979...
's stepdaughter Jean Smith in 1967. In particular Tholet became famous for patriotic anthems such as Rhodesians Never Die. He enjoyed gold status (60,000+) with his first album Songs Of Love & War.
Another popular folk singer was Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa, formed in 1911. It became independent in 1964 as Zambia.It was initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by amalgamating North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia...
n-born John Edmond
John Edmond
John Edmond is a Rhodesian folk singer who became popular in the 1970s for his Rhodesian patriotic songs. He reached the height of his fame during the Rhodesian Bush War. He was sometimes called the "Bush Cat". During his childhood, he and his parents moved between Scotland and Central Africa...
and former soldier of the (Southern) Rhodesian Army
Rhodesian Army
The Rhodesian Security Forces consisted of the Rhodesian Army, Royal Rhodesian Air Force, British South Africa Police, Rhodesian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Guard Force.- Rhodesian Army :...
who also enjoyed considerable success during the Rhodesian Bush War
Rhodesian Bush War
The Rhodesian Bush War – also known as the Second Chimurenga or the Zimbabwe War of Liberation – was a civil war which took place between July 1964 and December 1979 in the unrecognised country of Rhodesia...
. In particular he had hits with patriotic folk songs such as 'The UDI song' from his popular Troopiesongs album.
Concert pianist Manuel Bagorro (born Harare, 1968) is the founder and artistic director of The Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA). First held in 1999, the Festival was most recently held in April 2008 and was successful in attracting attention to the arts in Zimbabwe at a difficult time. Bagorro's audio diary of the Festival, set against the background of the 2008 elections, was broadcast in instalments by the BBC World Service. The theme of HIFA was "north meets south" with contributions from African and European cultures.
Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
-based white Zimbabwean Simon Attwell is a band member of the popular South African group Freshlyground
Freshlyground
Freshlyground is a South African Afro-fusion band that formed in Cape Town in 2002. The band members variously hail from South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe...
, playing the flute, mbira, sax, and harmonica. Freshlyground combines both African and European musical traditions. Freshlyground participated in the 2008 HIFA.
The jazz composer, bandleader, and trombonist Mike Gibbs was born in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia. Other internationally successful artists born there include the Royal Ballet prima ballerina Dame Merle Park and actress Susan Burnet
Susan Burnet
Susan Burnet was a British actress born in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia . After winning a scholarship to LAMDA at the age of 15 she had a brief but successful career in British television, film and on stage. Critics likened her looks to Brigitte Bardot's...
, whose grandfather was one of the country's first white settlers.
Theatre was immensely popular across African colonies amongst bourgeoise white residents, often seeking the culture of European metropoles. The construction of larger theatres boomed in the twentieth century in colonies most populated by white people, such as Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Southern Rhodesia and the copperbelt of Northern Rhodesia. 'Little theatres' were also popular, often they were part of large sporting venues, gymkhana
Gymkhana
Gymkhana is a typical Anglo-Indian expression, which is derived from the Hindi-Urdu word for "racket court," is an Indian term which originally referred to a place where sporting events take place. The meaning then altered to denote a place where skill-based contests were held...
and turf clubs. In 1910 one author remarked on the popularity of theatre amongst Southern Rhodesia's white population; "the local population must have spent a considerable amount on theatre seats. Fifteen professional companies went on tour that year." Theatres in Southern African colonies were usually situated next to a railway line. The premier European dramatic performance in then Southern Rhodesia took place in the southern region of Bulawayo. The development of rail infrastructure allowed the involvement of entertainers from neighbouring South Africa.
The National Theatre Organisation, formerly The National Theatre Foundation focussed on Euro-centric theatre productions. These included plays such as A midsummer's Night Dream and No Sex Please, We're British.
