- Dear Family and Friends,
-
- Recently I was told the shocking story of children
sucking lumps of coarse salt in a little town not far from where I live.
The children suck salt to make themselves thirsty. Their thirst makes them
drink more water and this fills their stomachs and helps supress the hunger
in their bellies. It is almost beyond belief that three years ago Zimbabwe
was called the breadbasket of Africa. We were exporting large amounts of
our food and living an almost first world life style. Now we have reached
such depths of depravity that children are sucking salt.
-
- While this is going on and 6 out 10 people in the country
are hungry, our President has shocked the world and caused an international
furore by attending the Franco African summit in Paris. The press has been
full of reports of the luxury and extravagance of the Paris hotel where
the Zimbabwean delegation were staying. Talk has been of menus including
black truffles and caviar, pate and filet of pigeon. Apparently the entire
33 roomed wing of the hotel was reserved for Zimbabwe and the cheapest
room per night costs the equivalent in Zimbabwe of over three quarters
of a million dollars. For that price you could buy over thirteen
thousand loaves of bread which would certainly help feed more
than a few hungry children sucking pieces of salt.
- All the news coming out of Zimbabwe these days is shocking
but more and more people are beginning to stand up for their rights. Last
weekend over 70 women were arrested when they went on a Valentine's march
in Harare and Bulawayo. Carrying red flowers and handing them out to people
on the streets they walked together for love and peace. Some of their posters
read "Yes to Love" and "No to violence." The women
were arrested for not having police permission for their action and
the women in Bulawyo were kept in police cells all night. A friend wrote
to me of her experience and described how barefoot and bra-less they
were sent to open air cages before later being moved to dark and stinking
cells where 18 women were crammed into a 15 square metre room. At some
point during their night of horror the women were allowed food and effects
from their families. She said: "In the bag of goodies provided by
my husband was a red rose - my most romantic valentine gift yet. I clutched
that poor rose all night." Amongst the women arrested in Harare and
Bulawayo were an 83 year old woman, and elderly nun and a catholic priest.
-
- I'm not sure how to make any sense of what is happening
in Zimbabwe anymore. Our leaders seem to be totally out of touch and unconcerned
about the enormous suffering of their people. We take everything one day
at a time and some days I think if I don't see or hear something normal
I'm going to scream. We all look for the silliest of things to give us
sanity. For me, today, it is a very large orange caterpillar sitting on
the branch of a Msasa tree outside my window. For as long as I can remember
these caterpillars have been a thing of great trepidation and fear. Their
hairs are bright orange and well over a centimetre long, but today I discovered
that the hairs are as soft as silk.
-
- I'm sorry I'm still not advertising my web site address,
there continue to be problems with the server and I think it safer that
I keep a low profile.
-
- Until next week,
-
- with love, cathy.
-
- Copyright cathy buckle, 22nd February 2003.
- "African Tears" and "Beyond Tears"
- are both available from <http://www.exclusivebooks.com>www.exclusivebooks.com
and <http://www.kalahari.net>www.kalahari.net
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