The Unbearable Whiteness of Being

Rory Pilossof

Description

The history of colonial land alienation, the grievances fuelling the liberation war, and post-independence land reforms have all been grist to the mill of recent scholarship on Zimbabwe. Yet for all that the country�s white farmers have received considerable attention from academics and journalists, the fact that they have always played a dynamic role in cataloguing and representing their own affairs has gone unremarked. It is this crucial dimension that Rory Pilossof explores in The Unbearable Whiteness of Being. His examination of farmers� voices � in The Farmer magazine, in memoirs, and in recent interviews � reveals continuities as well as breaks in their relationships with land, belonging and race. His focus on the Liberation War, Operation Gukurahundi and the post-2000 land invasions frames a nuanced understanding of how white farmers engaged with the land and its peoples, and the political changes of the past 40 years. The Unbearable Whiteness of Being helps to explain why many of the events in the countryside unfolded in the ways they did.

Sujets

• HISTORY
• África
• General officer
• South
• History of Africa
• General
• Africa

Informations

• Publié par: Weaver Press
• Date de parution: 24 avril 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781779222596
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Unbearable Whiteness of Being
The Unbearable Whiteness of Being
Farmers Voices from Zimbabwe
Rory Pilossof
Published in Zimbabwe
by
Weaver Press
PO Box A1922
Avondale, Harare
Zimbabwe
www.weaverpresszimbabwe.com
Published in South Africa
by
UCT Press
an imprint of Juta and Co. Ltd
1st Floor, Sundare Building
21 Dreyer Street, Claremont
7708 South Africa
www.uctpress.co.za
Rory Pilossof, 2012
Cover: Danes Design, Harare
Cover photo: David Brazier
Typeset by forzalibro designs
Printed by Academic Press, Cape Town
All rights reserved.
No part of the publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means - electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise - without the express written permission of the publisher
ISBN 978-1-77922-169-8 (Zimbabwe)
ISBN 978-1-92409-997-6 (South Africa)
Contents
Acknowledgements
List of Acronyms
List of Tables, Map Appendices
A Note on Currency
Foreword
Introduction
Why the Voices of White Farmers?
1 White Farmers Their Representatives, 1890-2000
2 No Country for White Men White Farmers, the Fast-Track Land Reforms Jambanja , 2000-2004
3 Discourses of Apoliticism in The Farmer
4 Discursive Thresholds Episodes of Crisis The Liberation War, Gukurahundi the Land Occupations
5 The Consolidation of Voice White Farmers Autobiographies The Narration of Experience after 2000
6 Orphans of Empire Oral Expressions of Displacement Trauma
Appendices
Bibliography
Index
Epigraph
Acknowledgements
The research, writing and completion of this book has been aided by a community of people and institutions to whom a great deal of gratitude is extended. By far the largest proportion of that thanks is reserved for Professor Ian Phimister. It is no overstatement to say that without his support, guidance and counsel, which have been ever-present right from my undergraduate years at the University of Cape Town, I would not have had the opportunity to undertake the research necessary to produce this book.
The generous financial support of several institutions has made this book possible. Firstly, I am hugely grateful to the Overseas Research Studentship, and the University of Sheffield Studentship. I also received grants from the Beit Trust Emergency Support Fund, the Royal Historical Society Research Funding and The Petrie Watson Exhibition.
Justice for Agriculture generously allowed me access to their interview archive. The Commercial Farmers Union of Zimbabwe were also helpful in allowing me to consult their collection of The Farmer magazine. Furthermore, thanks must go the Research and Advocacy Unit who gave me the opportunity to explore the stories of white farmers in Zimbabwe. In Oxford, the Rhodes House Library provided invaluable access to other records and secondary sources. Chapter 2 draws on an article first published in the Journal of Developing Societies (26: 71-97, March 2010).
My thanks are also extended to all the farmers I interviewed and talked to in the process of my research. Many spoke of personal traumas and events that were difficult to relate, and their courage is exemplary.
Many others have helped me through the last three years. Special mention must go to Gary Rivett, who provided not only much needed intellectual stimulation, but ready and welcome relief from my research. He has contributed in so many ways to the creation and completion of this book and I thank him dearly for his companionship. I must also thank Miles Larmer, Mike Rook, Felicity Wood, Ben Purcell Gilpin, Alois Mlambo, Tony Reeler, Simon de Swardt, Jonathan Saha, Rachel Johnson, Charles Laurie and Andrew Iliff for their help and assistance. Weaver Press, and Murray McCartney in particular, have been a pleasure to work with and their input and attention to detail has vastly improved the book before you.
