An airline ticket referring to Zimbabwe as “Rhodesia” has elicited outrage amongst Zimbabweans on social media.
The airline ticket was believed to have been issued by United Airways. Nevertheless, The South African contacted United Airways for remark, and their media relations workplace clarified: “The ticket seems to have been issued by Ethiopian Airways [ticket number begins with 071].”
The South African additionally contacted Ethiopian Airways, asking whether or not they had issued the contentious airline. Their response can be added as soon as obtained.
The backlash arose after a Zimbabwean passenger observed the outdated reference on their ticket, reigniting debates on colonialism, nationwide identification and Zimbabwe’s present socio-economic state.
Airline ticket: A Blast from the Previous?
There have been many netizens, nevertheless, who discovered the error mildly amusing, joking that even in 2025, a world airline nonetheless refers to Zimbabwe by its colonial-era identify.
“Think about reserving a flight on this period and discovering that, based on United Airways, you might be from a rustic that ceased to exist in 1980!” @mlobiwazo wrote, including laughing emojis.
Others noticed it as a mirrored image of how some Western establishments have been sluggish in updating their programs. “How does this even occur? Has United Airways not up to date their database since Ian Smith’s time?” @amazingkid requested sarcastically.
A Nostalgic Perspective on ‘Rhodesia’
Those that weren’t laughing took the chance to distinction the Rhodesian period with present-day Zimbabwe, arguing that Rhodesia, regardless of being an apartheid state, had a extra useful economic system and infrastructure.
“Rhodesia constructed extra in just a few years than Zimbabwe has in a long time,” one person said.
@MrMake HerSmile mentioned: “Rhodesia will at all times be higher. Zimbabwe is a cesspool of corruption.”
This angle, although controversial, shouldn’t be new. Many Zimbabweans, annoyed by the nation’s ongoing financial challenges, have seemed again on the pre-independence period with nostalgia. They level to the soundness and financial output of that interval as a distinction to the present state of affairs. Some commenters prompt that the ticket mistake was a ‘signal’ that Zimbabwe ought to mirror on the place it went unsuitable.
For a lot of Zimbabweans, nevertheless, any reference to Rhodesia carries painful historic connotations. The nation endured a brutal liberation wrestle to attain independence in 1980. Any suggestion of reverting to a Rhodesian identification is seen as dismissing the sacrifices made for freedom.
Do you assume the accountable airline made an error or was this intentional?
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