So it’s the weekend after Valentine’s day. I had a relaxing one over in Gweru, chilling in “resort” Africa. I still prefer the wildness of the bush and long to get back there!
In all the struggles I see about me and all the struggles I’ve felt personally, I’ve finally begun to turn the corner to make peace with my life here. Realizing, with humility, that my struggles were really MINE, and just deep down gunk that I hadn’t dealt with as a grown-up. The solitude and harshness of the land, has pushed those to the surface, and thus begins the process of once again, shedding and struggling against the lobster shell, to be vulnerable to grow into my bigger one.
We have a new gardener, that makes 2! And no maid. He needed work and my housemate is kind. I was a bit freaked, with good reason – that’s how robbers get you – play on your sympathy and then case your joint. But when I met him, I was overwhelmed and so glad we have him part time. He is old and kind and like everyone else, just trying to get by. I had to go into the house, close the door and just collapse in anger and frustration at the damn government who are liars and murderous thieves who are crazy paranoid to see insurgency all around, when people are just trying to LIVE THROUGH THE DAY. Damn them for making people desperate enough to beg and steal and harden my heart from really helping where I can. Vigilance is one thing – hardness is another. Add that scale to my heart that needs to be softened.
Only in Zim….we were flagged by a policeman on the road. He was friendly and chatty and then wanted a beer from our cooler. (Better than asking for forex, which I’m LOATHE to part with), oh that I had a camera – add that to my weekly surrealism.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Art Imitating life???
04 Jan 09
“how much money and where does it go?” So penned Aaron Sorkin (who’s, let’s just face it, a minor deity of language command!) in an episode of West Wing. The line was delivered to the Congolese Ambassador upon the kidnapping of an American journalist. Upon replying that the Congolese Government does not deal with terrorists, the retort was , “The Congolese government is a MYTH!” Now, keep the first sentence about every bloody facet of life, take the second sentence and replace Congolese for Zanu, and we have a textbook example of life imitating art! And oh how I wish I were being my usual hyped-up overmelodramatic self!!
Example one – upon traveling out to Nyanga recently – there were SEVERAL “police” checkpoints. And I use that term loosely. Highway unarmed uneducated bandits is more like it. And apparently their ONLY job description is to stop vehicles, pretend to look at paperwork they ask for, which I’m pretty sure they can’t read or understand. Look around inside the vehicle for whatever it is they can appropriate is their only purpose. I swear as we were stopped – they didn’t even look at paperwork, just looked inside the vehicle to ask what we were eating. We gave over some Christmas cookies. Sigh.
Example two. Our power (Zesa) went out on Friday at 1pm. And as it was not on 12 hours later (the usual for an out), I presumed there was a bigger issue. There was - ALLEGEDLY – there were two fuses out that the entire company could not afford to replace. There was a neighbourhood “collection.” They say collection, I say shakedown. At twenty dollars a house – the thing was up and running within a couple of hours. Will someone please explain in a country that produces NOTHING (except cholera and ineptness) was able to magically procure fuses that fast? And now we’re back to “how much money and where does it go?” For that truly is what makes Zimbabwe go round. Surely the ancients who founded the “Great Zimbabwe” upon which the country was renamed upon independence (Which that in itself is a misnomer) look down from wherever they are and shake their head in disgust upon a group that turned upon ITS OWN people to destroy for their own greedy good. And a leadership of liars, beggars and thieves, merely produces a trickle down population of the same. Profiteering and bullying – this is the great Zim legacy.
“how much money and where does it go?” So penned Aaron Sorkin (who’s, let’s just face it, a minor deity of language command!) in an episode of West Wing. The line was delivered to the Congolese Ambassador upon the kidnapping of an American journalist. Upon replying that the Congolese Government does not deal with terrorists, the retort was , “The Congolese government is a MYTH!” Now, keep the first sentence about every bloody facet of life, take the second sentence and replace Congolese for Zanu, and we have a textbook example of life imitating art! And oh how I wish I were being my usual hyped-up overmelodramatic self!!
