The streets of Harare
Yesterday when I was walking across the car park at work I noticed a guy coming out of the building with his arms full of something. He was muttering to himself looking entirely agitated and out of sorts. As I got closer he slammed what he was carrying onto the bonnet of his car setting off the alarm. He looked at me and gestured to the stuff on his car which turned out to be several wrapped “bricks” of bank notes, or rather “bearer cheques“. I asked him how much it was worth and he said Z$3 million, the equivalent of US$120. He then threw the money on his back seat, shouting “stupid shit”. No prizes for guessing who he meant.
Clearly, the Mugabe regime has to manipulate the currency again, because any bearer cheque under Z$10 000 is worthless.
Then this morning on my way to work, I noticed three men on their hands and knees on the side of Enterprise Road close to the Glenara Avenue intersection. A truck carrying maize must have shed some along the way and the men were gathering up loose maize seeds. Road side desperation.
Today, a walk through Newlands Shopping Centre saw the usual troop of vendors plying their wares. One guy caught my eye; in one hand he had a bag of naartjes and in the other, a packet of 12 toilet rolls.
Friday, May 11th 2007 at 2:51 pm
I was born and raised in Zimbabwe, and it saddens me so much to see how much Mugabe has destroyed my once beautiful care free home land. I no longer live in Zimbabwe, but choose to live in an first world country where it almost seems like the mundane every day efforts of living each day is taken for granted by all. Yet no one puts their hand up to realtiate against the evil caniving sort of Mugabe, and if they do it is to the detrament of their lives and families….. He needs to go and the rest of the world should support our plight, we are losing our lives, homes, and the pure essence of being an African, be it white or black, we all need to stick toghether and fight this tryrant to the END.