Bringing my American Brothers Home.
Five years abroad, one painful absence: The day my brothers touched Zimbabwean soil for the very first time.
Three brothers: Phiwe, born in Zimbabwe, the other two, Elijah and Chinedu, born and bred in the everything-happens-and-you-can-be-anything-you-wish-to-be America. As fate would have it, Phiwe finds his way to the U.S. There, he meets and lives with his brothers, together with their mother. The mother, having left home when Phiwe was only a year old, gets to see and be with all her sons, twenty-one years later. Five years have passed. Phiwe and his brothers, in a bittersweet voyage, journey home. Finally, for the American brothers, of home, they get to put context. For Phiwe, it’s an emotional homecoming. Bittersweet and emotional because, although the boys are eventually making it home, their mother no longer lives among them.
In this 37 minute, mini documentary, Phiwe attempts to bottle the feeling.
First, his own desires to share their story are an existential angst. “Given the democratization of content,” he says, “ everyone can just create anything now and, for most people, it comes from a position of self-importance.” He worries, beyond his own motivations, if such media can find resonance. Be that as it may, the story is told and published.
Second, Imvelaphi(origin)—the notion of exploring one’s identity through traditional, historical and, among others, birthplace themes—are what the American brothers get to contend with. While Zimbabwe is foreign to them, as is the family they meet, they’re presented with a huge sense of belonging. “Being born elsewhere doesn’t matter.” echoes one of their sisters. “You need to know where your other family is. It’s important to know your family, your culture and tradition. And no matter where you are or where you’re going, just know you have a home, back home with your family.”
Elijah reflects differently, or beyond the immediate questions of migration, home and loss. “While it’s good to see family,” he reflects, “it’s also good to exchange culture. The things I might have found a priority before coming here, I might have a different lens on them, seeing how other people live and seeing the things that they prioritize.” Here, I believe, Elijah speaks directly to the question of America or Americans being divorced from the whole world. A trip around Bulawayo’s CBD, to the village, and the mighty Victoria Falls, challenges whatever world view the American brothers have. Perspectives are reshaped, possibly, for the better.
All this done, largely, in memory of their mother. For those at home, seeing how grown the boys are, find comfort and their hearts are warmed despite not getting the opportunity to send off their daughter, mother, aunty, sister, and granny. But also, hopefully, for those who will watch, this is done with the hope, of course, that resonance may be found. Well, and the mere fun of doing it—documenting a trip back home, to the motherland, to Zimbabwe.
Phiwe is my name and, I present to you, as it were, my echoes from home.
Compliments of the New Year.🎆🧨🎆🎇
And, as always, thank you for reading this free publication.
Aluta Continua, beautifully so.