By Nicola Popovic
Now that I put my gun down
For almost obvious reasons
The enemy still there invisible
My barrel has no definite target
Now
Let my hands work-
My mouth sing-
My pencil write-
About the same things my bullet aimed at.
© Freedom Nyamubaya
Freedom Nyamubaya took on her guerilla name when she joined the liberation movement in the late seventies in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe. She fought together with men, mostly, in order to obtain free elections and recognition of human rights for the black majority in the former British colony. When she speaks about her decision at the time to join the rebels across the border in Mozambique, the expression on her face mirrors the teenage girl that was fascinated by the spiritual power radiating from the freedom fighters, disappointed by the conservative Christian education, and denied the possibilities the white kids were offered in the seventies’ Southern Africa.
