The Reminiscences of Mrs Virginia Pinto (nee Manhanga), Mutare, March 2003
My father was black. He came from Bocha in Marange. My mother was a Coloured from South Africa. My mother's father was Dutch. My father met my mother in South Africa and got married.
My mother then came to Rhodesia, leaving my father behind in South Africa and went to live in Sakubva High Density suburb in Mutare. However, within 24 hours she was thrown out because Coloureds were supposed to live in Florida an area set aside for Coloureds.
When she moved to Florida, she got a stand with two rooms. However, one prominent member of the Coloured community who lived in Florida at the time, organised other Coloured people to have us thrown out of Florida, arguing that we will bring down the value of properties because my mother was married to a black man. My mother went to court and asked the magistrate why she should not be able to live with her husband as a gardener when the law allowed domestic workers to live on such properties. The move to Florida was not easy and our two-roomed house was made of zinc.
I might have had a black father, but I lived a good life with my father always sending money to my mother. The point I am making here is that the starting point is for the Coloured people to accept themselves before we can accept any other people.
The other thing is that if we continue to look back, we will never move forward. Coloureds need to believe in themselves. Our parents taught us to be proud of ourselves. While many people changed their surnames, I was always Virginia Manhanga.
In terms of relations amongst the Coloureds themselves, there are certain barriers. The race issue of low class and high class is still there and some of our community leaders continue to peddle it. We must take responsibility for ourselves.
We need to deal with some ghosts in the Coloured people. Maybe the starting point is confidence building. Who are you?
Many Coloured people don't want to mix with black people. I am also saddened by the fact that there are fights in Florida every weekend. A few years ago I was chosen as President of the Indigenous Business Womens' Organisation. ZANU PF complained, saying how can a Coloured person lead us. I was forced to stand down and today the organisation has collapsed. And again at a recent meeting in Masvingo on Women in Local Government, my name was put forward for some leadership post. But it was a big mess and my name was scrapped off because I am Coloured.
My brother Douglas Manhanga, who owns Kutapira Engineering here in Mutare, faced the same problems. When his application for a loan for indigenous busine
ssmen got approved, they visited him to see his firm. When they saw him they queried and said to him "¦but you are not black". However, it was no longer possible to reverse the decision.But again Coloured people do not support each other. Right now I am vying for the Mutare Mayoral post. When I told them that I was campaigning to be mayor, they vowed not to choose me.
In the 1995 Council Elections I stood as an independent for the same reasons. But throughout my life, I have never been conscious of being Coloured. Confidence building is therefore very important among Coloureds. We therefore need an education fund for Coloureds.
