Memories of Gukurahundi massacre and the challenge of reconciliation

Memories of Gukurahundi massacre and the challenge of reconciliation

When Zimbabwe attained her independence from colonial powers in 1980, prospects of a peaceful nation were high, especially following the pledge made by the Prime Minister Elect in his victory speech. Isaiah 2:4b was quoted as a metaphor of peace, but things did not turn out as expected in the following years. The vicious cycle of violence that was inherited from the colonial legacy continued and the worse phase of that cycle was the Midlands and Matabeleland crisis, commonly known as Gukurahundi. Approximately 20 000 people died in the state-sanctioned violence (genocide). Using Cue-Dependent Forgetting Theory, this paper critically appraises possible reasons why the promised bliss through reconciliation did not materialise. Among the reasons cited in this paper are the lack of a serious Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and also the phenomenon of amnesia as the major contributory factors to this cycle of violence.

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Main Author: Gusha,Isheanesu
Format: Digital revista
Language:English
Published: The Church History Society of Southern Africa 2019
Online Access:http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1017-04992019000100010
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spelling oai:scielo:S1017-049920190001000102022-02-03Memories of Gukurahundi massacre and the challenge of reconciliationGusha,Isheanesu Gukurahundi violence memory reconciliation Zimbabwe When Zimbabwe attained her independence from colonial powers in 1980, prospects of a peaceful nation were high, especially following the pledge made by the Prime Minister Elect in his victory speech. Isaiah 2:4b was quoted as a metaphor of peace, but things did not turn out as expected in the following years. The vicious cycle of violence that was inherited from the colonial legacy continued and the worse phase of that cycle was the Midlands and Matabeleland crisis, commonly known as Gukurahundi. Approximately 20 000 people died in the state-sanctioned violence (genocide). Using Cue-Dependent Forgetting Theory, this paper critically appraises possible reasons why the promised bliss through reconciliation did not materialise. Among the reasons cited in this paper are the lack of a serious Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and also the phenomenon of amnesia as the major contributory factors to this cycle of violence.The Church History Society of Southern Africa Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae v.45 n.1 20192019-01-01journal articletext/htmlhttp://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1017-04992019000100010en
institution SCIELO
collection OJS
country Sudáfrica
countrycode ZA
component Revista
access En linea
databasecode rev-scielo-za
tag revista
region África del Sur
libraryname SciELO
language English
format Digital
author Gusha,Isheanesu
spellingShingle Gusha,Isheanesu
Memories of Gukurahundi massacre and the challenge of reconciliation
author_facet Gusha,Isheanesu
author_sort Gusha,Isheanesu
title Memories of Gukurahundi massacre and the challenge of reconciliation
title_short Memories of Gukurahundi massacre and the challenge of reconciliation
title_full Memories of Gukurahundi massacre and the challenge of reconciliation
title_fullStr Memories of Gukurahundi massacre and the challenge of reconciliation
title_full_unstemmed Memories of Gukurahundi massacre and the challenge of reconciliation
title_sort memories of gukurahundi massacre and the challenge of reconciliation
description When Zimbabwe attained her independence from colonial powers in 1980, prospects of a peaceful nation were high, especially following the pledge made by the Prime Minister Elect in his victory speech. Isaiah 2:4b was quoted as a metaphor of peace, but things did not turn out as expected in the following years. The vicious cycle of violence that was inherited from the colonial legacy continued and the worse phase of that cycle was the Midlands and Matabeleland crisis, commonly known as Gukurahundi. Approximately 20 000 people died in the state-sanctioned violence (genocide). Using Cue-Dependent Forgetting Theory, this paper critically appraises possible reasons why the promised bliss through reconciliation did not materialise. Among the reasons cited in this paper are the lack of a serious Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and also the phenomenon of amnesia as the major contributory factors to this cycle of violence.
publisher The Church History Society of Southern Africa
publishDate 2019
url http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1017-04992019000100010
work_keys_str_mv AT gushaisheanesu memoriesofgukurahundimassacreandthechallengeofreconciliation
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