The growing divide between rich and poor may have its roots in the failure to question what prosperous Ireland should look like, writes Bryan Mukandi
I WAS born just after Zimbabwe gained independence from colonial rule. It was a time of transition. The majority of the country suddenly had access to education, decent employment and freedom of unrestricted travel within the country. Doors that had been shut to black people were now open and it seemed that the only thing that could hold you back was a lack of imagination and daring.
Prior to 1980, being black meant that there were only a handful of secondary schools you could attend. There were only so many jobs you could do. Certain parts of the country were off limits and your future was largely predetermined. When that changed, important questions weren't raised, or were just glossed over. What kind of country did we want Zimbabwe to be? What would be our priorities as a nation? What system of government would we have? In the euphoria of change, those questions were put aside. It was a time to celebrate and I suppose no one wanted to spoil the party.
The result was that people just lived the same lives that their former masters had lived. As insecure white Rhodesians left the country, their former homes, jobs, their very lives were taken over by those who had served them. Granted, more schools and hospitals were built. There were new roads to make rural areas more accessible. Dams were put in place and boreholes sunk.
But all the while, those who could did everything in their power to replace their former masters. They did such a good job of it that somehow today's government of Robert Mugabe is sometimes compared to that of the last white prime minister, Ian Smith.
But it wasn't just the government and the political elite that changed. Those who managed to get an education and get good jobs quickly formed the new black middle class. They took their cue from the white middle and upper classes.
They soon had live-in maids and gardeners. They moved into homes with high walls and then, in later years, electric gates and fences. They gradually began to sever ties with more distant members of their extended families. They watched western sitcoms and slowly worked to bring their lives into conformity with what was shown on TV.
By the time I entered adulthood, the transformation was near complete. Those who were able to had completed their metamorphosis. They had, in many cases, become that which they replaced. It was like living out George Orwell's Animal Farm.
Although Ireland and Zimbabwe are very different, there are some worrying parallels. The most obvious difference is that this country is as democratic as they get. You just need to look at the Mahon tribunal to see that. The level of scrutiny the Taoiseach has undergone speaks volumes and is a credit to both him and his Government, even if some of the revelations are embarrassing.
What is not so different is the concept of a growing divide between those who have and those who do not. For the educated and the connected, the opportunities here are boundless. For those who are not as fortunate, it can be a very different story.
I worked with someone (let's call him Pat) who dropped out of formal education after his Junior Certificate. He had a minimum-wage job, which in all honesty he only had because he is Irish. Pat spent most of his time outside of work drunk or getting there, and at work he spent a lot of time daydreaming of the drinking he would do after his shift.
When I last spoke to him, he was thinking of quitting his job and going on the dole. Pat is 22 years old and has a child on the way. He looks 30. I wonder sometimes how many Pats are out there. I've met my fair share. It seems really unjust to me that in a country with so much, people could be so poor. Not so much poor materially, although there's some of that too, but poor all the same.
It seems wrong that with so many German luxury cars on the roads there are so many social problems. It boggles my mind that it is taking so long to come up with an agreement with hospital consultants that everyone can live with. Then there are issues with the treatment of children with autism, a growing drug culture, gang violence and a host of other ills.
Could the problem here also be that there hasn't been enough debate on what prosperous Ireland should look like? How much should the government contribute to people's health? And what of the traditional family unit - does it have a future?
What is the role of the church today? Has material gain brought with it an enlightenment that makes the church redundant? And if that is the case, who then looks after the poor and weak, and who teaches and staffs hospitals? Civic society, politicians, some sort of combination of the two? Does television become the moral guide and the pub the place where human interaction happens?
It seems to me that unless these questions are answered, there will just be more of the same. The media will continue pointing out problems and politicians will try to outdo each other in assigning blame and proposing solutions whose end is to make them look good rather than serving their people.
Bryan Mukandi lives in Galway