Tomb of Cecil Rhodes under threat as Zimbabwean politician demands Rhodes be exhumed

[-:Undertaker:-]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...s-exhumed.html

Bones of Cecil Rhodes are an insult to our ancestors: Zimbabwe official demands remains are exhumed and sent back to Britain

A Zimbabwean politician has demanded the body of Cecil Rhodes is exhumed and sent back to Britain as it is an insult to the country's citizens. Rhodesia, founded by and named for Rhodes, became the Republic of Zimbabwe in 1980. Bulawayo governor Cain Mathema said it was offensive that the Oxford-educated former mining magnate was still buried on Zimbabwean soil three decades after the country was granted independence from Britain. Rhodes was laid to rest in 1902 in territory then belonging to the young country of Rhodesia which he had founded just seven years earlier in his own name.

But Mr Mathema, a member of president Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party, said Zimbabweans should feel insulted by the presence of the tycoon's grave in their soil. In comments reported by the country's Sunday News, he said: 'I wonder why 30 years after independence Rhodes' grave is still found on the country's traditional shrine of worship. 'It's an insult to our ancestors and maybe that is the reason why our ancestors at Njelele, where we pray for rain, are no longer giving us enough rain.

'My call is not directed against Britain or whites, but against symbols that persecuted our people and took away our freedom and wealth. 'For I believe that physical freedom goes hand-in-hand with psychological freedom. We need to celebrate our own heroes and heroines. 'We do not get inspiration from the likes of Rhodes, so why should we visit their graves and their statues?'

Rhodes, who was born in Bishop's Stortford in Hertfordshire, became one of Britain's most successful colonialists after being sent to southern Africa in the late nineteenth century when he suffered bad health as a teenager. Within four decades he had established political control of Britain's Cape Colony, expanded the territory north to found Rhodesia and taken ownership of the world's richest diamond mining company De Beers. His expansionist plans were fired by a dream of securing a British corridor of power stretching from Cape Town to Cairo.

But his short life was blighted by bad health and he was buried amid great fanfare after his death of heart failure aged just 49. Following his demise Rhodes' remains were transported by train from Cape Town to Bulawayo and laid to rest in the Matopo Hills south of the city, his favourite spot in the vast empire he had helped secure for Britain in southern Africa.

I'm sick of Great Britain being treated like dirt when we have given most to the modern world more so than any other country, this crackpot talks about drought - has it not occured to him and his Zanu-PF scum that their people are dying thanks to the purge of the white farmer which kept Africa fed and made Rhodesia the breadbasket of Africa?

If he wants to return the bones then so be it, a shame for Rhodes who loved Africa and is one of Britains greatest men;- but perhaps Mr Mathema would also like to remove the countless beautiful bridges the British built, rip up our vast train lines, destroy whats left of the sewerage system we built, knock down the fantastic buildings the remaining schools and universities are housed in which we the British built - and ontop of that, he could return our foreign aid that we've been giving to this vile regime for the past few decades (would you believe we still give Mugabe foreign aid!?)

Or why not just go back to before the British arrived in Africa and formed Rhodesia, so what I mean by that is to dismantle Zimbabwe completely and return to tribes in the jungle and on the savanna having nothing to show for it - something which it appears many in Zanu-PF and other tinpot African regimes seem intent on doing. Cecil Rhodes died a hero after establishing successful British colonies and providing food and employment for the poorest parts of the world.. Robert Mugabe on the other hand will die a man who has destroyed what was one of the most successful countries in the world thus condeming his people to a life of misery.

What chance does Africa stand with these people running it?

Thoughts?

[Conservative,]

If he sends them back he should be knocking all the buildings, schools & water supplies down we made for them, and refuse to take the food/clean water that we give to them.

It's a shame as it's part of their history. I doubt Germany are exceptionally proud of Hitler but they haven't given his bones back to Austria (as far as I'm aware?) But if he wants to - so be it...their loss.

And with Mugabe in charge - Zimbabwe will crash and burn.

[GommeInc]

Awww, poor little babies. This is pretty petty of them, seeing as we no doubt made the country what it is today. I support removing everything we built there and see how long it takes them to recover. It's all well and good that they've got independence, but biting the hand that fed them, and still feeds them to this day, is wrong.

[Swastika]

If it wasn't for us they'd *Removed* and running around in tribes killing one another.
I'd love to see them give back our railway lining, sewage systems, schools & universities and much more that we did for that country.
An absolute shame that we even bothered, stuff like this makes my piss boil.

