“LET ME TELL MY OWN STORY”: A QUALITATIVE EXPLORATION OF HOW AND WHY ‘VICTIMS’ REMEMBER GUKURAHUNDI IN JOHANNESBURG TODAY. Duduzile Sakhelene Ndlovu A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 03 February 2017 DECLARATION I declare that this dissertation is my own unaided work. It is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. It has not been submitted before for any degree or examination in any other university _____________________________ Duduzile Sakhelene Ndlovu Abstract1 This study is about the ways Gukurahundi memory is invoked by Zimbabwean migrants living in Johannesburg, South Africa. The research focused on inner city Johannesburg residents who are actively speaking about the Gukurahundi. Participants were drawn from three main migrant groups; Zimbabwe Action Movement, Mthwakazi Liberation Front and Ithemba leSizwe. Two artworks produced to document the atrocities; a film, The Tunnel, written and produced by an ‘outsider’ white South African filmmaker and music, Inkulu lendaba, written and performed by victims of the violence, were used as case studies; to answer questions about the meaning, role and appropriate form for remembering Gukurahundi in Johannesburg today. The Tunnel has enjoyed a global audience whereas Inkulu lendaba, remains within the victims’ locality. Findings of this study are drawn from participant observation of victims’ community events, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and, an analysis and comparison of the artworks and their reception by victims. One of the key findings of this study focusing on contestation over how a history is narrated is that translation plays a significant role in maintaining global inequality and continuing forms of colonialism. The memory of Gukurahundi is invoked, partially translated, in the music to critique continuing forms of colonial inequality in the ways narratives of victimhood are received by the global audience highlighting a shortcoming in the film, which translates the story of Gukurahundi for a global audience yet causing it to lose its authenticity for the victims. The music by victims narrates the experience of being a victim of Gukurahundi, a migrant in xenophobic South Africa and black in a racist global community. In this way it postures the socio-economic location of the victims in the global community as the reason for their victimhood and its lack of acknowledgement. This socio-economic location is therefore pivotal to their healing. The study contributes to literature on post conflict transition mechanisms and foregrounds the role of acknowledgement in healing however; specific 1 Ethics clearance for this research was received from the University of the Witwatersrand Human Research Ethics Committee (Non-Medical), Protocol H121114 & H12/11/14 i forms of narration are required for healing. Furthermore the study shows the role of music in the transmission of trauma across generations, facilitating the domestication of politics into the everyday and fostering ‘safe’ political participation in repressive contexts. The thesis also presents the potential of creative methodologies in disrupting the researcher-participant relationship power dynamics by presenting research in poetic form and facilitating participant engagement with research output; Poetic transcription similarly does this by creating transparency in the meaning making process of research analysis. Key Terms Transmission of trauma, translation, memory, identity, nationalism, poetry, art, music, film, migration, everyday politics, violence ii Table of Contents ABSTRACT I DEDICATION VII THE RACE… VII ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS X PREFACE XV SILENCE XV CHAPTER 1: UKHALELANI MNTWANYANA UGAMBU UFILE 1 RESEARCHING GUKURAHUNDI IN JOHANNESBURG 5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 8 GUKURAHUNDI 8 THE 1987 UNITY ACCORD: THE GUKURAHUNDI UNACKNOWLEDGED 9 THE ETHNIC STORY IN GUKURAHUNDI 12 ETHNICITY IN ZIMBABWE SINCE 1963 16 ZIMBABWE’S SILENCE ABOUT THE GUKURAHUNDI 18 THE WORLD IGNORES GUKURAHUNDI 19 THE MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRATIC CHANGE (MDC) BRINGS HOPE 20 RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS 21 RECRUITING THE PARTICIPANTS 23 THE DATA 25 THE TUNNEL 26 INKULU LENDABA 26 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS 30 CHAPTER 2: VIOLENCE, MIGRATION AND MEMORY 33 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT 33 REMEMBERING GUKURAHUNDI 34 MEMORY IS A FUNCTION OF POWER 35 REMEMBERING WOMEN: ‘APOLITICAL LIVES’ 36 NATIONAL MEMORIES 40 SILENCE 42 SILENCE AND TRANSGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION 43 REMEMBERING THE DEAD 45 TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSIONS 46 THE ARCHIVE AND THE REPERTOIRE 48 MUSIC AND FILM AS SITES OF MEMORY 50 WHAT IS VIOLENCE? 