I’m sitting in my parked car waiting for my friend at the dentist on the fringes of Harare’s City Centre. The tinted window of a dark blue car comes down as it approaches a group of men standing on the side of the road. “Pounds,” the driver says. The would-be seller on the street holds up two fingers and bends down to speak into the open window, calling “Two million, two million” as the car slowly drives past.

Money is big business here. No sooner had I dropped my friend and parked in some shade than someone was at my window offering to exchange any US dollars I might have for Zimbabwe dollars. When, indignant, I told him I live in Zimbabwe, I earn Zimbabwe dollars, why would I have US dollars, he said with a smile – “That’s okay. I can also buy your Zim dollars and give you US.”

When the third trader approaches my window, I say: “Okay, tell me your rates.” A million to one for the US. Two million to the Pound. But thinking of the parallel market rate I’d seen on the SW Radio Africa website, I say – “that seems a bit low, I can get 3 million to the Pound elsewhere.” He calls my bluff and asks me where I trade, claiming that he wants to know so that he can change some of his money at that better rate as well.

Women are present in this space, they occupy it, they wander in and out of it, but it’s the men who fill it. They drape themselves on the hood of a bakkie, or lean against the back of a car. They call out to one another across the street, making their deals boldly. When a car slows down they run after it in a pack, each hoping to be the one chosen for the deal. I think of the volume of trade, and how vulnerable one would be to cheating. If one Pound is two million Zimbabwe Dollars, it would be easy to shortchange a customer by a couple of hundred thousand here or there. And really, who is going to sit on the street counting off their millions?

During the hour that I wait I get offered freezits, peaches, brooms, baskets, sweets, cigarettes, and maputi. But none of the these vendors are as persistent as the foreign currency dealers.

This entry was posted on November 14th, 2007 at 11:41 am by Amanda Atwood and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.