The Traicos documentary film brings into sharp focus the problems of Zimbabwe today; problems most of us who follow the news in the press or on TV see only in a distant, fragmented way.
But in 'A Stranger in my Homeland', award-winning director Chloe Traicos takes us on a refreshingly non-partisan journey; from the Cecil John Rhodes-era of the late-19th century to the present day; outlining the wrongs and horrors of war and racial segregation by both the early white colonial masters and the contemporary black rulers in a balanced matter-of-fact narrative.
At the same time she pulls no punches. The bloodied body of a middle-aged white farmer lying in his farmhouse doorway, butchered by thugs Mugabe had urged to 'reclaim' land from the whites, is an especially chilling sight.
Why 'especially' chilling? Well, think about it.
Firstly, it's plumb crazy. The whites are only a tiny minority group, with no political power at all, yet they represent a powerful national revenue-earner in the crippled country. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.
Secondly, and this is the gut-kicker - if Mugabe's bully boys can kill a European with impunity (whose family arguably has the muscle to highlight the atrocity on the international stage), what chance does an impoverished black Zimbabwean have - with no voice outside his own remote bush village - against these same bloodthirsty bandits? You got it. Nothing, zilch, nix ... no chance at all ... their sorry asses are up for grabs and the Traicos interviews with two former Mugabe soldiers, Irvine Ndou and Peter Ntini, give us some idea of the ruthlessness of the Mugabe regime to its own people.
The daring duo rebelled against army excesses and, in standing their ground, were lucky to survive their own capture and torture.
Truly courageous stuff. Maybe Traicos should parlay her film into a movie script.
It also took courage for Traicos, now based in Australia, to step forward and present this incisive story of her homeland; a step that has resulted in her recent win as Best Director for a Documentary Film at the New York Film Festival 2005.
