THE DEPENDENCY SYNDROME Vs WRITING FOR OURSELVES

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Having been a teacher of English Language and Literature for over twenty years, I cannot help but register disappointment at the number of ‘foreign books’ that are continually featured on the Zambian syllabus. Well, I would not blame anybody. I too was schooled in these great books: ‘A Wreath for Udomo’ by Peter Abrahams, was a lengthy text that I had to master back to back in addition to the regulars in the curriculum. What can one expect in a country where not many people are writing? Actually there is nothing wrong with using text books from other countries, isn’t that what Literature is about- the study of anything artistic and of value?  There is everything wrong with not having our own local products being ‘glorified’ in like manner. If the study of literature helps one to learn about other people’s cultures and traditions, then it can be safely said that high school students of literature have adequate knowledge of the Ibo culture as ably outlined in ‘Things Fall Apart’, a book that has hardly left the Zambian syllabus for years. There is need to create and develop a Zambian Genre in order to propagate our own ways of life and traditional beliefs for the future generations. Readers and learners alike will grow interest in works that they are familiar with while creating a seedbed of knowledge that they will pass on for generations to come. There is great history, rich culture and warm traditions that Zambia has to share, not just among its citizens but with the rest of the world. If we are headed ‘Toward a Zambian genre’, then we can do better than once in a while having only two or three books written by Zambians. We appreciate books like ‘Tongue of the Dumb’ by Dominic Mulaisho and ‘Quills of Desire’ by Binwell Sinyangwe. However, there is need for a crop of writers who will compete favourably for space on the literature syllabus. This way we can finally move away from learners being so well vested in the ways of other people and becoming professors of their own culture, languages and traditions. The school syllabus itself is fertile ground where the literary arts can be developed and a place where with time, a Zambian genre can be harvested. It is a good habit to read widely, for who can ever forget the hilarious ‘Government Inspector’ by Nikolai Gogol and the amazing ‘Animal Farm’ by George Orwell’? However, a nation should identify its own literary works, and learners and readers alike should pride themselves in what is truly theirs. Despite the challenges, if people are encouraged to write for the national syllabus, imagine what great strides we would make ‘Toward a Zambian Genre’.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR CREATIVE ARTS AND LITERACY

A lot of writing has been done by Zambians on a number of topics, but much of it has been non-fiction, targeting mostly the academics. For this sector, the distribution of books has been easy, largely supported by the education system. Due to this, the larger population, those who are excluded from the academic path, remain illiterate and without access to literature that can lead to their personal development and the growth of the communities. There are key factors that must be put in place for the development of the creative arts and promotion of literacy. Currently, the creative arts are without structural support and writers are all over the place, either trying to make a career or earn living. It is equally impossible to make strides in literacy if the people who are writing cannot reach their readers. Not all reading material should be found in a classroom.

There is need to take literacy development beyond the classroom walls, to reach the communities, to reach those who are outside the classroom. The country once boasted of community libraries but now there are more bars and groceries shops. The lack of infrastructure significantly impedes literacy development. With most public schools having limited reading materials, such support structures like a community library would play a key role in cementing the efforts of the education system and at the same time broadening the spectrum to include those who are outside the school system. A community or public library can lead to development. Apart from providing opportunities for reading, such a structure can be used to disseminate information about other issues affecting societies and promoting development. It is through such places that community participation can be promoted, to make all members of the public stakeholders in the literacy and literary agendas. It is from such centers that writing careers have successfully been launched and promoted for the benefit of the community. The creative arts can also be promoted by being housed under tertiary institutions where English and Literature are taught.  This works well when an institution opens its doors to the writing industry and creates opportunities for writers and at the same time linking them to community literary programmes. For example, the Centre for Creative Arts falls under the Department of Humanities at the University of KwaZulu Natal. Over the years, a number of brands have been developed to include, ‘Time of the Writer’, a sponsored programme that now reaches out to international writers, ‘Durban International Film Festival’ and so on. It is because of such efforts by a higher institution of learning that Durban is now named the UNESCO City of Literature. We cannot leave the government out in this process. As a key stakeholder they should work toward taking the development of literacy and creative arts outside the school walls. We look forward to a time when the local authorities for instance will reintroduce community literacy programmes.

If we are to head ‘Toward a Zambian genre’, these elements should begin to work together.

 

REWRITING HISTORY AND TELLING OUR OWN STORIES

Photo credit: Kafula Mwila

Teaching history to adolescents can attract a lot of questions. A few years back in one of the junior secondary school history classes, a debate started and within a short time escalated into a heated discussion on who discovered the Victoria Falls.