Edited by Catzsy (Forum Super Moderator): Please do not make inappropriate remarks

[Eoin247]

Ok seems the previous posters have only learnt one side of history it seems.

In case many of you have forgotten when britain colonised places it was for Britains benefit not the coutries they colonise and to deny this is being plain ignorant.

Millions of slaves were taken out of Africa over the colonial years, their resources were plundered and used for Britains benefit only, not the countries they came from. During these years blacks were dreated as little more than dirt.

Now for some quotes

If he sends them back he should be knocking all the buildings, schools & water supplies down we made for them, and refuse to take the food/clean water that we give to them.

It's a shame as it's part of their history. I doubt Germany are exceptionally proud of Hitler but they haven't given his bones back to Austria (as far as I'm aware?) But if he wants to - so be it...their loss.

Not a lot their allready very little current structure came from colonial britain.

Hitlers body was never found by the way.

Awww, poor little babies. This is pretty petty of them, seeing as we no doubt made the country what it is today. I support removing everything we built there and see how long it takes them to recover. It's all well and good that they've got independence, but biting the hand that fed them, and still feeds them to this day, is wrong.

You sure did make it what it is today... is that something to be proud of really?

If it wasn't for us *Removed* and running around in tribes killing one another.
I'd love to see them give back our railway lining, sewage systems, schools & universities and much more that we did for that country.
An absolute shame that we even bothered, stuff like this makes my piss boil.

Erm, you do realise that pretty much all that stuff was made for the white settlers? Your ancestors bothered so you could profit.


Just a question to all previous and later posters:

Do you honestly think Britain and other colonial countries went into Africa,Asia,Oceania and America with even the slightest intention of improving the peoples lives there?

I know im going to get lots of hate since this is a majority British forum but i had to make my point heard.

[Oleh]

Yes we did it for OUR benefit not theirs so if they want to return the body of a leading member in that colonisation due to it being offensive.. Then they shall proceed to return EVERYTHING they currently utilise in their day to day commute as it was for OUR benefit not THEIRS.

"you sure did make it what it is today... is that something to be proud of really?"

Yes as it helped form a thriving country.. Apart from leadership problems and all that, its still a thousand times more advanced than what it would be without us.

So Basically.. you just agreed that it should all be given back by saying it was built for us not them

[Inseriousity.]

A Labour councillor round my area said while the Labour government were in power that we should sterlize all mothers who recieve benefits and sponge off the state (I'm sure she'd have some supporters actually!) Doesn't mean we're actually going to do it.

Probably going to be the same in this case too.

[Eoin247]

Yes we did it for OUR benefit not theirs so if they want to return the body of a leading member in that colonisation due to it being offensive.. Then they shall proceed to return EVERYTHING they currently utilise in their day to day commute as it was for OUR benefit not THEIRS.

"you sure did make it what it is today... is that something to be proud of really?"

Yes as it helped form a thriving country.. Apart from leadership problems and all that, its still a thousand times more advanced than what it would be without us.

So Basically.. you just agreed that it should all be given back by saying it was built for us not them

So will you in return proceed to give africa back all the slaves and resources you took?

It's not exactly a thriving country with or without its leadership problems by the way.

A thousand times more advanced? Very unlikely, Africa and other continents were crippled from proper advancements by colonial rule, consider the advancements they could have made if all their wealth wasn't exported out.

And no basicaly i didn't read again what i said.

[GommeInc]

You sure did make it what it is today... is that something to be proud of really?

Depends how you view the situation. They're more socially advanced, understand medicine, language, education and so forth. Britain may have colonised for its own benefit, you're forgetting that the country they have colonised has learnt new things that may also benefit it. Education, changes in the social side of the country, medicine, technology, all of which were left when Britain left and the country became independent. Saying Britain is evil is a one-sided argument, when the clearly modernised country has only got this far because of the colonialisation. We, afterall, left them with transport, buildings and other such structures, we didn't remove them because we had enough of the country or that they demanded independence. It is biting the hand that fed them.

You make a decent argument, but you're seeing the whole situation from only one side. The modern day Zimbabwe is like it is today with the chances that happened when Britain took over. Besides, it's not like we were violent, judging by the history of the country and Cecil Rhodes.

[Eoin247]

The comments before mine were so one sided that i felt i had to make my point from the other.

True Britain has given it some modern things and ideas, however the ratio to what was taken rather than given isn't very comparable.

And hey i aint just putting down Britain. Spain,Portugal,Denmark,Germany etc, weren't any better. It was how things were back then.