By Field Ruwe EdD
None So Blind As Those Who Cannot See
Before I dip my pen in the red ink of wrath, I want you to take a look at the above pictures. Like all captured images, they are aesthetic phenomenon worth a thousand words. They capture the two Chinese subjects in a moment frozen in time. Here they represent the more than 80,000 Chinese settled in Zambia. You may have seen the pictures before, but this time look at them closely with a contemplative state of awareness.
What emotions emerge in you? Gladness, sadness, failure, fear, anger, anxiety, strength, weakness, or none. Do you know them? How might you identify with them—allies, foes, spies, saviors, intruders, citizens, non-citizens? Why are they flashing the PF clenched fist symbol, wrapped as they are in PF regalia stamped with Edgar Lungu’s face? Are they members of the PF party?
Of course there are those of you who might shrug off the exercise with a “leave the Chinese alone, they have changed Zambia.” There are also those of you who have your telescope on the blind eye and cannot see the perilous future of our motherland. And of course, there are those like President Edgar Lungu who are as blind as a bat and as deaf as a doornail, they continue to live in the dark holes of their own self-seeking absorbed interests.
It bears to reiterate that this article is not aimed at inciting xenophobia or violence. I abhor both. Instead, it calls for nonviolent resistance by all good-meaning Zambians young and old. A resistance in this regard is a peaceful protest or revolution designed to protect every square inch of our God-given land and every ounce of its minerals from the Chinese marauders. No country poses a greater, more severe threat to our humanity than China.
Cognizant of the sensitivity of some of the articles I write, I strive to conduct a thorough research and verify information to determine its veracity and correctness. By doing so, I operate above libel, defamation, slander, or sedition. In the case of this article, the aim is to help concerned nationals connect dots and see the petrifying downward spiral of a nation abound with abundant minerals and natural resources. Look carefully—such spiral is contained in the nonfigurative nature of the two pictures before your eyes.
The Audacity of the Chinese
The audacity of the two smiling Chinese subjects and that of Chinese practicing covert racism, and Chinese diplomats issuing directives to Zambia’s head of state, emanates from a feeling of ownership and superiority over a people who have failed to rise to the level of own-innovation.
Tell me, who enters a foreign country with such condescending deportment? Imagine for a moment a stranger walking in your dilapidated house. Without your consent and that of your family, he tears down the house and replaces it with a Mike Tyson 52-room-type mansion with golden toilets. He then invites his extended family to occupy the rooms and shunts you and your family to the servant’s quarters with scorn.
The most insidious is the belief of all Chinese settlers in Zambia that they are the “black devil’s” savior. That’s what they call us. They truly see themselves as redeemers—unique and superior, and therefore entitled to country and its leadership. It is the reason the two subjects and their compatriots can do what they wish with undisguised, unblushingly avowal of sheer selfishness.
It is not beyond reasonable doubt to state that poverty has masked our way to greatness, and without greatness we are “exalted” below measure, and “consecrated” as a failed people susceptible to manipulation by a people who are no better than our equals.
Look at the two pictures one final time. The subjects are not members of the Patriotic Front party. Like all the Chinese settlers in Zambia, they are foot soldiers of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). China is a one-party state. The Chinese settlers in Zambia are part of CCP and Chinese government “go out policy,” a meticulously planned imperialistic resettlement initiative launched in 1998 by President Jiang Zemin and his team at the United Front Work Department (UFWD).
The use of Chinese nationals is codified in Chinese law. Article 14 mandates the Chinese government “may ask relevant institutions, organizations and citizens to provide necessary support, assistance and cooperation” of their citizens. Some of the Chinese settlers in Zambia work under UFWD and employ a variety of tactics to spy and gain access to political parties and the country’s sensitive information.
This serious allegation came to light in 2018 when the French newspaper “Le Monde” reported Chinese espionage activities at the African Union (AU) headquarters. An inspection of the building—built by state-owned China State Construction Engineering Corporation uncovered devices hidden throughout the building.
Foreign Policy (FP) reports that Zambia is among the countries under surveillance. According to the FP newsletter, China has quietly built or renovated government buildings across the country, and installed “gifted” computers and cutting-edge surveillance technology to spy on the Zambian government, dominate and own its ruling party, and monitor opposition parties, as a way to facilitate total control of the country.
Additionally, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports that Huawei technicians, working on behalf of the Chinese government, have intercepted encrypted communication and are using cell data to spy on African political parties. The intention of the Chinese in Zambia is to make the PF party a wing of the Chinese Communist Party. That should explain the poise of the two Chinese above; the clenched fist has nothing to do with the PF. It is the symbol of communism power, the PF chitenge (toga) is the success of the clandestine psychological war waged against Zambian politics, and the smile on their faces tells it all—welcome to the one-party state called Chambia.
Militarized Police, Chinese Divide and Conquer Strategy
Now move your attention to the two courageous young Zambians in the picture above. One thing we have not taught our children is love for country. We have not taught them that this beautiful land is worth dying for—its waters and animals; its copper, magnesium, and zinc; its mukula, and above all, its inhabitants. We have not taught them to guard our wealth zealously. We have not taught them to never let selfish people take Zambia away from them. You know why? Because we are not a patriotic people. We do not know the meaning of patriotism because our destinies are not bound together.
The way we identify ourselves and the way we focus our goals is almost impossible to knock patriotism out of a Zambian. This, coupled with the poverty we have imposed on ourselves the past 56 years, renders us incapable of protecting our nation steadfastly. In short, we are so borne out of desperation, individualism, jealous, tribalism, greed, fraud, corruption, hypocrisy, self-aggrandizement and other unpatriotic tenets, we can’t tell ally from foe.
More so, our “humble” leader can’t tell who our enemies are. The present endemic blindness and poverty of vision characteristic of President Lungu and his PF regime has led to dependence corruption. The power of Chinese trinkets has brought about a despondent and dishonorable legacy of a president who has lamentably failed to curve with his own hands, a country better than entrusted in him. He now finds himself on his knees, at the mercy of the enemy.
The two patriotic young women in the picture are a symbol of patriotism. They see us as splintered reckless souls. More than any period in their lifetime, they see in us a gullible people at the precipice of losing a country. They are nothing more than bricklayers, trying to build a fence around their future one brick at a time. Their hearts beat true to country. Yet, they face death, injury or banishment in a country in which China, with the worst record of freedoms, has politicized and militarized the police force.
The Chinese “salami-slice strategy,” espoused by the Zambia Police “military” is a divide and conquer psychological warfare intended to turn Zambians against each other. Under the pretext of curbing crime, the Chinese have supplied military weapons to our police force so Edgar Lungu, his Minister of Home Affairs, and the Inspector General, can turn on their own relatives, children, nieces and nephews, beat them up, maim them, even kill in Tiananmen Square style where necessary. What a shame.
Let the youth give us a teachable moment. Youths around the world have become masters at facilitating discourse and deliberation. In the U.S. they are driving reform and signaling people’s disapproval of racism, and results are beginning to show. In Zambia, a democracy, the youth must be given the same courtesy. Edgar Lungu and his PF party and police must not threaten them, beat them up, maim or kill them. They are the only ones who can stop the Chinese and put the house in order.
Author is a US-based Zambian multicultural scholar practitioner and author. He holds a Doctor of Education degree from Northeastern University, Boston Massachusetts, U.S.