‘There were people already living there’, came one argument.

‘Maybe they lived there and they did not see it’, said another.

‘Or they didn’t know what it was’.

‘They knew what it was’, the first one said, ‘that is why they called it ‘Musi-o-tunya’ in SiLozi or ‘Shungu Namutitima’ in ChiTonga.

I waited for their passions to abate and then it came, the question that was always directed at teacher, ‘what about you madam, what do you think? Did Dr. David Livingstone discover the Victoria Falls?’

Photo credit: Kafula Mwila

 It is such and many related subjects that have distorted the historical picture of Zambia and probably many African nations. On the one hand, those children needed to pass an examination based on wrong information that had been authenticated in a text book. On the other hand, facts had been written from a perspective of triumphant discovery rather than respect and awe of a great wonder around which indigenous people had built a life.

Another type of misrepresentation rallies around heroes and heroines who made significant contribution to the historical development of Zambia. These great men and women have gone down unheard or information about them is unclear. One case in example is the history of Alice Regina Mulenga Lubusha also known as Alice Lenshina. Her religion has been deemed a cult and her activities termed rebellious and counter-productive. Well, only one side of her story has been heard. The truth behind her actions will never really be known as what is mostly available are impressions that others had about her.

Photo credit: Kafula Mwila

Therefore, how can a writer begin to retell stories from such a background? Creative art that draws from historical themes is faced with several problems. Is it possible to change Zambia’s narrative to one of triumph and victory and glory? For instance, is it possible to rewrite the victorious battles of the wonderful tribes of Zambia in a way that shows skill, power and knowledge rather than defeat and great loss? Can a writer outline the religious and traditional practices of old without demonizing the people that were associated with it?

Photo credit: Kafula Mwila

What sort of information does a modern day creative writer use then? With a lot of inaccurate facts and in most cases unavailable information, one would then have to take advantage of oral narratives and fill in gaps. For instance, the names of some traditional rulers and names of tribes were mispronounced by outsiders and the names have stuck to this day. Is it Mwene Mutapa or Mono Mutapa? Is it Mwata Kasembe or Mwata Kazembe? The Bemba or Lunda do not have ‘z’ in their language, so how has the country ended up with ‘Kazembe’ and not ‘Kasembe’, which is the word for ‘axe’ in ChiBemba? The Victoria Falls in Livingstone is a marvel. The surging of the mighty Zambezi River over the huge gorge is an attraction. Tourists come in hordes, especially between December and April, when the Zambezi is pregnant with a lot of water, to witness one of the mighty wonders of the world.  This is the most significant point of the winding journey of the river before it continues on to empty itself in the Indian Ocean. The geographical feature has put Zambia on the world map more than football has. It is amazing that the journey of the Zambezi that starts as a small spring hundreds of kilometers away in North-western Province, transforms into such a powerful force of nature. It was named after the Queen of England by missionary and explorer, Dr. David Livingstone. In his honour a large statue stands adjacent to the falls. There are two Africans who were with the explorer at the time of the ‘discovery’, Chuma and Susi. They are only lucky enough to be named after a lodge. Susi and Chuma were natives of Central Africa, probably hailed from the Yao tribe but very little is known about them. The couple were only heard of after the passing of Dr. David Livingstone in that they helped to transport his body for burial back in England. If we are to head ‘Toward a Zambian genre’, then these are some of the areas of history that need to be clarified, even rewritten.

ZAMBIA'S LITERARY LEGEND- Stephen A. Mpashi

We ‘stand on the shoulders of giants’. Pioneers who defy odds to show the world that there is nothing impossible or too hard if you put your heart and mind to it.  The late Stephen Andrea Mpashi (1923-1998) is a literary legend. His great works continue to speak about his strength and giftedness in the use of the oral narrative. His writing career started in the 1950s and Mpashi is one of the founding fathers of creative writing in Zambia. Between 1950 and 1978, this legendary writer penned both prose and poetry. The originality and authenticity in his creative purpose have made his work relevant to this day. He wrote in his mother tongue, Chi Bemba, a language that is widely spoken in Northern, Muchinga, Luapula, Copperbelt, Central and Lusaka provinces. This represents a large audience. Mpashi was born in northern Zambia and did his education at Lubushi Major Seminary in Kasama, after which he proceeded to the University of Exeter in England, where he studied Creative Writing. His feats were not restricted to pen and paper because Mpashi is said to have joined the Northern Rhodesian army and fought in the Second World War. He shared his military experience in a book he titled, ‘Cekesoni aingila ubu soja’ published in 1950.

