- Dear Family and Friends,
-
- In the main supermarket in my home town this weekend
there were too many empty shelves to count. In the fortnight since Mr Mugabe
was sworn in as President for his sixth term, everyday life has gone from
struggle to complete crisis. No one is coping now and in the last two weeks
virtually all foodstuffs, toiletries and household goods have completely
disappeared from stores. On what should have been a busy weekend morning
in our once thriving town, the car park was virtually empty and the only
things to buy in the cavernous supermarket were cabbages, butternut squash,
lemons, fizzy drinks and a few packets of meat.
-
- "Where are all your goods?" I asked one shop
attendant. "There is nothing," he said, "the suppliers say
they have nothing to deliver." I stood while he weighed the butternut
squash I had chosen and exclaimed in shock at the 30 billion dollar price
sticker he fixed to the vegetable.
-
- "Can I show you something?" the man said and
before I could answer he took his most recent pay slip out of his pocket.
For an entire month the shop assistant had earned just 28 billion dollars
- not even enough to buy one single butternut squash. Eight hours a day,
five and half days a week and his entire salary was not enough to provide
even one single meal. He told me he had a wife and a child to support and
said with remorse and shame in his voice: "I am failing them and if
I do not jump the border to look for work this month then they are surely
going to die."
-
- They are simple words stating a simple fact - people
are surely going to die here in Zimbabwe if this situation continues for
much longer. Despite their desperate determination to stay in power and
retain their 28 years of leadership of the country, Zanu PF have so far
not even acknowledged the critical shortage of foodstuffs and basic medicines
let alone done anything about resolving it.
-
- Everywhere people have stories of such deprivation and
suffering to recount and we are a nation in a permanent state of shock.
Shock that our lives have been reduced to this. Shock that yet again the
UN have been unable to find a common voice. Shocked that the violence and
brutality continues and shocked that yet again we are hearing of talks
about talks about talks. On the 29th March the MDC won a parliamentary
majority, It is long past time for them to be sworn in and take up the
reigns and lead Zimbabwe out of this hell.
-
-
- Until next week, thanks for reading,
-
-
- love, cathy.
-
-
- Copyright cathy buckle .12 July 2008. www.cathybuckle.com
My books: "African Tears" and "Beyond Tears" are available
in South Africa from: <mailto:books@clarkesbooks.co.za>books@clarkesbooks.co.za
and in the UK from: <mailto:orders@africabookcentre.com>orders@africabookcentre.com
To subscribe/unsubscribe to this newsletter, please write to: <mailto:cbuckle@mango.zw>cbuckle@mango.zw
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