Chin'ono: Care Work In England Used To Be For Those Without Tertiary Education
Hopewell Chin’ono, an award-winning Zimbabwean journalist, has expressed concern over the increasing number of Zimbabweans with Master’s degrees who are forced to do care work in England due to desperation.
Chin’ono highlighted the tragic failure of governance by ZANU-PF in Zimbabwe and Brexit, which opened up vacancies for English-speaking people from former colonies. He noted that many young Zimbabweans with university degrees are sitting at home with no jobs, and working as care assistants in Britain is a welcome opportunity for them.
In a Twitter post seen by Pindula News, Chin’ono urged these young people to continue studying while doing care work, as their skills would be highly needed back home in Zimbabwe. He also called for alternative political thinking with ideas and a plan for attaining power and changing Zimbabwe. Chin’ono emphasised the importance of the Zimbabwean diaspora in rebuilding the country and urged professionals in the diaspora to take patriotic leave from work to help rebuild the country. Reads the tweet:
Today was another heartbreaking day for me.
Many young people who came to greet me at the airport in Harare and on the plane were mainly young and with university degrees, but destined to be Care Assistants in Britain.
When I lived in England, Care Work was for those without tertiary education and was only used as a stepping stone to bigger things, but today we have Zimbabweans with Master of Arts or Science degrees setting off to do Care Work out of desperation.
This has been caused by 2 things, the tragic failure to govern by ZANUPF in Zimbabwe, and Brexit which opened up these vacancies for people from the former colonies, people who speak English.
The guy seating next to me from Harare to Addis Ababa regretted that he won’t be able to vote, he wanted the satisfaction of voting out a corrupt and incompetent Government!
But desperate circumstances stole that opportunity from him.
I consider myself extremely lucky, I come from a generation where one would study towards a particular profession, and then pursue that as a career after graduating from the Polytechnic or University.
Nowadays a lot of young people are sitting home doing nothing, so working as a Care Assistant in Britain is a welcome opportunity to this generation of educated but unemployed youths.
As I always remind the young who follow me on social media, I bought my first property in Zimbabwe when I was 29 in Colne Valley, there was no shady deals involved or favors. Strictly Biz.
I just walked into CABS (Building Society) and got a mortgage, just like that.
Today we have generations that might never own even a 2 bed home in the townships unless Zimbabwe’s political fortunes change, or unless they leave Zimbabwe.
For Zimbabwe’s fortunes to change, you need more than a people’s will and desire to vote, you need an alternative political thinking with ideas and a plan for how to capture power and change Zimbabwe.
But until that happens, I and many others will keep saying goodbye to Zimbabwe’s young, bright & its future which is being absorbed to develop mainly Britain and South Africa.
When these young people go away, they WON’T escape ZANUPF’s corrupt & failed rule, they have to send money back home.
Their lives in Britain would not be of a standard that corresponds with their earnings because they have to send siblings to school in Zim, and pay hospital bills for their elderly parents whose pensions were looted twice by the ZANUPF Government.
The political alternative should pay attention to this aspect and get the Zimbabwean diaspora into a structured powerful group as opposed to sporadic groupings.
If ZANUPF were removed from power today, Zimbabwe will not be able to rise again quickly without the diaspora skills, and there are in their millions.
We don’t know how to make things anymore, because we stopped making things a long time ago.
How do you become a diligent town planner when there has been no town planning taking place in Zimbabwe for decades?
How do you have people who have never worked their whole life leading your councils and parliament?
Some professionals in the diaspora will have to take Patriotic Leave from work to come back home and help rebuild the country without which we are doomed. So as many young people leave Zimbabwe to do these Care jobs, I urge them to continue studying whilst there because a day will come when their skills that they would have gotten become highly needed back home.
To all the young people who came to greet me today at the airport & plane, thank you for sharing your stories.
If it helps, I started off as a cleaner in Planet Hollywood in London.
But I found my way up faster because of my desire to do better for myself, and an upbringing that put hardwork at the center of everything you do.
I said Care Work was a stepping stone during my time, make it a stepping stone for yourselves too!
Travel well my compatriots, my tears are flowing as I type this, God will protect you, protect yourselves too.