An aspiring white Zimbabwean actor and playwright is Scott Sparrow, the 25 year-old Rhodes University
Rhodes University
Rhodes University is a public research university located in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, established in 1904. It is the province’s oldest university, and is one of the four universities in the province...
drama graduate has been in several South African theatre productions as well as Zimbabwean productions when he was younger. In 2006, at the age of 23, he wrote his first play Performers' Travel Guide, staged at the Intimate Theatre. Sparrow plays 17 characters in the one-man play concerning the disappearance of a woman's child ten years earlier. Along with South African veteran theatre-maker Nicholas Ellenbogen, he was invited to put on a play for the King of Venda
Venda
Venda was a bantustan in northern South Africa, now part of Limpopo province. It was founded as a homeland for the Venda people, speakers of the Venda language. It bordered modern Zimbabwe and South Africa, and is now part of Limpopo in South Africa....
. Sparrow directed the play titled African Dream Salon for the King.
Film and broadcasting
Doris Lessing's Southern Rhodesia novel The Grass is SingingThe Grass Is Singing
The Grass Is Singing is the first novel, published in 1950, by British Nobel Prize-winning author Doris Lessing. It takes place in Rhodesia , in southern Africa, during the 1940s and deals with the racial politics between whites and blacks in that country...
was adapted into a film by a Swedish company and released in 1981. Despite the majority of the original novel taking place in then Southern Rhodesia and earlier scenes in South Africa, the adaptation was filmed in Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. The film stars Karen Black
Karen Black
Karen Black is an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She is noted for appearing in such films as Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, The Great Gatsby, Rhinoceros, The Day of the Locust, Nashville, Airport 1975, and Alfred Hitchcock's final film, Family Plot...
and John Thaw
John Thaw
John Edward Thaw, CBE was an English actor, who appeared in a range of television, stage and cinema roles, his most popular being police and legal dramas such as Redcap, The Sweeney, Inspector Morse and Kavanagh QC.-Early life:Thaw came from a working class background, having been born in Gorton,...
as the poverty-stricken white farming couple Mary and Dick Turner and John Kani
John Kani
Bonsile John Kani is a South African actor, director and playwright.He was born in New Brighton, South Africa.Kani joined The Serpent Players in Port Elizabeth in 1965 and helped to create many plays that went unpublished but were performed to a resounding reception.These...
as the black houseboy
Houseboy
A Houseboy is typically a male servant or assistant who performs domestic or personal chores. Examples of its usage include:*An American slang term that originated in World War II for a native boy who helped a soldier perform basic responsibilities like cleaning, laundry, ironing, shoe-shining,...
and love-interest of Mary Turner. The Grass is Singing (film) is also known under the titles of Gräset Sjunger (Swedish) and Killing Heat.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...
in the 2006 film Blood Diamond
Blood Diamond (film)
Blood Diamond is a 2006 political thriller film co-produced and directed by Edward Zwick and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou...
. He plays the lead fictional character of Danny Archer, an ex-mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
, diamond-smuggler and self-proclaimed "Rhodesian" whose parents were murdered on their farm by rebels. The adventure drama film is set in 1999 during the Sierra Leone Civil War
Sierra Leone Civil War
The Sierra Leone Civil War began on 23 March 1991 when the Revolutionary United Front , with support from the special forces of Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia , intervened in Sierra Leone in an attempt to overthrow the Joseph Momoh government...
.
Another prominent performance was by Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Mary Kidman, AC is an American-born Australian actress, singer, film producer, spokesmodel, and humanitarian. After starring in a number of small Australian films and TV shows, Kidman's breakthrough was in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm...
in the 2005 film The Interpreter
The Interpreter
The Interpreter is a 2005 political thriller film starring Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn, and Catherine Keener. It was the final film to be directed by Sydney Pollack.-Plot:...
, the final film by celebrated director Sydney Pollack
Sydney Pollack
Sydney Irwin Pollack was an American film director, producer and actor. Pollack studied with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City, where he later taught acting...
. Kidman plays the lead of Silvia Broome, a white African and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
-based United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
interpreter raised in the fictional African republic of Matobo. The film centres on the pending visit of the President of Matobo to address the UN in New York; Broome's parents and sister have been killed earlier by a land mine leading to their farm, and soon her brother is murdered in Matobo. There has been much speculation that Matabo is symbolic of Zimbabwe. Its flag bears a striking resemblance to the Zimbabwean one, and there really is a Matobo National Park
Matobo National Park
The Matobo National Park forms the core of the Matobo or Matopos Hills, an area of granite kopjes and wooded valleys commencing some 35 kilometres south of Bulawayo, southern Zimbabwe...
in Zimbabwe. There are also striking parallels between Matabo's history and that of Zimbabwe
History of Zimbabwe
At the end of the Bush War there was a transition to majority rule in 1980. The United Kingdom ceremonially granted Zimbabwe independence on April 18, 1980 in accordance with the Lancaster House Agreement...