52 COLONIAL VIOLENCE 53 GLOBAL LOCATION OF RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS 56 HUMAN RIGHTS AND CITIZENSHIP 59 iii REGULATING MIGRATION AND MIGRANTS 60 THE VIOLENCE IN THE REGULATION OF MIGRATION 60 MIGRATION REGULATION IN SOUTH AFRICA 64 THE ‘WORK’ OF LIVING AS A MIGRANT IN JOHANNESBURG 67 CONCLUSION 71 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS 72 COMING CLEAN 72 INTRODUCTION 74 THE RELATIVIST AND REALIST ARGUMENT 74 ASKING THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS? 76 CONDUCTING INTERVIEWS AND FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS 81 WORKING WITH INTERNET SOURCES 82 INTERNET APPLICATIONS USED IN THE RESEARCH 83 A NOTE ON CONDUCTING FACE TO FACE INTERVIEWS 84 CONDUCTING FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS 85 TRANSCRIBING & TRANSLATING 87 ART METHODOLOGIES IN RESEARCH 89 SUMMARISING THE THESIS INTO POEMS 92 POEMS IN THE THESIS 94 DISCOURSE AND NARRATIVE ANALYSIS 94 POETIC TRANSCRIPTION 100 STAGING THE RESEARCHER INSIDER/OUTSIDER POSITION 106 IF YOU MARRIED A SHONA YOU HAVE INSULTED US 106 POSITIONED BY THE GUKURAHUNDI 108 THE RESEARCHER AS AUDIENCE 112 CONCLUSION 116 CHAPTER 4: WHAT IS THE GUKURAHUNDI? 117 WHAT IS THE GUKURAHUNDI? 117 INTRODUCTION 121 A MOMENT OF MADNESS 122 WE WILL NEVER FORGET 123 DISLOCATION AND RE-LOCATION: MIGRATING FROM ZIMBABWE TO SOUTH AFRICA 126 WE ARE GROWING OLD IN FOREIGN LANDS 126 SONS OF VALIANT HEROES HAVE BECOME THE LAUGHING STOCK OF THE NATIONS 128 PUSHED OUT OF ZIMBABWE 130 UNEMPLOYED AND LIVING LIKE A FOREIGNER IN ZIMBABWE 132 OMABONWA ABULAWE: ZIMBABWEANS IN SOUTH AFRICA 138 VIOLENCE IS ALWAYS GENDERED: INCAPABLE MOTHERS AND ABSENT FATHERS 143 INCAPABLE MOTHERS 145 A MOTHER TO “DISSIDENTS” 153 ABSENT FATHERS 155 THE ‘BAD’ DEATH 161 CONCLUSION 173 CHAPTER 5: STORIES ABOUT THE ‘OTHER’ 176 ARTISTS 176 INTRODUCTION 179 iv GUKURAHUNDI IS STILL THERE AND LIVING INSIDE OF US 179 THE COST OF TELLING THE TRUTH 182 THE TRUTH 184 REMEMBERING GUKURAHUNDI USING NDEBELE CULTURAL SYMBOLS 186 UNCOVERING THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF GUKURAHUNDI 188 THE FILM: THE TUNNEL 190 STORYING THE RAPE THAT OCCURRED DURING GUKURAHUNDI 199 RECEPTION OF THE FILM BY FOCUS GROUP PARTICIPANTS 203 THE FICTIONAL STORY ELIZABETH TELLS ABOUT HER VILLAGE 204 THE POWER OF THE ‘TRUTH’ 206 CULTURAL MARKERS OF IDENTITY IN THE TUNNEL 209 WHO IS ENTITLED TO SPEAK ABOUT GUKURAHUNDI? 212 UMUNTU WAPHETSHEYA 213 CONCLUSION 217 CHAPTER 6: PAST ATROCITIES: PRESENT IDENTITIES 220 ZIMBABWE AT TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS! 220 INTRODUCTION 225 WHOSE INDEPENDENCE IS IT? 227 WE WENT TO A WEDDING: THE BRIDE DID NOT COME 229 THE 1979 GRAND PLAN 233 ARRIVAL IN THE TERRITORY NOW CALLED ZIMBABWE 239 INKOMO ZIKABABA 241 WE ARE NOT ZIMBABWEANS ANYMORE, WE ARE MTHWAKAZIAN 246 MZILIKAZI DAY 248 ASYLUM SEEKER PERMITS 251 ROBERT IS SAYING I AM A WHITE MAN IN A BLACK MAN'S SKIN 253 WHILE THEY SANG THEY WERE SPYING OUR RICHES THROUGH THE CHURCH WINDOWS 257 HUNGRY LIONS 264 CONCLUSION 269 CHAPTER 7: LET ME TELL MY OWN STORY 271 ULOBHENGULA 271 INTRODUCTION 273 THE POWER OF A STORY: TRANSLATION AND TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA IN A RACIST WORLD 274 SILENCE SPEAKS 277 THE PARTIAL TRANSLATION IN ITHEMBA LAMANGUNI MUSIC 279 SPEAKING INTO THE SILENCES AND CREATING SILENCES 282 THE INCONVENIENT TRUTH OF UKUHELA 283 THE NDEBELE VICTIMS OF GUKURAHUNDI 285 ETHICAL ISSUES IN THE INSIDER/OUTSIDER RESEARCHER POSITION 288 FURTHER QUESTIONS 288 FINAL REMARKS 290 OWN MY LIFE TODAY 290 REFERENCES 293 ANNEX 1 312 v HOW THE VIOLENCE AFFECTED ME? DSN 2008 312 vi Dedication The Race… To my parents for taking that extra step Running farther than you had to You left me that much closer to the goal For setting me up to succeed Not by giving up your dreams But in living the dream You showed me what was possible May I be half the parent you are Run further and pass the baton that much closer For those coming behind me To look back, See how far we have come Look ahead, See how close we are vii For my mother who lived Ahead of her time She did not have to be called Feminist But raised daughters Strong and independent For my father The choices he made I was born into his life Made my own life Out of the bricks he laid out His daughter I am For Butho This is you, It is us, WE Endless possibilities Adventures, pressures, measures, leisures, pleasures B.Coms, PhDs, Parenting viii And everything in-between We win For my sons The future is here and now A blank cheque Run run run Love, Laugh, Live Dance, Bring colour and beautiful music The world awaits…. ix Acknowledgements Do you see what this means - all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we better get on with it, strip down, start running and never quit…. First and foremost a big thank you to the participants that shared their lives with me and trusted me with their stories. It has been a journey of great learning for me and my hope is your participation has been useful for you too. There is the saying, you become like what you behold when you go to drink. I have been gently yet firmly guided in this PhD process by Professor Ingrid Palmary. Like a midwife she has skillfully pushed me beyond what I thought possible and silenced the doubts I carried so I could complete this PhD. Thank you for going beyond your call of duty and helping me navigate the PhD and my transition into motherhood.