Let the world pray for Zimbabwe

The streets of Bulawayo are ominously quiet. The factories and shops are closed till after Easter and there are many factories which may not open at all, ever again, unless the economy here takes a major upturn.

The city is plastered with posters, MDC, Simba and Mugabe. The competition for space is fierce and no sooner a poster is put up then someone else tries to rip it down. Driving into the rural areas, Bob’s posters are by and large covered in cow shit! A small measure of resistance that makes people feel good for a moment.

Sadness is the overwhelming emotion. Sadness at what could have been. So many have fallen victim to the mad dictator. The four year old child we buried recently who died of dehydration because the hospital had no drips. She was an orphan so there was no family to run around and buy the critically needed fluid from a private chemist. The hospital did not even bother to contact the orphanage who may have tried to help.

Then the man who was shot last week by armed robbers, waiting for him when he got home. The masked men shot him then went on to commit another robbery down the road. These criminals act from a stance of arrogant impunity as they know the police have no resources to even get to the crime scene, no fuel, no direction, no will.

Teachers are angry and desperate. They were promised massive increases in salaries and so ended their long strike. Schools closed on Wednesday for a six week break, to make way for elections. They got their pay slips on Wednesday to discover they had received even less than last month. How does someone live on 372 million dollars when a packet of milk and loaf of bread cost 27 million, an e.t. (taxi) 10 million and so the list goes on.

The excitement that followed Simba Makoni’s entry into the race has passed; now all everyone wants is for the next ten days to be over.

Mugabe has achieved his dream - total control, at whatever cost.

But, the depth of sadness all around us is tinged with hope, just a slight showing its colour. No one wants to hope too much, for to have hope is to open yourself to disappointment. Everyone knows Mugabe is going to rig the results, but can he cope with a massive turnout of voters? Will his own henchmen in the CIO work against him (as rumour has it)? Will the police finally wake up to the endless abuse they have endured? Will ordinary Zimbabweans accept another rigged result? The suspense is killing and only time will tell.

Let the world pray for Zimbabwe.

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This entry was posted by Still Here on Sunday, March 23rd, 2008 at 3:36 pm. You can follow any comments on this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.