. The president of Matobo is presented in a manner similar to the President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe
Robert Mugabe
Robert Gabriel Mugabe is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980...
, for example by referring to him as the "teacher", a nickname shared by Mugabe, in reference to his teaching career. The striking parallels between Matobo and Zimbabwe provoked a reaction from the Zimbabwean government; Acting Information Minister Chen Chimutengwende said the film had "obvious connections" and that the Hollywood film was part of a "CIA plot" to discredit the Southern African nation.
The 1980 film Shamwari, also known as Chain Gang Killings in the United States, is an action thriller about two escaped prisoners, one black, one white and their developing friendship. The film was set and filmed in Rhodesia and several local white actors starred, such as Tamara Franke in the role of Tracy.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
as a model in that a government department was not responsible for it, but a board of governors (selected by Ian Smith) were instead. Popular television shows included Kwizzkids, Frankly Partridge and Music Time. Possibly the best-known Director of the RBC was Dr. Harvey Ward
Harvey Ward
Harvey Grenville Ward was Director-General of the Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation, noted for his anti-communism and for his support for Ian Smith's government in Rhodesia and South Africa. He was a leading member of the Conservative Monday Club.-Background:Ward was born in Southern Rhodesia to...
. Prior to the introduction of television, RBC had developed a successful radio network, which continued. By 1978, three top white executives had fled overseas, including Dr. Ward who "probably more than any other person, became identified with the right-wing bias on Rhodesia's radio and TV networks." The RBC was later succeeded by the Zimbabwe Rhodesia Corporation and later in its present form as the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation
Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation
The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation is the state-controlled broadcaster in Zimbabwe. It succeeded the Voice of Zimbabwe Rhodesia in 1980, which in turn had succeeded the Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation in 1979...
.
Until her departure in 2001, Georgina Godwin, the sister of author Peter Godwin, was a celebrity DJ for the corporation and television personality, and also described by Britain's The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
newspaper as Zimbabwe's Sara Cox
Sara Cox
Sara Cox , known as "Coxy", is an English TV presenter and radio DJ, most well known for presenting the breakfast show on BBC Radio 1 between 2000 and 2003...
. She previously held a morning drive-time show and gossip column in Zimbabwe. Most recently she was involved in the London-based SW Radio Africa
SW Radio Africa
SW Radio Africa is an independent Zimbabwe radio station broadcasting from London in the United Kingdom. With the government of Robert Mugabe keeping a tight rein on the airwaves, the station produces and presents news and current affairs programmes for broadcast in Zimbabwe on short wave and on...
, a station with a purpose of broadcasting independent of Zimbabwean state interference. Godwin has conducted various powerful interviews for the station with figures such as Desmond Tutu
Desmond Tutu
Desmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid...
and Zanu-PF firebrand Jocelyn Chiwenga.
In 2009, the documentary film Mugabe and the White African
Mugabe and the White African
Mugabe and the White African is a 2009 documentary film by Lucy Bailey and Andrew Thompson. The film documents the lives of a white family who run a farm in Chegutu, Zimbabwe, as they challenge the land redistribution programme that seizes white-owned farms beginning in 2000...
premiered at the London Film Festival
London Film Festival
The BFI London Film Festival is the UK's largest public film event, screening more than 300 features, documentaries and shorts from almost 50 countries. The festival, , currently in its 54th year, is run every year in the second half of October under the umbrella of the British Film Institute...
to rave reviews. The film deals with a white Zimbabwean farming family working against Mugabe's draconian land reform policies.