After the war he taught at Central School in Luanshya, a mining town on the Copperbelt Province. By the time he was 45 years old, Mpashi retired early from the teaching service and settled in Lusaka to focus on his writing. Mpashi is said to have been a kind, compassionate and principled man. One of his daughters narrates how he declined an offer made to him by the Frist Republican President, Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, to become Minister of Education. Mpashi’s reason was that he did not wish to mix politics with the values that he had placed on education. He turned his energy to writing and by the time of his passing, his books were well read in schools and by the public.  His books, listed below are still on sale in local bookshops and on Amazon.

·         1950: Cekesoni aingila ubu soja

·         1951: Uwakwensha ubushiku (detective story, which was republished in 1957)

·         1951: Ubusuma bubili (Advice to women on their appearance and conduct, which was republished in 1955)

·         1952: Umucinshi

·         1955: Uwauma nafyala

·         1955: IciBemba cesu na mano yaciko

·         1956: Uwakalema takaleka

·         1956: Pano Calo

·         1956: AbaPatili bafika ku ba Bemba (Republished in 1968)

·         1957: Pio akobekela Vera

·         1958: Bakutemwe (republished in 1972)

·         1960: Akatabo ka baice (republished in 1971)

·         1962: Amalango (a collection of Bemba poems)

·         1962: Ukupoka icisendo

·         1963: IciBemba na mano yaciko

·         1968: Pio na Vera (republished in 1996)

·         1978: Tusobolole iciBemba

If we are to head ‘Toward a Zambian genre’, literary heroes like Stephen Andrea Mpashi (MHSRIP), should never be forgotten. We should proudly sing about their victories and continue to promote their work. These legends have given the Zambian writer a foundation that can be used to grow the literary industry.   

FAKE ACCENTS, WEAVES AND BLEACHED SKINS

There is one incident that has stuck permanently like a scar on my mind. It happened in the era of the rush for ‘greener pastures’, when teachers left public schools to join the private sector. It was the period of the popular ‘brain drain’, when most professionals crossed borders to the side where the grass was watered ‘very well’. ‘To cut to the chase’ one of my frantic efforts to liberate myself from the ‘peanuts’ that government offered at that time, ushered me in front of a panel of interviewers, all British. During that time, I figured that one of the female panellists picked up my struggle to catch the quick spoken, semi-swallowed words. She spoke slowly and tried to pronounce every syllable.  How I wish she could have taken up the entire discussion because the rest of her team got bored with my constant interjections of ‘pardon me’ or ‘could you repeat that’. Suffice to say that I was not successful because my failure to catch the British accent made it seem like I did not know how to speak English. After twelve years in school and an additional four years in university, learning English, I had failed lamentably at the former colonial master’s language because of intonation. In the desire to overcome this setback I promised to teach myself the British way of speaking. Now, thinking in retrospect, that is just the problem, what is the acceptable manner of articulation? Some people travel abroad and after two weeks come back with a different accent, which does not sound like the people they try to imitate and is miss for the locals - wasted effort.  What was inherited from the colonial days still haunts the country. Zambia must start believing in its manner of speaking. It is one the countries in Africa where citizens do not need to constantly repeat themselves in order for others to understand what is being said.

English is not a first language in Zambia. By the time, most people are beginning to learn how to speak it, they would have learned their mother tongue first. Therefore, no one can be expected to speak like a British or American. Unfortunately, mispronunciations, poor intonations are scorned and looked down upon. English will remain the official mode of communication for a long time to come. However that is what it will always be, a means of communication and not a standard to measure our literacy, our speaking and listening skills. It is one way of remaining connected to the global village but is not a measure for belonging to an elite social class. It is important to have a common acceptable standard way of speaking without looking down on the interference from the local language. If we are to head ‘Toward a Zambian genre’, then we should consider acceptable forms of English that will not necessarily dilute common rules of grammar, spelling and pronunciation. Creative writers should be allowed to make use of Zambian phrases and expressions as a way of authenticating the culture and beliefs of the people being written about.  The millennials are caught up between many accents as a result of the influence of technology. The challenge to young people is that there is power in being yourself. The effort of trying to be like someone else can be exhausting, it devalues a person. Make your point without making your listener think that you do not know what you are talking about. The only pressure you will have is to be the best version of yourself. So when it comes to pronunciation, let us not judge one another harshly, English is just one of the many languages in the world.

KAFULA'S ESSENTIALS- a short story collection

'KAFULA'S ESSENTIALS' is a collection of 10 short stories that depict the life, culture, tradition of a cross section of people and communities. Below are snippets of the great stories that you get to read in the book. The book is available on Amazon.com and in bookstores in Zambia.

