Zimbabwean Talent and Arts advocate for the fight against Drug Abuse By Chen Williams

With the growing issue of drug abuse and gender based violence in Zimbabwe, one must not lose faith and steam in the fight as portrayed by our local talent and artists last Friday in Harare on the 28th of December at Joina City, with the launch of the Zimbabwean movie production ‘Black on Black’, provides a high quality cinematic view of the surge in drug abuse and trade. The film was directed by a multi award winning director Jonathan Samukange, and his film narrates a life of survival, sacrifice and redemption in a world riddled with life and death choices.
Singer, dancer and actor Tendai/Tendex Madzviti, plays the role of a detective Daniels who sought to arrest and seek revenge against a local drug dealer who’s also a father, after stumbling upon his son’s lifeless body who had a drug addiction and had perished from an overdose. Tendai’s character despite being a grim detective represents the heart break and obstacles parents or guardians go through when raising and protecting their children. Efforts to protect, provide and guide them sometimes feel futile when unfortunate scenarios such as drug addiction, peer pressure, sexual and physical abuse occur, it takes a great toll on the parent or guardian.
During an interview at the movie premiere the multi-talented Tendai Madzviti gave his opinion and details of the movie and his role.
“I play the role of detective Daniels in the movie Black on Black which is about drugs, sort of like an anti-drug project as we are trying to bring awareness to the world and the general Zimbabwean public about the effects of drugs in families as they are disoriented.
“As a relatable parent in the movie, I become overwhelmed with my son’s death from a drug overdose and begin a witch hunt for the local drug dealer selling drugs but however, the outcome is negative because of the way I went about it”, Tendex remarked.
The issue of drug abuse is a mixed bag of chaos that includes gender based violence and increasing crime rate, which in turn derail the country’s standards of living, health and morale. In the past two years alone the rate of people living with mental issues in Zimbabwe has shot up mostly due to drug and substance abuse. Alcohol along with drugs such as crystal meth, heroin, cocaine, marijuana and so on have become escape pods from reality for most addicts and citizens in the country. It is incredibly alarming to how there are various kinds of drugs conveniently available to the youth and general public in the country, and how their detrimental effects are incompetently dealt with by the nation at large.
The daughters of the nation turn to prostitution because their homes or lives have been overrun by a certain drug or alcohol, and the son’s turn to crime such as soliciting drugs, robberies, kidnapping and murder among other atrocities, because of the hook the drug game has.
Another Mwana Mushona a co-star in the movie reflects on the local drug dealer and how his few options to fending for his son was to sell drugs to other people’s children and parents. He described the drug pandemic as a ‘butterfly effect’, in the sense that the police, community, girl child, institutions and the drug dealers themselves are affected directly or indirectly.
“The youth is dying because of drugs, yes it’s a pandemic and honestly I’m not sure when the issue will fully be tackled because it takes time to understand the effects of drugs, acceptance takes time.
“People stereotype the ghetto for being a drug haven not knowing that people in the uptown areas are consuming deadlier and much more addictive drugs than they think. You guys are taking mushrooms, ecstasy pills, cocaine and are the top abusers of what I call satanic syrup, which is our Bronclear and Benylin Codeine syrups.
“I call it satanic syrup because once you start consuming it will always be in your system some drugs stay in your system for years or for life which is why some people find it very hard to completely stop taking drugs, and fully recover from them”, stated Mwana Mushona.
The actor further stresses that the community should not wait for the government to make a change as charity begins at home, but instead should take the first hand initiative in fighting against drug abuse and gender based violence in the community. He believes the community only has eyes to see but has no voice when advocating against these pressing issues.
“People don’t understand what they mean themselves when they suggest that the government is not doing anything to address, well honestly the people working for the government are the same people who go home to find their child over dosed or missing on a drug trip.
“Issue is the society, what are you doing in the community to fight against this, and what examples are you leading as a concerned citizen because charity begins at home and a collection of homes makes up a community. What is your big brother doing, and what role are police officers who leave work and return home into their communities doing with their friends and families to challenge this issue”, the actor stressed.
The movie and its theme projects a silent lifestyle that most parents and the community at large have a glimpse of but are quite oblivious to. The talent in Zimbabwe has been speaking out about persisting issues such as Gender Based Violence and drug abuse that need the communities’ attention and action.
How the people and the nation as a whole respond to the effects of these pressing matters determines its toleration, progress and influence. Zimbabwean talent and arts have been advocating for change and awareness to the country and the world their efforts are represented in their acting, storyline, and in music, because entertainment especially music, are one of the top influencers of drug abuse and fornication, hence the importance of monitoring your children’s cell phones, activities and peers.