Sports
Before independence, Rhodesian/Zimbabwean representation in international sporting events was almost exclusively white. Zimbabwean participation in some international sporting events continued to be white dominated until well into the 1990s. For example, no black player was selected for the Zimbabwean cricket teamZimbabwean cricket team
The Zimbabwean cricket team is a national cricket team representing Zimbabwe. It is administrated by Zimbabwe Cricket...
until 1995. Rally driver Conrad Rautenbach (son of Billy, see above) won the FIA African Championship scoring Dunlop Zimbabwe Challenge Rally in 2005 and 2006. The iconic event is the all-white Zimbabwean women's field hockey team, captained by Ann Grant (formerly Ann Fletcher), winning gold medals at the Moscow Olympics in July 1980. Ann Grant's brother is the cricketer Duncan Fletcher
Duncan Fletcher
Duncan Andrew Gwynne Fletcher OBE is a former Zimbabwean cricketer, formerly captain of the Zimbabwean cricket team and the current coach of the Indian Cricket Team. He has been appointed as coach of the Indian Cricket Team on April 27, 2011...
who later became the England team manager.
As of 2007, a large number of Zimbabwe's most famous athletes are white. In tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, the Black family of Cara
Cara Black
Cara Black is a professional female tennis player from Zimbabwe. She has won 7 singles titles and 63 women's doubles titles. She has won all four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles and three of the four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles. She is currently ranked World No. 28 in women's doubles...
, Byron
Byron Black
Byron Black is a former touring professional tennis and Davis Cup player for Zimbabwe.- Biography :He is the brother of Cara and Wayne Black, both professional tennis players...
and Wayne Black
Wayne Black
Wayne Hamilton Black is a former professional male tennis player from Zimbabwe.Black is the son of Don and Velia Black and the brother of Cara Black and Byron Black, also professional tennis players. He attended the University of Southern California and was an All-American in singles and doubles...
and Kevin Ullyett
Kevin Ullyett
Kevin Ullyett is a former professional tennis player from Zimbabwe. His primary success on the tour has been in men's doubles. He has won 24 doubles titles, including the 2001 US Open and the 2005 Australian Open, both with Wayne Black...
are notable doubles players. In the 1990s, Zimbabwe's largely white cricket team was a strong one and included world class players such as Andy Flower
Andy Flower
Andrew "Andy" Flower OBE is a former international cricketer for Zimbabwe and is currently the England coach.-Playing career:...
, Grant Flower
Grant Flower
Grant William Flower is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is rated among the best Zimbabwean cricketers in history for his handy left arm spin and fine batting skills. He was a fitness fanatic who spends hours in the gym, and was also regarded as a brilliant fielder who was usually seen in the gully...
and several others. Today Zimbabwe's National Cricket Team still has several white players including Brendan Taylor
Brendan Taylor
Brendan Taylor is a Zimbabwean cricketer, who is mainly a batsman, but occasionally keeps wicket or bowls off-spin as well. He is currently the captain of the Zimbabwean cricket team, having taken over the reins from Elton Chigumbura after the 2011 Cricket World Cup...
and Sean Williams
Sean Williams (cricketer)
Sean Colin Williams is a Zimbabwean cricketer who captained his country at the 2006 Under–19 World Cup. Williams, a left-handed batsman and occasional slow left arm bowler, has a highest score of 70 not out against the West Indies in the match played between the nations at the 2007 World Cup, and...
. Also, Zimbabwe's most successful recent Olympic athlete is swimmer Kirsty Coventry
Kirsty Coventry
Kirsty Leigh Coventry is a Zimbabwean swimmer and world record holder. She attended and swam competitively for Auburn University in Alabama, in the United States...
, who won three medals (including gold) at the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
and four medals (including gold) at the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
. Famous white Zimbabwean golfers include Nick Price
Nick Price
Nicholas Raymond Leige Price is a South African-Zimbabwean Professional golfer and an inductee in the World Golf Hall of Fame. In the mid-1990s, Price reached number one in the Official World Golf Rankings.-Background:...
