Now is the Time for Running

Deo and Innocent, along with other characters, experience several kinds of political violence in Now Is the Time for Running. In Zimbabwe, the most significant threat of violence comes from the soldiers working for Robert Mugabe’s government. These soldiers are ostensibly trying to find and kill political dissidents. However, as proven by their actions in Gutu, their real purpose is to instill fear and establish widespread social control. Although they claim to be rooting out sources of political dissidence, the narrative makes it clear that the villagers of Gutu are largely supportive of the president. Thus, Williams implies that the soldiers’ true motivation for their many atrocities speaks to the intense corruption that drives them to take a violent, bloodthirsty approach to their jobs. Additionally, they know that they can enact virtually any kind of violence without fear of reprisal because of the near-absolute power that the government wields. Deo and Innocent also briefly encounter more of the same kind of political violence on their way to Beitbridge, though Deo narrates it only very obliquely.

In South Africa, the kind of violence that Deo and Innocent face changes significantly, for it is no longer enacted by agents of the government against the nation’s people. Instead, the brothers experience a range of violent acts perpetuated by xenophobic groups and other individuals who actively dislike and seek to harm refugees. This kind of violence is more insidious and more complicated, particularly because it is something that is wholly unfamiliar to Deo and Innocent. They have only heard that life will be better for them in South Africa, and they do not yet realize that some South Africans resent their presence in the country.

As the story unfolds, the author indicates that some xenophobic violence is opportunistic; for example, the Ghuma-ghuma target refugees crossing the border not because they think that such refugees pose a threat, but because they want to steal their resources. More commonly, however, the xenophobic violence that Deo and Innocent experience is based on fear and anger. Some people in South Africa, like the farmers in Khomele, feel that the influx of refugees has worsened their job prospects. In fact, it is the farm owners who are to blame, for they are the ones exploiting refugees through extremely low wages and the threat of deportation, thus ousting local farmers from their jobs. However, it is more difficult for the locals to enact violence against those with power, so they settle for retaliating against the refugees, who have no power to oppose them. In a glimmer of optimism despite these issues, the last part of the book shows a potential way forward, for the South African street soccer team that helps Deo makes it a point to accept refugees as players while still honoring their countries of origin. This strategy helps everyone on the team to recognize what they have in common instead of focusing on their various prejudices and preconceptions.