- Dear Family and Friends,
-
- Some months ago American President George Bush choked
on a peanut and the story made international world headlines for a number
of days. A fortnight ago British Prime Minister Tony Blair had an irregular
heart beat and the story made worldwide headlines with cameras tracking
Mr Blair's every move, word and sneeze. Over the last week something happened
to Zimbabwe's President - or did it?!
-
- The country almost came to a standstill at the beginning
of the week as the rumours, whispers and gossip reached hysterical fever
pitch. Some said President Mugabe had had a stroke, others that he'd fallen
and hit his head and some said that he had food poisoning which resulted
in all night vomiting and then an emergency and highly secretive flight
to South Africa for medical treatment. There were no specialists being
interviewed on TV or radio, no film shots of journalists standing outside
hospitals and, adding fuel to the rumours, not a squeak from President
Mugabe himself. Instead there were categorical denials from the partners
in crime - Zimbabwe and South Africa. Officials here, and there, said it
was all just lies, damned lies from racist reporters. It was "hogwash"
they said, there had been no "official" communication that President
Mugabe was ill. Finally, on Wednesday night there was film footage of the
President speaking at a conference in Victoria Falls. We were left wondering
if the rumours hadn't in fact been deliberately started in order to detract
our attention from what was really going on in the country because it's
been a dreadful week.
-
- Six weeks after the Daily News was closed down by Police,
they finally got a hearing in an Administrative Court which ruled that
the commission governing media registration was itself unconstitutional
and that the paper should be granted a licence. The day after the ruling
the Daily News immediately published an eight page newspaper with headlines
"We are back." It wasn't for long. A few hours after the paper
hit the streets, armed police descended on the newspaper offices, detained
18 members of staff and occupied the building. Later police went looking
for the directors of the Daily News. Arriving at the home of the CEO, they
did not find Mr Nkomo but his niece, so they arrested her. The niece, completely
unconnected with the newspaper, was virtually held hostage by police who
said they were waiting for the directors to hand themselves in and she
was later told she was being charged for "being rude to police".
In the following days they arrested the 4 newspaper directors, held them
for 2 days and 2 nights, denied them access to their lawyers and finally
released them, and Mr Nkomo's niece, on fifty thousand dollars bail each
after they all signed admission of guilt forms.
-
- While all this was going on, Zimbabwe's nurses and doctors
went on strike and members of the army were called in to man our hospitals.
Then students at the University demonstrated and had to be quelled by riot
police with their all too familiar tear gas. Zimbabwe is exploding at the
seams and throughout it all our government continue to behave as if it
is absolutely normal for inflation to be nearing 500 % and unemployment
topping 70%. This week they set up yet another huge commission made up
of top ministers to find out just exactly why there is no foreign currency
in the country. I find it beyond belief that a cabinet stuffed full of
men with doctorates apparently cannot work out why if all the land is seized
and all the export earning sources are stopped it doesn't add up that there
is no foreign currency in the country.
-
- The lack of foreign money has made thieves, liars and
cheats of us all. To survive we have to buy essential goods, like fuel
and spare parts on the massive black market which now seems to be bigger
than the formal economy. This week a new fuel pump for a car was priced
at 10 million dollars. The whole car itself only cost 400 thousand dollars
four years ago and is only insured for 3 million dollars! I do not know
how any of us are surviving here anymore and yet still we sit and wait
while those "big men" who govern us sit around in their task
forces and commissions and seminars and see who they can blame for this
appalling state of affairs.
-
- Until next week, love cathy.
-
- Copyright cathy buckle. 1st November 2003.
- http://africantears.netfirms.com
- My books on Zimbabwe's turmoil: "African Tears"
and "Beyond Tears" are available in the UK from:
- handzup_02@hotmail.com ; in Australia and New Zealand
from
- johnmreed@johnreedbooks.com and in Africa from
- www.exclusivebooks.com and
- www.kalahari.net
- http://africantears.netfirms.com
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