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Quotes by zimbabwean authors
Quotes by zimbabwean authors
I get irritated by the term 'African writer', because it doesn't mean anything to me.
Petina Gappah
Me
Writer
Term
Because
Get
African
Anything
Irritated
Mean
I speak English. I dream in it. I cannot separate my English from my Shona; I see the world with those two languages.
Petina Gappah
Speak
World
Those
Dream
See
Cannot
Separate
Languages
English
Two
It was one of those early mid-life crises, really. I started asking myself, 'What is it that I want from my life?' This question kept haunting me: 'Do I want to be a lawyer who always wanted to be a writer, or do I actually want to be a writer?
Petina Gappah
Life
Myself
Me
My Life
Lawyer
Those
Crises
Haunting
Writer
Always
Question
Mid-Life
Want
Wanted
Asking
Really
Who
Actually
Early
Started
Kept
I'm not even sure that I want to go back... The Zimbabwe that I really loved, the Zimbabwe that I grew up in, just isn't there anymore, and I'm not sure about the country that has replaced it.
Petina Gappah
Country
Back
About
Sure
Go
Up
Replaced
Just
Want
Anymore
Grew
Loved
Really
Even
Zimbabwe
I guess you could say I'm lucky because I've known a Zimbabwe that didn't have Robert Mugabe leading it. One of the saddest things about Zimbabwe is there are so many hidden casualties of the Mugabe government's misrule. They're not just casualties that you immediately see.
Petina Gappah
Government
You
Guess
Say
Immediately
Hidden
See
About
Could
Casualties
Leading
Saddest
Robert
Known
Because
Just
Many
Lucky
Things
Zimbabwe
The first thing I remember when I moved to a school in the suburbs was, 'My gosh, all these books!' The classroom and school had a library; I'd never seen so many books in my life! It was something we didn't have in the township.
Petina Gappah
Life
Library
Remember
School
My Life
Seen
First
Books
Something
Classroom
Never
Had
Remember When
Gosh
First Thing
The First Thing
Moved
Suburbs
Many
Thing
These are the kinds of names that Zimbabweans like: names that have positive qualities. Like, Praise is a very popular name; Loveness is a very popular name.
Petina Gappah
Positive
Kinds
Name
Like
Names
Qualities
Praise
Very
Popular
If I truly had the courage of my convictions, I would be a full-blown comic novelist.
Petina Gappah
Courage
Convictions
Would
Would-Be
Had
Comic
Truly
Novelist
I always say to people that Zimbabweans are the funniest people in Africa; we even laugh at funerals. And it's true. I mean, there are so many jokes about funerals. There are so many jokes about AIDS. We find ways of coping with pain by laughing at it and by laughing at ourselves.
Petina Gappah
Jokes
People
Pain
AIDS
Say
Ways
Laugh
Ourselves
Laughing
Find
About
True
Always
Africa
Mean
Many
Even
Coping
Funerals
Funniest
People always ask me how I manage to find humor in so much bleakness. I think this is almost a necessary skill to have.
Petina Gappah
Me
People
Humor
Think
Find
Almost
Always
How
Manage
Ask
Much
Skill
Necessary
I see myself in public service in Zimbabwe. I would prefer an advisory role - cabinet secretary, minister of trade or the arts, or something like that. I don't want to be just a writer.
Petina Gappah
Service
Myself
Secretary
Minister
Would
See
Something
Writer
Cabinet
Like
Trade
Advisory
Role
Just
Arts
Want
Public
Prefer
Public Service
Zimbabwe
I was one of the first six black kids to integrate a formerly all-white school. I remember being looked at all the time and people laughing at my hair. I was also very self-conscious about the food I had for lunch. I had egg sandwiches, and the other mothers gave kids fancy stuff like bologna and Marmite. It took about a year to settle in.
Petina Gappah
Time
Food
People
Remember
School
Black
Hair
First
Year
Lunch
Other
Gave
Settle
Took
Kids
Laughing
About
About A Year
Had
Self-Conscious
Stuff
Like
Looked
Also
Mothers
Integrate
Very
Egg
Six
Being
Fancy
Sandwiches
I wonder why people commit crimes that are premeditated - to gain love, because of hatred, or for financial reasons.
Petina Gappah
Love
People
Financial
Hatred
Crimes
Because
Wonder
Commit
Gain
Reasons
Why
Stay with us, please remain in this country and constitute a nation based on national unity.
Robert Mugabe
Country
Nation
National
Unity
Please
Stay
Constitute
Remain
National Unity
Us
Based
We have said the first step was to designate the land, inform the owners. And the second would be to get the responses from the owners. And this will be openly done.
Robert Mugabe
Will
First
Responses
Would
Would-Be
Step
Openly
First Step
Said
Get
Done
Owners
Inform
Land
Designate
Second
Zimbabwe will never be a colony again.
Robert Mugabe
Will
Colony
Never
Again
Zimbabwe
People are free to campaign and they will be free to vote. There won't be any soldiers, you know, at the queues. Anyone who has the right to vote is free to go and cast his vote anywhere in his own area, in his own constituency.
Robert Mugabe
You
Vote
People
Will
Free
Own
Soldiers
Cast
Area
Know
Go
His
Campaign
Any
Anyone
Anywhere
Who
Right
There is no rule of law in Zimbabwe; there's selective application of the rule of law. Patrick Chinamasa, who is the minister of justice, destroyed the independent judiciary.
Roy Bennett
Justice
Law
Judiciary
Rule
Rule Of Law
Destroyed
Independent
Minister
Selective
Who
Zimbabwe
Application
When you enter into a struggle, and you genuinely believe in what you are doing, and you live under injustice, and you live under a regime that is dictatorial and oppresses people, there have to be sacrifices.
Roy Bennett
You
Injustice
Struggle
People
Live
Believe
Enter
Sacrifices
Genuinely
Doing
Dictatorial
Regime
I have forgiven those who were persecuting me.
Roy Bennett
Me
Those
Were
Forgiven
Who
I have been persecuted since I joined politics, and I have been living in persecution since then.
Roy Bennett
Politics
Living
Joined
Since
Been
Persecuted
Persecution
Then
For decades, Robert Mugabe has thumbed his nose at the world. The long-time dictator has ruled Zimbabwe with an iron fist, repeatedly insulted foreign dignitaries, ignored regional and international agreements to which he was a signatory, and isolated the country from any legitimate international economic or political engagement.
Roy Bennett
World
Political
Country
Ruled
Economic
He
Robert
Insulted
Isolated
Foreign
His
Repeatedly
Fist
Dictator
Iron
Decades
Any
Nose
Legitimate
Which
Regional
Engagement
Ignored
International
Agreements
Zimbabwe
In the late 1990s, Mugabe's misguided policies sent our economy and agricultural productivity, our country's lifeblood, plummeting into the abyss. To make up for the financial shortfall, his regime attempted to print its way out of the mess, immediately resulting in inconceivable hyperinflation, topping out at 231 million percent.
Roy Bennett
Financial
Country
Abyss
Late
Our
Way
Immediately
Out
Percent
Resulting
Lifeblood
Misguided
Attempted
Economy
Mess
Make
Policies
Print
Make Up
His
Up
Regime
Sent
Productivity
Agricultural
Million
Inconceivable
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