, Mark McNulty
Mark McNulty
Mark William McNulty is an Irish/Zimbabwean professional golfer currently playing on the Champions Tour. He was one of the leading players on the European Tour from the mid 1980s to the mid 1990s, and cracked the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings for 83 weeks from 1987 to 1992.McNulty...
and Brendon De Jonge
Brendon de Jonge
Brendon de Jonge is a professional golfer from Zimbabwe. He currently plays on the PGA Tour.-Professional career:De Jonge played on the Nationwide Tour from 2004 to 2006 and 2008. He earned his 2007 PGA Tour card at Q-school. He finished 155th on the money list in 2007, losing his tour card...
.
Although she represents South Africa, Rhodesian-born Charlene Wittstock
Charlene Wittstock
Charlene, Princess of Monaco , is the wife of Albert II, Prince of Monaco. She is also a former South African Olympic swimmer....
, who was brought up in Bulawayo until moving to South Africa at the age of ten, has achieved success as a swimmer. She has also became a celebrity figure, thanks to her current romantic relationship with Prince Albert II Sovereign Prince of Monaco.
Australian rugby union player David Pocock is also a well-known Zimbabwean, having emigrated to Australia in 2002.
Political and economic background
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
and World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
development funding was made conditional upon the adoption of economic liberalisation. In 1991 Zimbabwe adopted ESAP (Economic Structural Adjustment Programme) which required privatisation, the removal of exchange and import controls, trade deregulation and the phasing out of export subsidies. Up to the time of independence, the economy relied mainly on the export of a narrow range of primary products including tobacco, asbestos and gold. In the post independence period, the world markets for all these products deteriorated and it was hoped that ESAP would facilitate diversification.
ESAP and its successor ZIMPREST (Zimbabwe Programme for Economic and Social Transformation) caused considerable economic turbulence. Some sectors of the economy did benefit. But the immediate results included job losses, a rise in poverty, and a series of exchange rate crises. The associated economic downturn caused the budget deficit to rise which put pressure on public services. The means used to finance the budget deficit have caused hyperinflation. These factors created a situation in which many bright and qualified Zimbabweans (both black and white) had to look abroad for work opportunities. Zimbabwean politics since 1990 have therefore been conducted against a background of economic difficulty with the manufacturing sector (in particular) being 'hollowed out'. Although, some parts of the economy continue to perform well. The Zimbabwe stock exchange and the property market have experienced minor booms, while outsiders are coming to invest in both mining and land operations. Where some see crisis, others see opportunity.
In the period immediately after independence, some white political leaders (such as Ian Smith
Ian Smith
Ian Douglas Smith GCLM ID was a politician active in the government of Southern Rhodesia, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Rhodesia, Zimbabwe Rhodesia and Zimbabwe from 1948 to 1987, most notably serving as Prime Minister of Rhodesia from 13 April 1964 to 1 June 1979...
) sought to maintain the identity of white Zimbabweans as a separate group. In particular, they sought to maintain a separate "white roll" for the election of 20 seats in parliament reserved for white people (abolished in 1987). Despite this, many white Zimbabweans embraced the political changes and many even joined Zanu-PF in the 1980s and 1990s. For example, Timothy Stamps
Timothy Stamps
Timothy Stamps is a Zimbabwean political figure who served as Minister of Health from 1986 to 2002. For most of this period, he was the only white member of the government.-Early life and career:...
served as Minister of Health in the Zimbabwean government from 1986 to 2002.
Rich Zimbabweans
More recently, an elite network of white businessmen and senior military officers has been associated with a faction of ZANU-PF identified with Emmerson MnangagwaEmmerson Mnangagwa
Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa is a Zimbabwean politician who has been Minister of Defense since February 2009. He was previously Minister of State Security from 1982 to 1988, then Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs until 2000; he was Speaker of Parliament from July 2000 to 2005 and...
, formerly Security Minister and later Speaker of Parliament. Mnangagwa has been described as "the richest politician in Zimbabwe". He is believed to have favoured the early retirement of President Mugabe and a conciliatory approach towards the regime's domestic opponents. This line has displeased other elements in ZANU-PF. In June 2006, John Bredenkamp (a prominent former Mnangagwa associate) fled Zimbabwe in his private jet after government investigations into the affairs of his Breco trading company were started. Bredenkamp returned to Zimbabwe in September 2006 after his passport was returned by court order.
