And meanwhile Zimbabweans starve…
ZIMBABWEANS STARVE AS THE POWER-SHARING TALKS GO ON AND ITS LEADERS AND THE WORLD LOOKS ON WITH INDIFFERENCE
Some rural folk in Zimbabwe are now relying on wild fruits which are quickly running out. Quite a number of them have died from hunger and starvation. If only the goevernment had not banned the NGOs (Non Governmental Organisations) who were donating food to the poor the number of deaths would not be that much.
The townsfolk have not been spared from this hunger and starvation mainly because of the low bank withdrawal limits set by the Reserve Bank Governor which make it immpossible for them to buy the highly priced food items as and when they need them. Read more
Spare a thought for our national institutions
Far, far, from the licensed to deal in forex retail outlets, from the sleek posh cars blinging down streets, on the sidewalks of which moneychangers- cum- users hiss “toita zvemarands/ toplaza- plaza? and shrill cries of “Bacossi airtime yese ” or whatever…far, far from all this, and from the eyes of the wabenzi (enamoured from the sea of squalor around them by their lifestyles to rival the rich and famous of the supra-First World) our institutions are dying.
From city council clinics manned by a single overworked, underpaid senior nurse in an environment that has become sterile in a tragic sense (afflicted by a severe drought of medication)but faced by multitudes in various degrees of ailment desperate for affordable treatment… through the decaying referral hospitals, where those you are referred to are conspicuous by their absence, and if you are admitted, you asked to bring your own blankets, a candle and box of matches (in the event of a powercut, and the the generators commissioned in stately pomp and fanfare, probably never got there, or were redirected- or are simply out of diesel and there is no Diesel N’anga to salvage the situation)… Read more
Last night in the Avenues of Harare
I attended a function last night which finished just after 9pm. I asked a friend to take me home and he graciously agreed but had to drop someone else in the Avenues first. It’s been a long time since I was in this part of town at night and I was stunned by what I saw.
Coming out of town, we turned off Samora Machel, left into 6th Street and there in the full glare of the headlamps were three half naked women. Mico micro minis and minimalistic tops. They moved closer towards the road when they saw the car. I had just barely finished digesting the sight, when I saw another woman in the smallest pair of shorts I have ever seen, then two more, then another. Read more
A woman for a bar of soap
"The women in South Africa are expensive, but across the border in Zimbabwe you can have a great time for a few bars of soap, and goods like salt and sugar..."
This is from a recent IRIN report:
The border between South Africa and Zimbabwe is more than an international boundary; it also determines the method of payment for sex workers, because on one side cash is taken, while on the other, goods are bartered.
The South African frontier town of Musina is a regional trucking hub that has long been a haunt of sex workers, who use the boredom of truck drivers waiting for their cargo to be cleared by customs as a window of opportunity.
“Women tempt us. They come here in their short skirts and tight jeans and ask us if we want to have a good time,” a Zimbabwean truck driver, who declined to be identified, told IRIN. “Naturally, as men, at times it is tough to say, ‘no’. I use protection whenever I have sex with a woman.” Read more
Zimbabweans turn into hunter-gatherers
HARARE, Zimbabwe – It is scorching midday at the western edge of Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital; hordes of people crisis-cross (patters of feet leave plumes of dust in their wake) as they go in and out of a chain of little shops filled to the brim with an assortment of basic commodities.
The little shops are reminiscent of the now defunct grocery shops which are dotted around the country.
The air is clogged with dust; men pushing wheelbarrows filled with boxes of soap, cooking oil, or sugar etc. loudly motion to the crowd to give way. Vehicles bringing goods to the shops momentarily disperse the crowd further increasing the amount of dust in the air. The ground is matted with dusty remains of cardboxes, and vehicles tyres have eaten into the soil creating groves. Read more
How prostitution happens
I prostituted my car this morning.
With each person I picked up I thought of how many people out there don’t have the options that I have. What of those people who didn’t have a car to prostitute?
I opened it up to anyone who had money and I let them all come in, no questions asked. Just pay me Z$200 and you can jump in. I’ll take you where you are going. I won’t check if you are a potential thug. Just jump in. I had no protection- but I needed the money.
It started on Monday when I went to the ATM and couldn’t get any money. On Tuesday, the story was the same. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday- still no money. I got desperate. I could have changed some of the forex I have but the street rate was deliriously low. The bank rate was worse. The transfer rate was great, but I needed CASH. Read more
