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Healing the Wounds of Gukurahundi: a Participatory Action Research Project

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Healing the Wounds of Gukurahundi: a Participatory Action Research Project Healing the wounds of Gukurahundi: a participatory action research project Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Technology: Public Management in the Faculty of Management Sciences at Durban University of Technology Dumisani Ngwenya August 2014 APPROVED FOR FINAL SUBMISSION Geoff Harris BComm, Dip Ed, MEc, PhD Supervisor ............................................ Date.............................. Sylvia Kaye BS, MS, PhD Co-supervisor.......................................... Date............................. DECLARATION I Dumisani Ngwenya declare that I. The research reported in this dissertation/thesis, except where otherwise indicated, is my original research. II. This dissertation/thesis has not been submitted for any degree or examination at any other university. III. This thesis does not contain other persons’ data, pictures, graphs or other information, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other persons. IV. This dissertation/thesis does not contain other persons’ writing, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other researchers. Where other written sources have been quoted, then: a. their words have been re-written but the general information attributed to them has been referenced: b. where their exact words have been used, their writing has been placed inside quotation marks and referenced. V. This thesis does not contain text, graphics or tables copied and pasted from the Internet, unless specifically acknowledged, with the source being detailed in the dissertation/thesis and in the References sections. Signature: ii Abstract Between 1983 and 1987, an estimated 20 000 people from Matebeleland and parts of Midlands Province in Zimbabwe were killed in an operation code named Gukurahundi by state security agents; mostly the Central Intelligence Organisation and a battalion [5th Brigade] especially trained for this operation. Since that time no official apology or any form of healing process has been proffered by the ZANU PF government which was responsible for these atrocities. As a result, most communities in these areas have never been afforded opportunities to openly talk about their experiences and to seek relief for their painful memories of the past. If anything, the government has continued to cause enduring pain by periodically actively suppressing any such attempts. It has become an accepted norm that after violent conflicts that programmes aimed at reconciliation, healing and forgiveness should be undertaken as part of the peacebuilding efforts. Where such has not occurred, there is a fear that there might be a return to violence at some point in that country or community. The question that this research seeks to answer is whether, in view of the absence of any apology or official healing programme, these communities can heal themselves? Using a participatory action research approach, this research sheds some light on what communities could possibly do on their own to deal with their hurts. It also identifies conditions that would make such healing sustainable and what currently prevents that from taking place. It finds that through a broadly-based array of actions such as creating safe and empathetic spaces for storytelling, both verbal and written, group-based healing workshops and other psychosocial approaches, as well as a critical analysis of participants’ contexts in order to understand what needs transformation, it is possible for traumatised communities to attain a measure of relief from their emotional and psychological wounds. It also finds that this relief could be more sustainable if certain conditions were eliminated. iii Acknowledgements My sincere gratitude extends to my supervisor, Professor Geoff Harris, who not only ‘teaches peace’, but always strives to practise what he teaches. I cherish the many hours we spent, face to face and via email, discussing this work. You have become more than a supervisor; you are a mentor, colleague and friend. Thank you for all those ‘You might find this useful’ emails! To the women and men who agreed to embark on this learning journey with me, thank you for teaching me so much and for sticking it out over such a long period of time. To Reshma, thank you for the ‘crash course’ in coding and analysis; you are a good teacher. To my parents for your foresight; without your guidance my path would not have ended up here. To my wife Nokuthaba and my children Mayibongwe and Nobukhosi, who have endured many years of an absent husband and father; thank you for lending me to this project. You can have me back now. iv Dedication This thesis is dedicated to the people of Matebeleland who have continued to walk proud and tall in the face of adversity. We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). v Table of contents Abstract ............................................................................................................. iii List of Tables ......................................................................................................... xi List of Figures ....................................................................................................... xi List of Diagrams .................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1: Healing the wounds of Gukurahundi1 1. Introduction ..........................................................................................................1 1.1 Motivation for research ......................................................................................2 1.2 Research question and objectives ......................................................................4 1.3 Scope of the study and delimitations .................................................................5 1.4 Theoretical framework .......................................................................................5 1.5 Research design .................................................................................................8 1.6 Proposed data collection methods ......................................................................8 1.7 Placing myself and my work in the context of the study ...................................9 1.8 Research plan ...................................................................................................11 1.9 Overview of thesis ...........................................................................................12 1.10 Conclusion .....................................................................................................14 PART TWO Chapter 2: Background and history of violence in Matebeleland ...................15 2. Preface .............................................................................................................15 The scale and intensity of the Gukurahundi massacres ................................16 2.1 The background to the Matebeleland conflict .................................................16 2.1.1 The violence between the Ndebele and the whites .......................................16 2.1.2 The violence between the Ndebele and the Shona ........................................17 The pre-colonial era ......................................................................................17 2.1.3 The struggle for Independence and the growing of the Ndebele—Shona polarisation ..................................................................................................19 2.2 The Matebeleland Violence 1980-1987 ...........................................................22 2.2.1 The genesis of the post-independence conflict .............................................22 2.2.2 The Fifth Brigade (Gukurahundi) ................................................................25 The acts of the Fifth Brigade ........................................................................26 2.3 The current situation in Matebeleland .............................................................29 vi 2.3.1 The impact of Gukurahundi .........................................................................29 A hardening of ethnic differences ................................................................30 Fear and hatred .............................................................................................31 Economic hardships......................................................................................32 Psychological and physiological Injuries .....................................................34 2.3.2 The Unity Accord .........................................................................................34 2.4 Conclusion .......................................................................................................35 Chapter 3: Armed conflict, trauma and peacebuilding ..................................36 3. Introduction ........................................................................................................36 3.1 Psychological effects of armed conflict ...........................................................36 3.2 Trauma: a discourse .........................................................................................37 3.2.1 Defining trauma ............................................................................................39 3.2.2 The effects of trauma ....................................................................................41 3.2.3 Negative
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