Example one – upon traveling out to Nyanga recently – there were SEVERAL “police” checkpoints. And I use that term loosely. Highway unarmed uneducated bandits is more like it. And apparently their ONLY job description is to stop vehicles, pretend to look at paperwork they ask for, which I’m pretty sure they can’t read or understand. Look around inside the vehicle for whatever it is they can appropriate is their only purpose. I swear as we were stopped – they didn’t even look at paperwork, just looked inside the vehicle to ask what we were eating. We gave over some Christmas cookies. Sigh.
Example two. Our power (Zesa) went out on Friday at 1pm. And as it was not on 12 hours later (the usual for an out), I presumed there was a bigger issue. There was - ALLEGEDLY – there were two fuses out that the entire company could not afford to replace. There was a neighbourhood “collection.” They say collection, I say shakedown. At twenty dollars a house – the thing was up and running within a couple of hours. Will someone please explain in a country that produces NOTHING (except cholera and ineptness) was able to magically procure fuses that fast? And now we’re back to “how much money and where does it go?” For that truly is what makes Zimbabwe go round. Surely the ancients who founded the “Great Zimbabwe” upon which the country was renamed upon independence (Which that in itself is a misnomer) look down from wherever they are and shake their head in disgust upon a group that turned upon ITS OWN people to destroy for their own greedy good. And a leadership of liars, beggars and thieves, merely produces a trickle down population of the same. Profiteering and bullying – this is the great Zim legacy.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Rapid repsonse....
and convenient,
Here in Zim, when I see those words, either on a security truck or an advert – I just laugh, sometimes out loud even. For nothing is quite as paradoxical as the idea of ANYTHING being rapid or convenient here. It’s so primitive at times that I fully FULLY expect to see a Tyrannosaurus Rex cross my path. Right now it’s 1830, I’m at school and it’s DARK. Zesa cut at 1805. Only because I charged my laptop today AND there’s a radio tower where I can get wireless, am I even having a moment of sanity.
Yet I’m addicted to communication, to being in the KNOW. To NOT feeling like I’m cut off from everything. The phones – this past Friday there was an insane spike in tariffs. One SMS cost about one million. That happened within an hour. And since a month ago – they left the LOGICAL system of contracts, everyone has to use pre-paid cards (and good luck getting them!) But for most of the weekend, most of the city was cut off from communication. The international lines were down, and most of the Internet servers went black for the weekend. My official one is still acting quite off. I was going batty today. I can live without power, water, decent food, supplies, and even live with slow internet – but NON EXISTENT comms – oh that’s enough to make my eyes bleed!!! But if I must live the life of LOST, cut off on this “island” that the world forgot – I had damn well better have Sayid and Sawyer running
around!
Naturally, since I originally wrote this, the rules changed again - because the economy is run by morons and uncontrollable, everything is now dollarized. So our phones are in the US dollar and ALMOST as expensive as using a sat phone!! Aigh!
Here in Zim, when I see those words, either on a security truck or an advert – I just laugh, sometimes out loud even. For nothing is quite as paradoxical as the idea of ANYTHING being rapid or convenient here. It’s so primitive at times that I fully FULLY expect to see a Tyrannosaurus Rex cross my path. Right now it’s 1830, I’m at school and it’s DARK. Zesa cut at 1805. Only because I charged my laptop today AND there’s a radio tower where I can get wireless, am I even having a moment of sanity.
Yet I’m addicted to communication, to being in the KNOW. To NOT feeling like I’m cut off from everything. The phones – this past Friday there was an insane spike in tariffs. One SMS cost about one million. That happened within an hour. And since a month ago – they left the LOGICAL system of contracts, everyone has to use pre-paid cards (and good luck getting them!) But for most of the weekend, most of the city was cut off from communication. The international lines were down, and most of the Internet servers went black for the weekend. My official one is still acting quite off. I was going batty today. I can live without power, water, decent food, supplies, and even live with slow internet – but NON EXISTENT comms – oh that’s enough to make my eyes bleed!!! But if I must live the life of LOST, cut off on this “island” that the world forgot – I had damn well better have Sayid and Sawyer running
around!
Naturally, since I originally wrote this, the rules changed again - because the economy is run by morons and uncontrollable, everything is now dollarized. So our phones are in the US dollar and ALMOST as expensive as using a sat phone!! Aigh!
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