“Our first question is not who has done it, but is this right, is this fair, is it just? If the answer is no, no matter who has done it we shall condemn him and the action he has taken.” – Kenneth Kaunda, First president of Zambia

Last week, the United Nations General Assembly, reflecting the entirety of the UN membership, held an Emergency Special Session on a resolution condemning the aggressive Russian assault on the territorial integrity of Ukraine. We, the Ambassadors and High Commissioners to Zambia of Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, the European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States commend Zambia for voting in support of the resolution, and for the intervention of its Representative to help persuade others to do so.

Zambia’s vote demonstrates leadership arising from its unique role and history in this region and its long engagement in the United Nations and other international fora. The adoption of the resolution reflects overwhelming support for the rules-based international order and for the tenets of the UN Charter, which form the basis for peaceful co-existence among States. It represents a rejection of attempts to change international borders by force, and a clear signal of support for democracies in the face of threats and violence by autocratic regimes, wherever they may be.

To quote the UN Secretary General: “The UN Charter has been challenged in the past, but it has stood firm on the side of peace, security, development, justice, international law and human rights. The adoption of this resolution underlines the statements made by governments around the world, and echoes those made by the African Union, the European Union, the G7 governments, and many other organizations.

We acknowledge the bravery of the citizens of Ukraine in defending their country and the courage of Russian citizens who are protesting at home against President Putin’s war on Ukraine. Many governments have now established sanctions targeted at President Putin and the decision-makers who surround him. The breadth of international condemnation reflects the seriousness of this challenge to global peace and order: from the withdrawal of major investments by private sector firms to Russian athletes being banned from participating in international sporting competitions, and the suspension of many other marquee social and cultural events.

As diplomats, we know the importance of assisting our citizens abroad. We commend the Government of Zambia for its strong focus on ensuring the safety of the approximately 140 Zambians who were in Ukraine when the invasion began. They are mostly young people, aiming for a brighter future through their studies. Russia’s war of aggression has now ruined their immediate plans. We sincerely hope it has not eliminated their plans for a better life. We are proud of the diplomatic efforts by our governments to assist in their safe passage home.

We also acknowledge the range of responses in Zambian society to President Putin’s war against Ukraine: sympathy with the victims; sadness at the scale and nature of the violence; resolute solidarity with a fellow State under tremendous pressure from an outside aggressor. At the same time there is some ambivalence. In the context of the Global South, which has faced many violent conflicts and refugee flows, the calls for solidarity with the victims of the present crisis may also have given rise to a wish among some Zambians to remain focused on issues closer to home, and not on the struggles of nations far afield.

We acknowledge these sentiments. The challenges of building prosperity for Zambian citizens, and ensuring their economic security, health, and well-being deserve the full attention of the Zambian Government. However, Zambia’s role as an example of democracy and peace in the region, its security as a State, attraction as a place of investment, and ability to educate, care for, and foster the success of its citizens, depends deeply on the stability that the international rules-based order has provided for most of the last 70+ years.

Dr. Kenneth Kaunda in 1973 laid out Zambia’s foreign policy principles: “Our first question is not who has done it, but is this right, is this fair, is it just? If the answer is no, no matter who has done it we shall condemn him and the action he has taken.”

Speaking clearly in support of Ukraine, in support of the UN Charter, in support of the rules-based international order is both our duty and is a long-term investment to maintain a collective, peaceful future, both in Zambia and all over the world. It is a watershed moment in the history of international relations, and we congratulate the Government and people of Zambia for speaking up for their future, and indeed, all our futures.

 The Ambassadors and High Commissioners to Zambia of Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, the European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States

By Fred M’membe

Many of us have lived in poverty both as children and as adults, and we can say with full confidence that it is a life-crushing force. We hated it.

