Background: In November 11, 1965 Ian Douglass Smith and the Rhodesian Front led government declared unilateral independence from the United Kingdom. This declaration set off a series of events throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s that would change the political landscape of Southern Africa.
A guerrilla war was fought by the white led, Western orientated Rhodesian military, the African led, Marxist orientated Zimbabwe African National Union and the Zimbabwe African People's Union.
Throughout the 1970’s Rhodesia was subject to international sanctions and was under attack by two paramilitary organizations. Those organizations were financed by the Soviet Union, China and the North Koreans. Rhodesia was financed mainly by South Africa.
As the 1970’s drew to a close, so did the end of White rule in Rhodesia.
With the Lancaster Agreements came elections that produced Robert Mugabe as President of what was to later become the Republic of Zimbabwe on April 18th, 1980.
The interviewee is a friend of mine who graciously sat down and answered my questions. Her identity will remain anonymous as she still has family in Zimbabwe. She and her husband both served in the war.
Question: When did you move to Rhodesia?
Answer: As a tiny baby 1947
Question: What do you remember most about life in Rhodesia?
Answer: Incredible childhood memories, the friendliness, the beautiful land and in the war years the camaraderie amongst the forces, black and white.
Question: How was it to live under UDI and ultimately during the Rhodesian Civil War?
Answer: I was 17 at the time of UDI, Ian Smith was a hero to our family and friends and to a certain extent, I went along with it. Living during the war years – we adapted, women became very strong because their men folk were away so much of the time. My husband was away from us for six week spells every six weeks. Because of sanctions we were rationed fuel. The authorities would work out how much fuel they felt we needed and issued us with monthly “petrol coupons” – they were worth more than gold. Other than that, the country itself became very self sufficient and that was a good thing. We didn’t have imported luxuries .. but we had plenty!
Question: Were you ever in danger during the war or after the war?
Answer: Yes, both in civilian life and in my job
Question: Looking back, were there things that seemed normal to you then that are very abnormal now?
Answer: Yes, very much so, I cannot believe now, how blasé I was about certain war situations.
Question: Did you ever have to travel in those armored cars that I have seen?
Answer: Yes. My brother hit a landmine in one of the very first mine-proofed land rovers, burst his ear drums and if he hadn’t had his elbow out the window, he would have had no other injuries. He was one of the first people to experience terrorism. He came into camp and there was an old man standing waiting for him. He had a floppy hat on his head, but my brother could see blood running down the side of his face, he asked “Eni ndaba, madala?” (What’s the matter oldman) and the man held out his hand, in the palm lay his ear and a bullet labeled with my brother’s name. My brother rushed him to the nearest clinic and then hit the landmine on the way back to camp.
Question: Were any of your loved ones involved in the war?
Answer: Most of us were
Question: In what way?
Answer: I was permanent BSAP and ran a Control Room and the Signals Division in a major area. My husband was with a Recce Unit. My brother was an Inspector in the BSAP and worked as Ground Cover in a large reserve for many years. My brother-in-law was with a major unit. The cousin who was killed, was a Field Reservist (not permanent) with the BSAP – these guys were called “Bright Lights” and went out to farms to protect the owners, did a good job, but one doesn’t hear much about them. Another cousin was with the Grey Scouts (Horse Division) He got shot in the leg. My sister-in-law’s boyfriend was with Support company – a Police unit – he was killed in action. A good friend was a helicopter pilot and kia. Just so many….. Having first hand knowledge of what the units did, and seeing the Situation Reports from all areas every day, my opinion was – and still is – that the war was nothing to do with black vs white … these guys were out protecting the rural people from terrorists. More than anything else they tried to stop the “Freedom Fighters” from harming their own kind. Sometimes the forces had to force the people out of their homes and take them to suitably protected camps, occasionally having to set their homes on fire … so at some stages the poor rurals didn’t know who to be more scared of, the forces or the terrorists. My husband tells a story of having to move an entire village, the unit would have armored vehicles ready to move them and all their belongings, but the locals wouldn’t budge, they were just about at the stage of forcefully removing them… but an old man stepped forward and persuaded the villagers that the move was for their own good. He pointed to several people, naming atrocities committed against them or their families, “You, your sons were taken away” “You, your daughter was raped” etc. and after that the people decided to move. The old man asked if he could move separately – he had a cart and two donkeys, he and his grandson decided to travel by donkey cart. He loaded a hand made table onto the cart, proudly telling my husband that he’d made it with his own hands for his children. The old man set off before the villagers were packed up into the trucks. Some ten minutes later, they all heard a huge blast … the old man, his grandsons, the donkeys, the cart and his table, were blown to smithereens when the cart ran over a land mine. There is a Neil Diamond song “… old man died, he made a table filled with nails and pride … for his children” – my husband has never been able to listen to the song again. Such a simple story amongst all the carnage, but it is one that had a profound effect on me.
Question: My reading is that Ian Smith has essentially said “I told you so” and feels that Rhodesia was sold out by the West and in particular the United Kingdom. He seems to have not changed his point of view since civil war. Has his position changed from that?
Answer: No, I don’t think he has changed his opinion.
Ian Smith
Question: Has your point of view changed since the end of the war?
Answer: In many ways, I understand the “Freedom Fighting” bit somewhat more, but cannot understand the atrocities committed against their own people.
