In breve
La protesta di un individuo per un futuro migliore ha ispirato i cittadini dello Zimbabwe a tirare fuori il loro coraggio e rovesciare uno spietato dittatore.
Se non possiamo ispirare i politici a cambiare, allora dobbiamo ispirare i cittadini ad essere coraggiosi.
— Evan Mawarire
Lunedì 19 aprile 2016 sembrava un giorno come un altro. Finché non è successo qualcosa. Ero seduto nel mio ufficio in chiesa dopo il lavoro, chiedendomi come avrei fatto a coprire le tasse scolastiche delle mie figlie. La Bibbia e la bandiera dello Zimbabwe sulla mia scrivania mi fissavano. Ho ripensato alla storia dello Zimbabwe.
Teoria chiave
After 37 years under Mugabe, most Zimbabweans had normalized their anger towards the regime and adapted to their unbearable economic circumstances. But the amalgamation of brave acts in confronting the regime — from videos and selfies to later street actions — served as an emotional trigger that led people to feel the heat to act immediately, even if momentarily. This played a critical part in achieving a 9-million-strong national strike.
Tattica chiave
The political positioning of the campaign was strategically embedded in its main hashtags. The hashtag #ThisFlag reclaimed Zimbabweans’ national pride by revisiting the meaning of their flag and their history of liberation. The secondary hashtags #Hatichada and #Hatichatya created a sense of belonging to a community that was ready to act collectively.
Principi chiave
When I was first arrested, hundreds of people gathered at the jail (see: TACTIC: Jail solidarity) to demand my release, which along with videotaping the arrest incident and live-streaming the gathering outside the Court, created a high level of exposure that protected activists from a brutal response by the regime.
The popular upheaval that powered #ThisFlag to victory was a time bomb of extreme economic conditions. The movement timed its strategic escalations to coincide with special days like the Zimbabwean Independence Day. Additionally, the general strike was called just as the government had effectively run out of money, and had stopped paying civil servants and teachers their wages and increased their harassment of minibus and taxi drivers.