I also want to thank my family, Ray and Jayne Pilossof and Shane Samten Drime Billy-the-Lionsblood Pilossof, for humouring me through this process. And Boo, for all the sacrifices and trying to understand.
Lastly, I would like to thank Lance van Sittert, without whose inspiration and mentorship this journey would never have taken place.
List of Acronyms
CCJPZ
Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe
CFU
Commercial Farmers Union of Zimbabwe
CIO
Central Intelligence Organisation
COHRE
Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions
CZC
Crisis in Zimbabwe Collation
ESAP
Economic Structural Adjustment Programme
EU
European Union
GAPWUZ
General Agricultural and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe
ICG
International Crisis Group
IMF
International Monetary Fund
IPFP
Inception Phase Framework Plan
JAG
Justice for Agriculture
MDC
Movement for Democratic Change
MFP Trust
Modern Farming Publications Trust
MFU
Matabeleland Farmers Union
NCA
National Constitutional Assembly
NCC
National Constitutional Commission
NLHA
Native Land Husbandry Act
RAU
Research and Advocacy Unit
RF
Rhodesian Front
RNFU
Rhodesian National Farmers Union
RTA
Rhodesian Tobacco Association
SI6
Statutory Instrument 6
TRC
Truth and Reconciliation Commission
UDI
Unilateral Declaration of Independence
UNDP
United Nations Development Programme
WB
World Bank
ZANLA
Zimbabwe National Liberation Army
ZANU
Zimbabwe African National Union
ZANU-PF
Zimbabwe African National Union -Patriotic Front
ZAPU
Zimbabwe African People s Union
ZCTU
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions
ZIPRA
Zimbabwe People s Revolutionary Army
ZJRI
Zimbabwe Joint Resettlement Initiative
ZNLWVA
Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association
ZTA
Zimbabwe Tobacco Assocation
List of Tables and Map
1.1 The number of registered commercial farms by CFU administrative province in 2000
1.2 Number of farms and acreage cultivated in Rhodesia, 1904-1922
2.1 Number of farm invasions per province in Zimbabwe
3.1 Tag lines of The Farmer , 1942-1982
3.2 Editors of The Farmer , 1966-2002
Map of Zimbabwe
List of Appendices
1
The organisational structure and past presidents of the CFU
2
Land use on large commercial farms, 1970-99
3
Summary of major crop sales in Z millions, 1970-99
4
The number and total area of large-scale farms, 1970-99
5
White farmers killed in 1964-79, 1981-87, and 2000-04
6
Date of purchase of properties in the 1997 acquisition list
7
Biographical data on white farmers interviewed
A Note on Currency
Throughout this book I have used the original currencies quoted in sources and documents referenced. Before independence these were generally Pounds Sterling ( ) and Rhodesian Dollars (R$). After independence the currency was converted to Zimbabwean Dollars (Z$). For ease of comparison I have supplied a US equivalent, using contemporary conversion rates.
Foreword
One of the most difficult challenges confronting post-colonial societies in southern Africa which had a resident white population is how to redress the inequalities of inherited land ownership and distribution. Consequently, the governments of Zimbabwe, Namibia and post-apartheid South Africa have to confront challenges of how to resolve the land question in a situation where the black majority demands redress of colonial inequalities and a more equitable racial distribution of land.
With respect to Zimbabwe, in particular, much has been written on the land question by a wide range of scholars including Robin Palmer, Henry Moyana, Sam Moyo, Jocelyn Alexander and Ian Phimister. Such studies have focused, inter alia, on the history of colonial land alienation, the racialisation of land under various colonial laws, including the Land Apportionment Act of 1931 and the Native Land Husbandry Act (NLHA) of 1951, the role of African land grievances in fuelling the armed liberation struggle of the 1960s and 1970s, the Lancaster House Constitution s role in the immediate post-colonial land reform process and the general inability of the post-colonial government to fully address the land question by the end of the twentieth century. The farm invasions from 2000 onwards and the political, social and economic impact of the chaotic fast-track land redistribution exercise have also been subjected to scholarly analysis. Until now, therefore, analyses have focused mainly on how colonial land policies have impacted on the African population, and the African people s responses. What has been conspicuously absent is the voice of white farmers themselves, presenting their perceptions of the history of the country and the land question and their views on either the necessity, desirability or the modalities of land redistribution. In fact, until now, there has been no serious study of how white farmers articulated their perceptions of their role in and attitudes to these and other national matters. This is rather surprising given the fact that white farmers have always been at the centre of the controversies surrounding the land question in Zimbabwe.
As a keen student of Zimbabwean history and an occasional contributor to scholarly debates on the country s recent past, I am particularly excited by the publication of Rory Pilossof s book. It breaks new groun