FCO’s Grace Mutandwa Blogs Farewell

Image via Wikipedia

We are sorry to see one of our favorite FCO bloggers say goodbye last week. We hope she will blog again about life in Zimbabwe in the coming months. Hers is a voice of hope and reason in a country that has been choked for far too long under the eyeballs of an aging dictator.  Excerpt from her farewell post:

At the end of March I leave the employ of the embassy to re-focus my energies on other things. It has been a journey of self-discovery, a riveting trip down the international relations road but more importantly it brought me together with an amazing array of people. It also paved the way for me to create new friends at British Council and the Department for International Development.

When I started work at the embassy, the offices where in the city centre. I leave when the embassy has moved to its new home in the low-density suburb of  Mount Pleasant. Landscaping is taking shape and somewhere in the long grass around the property, a leopard and its cub have established a home. A duiker and some guinea fowl have also graced us with their presence. A month or so ago a huge snake was sighted on the property.

The presence of all this wildlife has become a subject of intense discussion between embassy staff and our neighbours in the European Union building. We are considering co-ownership rights.

When I have not been distracted by wildlife issues I have found time to blog about life in Zimbabwe. Some readers of my blog have asked me why I am still in Zimbabwe and if it is safe for them to visit.

I am still here because this is HOME and because I am a believer. I believe that my country will rise once again and take its place in the company of fellow great nations. I believe more than ever that the dark cloud we were under is passing and the sun will shine again. We will laugh again. In God’s time we will dance again.
[…]
The economy needs to get back on track. The politics of the country is still befuddled but one day we will get it right. That, is what keeps me here and that, is what makes me determined to help rebuild my country.

And when, South African President Jacob Zuma says it is up to Zimbabweans to make things right, he is right. It is our responsibility. We owe it to our children and future generations to find it in our hearts to do what is right for our country. We need more reflection and less fighting. We need more positive action and less bickering.

Beautiful! Read her entire post here.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Zuma: Lift sanctions on Zimbabwe (guardian.co.uk)
• Zuma: "substantial" progress in Zimbabwe talks (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Protest against 'shameful' Zuma (news.bbc.co.uk)