No freedom without freedom – Death of a student movement

In a nation where forced disappearances, torture, unlawful arrests and many other brazen violations of human rights became the state’s favourite tools of suppressing dissent, activism of any sort directed against the status quo automatically turns into a preserve of only the very brave.

Looking at Zimbabwe, a country where human rights abuses are well documented but ineffectively opposed, it can be successfully argued that lack of meaningful opposition to the disregard of citizens’ freedoms is a direct result of government’s use of force against political activists in the past and the present.

The paradox

Provided that one is a firm believer in the efficacy of political activism as a vehicle for attaining human rights and freedoms, the situation in Zimbabwe can best be summarised as what I like to call a ‘no freedom without freedom’ paradox.

In this country, to enjoy rights and freedoms citizens need to be activists against the state, but to be activists against the state citizens need to enjoy rights and freedoms – maybe not all of them but the ones necessary for creating an enabling environment for activists such as the right to life, freedom to assemble, picket and demonstrate and freedom of speech.

Brazen disregard of these vital rights and freedoms, which are crucial for attaining other rights and freedoms citizens are not enjoying, has made it impossible for citizens to gain any rights and freedoms at all.

Citizens are afraid to actively demand their rights because they know those who have done so in the past have fallen victim to state brutality.

Only a few are willing to face arrest, torture and possibly death while fighting for their rights – but this is also meaningless because history has shown that activism is most effective when a huge number of people are involved.

Student activism – A brief background

First and most importantly, it is crucial to note that there is no student movement in Zimbabwe. It used to exist but it is no longer there.

In its place there are various student groupings, some more prominent than others, which have never come together to coalesce around one cause and form a loose alliance so that such a coalition could actually be termed a student movement.

When it was still in existence, the student movement in Zimbabwe did not only focus on issues that are particular to students.

A quick glance in the rear-view mirror of history will show that as far back as the late 1980s the student movement was actively involved in – and at the forefront of – national struggles against corruption and the ruling ZANU-PF’s one-party state agenda.

The involvement of the student movement in important governance issues stemmed from its belief that any serious government action either directly or indirectly affected students.

Government corruption for instance, in the view of students, meant less money would be going into the national purse which in turn meant less money would be channelled towards education by the government.

It is difficult to trace exactly when the student movement completely disintegrated but it is easy to explain.

But before exploring that explanation, it is important to briefly look at current issues – many of which have remained the same from one generation of students to the next – being tackled by the various student organisations that succeeded the student movement.

Such issues include the need for academic freedom, free education, the right to demonstrate and the refusal by administrations of some tertiary institutions to hold student representative council elections.

The student movement managed to score a couple of victories in the broader struggle for democracy in Zimbabwe, such as successfully mounting pressure on ZANU-PF to abandon its one party-state agenda and contributing to multi-party democracy by helping to form the opposition Movement for Democratic Change in the late 1990s.

But except for putting pressure on government to guarantee the right to education in the constitution, no wins have recently been recorded by the various student organisations that succeeded the student movement.

Student activism and the paradox

This brings us back to the ‘no freedom without freedom’ paradox which helps to explain the disintegration of the student movement and the current state of affairs in Zimbabwe in as far as students and defending their interests are concerned.

When the student movement of Zimbabwe first took shape in the late 1980s it was at its most effective. It held massive demonstrations and caused a lot of sleepless nights for a political establishment that was hell bent on thwarting all dissent and maintaining an unchallenged grip on power.

The state reacted to this rebellion by a student movement that had previously had a cordial relationship with the state by unleashing the floodgates of violence on students and crafting legislation – such as the University of Zimbabwe (Amendment) Act – that gave the vice-chancellor of the only university in the country at that time massive powers which he could use to suspend both the student representative council and ‘troublesome’ students.

In the years that followed, the state intensified its clampdown on students in a way that gradually decreased the number of students willing to attend demonstrations or be involved in activism of any sort against the government.

As a result of a lack of such freedoms as the freedom to demonstrate and petition and freedom of speech – which students sought to use to acquire those as well as other freedoms and rights they were being denied – the student movement was weakened and eventually disintegrated.

Currently, students cannot successfully mobilise for mass action of any sort.

On 13 November 2015 the Zimbabwe National Students' Union or ZINASU, the country’s most prominent student union, was able to mobilise fewer than 40 students to carry out a national demonstration demanding respect of the right to education.

This was a clear sign that the ‘no freedom without freedom’ paradox was making it impossible for students to come together as a huge mass in order to demand and possibly acquire freedoms and rights that they are being denied.

Conclusion

If they haven’t done so already, the various organisations that succeeded the student movement are most likely going to completely succumb to the consequences of the ‘no freedom without freedom’ paradox.

Unlike the student movement, which had no reason for existence outside being a broad based informal grouping for activism, the organisations that succeeded it, many of which are set up as non-governmental organisations, will continue existing as just NGOs.

They will issue the occasional press statement and carry out regular workshops. But because of the ‘no freedom without freedom’ paradox, they will not be able to bring students together for meaningful mass action.

Zachariah Mushawatu is a former spokesperson of the Zimbabwe National Students' Union who is now working as a media consultant for that organisation and other clients.