77 Steps

There it stood, stalwart! St Mark’s Cathedral looked back at him. It was as if it had been waiting for this day. Waiting for him! It towered over him, daring him, intimidating. Yet he was not afraid. He was angry, very angry. He was ready to hit back. The grey building had brightly coloured narrow windows, which made the building come alive. Without them, the cathedral would have just been another ugly structure in an affluent neighbourhood. He swept his eyes all the way to the roof. It did not appear as attractive as before. The huge cross right at the top of the building looked like it was about to ascend into the clouds. ‘Golgotha,’ he thought, and winced… Mabvuto’s mouth tightened. He clenched his teeth. His feelings towards the building went beyond the huge oak doors. They penetrated the thick walls to what was carefully hidden inside. He held the building responsible for causing him so much pain. His mother had called him ‘Mabvuto, meaning troubles’, and he had lived true to the reputation of his name. He had driven past St Mark’s every morning on his way to work. Each time, its huge oak doors were shut. They were resolute...

DESOLATE ALTARS

…Just then she felt someone waking her up. It was Shadreck; she had not heard him come in. She looked at the clock; it was three in the morning. She sat up and looked at him, still confused by her dream. Shadreck stood in front of his wife, gazing at her expressionless. From the look of things, he was just arriving or had he been standing there for a while?

He threw some papers at her and said, “I don’t expect you to contest that. “He hesitated and then added, “I want you out of my life; you are like an obnoxious weed. Felicia and the kids will be moving in soon. Don’t do anything to delay the process.” With that he walked out of the room, without giving Luombe an opportunity to respond…

o   Businesswomen (An extract from the story, ‘Kabwata Market’)

The days dragged to my next hair appointment. My mind filled with ideas about how girls like Melinda can be helped. I am incensed by the lack of political will by government to provide opportunities for girls like her. Whatever the circumstances, they are victims of a government that hardly creates opportunities for the youths. What a society! I sigh as I grudgingly accept Mwape’s hands in my hair. Where is Angela? I can’t see Melinda either. Today is not very busy but customers are coming slowly, perhaps in my eagerness to hear more about Melinda I came too early. We are joined by a middle aged woman; her skin was once bleached with creams, when she stopped using the creams, it was as though thunder and lightning had struck her and the Sun had not been merciful either.

“Ah business iyi”, she has a very hoarse voice and no one responds, maybe we are waiting to hear what business she means and what could have happened. She pulls out a bottle of beer and I stare, ‘isn’t it too early for that madam?  But let us hear about your business’. Just as she is about to continue with her complaint, she receives a phone call.

“Eh, nili ku salon”, she listens, “pa Kabwata”. She listens again, “bwela chabe naiwe mwana”. She has invited whoever is on the other side of the line to join her at the salon. Good! I fidget in my seat. The more the merrier, I think; now we will get to hear all the gory details of this woman’s business. The friend arrives a few minutes later. She is equally middle aged with ‘toasted’ skin too. She has a bottle of mosi...

‘Ok, this is going to be a great story’, I think almost aloud.

“Mwana – uyu mulandu ukoselako che” the first one starts.

“Iwe, nina ku uza, ati tiye ku ng’anga- ija yaku Kafue ili na mpavu”. This must be a serious business gone wrong, for them to have wanted to seek a witchdoctor’s intervention?

“Awe mwandi, you are right.”

“But I think that DPP – tika mu dyesa mo che, you think it can’t be wash out?” the first one asks.

“Mmmm”, murmurs her friend. “The problem is that Mr. Kabwe has been transferred- you know that one used to literally ‘feed’ from my palm and I could tell him to do anything for me”.

“But mwana I told you when we arrived in Thailand to be careful with Carol. That one has minyama too much!” They are now both on the fourth bottles of alcohol and clearly getting tipsy and forgetting that they are in public and I could be... what? A patriot? With so much corruption in the country, there are very few good citizens who would sum the courage to report such deeds to the police.

‘Thailand’, can only spell one kind of business. Oh, the trouble you are in women.

“I was careful mwandi”, the first one is red eyed now and adds, “I just don’t know how that stuff was loaded into my container”.

Too bad I grimace. Just then, Angela brightens up my morning. She has been at the clinic, “malaria she complains”.