Poverty is despair and desperation-inducing. Poverty is soul, dream and hope crushing. Poverty is like being enclosed in a prison cell with no doors or windows. It feels claustrophobic, as if there is no way out. Only the most resilient do not give up. Still, there is no guarantee that life will get better—and those in poverty know this all too well. They either become hardened or submit to fate. You don’t live life, you don’t thrive—you survive. You wonder if you are predestined, like a caste in another country, to live out a life destitute of fulfilment—whether financial, professional or just having a better life.

These are the very thoughts that consumed many of us in times of poverty. And yet, we never stopped believing that there must be a way out. The very thing that brought despair and darkness motivated us to dig out of that prison, to fight with everything within us, to find that light that must exist outside of the walls.

Available official government statistics show that poverty levels stand at 20.2 per cent in Lusaka, 30.9 per cent on the Copperbelt Province, 56.2 per cent in Central Province, 57.6 per cent in Southern Province, 66.4 per cent in North-Western Province, 69.3 per cent in Muchinga Province, 70 per cent in Eastern Province, 79.7 per cent in Northern Province, 81.1 per cent in Luapula Province, and Western province at 82.2 per cent.

Compatriots, these are extreme poverty levels by any standard. A better life is certainly possible. But we have to struggle for a Just, fair and equitable Zambia.

By Mwizenge S. Tembo, Ph. D.

Emeritus Professor of Sociology

Author of the Internationally Acclaimed Romance Adventure Novel: “The Bridge”.

Kaya is a Tumbuka language noun which depicts a physical place in Savannah Zambia/Africa where people who are closely related build houses, huts, and dwellings that they share. Calling it a village limits the meaning of kaya as it has a deeper emotional meaning to millions of Africans who still live and identify with kaya. Ku-kaya – the prefix Ku is an adjective that denotes “to” as in Tumbuka: “Nkhuluta kukaya” “I am going to Kaya”.

Kukaya is where your soul can wander. Kukaya is deeply buried in your heart although it may be two hundred or ten thousand miles or sixteen thousand kms away. Kukaya is a place where all the people I love so deeply smile, speak to me, and even laugh in the most comforting language; my mother tongue. Kukaya is a place where I am related to all the children, boys, girls, men and women.

Kukaya is a place where the maize for the nshima, nsima, or sima, the peanuts for the nthendelo peanut powder and the delicious ndiwo, dende, umunani, relish that is cooked is so fresh as it has just been picked from the garden just next to the house. Kukaya is where the food has been carefully cooked using wood fire taking plenty of time and served while the whole family eats together with plenty of love, kufwasa, and serenity.

Kukaya is a place where all the chickens clack and roosters crow, goats bleat, cows moo, nkhunda domestic pigeons sing, pigs roll in the mud, dogs bark, and cats meow and intermingle with the people. Kukaya is where children as young as five years play with the freedom that most children can’t even dream about. Kukaya is where children even go to school through bush paths while being watched and cared for by all adults.

Kukaya is a place where you can walk barefoot and wear a t-shirt and enjoy your daily commune with nature, the soul, and spirit of the beautiful daily blue sunshine of the Savannah. Kukaya is where people don’t cage pet lions, lizards, snakes, wasps, frogs and all creatures of nature because one can see some of these creatures everyday if one wants to.

Kukaya is where the grass thatched houses and homes of my father, mother, brothers, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins are all next to each other. Kukaya is where you quarrel with relatives and you still remain close as blood is thicker than water. Kukaya is where at night you can see all the twinkling stars and the bright milky way. Kukaya is where the moon lights are mesmerizing. Kukaya is where you hear the distant singing and rhythmic sounds of the vimbuza dance drumming deep into the dark night as one turns over in one’s sleep.

Kukaya is where during the cold nights in June one can sit with relatives around a fire late into the night sharing folktales and chatting about yesteryear, while eating sweet potatoes or mbohori which had earlier been buried deep in the ambers of the glowing fire for cooking. Kukaya is the only place where the grave yard has all your relatives from bygone days buried in one place. Kukaya has a special place in our hearts that we yearn in our souls to visit and dream about every day.

Visit the Mwizenge Sustainable Model Village outside Chongwe to see and experience Kukaya.