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| All Reserved © Mbedzi Publishing 2009 |
Madhinga Bucket Boy: From Boyhood in Colonial Rhodesia to Manhood in
Zimbabwe, A Native Son’s Story, by Philemon Matibe.
Amid the evils of apartheid, a quest for humanity; against the terrors of
tyranny, a cry for freedom. In one of the most compelling memoirs to emerge
from modern Africa, the renowned political exile recounts his experience in
the former “breadbasket of Africa,” from growing up in white-supremacist
Rhodesia to speaking out in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe.
From his “accidental” birth in 1967, Matibe brings to life his boyhood with
the spare eloquence and easy humour of the tales told around his village
campfire. He commemorates the clutch of an affectionate family in an
oppressive society. He marvels as his parents make the necessary
compromises with a brutal, all-powerful system without compromising
their honour. And he recalls his brief infatuation with a charismatic young
revolutionary named Mugabe—until his uncle’s ultimate sacrifice points
him to a more authentic meaning of freedom.
The enormities of apartheid and civil war give way to epiphanies of
liberation and self-knowledge. But his country’s liberators soon turn
despots. And when the brief flowering of Zimbabwean independence is
extirpated, Matibe trades in his plough for politics. His challenge to
Mugabe’s rule brings him into conflict with Webster Shamu, who threatens,
then evicts Matibe (and now serves as a minister in Mugabe’s murderous
regime).
Timeless as fiction, urgent as witness, Madhinga Bucket Boy is a searing
tale of racism, revolution, and redemption. A testament to the enduring
verities of love and land, it stands apart from the recent deluge of African
memoirs, documenting a native’s experience of the Zimbabwean story. The
barefoot boy who once carried water to his village now seeks to unleash the
waters of freedom for his country.
Zimbabwe, A Native Son’s Story, by Philemon Matibe.
Amid the evils of apartheid, a quest for humanity; against the terrors of
tyranny, a cry for freedom. In one of the most compelling memoirs to emerge
from modern Africa, the renowned political exile recounts his experience in
the former “breadbasket of Africa,” from growing up in white-supremacist
Rhodesia to speaking out in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe.
From his “accidental” birth in 1967, Matibe brings to life his boyhood with
the spare eloquence and easy humour of the tales told around his village
campfire. He commemorates the clutch of an affectionate family in an
oppressive society. He marvels as his parents make the necessary
compromises with a brutal, all-powerful system without compromising
their honour. And he recalls his brief infatuation with a charismatic young
revolutionary named Mugabe—until his uncle’s ultimate sacrifice points
him to a more authentic meaning of freedom.
The enormities of apartheid and civil war give way to epiphanies of
liberation and self-knowledge. But his country’s liberators soon turn
despots. And when the brief flowering of Zimbabwean independence is
extirpated, Matibe trades in his plough for politics. His challenge to
Mugabe’s rule brings him into conflict with Webster Shamu, who threatens,
then evicts Matibe (and now serves as a minister in Mugabe’s murderous
regime).
Timeless as fiction, urgent as witness, Madhinga Bucket Boy is a searing
tale of racism, revolution, and redemption. A testament to the enduring
verities of love and land, it stands apart from the recent deluge of African
memoirs, documenting a native’s experience of the Zimbabwean story. The
barefoot boy who once carried water to his village now seeks to unleash the
waters of freedom for his country.
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