We have to be our brother’s keeper this Easter

I SAW a young boy throwing a tantrum in the middle of a busy inner-city intersection.

He had a litany of demands which his mother would not accept. Instead, the boy got some good old spanking to knock some sense into him. Passers-by, however, came to the screaming and kicking young fellow’s rescue.

“Handitongwe nemwana. Never try this again. Do not tell me what to do,” the mother shouted as the young boy obstinately refused to cross the road before his demands were met.

He remained rooted to his spot like stubborn donkey.

“I am not going anywhere, mom. I need those Easter eggs and a new toy,” the young fellow wailed.

His cries were falling on deaf ears. Welcome to the Easter holidays.

This is a four-day long Christian holiday held across the globe in remembrance of the crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Being an extraordinarily long holiday, Easter is not without its financial demands.

It often leaves people broke. This is the kind of holiday when people travel to various places to meet relatives and friends, leading them to spend more than they earn.

It is not unusual also to have families gathering to discuss pressing issues around this time of the year, as elders take advantage of the long break to send their various messages across.

In the ghetto, it is a time that is usually filled with drama, where some girls usually elope under the guise of going to church gatherings.

Easter is also synonymous with road accidents that are attributed to excessive beer drinking by merry-makers. Just like last year, this year would not be any different because our most unwanted visitor, Covid-19, is still around. The disease left millions of people dead and spawned a new way of doing things.

Zimbabwe has not been spared by this pandemic.

“Gore rino chakachaya. There is nothing to celebrate because we have been on holiday since January, and this holiday you are talking about means we have to make do with the little we have. You will be surprised the holidays will be as plain as any other day,” said Mr Thomas Bumbepfumwe of Epworth.

Ms Fortunate Pangeti agrees.

“Hapana, hapana. We have been struggling for customers in our flower business since the beginning of the year. We know people have little to spend so we are not confident of realising much this Easter. We are in trouble my brother,” she said.

Churches will not be hosting their traditional large Easter processions and gatherings.

They are keeping the number attending each service to below 50, as imposed by Government under lockdown rules. To avoid a third wave of infections, there is need to avoid unnecessary movements, mask up and sanitise. We all have a duty to protect one another this Easter.