In December 1979 a cease-fire was declared. [. . .] We celebrated Zimbabwean Independence on April 18, 1980. We talked about the fact that we had liberated our country and that now no one would be a beggar in his or her own land. We believed that every person in the country would get enough food and a place to stay, and yes, I expected to get a job that matched my education and training. We had great expectations. At that time our leaders told us that what we expected would come true.
As it worked out, some of us were sent to schools, but then the schools were closed. The leaders came and asked for those who wanted jobs, but only the highly educated were taken and given jobs in, for instance, the police force. I stayed behind in that camp while others went off to work, and on top of that they said I was too short to join the police.
Meanwhile, a cousin of mine had come looking for me, as relatives did in those 20 days when family members who had long been lost were returning to these assembly points. As a result I went to see my parents and we wept on one another's necks when we met. They were poor. They had lost everything in the war, and they couldn't help me, nor I them at that time. After staying with them for a short time I went back to Manyene. My hope lay in the promise of jobs that had been made, and I was anxious to get back because I did not want to miss out. [. . .]
Eighteen years after Independence most of the promises made to us remain unfulfilled. We were all promised houses and jobs and a good life, regardless of one's standard of education, but this has not happened.
The hard conditions in the camps in Mozambique have affected my health badly. I think I picked up diseases there from which I have never fully recovered. I would never recommend my daughter to follow my example if such a situation arose again.
The major change of the last couple of years has been the $50,000 payout and the $2, 000 monthly pension. I managed to buy a plough, a cart and two oxen, and I was given land to use. I don't have to dig my field with a hoe anymore. But I think the money is too little. I suffered for too long and the money came too late.
Transcribed by Grace Dube Translated by Cbiedza Musengezi
UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT
How were Kachere's parents unusual in their understanding of gender roles? How might this have affected her ultimate decision to join the army?
Why does she bring up the rumors of the "invisible" soldiers? How does she understand this term? What does it really mean?
Why were the members of her village forced to move into a keep? What did the government hope to accomplish by guarding them at all times?
What made Kachere decide to join the army when she was fifteen?
How did Kachere's experiences in the military camp compare to those in the keep? Did she experience more or less freedom as a soldier than she did as a civilian?
How does she describe her first experience in a battle? How did that experience compare to her expectations?
Did the Liberation War accomplish what it set out to do? How does Kachere evaluate the post-revolutionary government? Did it keep its promises to the people?
MAKING CONNECTIONS
Compare the way that Marevasei Kachere experienced the War of Liberation with the way that such a war is portrayed by Eugene Delacroix in "Liberty Leading the People" (p. 494). What factors might have prevented Kachere from experiencing liberation the way that Delacroix portrays it?
How do Kachere's recollections looking back on an African revolution contrast with Tawakkol Karman's remarks looking forward to the Arab revolutions (p. 524)? Do you think that Karman will eventually experience the disillusion that Kachere displays at the end of her memoir?
How do Kachere's experiences as a poorly educated woman compare with those of a well-educated woman like Wangari Maathai (p. 363)? What role do you think education plays in a person's ability to influence a culture?
WRITING ABOUT THE TEXT
Discuss how Kachere's experiences of the war were colored by her gender, age, social class, and level of education.
Compare Marevasei Kachere's experiences as a peasant farmer with those of the native farmers in Wangari Maathai's "Foresters without Diplomas" (p. 363). What similarities are there in the way that this vulnerable population is treated around the world?
women of world war ii monument
[2005]
ON JULY 9, 2005, Queen Elizabeth II unveiled a new national monument in the center of London. The Women of World War II Monument was the result of eight years of planning and fundraising by World War II veterans and notable British politicians, including Princess Anne and Baroness Betty Boothroyd. Baroness Boothroyd, the only woman ever to serve as the Speaker of the British House of Commons, made national news in 2002 when she became a contestant on the British version of the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in order to raise money for the monument.
Driving the creation of the monument was the recognition that women were crucial to the British war effort in ways that had not been previously recognized. Not only had hundreds of thousands of British women served in the armed forces and as nurses during the war, but millions of women on the home front had stepped into vital community and industrial roles that had been vacated by men. The organizers understood that the monument must commemorate the sacrifices of all these women.
The Women of World War II Monument was created by the well-known British sculptor John Mills. The sculpture itself is a 22-foot-high bronze cenotaph, or grave marker, mirroring the nearby cenotaph monument honoring all of the fallen soldiers of World War II. Sculpted into the cenotaph are seventeen sets of clothing representing the uniforms worn by women during the war. Some of these are military uniforms, while others represent farmers, factory workers, police officers, and other occupations assumed by women as part of the war effort. A plaque near the bottom of the monument reads, "This memorial was raised to commemorate the vital work done by over seven million women during World War II."
One of four sides of the Women of World War II Monument, 2005 (bronze). John Meek / The Art Archive at Art Resource.
UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT
Why do you think that a cenotaph, or grave marker, was chosen as the basis of the memorial? How might it have been structured differently to emphasize a different message?
Why do you think that the monument features only the uniforms of women who served in World War II and not any images of the women themselves? How would it have been different if actual women had been depicted in the roles represented by the uniforms?
Why is it important that both military and civilian uniforms are represented in the monument?
What individual uniforms can you make out on the memorial? Are there uniforms or types of dress that should be represented but are not?
MAKING CONNECTIONS
Compare the implicit understanding of the Women of World War II Monument with the portrayal of women as soldiers in Marevasei Kachere's "War Memoir" (p. 514).
How does the portrayal of women's sacrifice during World War II compare with the portrayal of women's sacrifices in Pablo Picasso's Guernica (p. 497)? What do you think accounts for the differences?
Do the kinds of women's roles during warfare correspond to the roles for women presented in Christine de Pizan's Treasure of the City of the Ladies (p. 397)? Why or why not?
WRITING ABOUT THE TEXT
Write a paper about the function of monuments using the Women of World War II monument as a primary example. Explain the role that memorials such as this one play in a society.
Pick one of the uniforms in the monument and conduct research into the role that women played in that field or occupation during World War II. Write a research paper presenting your findings.