“I’m sorry”, I say. Perhaps I can hear what I really came for…

THE ERROR OF TEXTING IS UPON US

 

One thing that puts me off is seeing a text with words like 'dis' instead of 'this' or 'ze' instead of 'the' and so on, some words that I cannot even decipher. Of course, I am old school. I believe in complete words and sentences. I find pleasure in seeing correct spellings and good use of grammar. The challenge with the modern generation is that they have not learned how to define the text language from proper words. The former has strayed to the essay, application letter and curriculum vitae. You can even see some of it in a manuscript that is supposed to find its way to the Zambian market for other people to read. When we were young, we used to develop encoded language for the purpose of hiding information from our elders. That was the only reason. When it was time for school, the language became formal. The vocabulary that was exchanged in play grounds did not cross over to the classroom. In fact, in those days, economising of words was so good that even a telegram which was one of the first forms short messaging, was not compromised on quality.

 

Yet, today the overuse of the new shortened forms have down-graded the quality of writing. With the coming of the short messaging system contractions have lost their place and abbreviations and acronyms have since disappeared. What happened to words like aren’t, you’re, didn’t, won’t, etc. There used to be common abbreviations that could be used without offending anyone; std. for standard or s/holder for shareholder or stakeholder, ltd. for limited.

The problem with today’s short forms is that they do not have a place in formal writing. Additionally, the words are not commonly understood and seem to be limited to regions or cultures. For instance, the recent derivation of lol or Laugh Out Loud, in the local Bemba language cannot be used anywhere else. The relentless usage of text language has ushered in new way of writing. The question is, should this kind of writing be given a formal place?

Communication devices are equipped to keep a user as close as possible to the proper way of writing however, with time, the software meant for auto correct, spell check and auto spell adapt to the new words that are insistently types.

Another thing that irritates me when I receive a text message is when words are misplaced and misused. The consistent mix-up of homophones (words that have the same pronunciation) and homographs (words that are spelt the same way but do not have the same meaning). The misplacement of synonyms (words that have similar meaning) and antonyms (words that have opposite meanings). Common examples in Zambia; ‘the, there, they, their’ or ‘raise up your hand’ or ‘where, were, we’re’ or ‘leave, live’ etc.

English is not our first language but it remains the official mode of communication. This being the case, there is a small percentage of tolerating mistakes that seep into English as a result of first language interference. However, Zambia belongs to a global village and if we have to head ‘Toward a Zambian genre’, we must be able to tell our stories in manner that the rest of the world can understand and appreciate what we are communicating. The most unfortunate part is that even when we decide to use our own languages to write, we fall short on quality as most young people cannot even spell most local words. So whether you choose English or vernacular to write, use words properly, write grammatical sentences and get the spellings right.

TOWARD A ZAMBIAN GENRE : A ZAMBIAN GENRE

TOWARD A ZAMBIAN GENRE : A ZAMBIAN GENRE

A ZAMBIAN GENRE

On literary arts in Zambia-focus on fiction writing

 

M

ost countries in Africa have effectively shared their fundamental nature through works of art. Countries like Zimbabwe, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, just to mention but a few, have developed specific genres of fiction over the years, rendering this group of countries leaders in African literature. Nigeria and South Africa for instance has gone from the script to the big screen, leaving Zambia trailing far behind.

Zambia does not have a specific genre of fiction that she can be identified with. Any form of literature especially prose, drama and poetry should be a conduit for the transmission of people’s culture, language, religion, traditional values and any other aspect that defines their lifestyle and evolution. In the absence of sound literary identification, a country is likely to experience gaps in the development of the things that describe its core existence. Nations have preserved their history, morals, beliefs and customs through writing. The absence of Zambian fiction writing has contributed to a large extent the lack of proper documentation of its cultural development and the transmission of such cultural beliefs through the passing of time. ‘If the current Zambian authors are anything to go by, Zambia is still miles away from literary autonomy. There is a notable dearth of authentic Zambian authors’. ^[1]. It can be said that the present generations are easily swayed by so called western cultures because of the absence of a strong literature that should have otherwise transmitted the beliefs that should act as a backbone of cultural identity in every generation.   

Where are we coming from? Despite the few collections of fiction, the country can still trace its literary history back to the colonial days, when selected Zambian die-hards, put together some work and had them published.  However, the lack of documentation makes it very difficult for some of these works to be traced. By the 1960s, the likes of Steven A. Mpashi had published a few books that people still refer to as being the most entertaining stories that were narrated with such great skill. ^[2] There were also other colonial writers like Fwanyanga Mulikita. By the 1970s, there were only about twelve known published works of fiction.

