The book is a desperate S.O.S. call by a Zimbabwean peacebuilder, Edward Chinhanu, to the world to help resolve his country's political conflict, which has spanned 40 years, and has torn it apart. Poverty and begging are widespread, especially now that there's no power, energy and money to buy these. The book is an expose of how young, well-educated, intelligent and world-exposed citizens survive in a dictatorship and military rule, and how such a government treats such people. During Mugabe's reign all literature that criticized him or his way of doing things was heavily censored, banned or sent one to prison. This is the first ever collection of some events during the Mugabe and his successor, Emmerson Mnangagwa's era in Zimbabwe, by a participant activist during that time. The events in these stories are mostly the personal experiences of the writer. Edward's experiences and perspective briefly sum up what Zimbabweans went through, under Robert Mugabe and Emmerson Mnangagwa. A few of the stories have a link to Edward's popular column in The Manica Post newspaper, Letter from the Ghetto, which he ran between 2003 and 2009, before it was unceremoniously stopped. The events and stories in this book teach anyone in power at any given time to promote peace, happiness and industry for the good and continued improvement of the human race. The writing of the book saw many desks, from Ecocash queues, money dealer queues, combi seats and queues, hospitals, tuckshops, banks, ZESA and farms. This is a rich book that best summarises Zimbabwe, what the people have, how they live and how they die. Lastly, the book is about one of the last dictatorships on the African continent. It opens up close issues about Zimbabwe and its people than you ever imagined you knew. It follows real, raw events from ordinary, peace loving, patient and lovable Zimbabweans on the ground, their daily grind under the rule of Robert Mugabe and Emmerson Mnangagwa especially between 2000 and 2019. .The book is also a freedom call to the younger generation of Zimbabweans. They should know that a better life than the one they are currently living is possible. However, it cannot come while they rest on their laurels. They have to engage, and it starts now. The book is written and read on two levels. On the first one, one can enjoy the experiences, escapades and adventures of ordinary Zimbabweans as they manoeuvre the road of life in a harsh socio-economic environment, and on the second, vigorously explores the pertinent issues of human rights, democracy, peace, justice, military rule and others.
About the Author: A teacher, writer, peacebuilder and Transitional Justice Fellow, Edward Chinhanu has lived and worked the bulk of his life in the high density suburbs of Sakubva, Dangamvura and Chikanga in Mutare, Zimbabwe's fourth city. He is passionate about ghetto life and its vibrancy, creativity and unity of purpose. He believes, with evidence, that traditionally, the African ghetto has contained the highest concentration of creative minds in every country. To his surprise, however, the ghetto has died at independence. For seven consecutive years Edward maintained a column in the Manica Post newspaper, Letter from the Ghetto. Edward has added ghetto life and culture to his research interests, besides narratives and their contribution to peace and conflict. Edward is passionate about writing, and among his achievements is a Commonwealth Award in 1999-2000, for his story, 'A Christmas Present for Monica', which is about the aftermaths of Zimbabwe's violent conflict. After the publication of this book, he plans to start a weekly or monthly column on how Zimbabweans cope with their political conflict, especially those from the ghetto. It will follow the lives of Farai and Shupi in the book, as well as Queen Latifa as the new president of a new, free Zimbabwe. Be sure not to miss it! As Zimbabwe's Local Peace Expert for Peace Direct, a British international peace organisation, Edward wrote several articles and stories on the conflict in Zimbabwe, and promoting peace, between 2015vand 2018. His work can be found on www.peaceinsight.authors Edward plans to use some of the proceeds from his book sales to fund his organisation, Africa Centre for Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation (ACPC, email: www.acpc.org.zw).