Greetings Selassielive

"I ask why you have willingly migrated to live in the West instead of being with your Zimbabwean patriots fighting for the Liberation of your country?

Could it be finances?"

Seeing as we are being personal here's my life story; I came to the UK to attend a wedding,- I have family who have made England their home- with my father. It was decided I should stay on a bit longer, see if I could raise a bit of money for myself for the projects that I wish to undertake. This was very important for my long-term prospects.

As it is, I feel I reached the stage where I can return home to carry on what I was doing. The rest of the family is supportive of the idea, so I will not be renewing my visa this time.

"Also, tell me if you put Black Afrikans from all over the continent of Afrika and the west in a line up, will you be able to sight who is from Zimbabwe and who is not without hearing him/her speak?"

As a matter of fact, I can! My friend from St Lucia is starting to get the hang of it that once you know what to look for, you can tell where from Africa a Black person is from. When we are together, he points at someone and I say, "definitely Ghana, look at the eyes", and I am proven correct. I can even tell a White Zimbabwean from his Cockney cousin.

"And, do you think accurate records were kept by Zimbabweans regarding if any Afrikan captives were taken there to the West?"

I don't know what the fuss is all about. What's wrong with not having any Slaves taken out of Zimbabwe? Doesn't mean we had it any easier. Look at Alex Hayley's story. He went to Juffure in Gambia, and was able to meet someone who's job it is to remember the genealogy, and he was told of Kunta Kinte who was kidnapped. We have a similar thing, very important when there are succession disputes ( the primogeniture rule is rare in the transmission of traditional titles, so an accurate genealogy is vital) Furthermore, our praise poems also carry clues of migrations, and key figures. Anything as important as Slavery would not be overlooked.

I know these oral traditions are accurate because I have been able to back them up with written records at the National Archives in Harare.

"It is hard to imagine that a nation that was once named after Cecil Rhodes did not take any Afrikans in bondage to help enrich their colonial regime in Afrika and at home."

As a matter of fact, Rhodesia was a settler colony. This means that the Whites were determined to stay there, make it their home. They would have needed the labour, instead of exporting it.

Many Zimbabweans did go to work in South Africa. One of my great-grandfathers did, but like the Zimbabweans of my generation who are going not only to S. Africa but anywhere in the world, he planned to return home and he did. We place a great emphasis on KUMUSHA( Shona) or EKHAYA ( Ndebele) ( home). A Zimbabwean could live his entire life in a foreign land, but would wish to be buried Kumusha

"You only have the faith that accurate records were kept by the colonial regime that infested Zimbabwe."

The National Archives of Zimbabwe is a huge repository of documents of every kind. There are also private records- such as the ones that I have about my family and lineage, something my grandfather received from his own forebears and have come in to my possession because of all the family, I am the one with a keen interest in history.

I would not put forward something unless I had concrete grounds. Otherwise, I would shut up.

But you try that, have a look at Black people and see the variety of features. It's not true that we all look the same. You can tell Zulu from Luo from Ashanti from Amhara from Somali from Nuer from Tswana from Venda from Mandinka from Nyarwanda.