A Zimbabwe pastor’s searingly honest account of both loving and feeling alienated from the flag of the country of his birth has stirred the emotions of thousands and prompted a flood of “flag selfies”.
In a video that’s had more than 85 000 views in just three days, Evan Mawarire, a well-known Harare author, speaker and church leader, details the mixed emotions Zimbabwe’s black, red, yellow and green flag provokes in him.
The clip was posted early on Wednesday, two days after Zimbabwe marked its 36th anniversary of independence.
Staring into the camera as he twists the flag in his hands, Mawarire acknowledges the “official” meaning of each colour as millions of Zimbabwean schoolchildren will have learnt.
In words that appear to have resonated with many Zimbabweans torn between unshakable loyalty to their country and pain at a difficult economic and political situation that has gone on for years, Mawarire says: “This flag, this beautiful flag, they tell me that the green is for the vegetation and the crops. I don’t see any crops in my country.
“The yellow is for all the minerals… I don’t know how much is left. I don’t know who they sold it to and how much they got for it.”
His words appear at least in part to be a reference to controversy over Zimbabwe’s missing diamond wealth, with a recent acknowledgement from President Robert Mugabe that up to $15bn worth of gems had disappeared in recent years.