One would ask, what has been the challenge for Zambia? Is it the lack of authors? Could it be that there is nothing to write about? Every country has something to say about itself.  Recently, there has been a rise in Zambian writers both within the country and in the diaspora. Although growing at a slow rate, there is literary potential in the country. The problem has not really been who or what to write but the issues lie deeply in the lack of support systems for those who aspire to take up this noble undertaking. Zambia for instance has a young publishing industry. The existence of private publishing companies can only be traced to the 1990s, when Zambia’s economy was liberalised. Before then only one publishing house had the monopoly, Kenneth Kaunda Publishing House and priority then was the provision of educational materials to schools in the post independent era. With the coming of private publishing companies like Macmillan and Longman, the situation has not improved because the publishing costs are still very high. In recent times, more publishing companies have been established and they mostly want to survive on a guaranteed education market. Besides, without regulatory bodies, the quality of material goes unchecked more often.

Some individual writers have opted to self-publish. With the internet providing so many opportunities, several works have found themselves on the open market and sadly some are substandard. Well, even if someone succeed at publishing an excellent piece, there are still more hurdles to jump; the poor reading culture and low literacy rates. If we are to head ‘Toward a Zambian Genre’, the writing industry must be made a reality for those who are ready to take it up. Both government and the private sector must invest in making the journey from the script to the book shelf a reality.

LITERACY AND TECHNOLOGY

It has been deemed the age of technology and rightly so because practically everything in the world today is being led by speed, gadgets and the internet. The digital era has spun the way people look at the world. In fact there is so much to read, watch and listen to that it has raised a red flag. Generally, there is a high rate of abuse of the media age.  A lot of misinformation can now be communicated or damage caused through a simple mobile device. The use of social media has become a ‘bone of contention’, is it a good or bad thing? The amount of pornography that is being shared carelessly is shocking. Bullying has now infiltrated the internet. There is a serious concern that the values of learning and teaching are being diluted by the click of a button.

The United Nations Agency reports that more than 3 billion people in the world are now using the internet (UNA report 2015). ZICTA (2016) reports that 6.1 million people are internet users. The question is what are the majority of Zambians using the internet for? Of course, the positive side is access to knowledge but what else is being accessed? What impact does all this information have on the younger population, on the school boy or girl? If you take time to read some comments on some social media pages you will get a clear picture that literacy and technology are closely linked. Of course, you will get a headache just trying to read through the misspelt words, ungrammatical sentences and vulgar language, which is a clear indicator of literacy levels of those who have access to the internet. Most mobile devices have in-built dictionaries and spellers but the question is how many make use of this technology?

Access? It would be interesting to get details of what percentage of the 6.1 million are aged below 16 years, the critical developmental stage of childhood and the most vulnerable. The education sector has had its fair share of the battle between good and evil in as far as internet access is concerned. Much as educators wish to promote the usage of the many opportunities on the internet, protecting children from straying to illegal and dangerous sites overturns their good intentions. The cellular phone is the main culprit. In the modern age when parents want to keep in touch with their children all day, the schools suffer the consequences of children brining their mobiles to school. First of all, it is seen as a distraction to the learning period. Secondly, the cellular phone is the main source of transmitting pornography and opens doors to cyber bullying that parents are busy complaining about. Let us just leave this thought here; to buy or not to buy your child a mobile phone?

Literacy? There is a wealth of information on the internet. It is an open library, there is a lot of education materials. But what about the other information sites, what about social media? The minimum age to open a social media account is set at 18 years and according to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), a child is a boy or girl below the age of 18 years. Yet, there are social media groups for school going children. Here is where the problem begins. Literacy skills on these groups leave much to be desired. The jargon that has now strayed into school essays has clearly devalued the quality of reading and writing. That we have a generation that cannot spell or give simple directions to where they live, is surely a source of concern.

We cannot deny access to technology for anyone. However, parents need to do more to support the efforts of educators to uphold the value of education and to promote good values and ethics in as far as utilization of technology is concerned. For example, if you buy your child a mobile device or a computer, get interested to know what they are doing with that piece of technology.

Should we ban social media platforms? What is more important is to sensitize people on the positive usage of the internet, especially social media. If we are to head ‘Toward a Zambian Genre’, we must take advantage of this grand opportunity to develop our literary abilities. Positive use of technology is individual responsibility. Rather than read jokes and poorly constructed sentences on social media, look for pages and sites that can help you build your literacy skills.

RELIGION AND LITERACY

Of late, there has been a rise of prophetic activities in Zambia. The influx of so called ‘prophets’, locally called ‘ma profita’ has brought in an ‘era of deception’. Some people have observed that all the magicians and witchdoctors have infiltrated the church. One of the most recent stories centered on members of a congregation being asked to place their bank account numbers on the ‘altar’ so that the prophet could ‘pray’ for miracle money to drop into each one’s account. Fascinating! Wouldn’t the country have been wealthy by now? The prophet would have just ‘prayed’ for gold and money to drop into the national treasury. But before we get carried away with a quick fix solution to our economic woes let’s get the facts right.

