ARAC UPDATE No 27.
3 September 2010
Dear Farmer,
The response from a number of readers clearly indicates that the task of reconnecting CFU with some farmers still has a way to go.
The hurts are evident all over the globe and sadly the baggage that we all have is hard to deal with. I was one of those who walked away and it took a lot of heart searching before I came back to CFU to look at how to start a process of rebuilding bridges; working for and with farmers can be both difficult and rewarding! We all need to engage in a process that will bring about a more inclusive approach to finding a just solution. Many of us have a very traumatized set of memories and these are sometimes an obstacle to serious reflection and a balanced perspective.
Forgiveness is giving up the right to resentment towards past hurt and taking steps to forge a different relationship with both the hurt and the persons responsible. A Ugandan Judge appointed to the South African TRC commented that reconciliation was about restoring relationship between friends after a breakdown but observed, “What is it called when there was no relationship prior to the break down?” Here I don’t know, however I believe amongst us as a constituency of farmers, “Reconciliation” is both desirable and achievable. The reality is that both the leadership of the CFU and the organisation they are driving has changed. Perhaps for those who are out of the country this movement is not apparent. The current close look at the structure, policy and strategy will in the next couple of months deliver real assurance that we as farmers have an organisation that is transparent and accountable to its members. We believe that a clear policy will ensure the issues that affect us will be dealt with in a principled and determined way. I am sure that the concerns that people have over recovery and compensation will find the right balance.
At congress a year ago the Union agreed to push compensation as a significant part of its agenda, it has done this and made enormous headway. The difficulty in achieving this is clearly a reluctance and denial of Government to take responsibility and an associated disinclination by donors to pick up the tab, after all, why should they pay when a neighbour burns down his own house? At the same time I believe there is a danger that we confuse recovery with opportunism. Clearly when we speak of recovery we are concerned with the restoration of property rights and an end to discrimination, it is in this context that the Union through ARAC seek to drive recovery and achieve compensation. Our task is clear… we must recover in many ways; our losses are not confined to property but also extend to human rights and the need for an end to discrimination. We have been treated as lesser subjects and demand to be treated a s citizens and investors of value.
We need a strong and united body to define and bring about these goals. “Jambanja” caused untold havoc with our personal lives as well as with the structures of commercial farmer representation. There were once over 70 Commercial FAs and all these had sufficient membership to sustain and provide representation. We now have around 250 actively or partially farming members and for sure there is ample evidence to suggest that the vast majority of FAs have actually collapsed. I would encourage all farmers to engage as we try and find a way forward.
Best regards,
Ben Purcell Gilpin
Manager
ARAC – Agriculture Recovery & Compensation
Commercial Farmers Union
Tel: (263) 04 309800-19 ext. 249,283
Tel: (263) 04 309867 (Direct line)
email: [email protected]
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