Don't Let's go to the Dogs Tonight
Author: Alexandra Fuller
pg 143-144
"On April 18, 1980, Robert Gabriel Mugabe takes power as Zimbabwe's first prime minister. I have never even heard of him. The name "Rhodesia" is dropped from "Zimbabwe" Rhodesia." Now our country is simply "Zimbabwe." Zimba dza mabwe. Houses of stone. Those who live in stone houses shouldn't throw stones of fear or ricochet."
The whites lost the war in Rhodesia. They spent 13 years fighting the blacks and they lost. The blacks changed Rhodesia to Zimbabwe. Zimba dza mabwe means house of stone. The black wanted change and they want their freedom back. The author is saying that if you have a house of stone and you throw a stone at the stone house, it will ricochet back at you. I interpreted this as meaning that the new leaders need to be careful on how they rule because it might end up hurting them in the long run. Throughout the 13 years the blacks were bombed and mistreated in several ways. Although now that they have a black government, they wont have the whites support if they mistreat them. Alexandra is saying that the black government now needs to be careful on that decisions that they make despite the fact that the whites mistreated them. With out the whites (British) to back them up they will have no economy and no support. Now after fighting thirteen years, its great that the blacks are empowered and free again but now what? They worked so hard for their independence but is the government any better then what they had? This new government may be just as corrupt as the British.