Religion is ra general term that refers to the belief in and worship of a superhuman, controlling power, especially a personal god. Christianity is the religion that is based on the person and teaching of Jesus Christ. A Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ or is someone who follows the life and teachings of Christ and is connected to Him by making an open declaration. A prophet is said to be a proclaimer of the will of God. A miracle is an extraordinary and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore attributed to a divine agency. Magic is the power of influencing events by using mysterious or supernatural forces. Witchcraft is the practice of magic, especially black magic and the use of spells. A witchdoctor is a magician accredited with powers of healing, divination and protection against the magic of others. (Google Dictionary)

Photo credit: Kafula Mwila

 

Now that we are all on the same page with definitions we can ably agree that literacy has significant impact on the growth of religion and Christianity. One of the key things that religious leaders should endeavor to do is to invest in the development of the literacy of their congregants. Christianity is very strong in Zambia- more so that it is openly declared as a Christian nation.



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The question is with high illiteracy levels, how many of the church goers have a clear understanding of the various truths that are presented to them every week. In the major cities and in churches that are in the upper class areas, illiteracy would not come up as a hindrance to the success of religion. What about in the high density areas, the shanty compounds where most of the so called ‘prophets’ have strongholds? Do all the churches there preach significantly enough to sway their members away from the scourge that has hit the country in the recent past? For how is it that one cannot differentiate between miracle and magic? How is it that one cannot see that being asked to engage in sexual orgies in full view of a congregation is immoral? The hordes of people, especially women, taking part in these outrageous events is now alarming! If more people could read, write and understand the same scriptures that are abused by their manipulators, they would not for instance discontinue taking medication in favour of ‘miracle’ water. How can anyone be so naïve to believe that money can suddenly appear into one’s bank account without them making any effort?  

 

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As a nation, we must draw lessons from the preceding era of the prosperity gospel when people were duped into giving their last ngwee or even property. This era led to a lot of laziness among some people who thought that by giving to the man or woman of God, the good Lord would bring about miraculous riches. After this phase came the ‘prophetic’ era. Many woke up to the fact that they were being swindled, therefore, the style changed. The ‘prophets’ crawled from the shadows like phantoms and infiltrated the religious circles with all sorts of tricks to squeeze gullible followers. The gimmicks vary, short of being called magic or witchcraft, as long as there is a willing soul desperate enough to do anything to get out of dire situations.

For those who follow Christ and his teachings- there is need for them to have the ability to read and write the teachings in order for them to begin to understand how they can apply them in their day to day lives. The church therefore has a key role in not only building the moral fibre of the communities they operate in but also to lift up the literacy standards of their people. Someone who fully comprehends the scriptures will not be cheated. “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” Acts 17:11. The scripture is self-explanatory and emphasizes that religion should define its role in the lives of the believers, beyond the four walls of the building where people meet to worship. It calls for the church to join in the efforts of government and civil society to lift the standards of the citizens through literacy. If we are to head ‘Toward a Zambian Genre’, all citizens must be able to read and understand the times that we live in, so that they do not get cheated.

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PUBLISHING IN ZAMBIA

If you are a writer of fiction or non-fiction, you will agree that it is really great to get published. Receiving an award and seeing book sales soaring is every writer's dream. However, in Zambia, many manuscripts just end up on shelves, gathering dust and will probably never achieve these milestone. Many potential authors have asked how to get past the ‘publishing hurdle’. Publishing in this country is not easy. The whole process is complicated, worsened by the lack of support structures for writers.

What does it mean to publish? A published writer is one who has written a book, a story, a play, or indeed any work of fiction or  non-fiction and has had such work printed and distributed for public access. It means to make your work public, letting people know that you have written and that your work is ready for reading. 

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Where does this whole process begin and what are the hurdles along the way? When a writer is satisfied that a manuscript is complete, they need to get it to a publisher. It is at this point that the woes of most Zambian writers begin.

For a start, there are few publishers in the country. These laregely focus on publishing academic works. So if you have written a text book for school or college, then you might just get lucky, that is if your book is approved by the curriculum development authorities. Otherwise, you join the struggle of the fiction writers. Local publishers have preference for books that they can easily sell in schools and tertiary institutions.  So where does that leave the one who writes for the greater good of humanity? Out in the cold mostly, to fend for themselves. If such a writer succeeds to publish, then they have a challenge of marketing their books to a nation with a poor reading culture. This has also been compounded by low literacy levels with less than 40% of the population being able to read and write. 