In July 2002, 92 prominent Zimbabweans were subject to EU "smart sanctions" intended to express disapproval of various Zimbabwe government policies. These persons were banned from the EU and access to assets they own in the EU was frozen. 91 of those on the blacklist were black and 1 was white. The single white was Dr. Timothy Stamps
Timothy Stamps
Timothy Stamps is a Zimbabwean political figure who served as Minister of Health from 1986 to 2002. For most of this period, he was the only white member of the government.-Early life and career:...
.
Many observers found the EU's treatment of Dr. Stamps to be curious, given that by July 2002 he was retired from active politics and a semi-invalid. Also, Stamps was widely rated to be a highly dedicated doctor who had never been implicated in any form of wrongdoing. The same observers found it equally curious that the EU Commission did not include the wealthy white backers of Mugabe on the list.
Movement for Democratic Change and 2000 general election
From around 1990 onwards, mainstream white opinion favoured opposition politics to that of Robert Mugabe's ZANU party's control of government. White Zimbabweans sought to vote for liberal economics, democracy and the rule of law. White people had lain low in the immediate post-independence period, but, in 1999 they recognised a common disquiet with the majority of people over ZANU excesses in government, and gave whites an opportunity to vote for the opposition in the country which initially grew out of the trade union movements that were enabling people to have a voice and vote with the majority of Zimbabwe.Roy Bennett, a white farmer forced off his coffee plantation after it was overrun by radical militants and then expropriated, won a strong victory in the Chimanimani constituency (adjoining the Mozambican border) in the 2000 general election. Bennett (a former Conservative Alliance of Zimbabwe
Conservative Alliance of Zimbabwe
The Conservative Alliance of Zimbabwe was the final incarnation of a party formerly called the Republican Front and prior to that the Rhodesian Front...
member) won his seat for the Movement for Democratic Change, and was one of four white MDC constituency MPs elected in 2000.
Other white MPs elected in 2000 included David Coltart
David Coltart
David Coltart is a Zimbabwean lawyer, Christian leader and politician. He was a founding member of the Movement for Democratic Change when it was established in 1999 and its founding Secretary for Legal Affairs. He was the Member of Parliament for Bulawayo South in the House of Assembly from 2000...
(a prominent human rights lawyer and founding legal secretary of the MDC) and Michael Auret (a civil rights activist of long standing who had opposed white minority rule in the 1970s). Trudy Stevenson
Trudy Stevenson
Trudy Stevenson is a Zimbabwean politician. She was Member of Parliament for Harare North in the Parliament of Zimbabwe...
was a Ugandan white who had come to Rhodesia in 1972. Stevenson served as the MDC's Secretary for Policy and Research before being elected to Parliament. In July 2006, after attending a political meeting in the Harare suburb of Mabvuku, Mrs Stevenson was attacked and suffered panga
Machete
The machete is a large cleaver-like cutting tool. The blade is typically long and usually under thick. In the English language, an equivalent term is matchet, though it is less commonly known...
wounds to the back of her neck and head. The MDC leadership immediately claimed that the attack was carried out by ZANU militants. But, while recovering in hospital, the MP for Harare North positively identified her assailants as members of a rival faction of the MDC. This serves to illustrate the violent and faction ridden nature of Zimbabwean politics. Zimbabwean politicians (black and white) routinely accuse each other of murder, theft, electoral fraud, conspiracy and treason. It is often difficult to know the truth of these matters.
One MDC spokesmen is Eddie Cross. Cross is a leading Zimbabwean business figure and serves as the MDC's Economic Secretary and shadow finance minister. Although critical of the ZANU-PF government,Cross hass been an advocate of the economic liberalisation that the government has introduced.
The 2000 general election was arguably the most significant event in post-independence Zimbabwean politics. It was the first seriously contested election in the country since 1962 and was fought out against a background of intractable economic, social and political problems. The ZANU ruling party had been in power for 20 years and was widely considered to have run out of ideas. White people played a leading role in the campaign of the opposition MDC which almost won the election. Radical elements in the country perceived the MDC project to have been an attempt to restore a limited form of white minority rule and this produced a violent backlash.