Question: After the war ended what was your feeling about Zimbabwe? I have been told that there were mixed feelings. A lot of anxiety, a lot of excitement, a lot of depression and a lot of skepticism are some of the feelings that I have been told were common in the white community of Zimbabwe..
Answer: Absolutely – a whole gamut of emotions. For me personally, I was on duty the night of the elections and word was out very early that Mugabe had walked it (the BSAP Intel had predicted Muzarewa would get it) – work went on, but my mind was a turmoil – I was scared. I had personally seen instructions given to terrorists by Mugabe, seen his intense hatred for the whites. One letter stands out in my mind. A family we knew who were living in a flat in Harare and only going to the farm some 40kms away during daylight hours, were confronted by terrs, tortured and shot dead. Mother and two teenage daughters. Those terrs were caught and brought in, I saw a letter one of them had written to Comrade Mugabe, it read in part “You would be so proud of us, we killed these white pigs. We made them kneel, then shot them in their legs, we made them pray, then carried on shooting them. So, yeah I was scared, spent the entire night radioing outlying stations getting all the “helping” South African forces back over the border and out of the country before the news broke. A couple of nights later, I went for a drive with my kids and listened to Mugabe speaking on the car radio, he sounded so civil, he sounded so sincere - he wanted the whites not to be afraid, to stay and help the new government keep building a beautiful country… I remember trying to reassure the children. When my husband got home, plans were immediately started for us to leave. He actually left a couple of months before us. There were some worries about his unit and repercussions, but honestly, he will tell you, he just could not conceive of working beside men who he had seen do such terrible things to the rural folk. Make no mistake, the whites were least hit by the terrorists during that war….
Question: Ultimately, were your feelings correct?
Answer: No, the initial fear was not.
Question: Have you been to Zimbabwe since the end of UDI?
Answer: We still have family in Zimbabwe and try to visit every second year, my husband is leaving on the 4th July for a family visit. Last year we went up because my mother in law was ill, she died while we were there and it took the family three months to get her cremated – the crematoriums were out of fuel.
Question: Were any of your family members or friends who were affected by the farm invasions?
Answer: Yes, three family farms were lost. One of the families refugeed to Australia, they actually left their farm signed over to the farm workers, who were fifth generation, but of course the workers were chased off the land and Mugabe’s cronies took it over.
Question: What do you hear from people you know in Zimbabwe? Is the situation as bad as is reported in the media?
Answer: It is worse! You know, most whites have some options, but the black people there do not – they are, in the majority, pitifully hurt and so much worse off than in the wicked UDI days!
Question: When Mugabe dies and the situation in Zimbabwe stabilizes would you ever consider moving back?
Answer: We have considered it on and off, but we only have two kids, one in the UK and one in Australia … so plans change!
Question: Upon reflection, what are your thoughts on Ian Smith and the Rhodesian Front?
Answer: Ian Smith was never the hero to me as he was to a lot of whites and in recent years I’ve felt he should just shut up, as he was making a fool of himself. The Rhodesian Front – don’t let anyone kid you – was about as bad as the apartheid regime in SA…. Just not so “In your face” about it. The segregation there was not talked about as much as the segregation here was.
Question: After the war you moved to South Africa?
Answer: Yes
Question: What are some of the major differences between life in South Africa and life in Rhodesia?
Answer: The “Net blanke” signs. Rhodesians were incredibly friendly and hospitable people in comparison. The thing that struck me the most – even in 1979 – was the difference in the behaviour of the black people. Still to this day I feel so much safer with Zimbabwean blacks than I do with the people here. We had far more black friends there than we do here. The hatred towards whites when we arrived here was palpable, I still maintain it is to a certain extent, despite 11 years of democracy.
Question: Did you see a difference between UDI and Apartheid?
Answer: Not a lot
Question: How had your perceptions changed at that point due to your Rhodesian experience?
Answer: Not a lot, I still feel that the majority blacks get a raw deal, despite the change of governments – and in Zimbabwe they are worse off, for sure.
Question: Did you fear that transition in South Africa would bring about a Mugabe style dictatorship with the ANC?
Answer: No, I felt a lot better about Mandela and Mbeki than I ever did about Mugabe or even Muzarewa and I hated Nkomo with a passion.
Robert Mugabe
Joshua Nkomo
Abel Muzorewa
Nelson Mandela
Thabo Mbeki
Question: What do you see for the future of South Africa?
Answer: Hmmm! I am more positive than most, but that could be an age related thing, as for sure in my life time things will be okay here. I was initially very disappointed that my children left Africa – though I never voiced that to them. I couldn’t really understand why they would want to leave when they had such wonderful lives here and had never had a crime committed against them in any way at all … my personal feeling was that the negativity had got to them. However I understand more now, perhaps because both families have settled so happily. I think if there was a magic button to switch positivity on and negativity off, we’d have more hope for a bright future. It’s kind of like the biblical “As ye thinketh, so ye shall be” … the crime situation has to be brought under control somehow, but it’s kinda like the more crime is highlighted the more crime there is.
Question: What do you see for the future for Zimbabwe?
Answer: Not much. Even if Mugabe dies tomorrow and a reasonable leader came into power, it will still take thirty years to build that country up again.
Constantine: Thank you very much for your time. This has been very informative.