A fiction writer has no choice but to seek other publishing routes. What are these alternatives and how accessible are they to the ordinary writer? It is important to recognise that there are Zambian writers who live abroad. For them 

publishing options are plenty. That is one route that local writers can take, get a publisher outside Zambia. The question is, how many can afford to do that? One has to be ready to pay taxes to bring  books into the country, and get back to the marketing difficulties. The major book retailers also have their desires, just like the local publishers. Also, when your book is published abroad how do you keep track of the sales out there? 

The other alternative, something that has been trending in the recent past is self-publishing, but it is not the easier way out either. In the first place, it is totally self-financed. Secondly, the author has to do their own marketing. It is like merging an author and publisher into one.  Then there is need to ensure that the manuscript is edited properly. Finding a good editor is like looking for 'a needle in a haystack'. This has led to the production of sub-standard books. Many writers skip the editing stage to minimise on costs. Then there is the lack of illustrators- an aspect that has made many writers depend on un-established graphics designers. 

If one gets past all these obstacles, they are faced with the colossal cost of printing. Some Zambians have opted for printing services outside the country but pay dearly for importing their own books back into the country. Self-publishing? Well, considering the aforementioned and the fact that generally, self-published work is looked down upon in some circles, it is an option one would wish to consider cautiously. However, we cannot completely discard it, as many self-published books have ended up saving the day.  It has contributed to the development of writing in Zambia. 

What about online publication? The answer to the question is yet another question; how many Zambians have access to a computer, let alone the internet?  Only a small section of of the population has access to a computer (according to ZICTA). That being the case, how many will get to read from this platform? In fact, online publication is the cheapest and the simplest as long as the work is of standard. It is an opportunity to reach a wider audience, beyond the borders of Zambia. But who gets to check what goes and what is completely unpalatable? According to a Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Zambia, ‘State of the Media’ for the quarter January 1 to March 31, 2012, there is no specific regulation for online publication such as a law that must require online publishers to register with any government department the way newspapers do. The current situation allows anyone to set up an online publication and dump whatever stuff they wish to publish without anyone checking. MISA Zambia has since urged the state to come up with a way that will ensure that anyone setting up an online publication registers before launching to publish. The absence of a perfect check system has allowed a situation where anyone, even if they are not well vest in fiction publishing, to go ahead and dilute the good works being done by professionals in this area. 

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If we are to head 'Toward a Zambian Genre', a collection of non-fiction works about Zambia, by Zambians, the publishing industry must be developed to accommodate this kind of work. Government should also play a role in making publishing a reality for its citizens. Unless many of the issues raised are addressed,  we are far from realising our dream, yet there is hope because Zambians have started writing.  

 

 

MAKE READING A LIFESTYLE

January is coming to an end. Officially we have been in the New Year for close to 31 days. How far have you gone in implementing your resolutions? Have you even started yet? As time lapses, the fervor and interest slowly wan, which is followed by excuses and before you know it, the plans are shelfed. Keeping promises is not easy. Sticking to plans is difficult if you do not write them. The effort of committing your idea to paper and referring back to it constantly keeps the initial passion alive. It compels one to eventually do something about it. If you decided to make reading a lifestyle, you need to know exactly what kind of books you wish to read, then list the titles. This way soon as you come across the book, you will get it and read it!

Plans should not be about the money but about succeeding, about achieving your goals, it is about breaking through to the next level that you planned for. Most plans have been parked because, when it comes to the budget, people get overwhelmed. They pay more attention to how they will obtain the money that is needed to execute the plan. When your emphasis is on the money rather than on what must be accomplished, it is easy to quit, because generally, money is hard to come by. By all means, include a budget but focus more on what must be achieved. Money is just one of the enablers. If you concentrate on what needs to be done, you will begin to implement the part of your plan that does not require finances. For example, if your resolution is to make reading a lifestyle, you must understand that not all books need to be bought. Join a book club, get library membership, exchange books with friends, use social media to connect with other readers so that you can exchange books and when you have the money, buy the book! By making the first steps, you will have completed 50% of the plans and the rest will fall into place. Resources get attracted to plans once there is commitment and when achievement is on the horizon.

Finally, avoid things, places or people that will sway you away from your plans.  Create the time for reading. For instance, television can take away the much needed time. Spend more hours with other readers, talk about your books and share ideas. A lifestyle is made by repeating actions that build into a recognizable pattern. Eventually others will identify you with that particular style, she or he is a reader. When you become rooted, you create a foundation upon which you can build. You could start recruiting other readers or could just start teaching others how to read. If we are to head ‘Toward a Zambian Genre’, then we need avid readers. In 2018, make reading your lifestyle!