Recent developments
White emigration — particularly from within the farming community — picked up speed again after 2000. There is a link between the recent economic decline in Zimbabwe and white emigration. There has been an enormous black emigration in the same period. By 2008, some estimates were that the white population of Zimbabwe could have fallen to less than 30,000 or even less than 20,000.However, these last figures may be misleading since there is a large community of white Zimbabweans who work abroad on a contract basis or have moved their businesses abroad — while retaining a home in the country. One view is that the white population of Zimbabwe has been surprisingly resilient, and any improvement in the economic and political climate would bring many expatriates home again.
The Independence constitution contained a provision requiring the Zimbabwean government to honour pension obligations due former servants of the Rhodesian state. This obligation included payment in foreign currency to pensioners living outside Zimbabwe (almost all white). Pension payments were made until the 1990s, but they then became erratic and stopped altogether in 2003.
White communities in African countries suffered a variety of fates in the post-colonial period. In many countries (e.g. Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
and Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
) the white communities survived and actually grew in number. In two particular cases, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
and Zimbabwe, the previously large European communities have shrunk. In both these last cases, the white communities had put up a fight against decolonisation and many white people found it difficult to adjust to the realities of the world they found themselves in after independence. Many neutral observers feel that the failure of some newly independent African countries and their white minorities to come to terms with one another was to the mutual disadvantage of both parties. For example, expatriate white farmers and hoteliers from Zimbabwe have done much to revive agriculture and develop tourism in neighbouring Zambia. Although much depleted in numbers, white Zimbabweans continue to play a leading role in the country's economic and political life.
The white community has also recently been the subject of a campaign by the Zimbabwean State media. Several state newspapers have referred to white Zimbabweans as "Britain's Children" and "settlers and colonialists".
In 2006 several residents (including British aristocrats) of the predominantly wealthy white Harare suburb of Borrowdale
Borrowdale, Harare
Borrowdale is a wealthy residential suburb in the north of Harare, Zimbabwe.-Controversy:In 2006 several residents of the predominantly wealthy white suburb were evicted from their homes because of their proximity to Mugabe's new home in the suburb...
were evicted from their homes because of their proximity to Mugabe's new home in the suburb. In 2007 the exclusive suburb hit the headlines again when news emerged that 100 mainly white youths were arrested during a raid in the suburb's Glow Nightclub, they were transported in two police buses and detained in the downtown central police station. According to eye witnesses, several of the youths were attacked by the Zimbabwean police. In 2008, The Guardian reported on the increasingly hostile situation that the urban white community were facing in Zimbabwe.
In March 2008, Zimbabweans took part in the Parliamentary and Presidential elections
Zimbabwean parliamentary election, 2008
A parliamentary election was held in Zimbabwe on March 29, 2008 to elect members to both the House of Assembly and the Senate of the Zimbabwean parliament...
. High profile white Zimbabwean candidates in these elections included David Coltart
David Coltart
David Coltart is a Zimbabwean lawyer, Christian leader and politician. He was a founding member of the Movement for Democratic Change when it was established in 1999 and its founding Secretary for Legal Affairs. He was the Member of Parliament for Bulawayo South in the House of Assembly from 2000...
for the Senate and Trudy Stevenson
Trudy Stevenson
Trudy Stevenson is a Zimbabwean politician. She was Member of Parliament for Harare North in the Parliament of Zimbabwe...
, Eddie Cross
Eddie Cross
Eddie Cross is a Member of Parliament for Bulawayo South, a renowned Zimbabwean economist and founder member of the mainstream Movement for Democratic Change party led by Morgan Tsvangirai. He is currently the Policy Coordinator General....
, and Ian Kay for the House of Assembly — all of these running for one of the Movement for Democratic Change factions (MDC-T
Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai
The Movement for Democratic Change Zimbabwe is a political party and the largest party in the House of Assembly of Zimbabwe. It is the main formation formed from the split of the original Movement for Democratic Change in 2005.-Foundation:...
