Dear Sir,

On a recent visit to Zimbabwe, and in spite of the controversies surrounding that country, this writer, frankly, was overjoyed to see first-hand the situation as regards the Zimbabweans and their struggle to secure ownership of the land of their nativity.

A trip to the National Heroes Acre in present-day Zimbabwe (formerly Southern Rhodesia and then Rhodesia) will confirm the poignancy of that history.

It should not be forgotten either that Bermuda, in the not too distant past, was colloquially referred to as “Little Rhodesia” by our freedom fighters of the Sixties and Seventies, so identical were the racist policies, colonialist attitudes and policing structures prevailing in both governments.

Notwithstanding, and against the punitive sanctions now being imposed by the West, solid results, however achieved, are to be seen, and it is by and large reflected in the countenances and humble pride displayed by the Zimbabweans at home and throughout the Diaspora. Yet, more help from persons of sincere goodwill ought, without delay, to be extended to alleviate the suffering that is being inflicted upon that sovereign nation and its people.

It is hoped, too, that my fellow Bermudians will, on the heels of their fight for comprehensive immigration reform, consider establishing a committee on land reform similar in aspiration to that advanced by Haile Selassie I, of Ethiopia:

“Programmes of land reform, having as their aim the securing of the ownership of the land ... have been implemented in numerous countries adhering to various political and economic systems. By whatever reasoning these programmes have been justified, they have all rested, at bottom, on the belief that it is the responsibility of government to ensure the development of the nation’s economy, the wellbeing of its people, and the attainment of social progress and social justice. If initiative elsewhere is lacking, the burden passes to government. Land reform, which is in large part a social programme, is wholly in keeping with this fundamental principle ... The essence of land reform is, while fully respecting the principle of private ownership, that landless people must have the opportunity to possess their own land ... This has been the basic objective of virtually every modern programme of land reform ...” — Selassie’s speech on agriculture and land reform

Towards the attainment of this goal locally, I would implore the substantial Zimbabwean and other African populations working and residing here in Bermuda to lend their support to our united struggle, and, in the words of Robert Mugabe, recent past chairman of the African Union, counsel further, that you do not resist “for the sake of expediency and monetary gains” aiding a just cause and one not dissimilar to those which have only recently been left behind.

Appreciably, the struggle does indeed continue — albeit now on several fronts.

A luta continua (the struggle continues). Rastafari.

RAS I-MAN

(Edmund Westmore Smith Jr)