Nothing wrong with a Diaspora

While it may be viable for politicians to preach to the dispersed urging them to return to rebuild Zimbabwe, those of us in the diaspora should not be naive about this complex matter.We will never know exactly why our Bantu ancestors dispersed south-eastwards from West Africa. They could have been escaping conflict of sorts or a degrading environment exacerbated by an encroaching Sahara. What we do know for sure, is that they did not return to West Africa. Instead, they went on to populate much of sub-Saharan Africa, even founding one of the most celebrated civilizations of ancient Africa at Great Zimbabwe.Two thousand later, we have followed in their footsteps, so to speak, in divergent directions across the globe. It may be that some of us will return to the beloved land of our birth and upbringing. Should most of us, as I suspect, remain in our adopted homelands, that should not be interpreted to mean that we loved Zimbabwe less, but that we were regular human beings.There are real obstacles in the way of those who want to return to Zimbabwe, not least of which is that the country is not ready to receive them and put them to gainful employment. Given a life expectancy in the mid-thirties, one can see why the prospect of going back home may not be a pleasant one for many in the Zimbabwean diaspora. Moreover, who is to say that we should not have our own diaspora community, as virtually every other major and minor country seems to have?Nobody should feel ashamed if they decide to hang on in the Diaspora. After all, since its emergence as a species two hundred thousand years ago, homo sapiens sapiens has conquered every piece of terrain on this planet, in multiple migrations originating in the African savanna