) or (MDC-M
Movement for Democratic Change – Mutambara
The Movement for Democratic Change — Mutambara is a Zimbabwean political party led by Welshman Ncube.-Foundation:The Movement for Democratic Change was founded in 1999 as an opposition party to the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front party led by President Robert Mugabe...
). Coltart, Cross, and Kay were all elected, while Stevenson failed to take the Mount Pleasant seat in Harare for the Mutumbara
Arthur Mutambara
Arthur Guseni Oliver Mutambara is a Zimbabwean politician. He became the President of the Movement for Democratic Change-Mutambara faction in February 2006. He has worked as the Managing Director and CEO of Africa Technology and Business Institute since September 2003...
faction of the MDC.
The MDC won both the Parliamentary and Presidential elections
Zimbabwean presidential election, 2008
The Republic of Zimbabwe held a presidential election along with a parliamentary election on 29 March 2008. The three major candidates were incumbent President Robert Mugabe of the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front , Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change , and...
. In a normal political system, ZANU-PF would go into opposition and a new MDC government would come into office. Since 1980 Zimbabwe has existed in a post-revolutionary state run by a liberation movement. The process of transformation was therefore slow and painful. On 16 September 2008 the formation of a new "unity" government was agreed with MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai
Morgan Tsvangirai
Morgan Richard Tsvangirai is the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe. He is the President of the Movement for Democratic Change - Tsvangirai and a key figure in the opposition to President Robert Mugabe. Tsvangirai was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe on 11 February 2009...
as Prime Minister. Senator Roy Bennett was nominated to be Minister of Lands, Agriculture, and Resettlement while Eddie Cross
Eddie Cross
Eddie Cross is a Member of Parliament for Bulawayo South, a renowned Zimbabwean economist and founder member of the mainstream Movement for Democratic Change party led by Morgan Tsvangirai. He is currently the Policy Coordinator General....
was nominated to be Minister of International Trade.
In February 2009, The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
reported on the struggles the white community faces today. They cited the struggle to afford food and the astronomical price of private healthcare. Reporting that most whites resident in Zimbabwe were financially dependent on relatives abroad.
In the same month, the British government confirmed that it would assist elderly British citizens living in the country to resettle in the United Kingdom. The repatriation plan will focus on Britons over seventy and younger Britons with medical or other problems may also be eligible.
In February 2010, the international media reported that new government regulations stipulated that all white business owners must sign over a 51% majority share of their business to black Zimbabweans. A penalty for those that do not comply could result in imprisonment. Most recently, the law has been abandoned pending further discussion.
In March 2010, a group of dispossessed white farmers were handed the ownership documents of a valuable property in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
owned by the Zimbabwean government. A South African court had earlier ruled that land grabs in Zimbabwe were unlawful and that property owned by the Zimbabwean government (and not protected by diplomatic immunity) could be seized as compensation for victims of the land grabs. It is anticipated that other assets such as Air Zimbabwe
Air Zimbabwe
Air Zimbabwe is the national airline of Zimbabwe, headquartered in Harare. From its hub at Harare International Airport, the carrier operates a network within southern Africa that also includes Asia and London-Gatwick. The company is a member of the International Air Transport Association, and of...
jets in South Africa could be seized.
The charity Zane ("Zimbabwe, a National Emergency") was established in 2002. The charity helps to facilitate the repatriation of cash-strapped British passport-holders resident in Zimbabwe. As of 2010, it continues to support 1,800 white Zimbabweans, while also providing support to wider Zimbabwean society.
External links
- The Viscount disasters of 1978 and 1979
- Rhodesians Worldwide
- BBC report on 1965 Rhodesian general election
- The Zimbabwean Land Issue
- Zimbabwean refugee farmers help to transform Zambian economy (The Guardian)
- Sunday Times (London) 1984 report on white people in Zimbabwe
- Selby, Angus (2006) “White Farmers in Zimbabwe, 1890-2005”, PhD Thesis, Oxford University
Audio and Video
- Sweet Banana, song of the RAR regiment (recorded 1978)
- Salisbury in 1967: "Suddenly - a City" You Tube
- ZTV commercial for Bata trainers, 1988 :YouTube