Love in the time of the Gukurahundi
June 5th, 2007
The BBC has an interesting article on the effect the Gukurahundi had on inter-ethnic marriages. (Via zwnews.)
You can listen to an audio file via the BBC website, titled ‘Sleeping with the Enemy’, where some of those affected speak about their experiences during that time.
Eugenia is ethnically Ndebele and her husband is Shona. They first met at school. After they married, they settled in Eugenia’s home.
[...]
Eugenia will never forget the night the Fifth Brigade soldiers in their red berets came to her village: “They came in the middle of the night. They took everybody from their homes,” she said.
“My husband was asked to strip off together with me and the other Shonas.
“We were beaten up. Then they tried to make us have sex. The soldiers told my husband – you came to live in this area for sex, so you do it now. The people were told to sing for that. We couldn’t do it, so we were beaten again.”
According to Eugenia, one man was killed that night and her husband never fully recovered.
Read the full article here.
